The New Bad Thing

In The New Bad Thing, Teagan and her husband, Todd, long to start a family but are having difficulty conceiving. Her first marriage ended with her husband getting a coworker pregnant, so Teagan believes that it is her body that is failing her. The decision to go through IVF treatments is a big one for the couple, and Teagan decides to try and take her mind off of it by creating a humanitarian project called Rebound. Global terrorist attacks by the K.I.L. organization have been taking innocent lives. The group is also known for kidnapping women and girls from their own Middle Eastern homeland. Teagan decides that Project Rebound will be her own effort to stop future kidnappings and safely get the women and girls back to their villages. As a magazine reporter, Teagan has interviewed many famous celebrities. She finds herself agreeing to ghostwrite a book for a wealthy man named Roman, and somehow this intersects with Project Rebound. Albeit he is a very shady character, Teagan ends up enlisting Roman’s help with the logistics of the project. Teagan starts finding she is in over her head. Not knowing whom to trust and fearing for the life of her loved ones, Teagan has no choice but to fight fire with fire.

This book was engaging and exciting from the beginning. I really liked how the author took his main character from the office of the magazine she worked at and fast-forwarded the story to Teagan using a Glock to kill two men in a hotel. The plot jump made me want to read more and find out how Teagan got into this sticky mess. When Teagan realizes that she and Project Rebound have been scammed and the crowdfunding money was taken, she doesn’t give up. I found it interesting that there were a lot of double agents in this book. People who should have been labeled good guys find themselves in moral predicaments throughout the book. From the United States to Paris to Italy, I really enjoyed the story taking Teagan around the world. The descriptions of the settings, such as the Chateau Bleu hotel with its foyer’s art collection, palm trees, and glass ceilings, created a very realistic feel for the reader. I felt like I was right there with Teagan.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and characters. I would recommend this book to fans of global espionage novels and thrillers. The New Bad Thing will be the next best thing its readers pick up.