Bad

May 28, 2018
In the opening chapter of Esposito’s overwrought second thriller featuring Alvie Knightly (after 2017’s Mad), Alvie’s twin sister, Beth, slips and hits her head before falling into the swimming pool of her Sicilian villa. Alvie, who was with Beth at the pool’s edge, does nothing to save her from drowning. By chapter’s end, Alvie, now posing as Beth, has murdered or arranged the murder of a number of men, including Beth’s mob-connected husband, before running off with assassin Nino and €2 million to London, where they check into the Ritz. The next morning, Nino steals the euros and leaves her with no clothes. But the resourceful Alvie soon is chasing Nino across Europe with revenge on her mind, using her sister’s passport. The plot spins along on wry humor, well-placed pop culture references, and Alvie’s outsized personality. But Alvie’s self-centeredness and perpetual lack of self-control gets tiresome after a while. Some readers won’t be in a hurry to spend more time with her in the trilogy’s conclusion. Agent: Erin Malone, WME Entertainment.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
Alvina Knightly is back and just as bad as ever. At the end of Mad (2017)?helpfully recapped in the beginning of this book?she was on the run with her lover, Mafia prince Nino. They flee Sicily and end up at the Ritz in London. But after a night spent celebrating with too much cocaine, alcohol, and sex, Nino leaves her, taking the Lamborghini with the suitcase full of money (and all of Alvie's clothes). Left to her own devices, she disguises herself with hot-pink hair, leather Prada pants, and an emergency rhinoplasty she seduced her way into. However, when her dead twin Beth's body is found, Alvie learns just how hard it is to be on the run. This fast-paced novel is a deadly game of cat and mouse, made even deadlier as unimaginable lines are crossed. Multifaceted, funny Alvie comes in hot, bringing with her a whole new level of wicked, crazy awesome, from girl-on-girl action to a misspelled tattoo to the accidental killing of a nun?and more. If Alvie was mad before, she has gone mental now. Readers will fly through this book and anxiously await the conclusion to the trilogy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)