A Very Bad Thing

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first. *Another* thriller about a successful woman with a dark past? But *A Very Bad Thing* disarmed me within chapters—Ellison isn’t interested in rehashing tropes. She’s writing about the *cost* of reinvention, and the way Maarleveld narrates the protagonist’s internal monologue (equal parts defiant and desperate) sells it. The audiobook’s pacing is deliberate, almost claustrophobic in the early sections, mirroring the protagonist’s tightening grip on her own story. When the reveals hit, they don’t just surprise—they *rewound* my understanding of earlier scenes. That’s rare in audio thrillers, where twists often feel telegraphed by vocal cues. My two critiques: First, the secondary characters sometimes blur together in Maarleveld’s performance; a few more distinct vocal tics would’ve helped. Second, the midpoint drags just enough to test patience—Ellison’s prose is lush, but the audio format exposes every indulgent metaphor. Still, the finale is worth the wait: a gut-punch of moral ambiguity that left me staring at my phone, debating whether I’d *rooted for the right person*. If you love thrillers that double as character studies—and narrators who can make silence as tense as a scream—this is your next listen. Just don’t start it before bed.