This book is intriguing and very twisted. This is a story of obsession and twisted relationships. It was well paced and kept me in suspense. This had a great storyline.

Full of twists and turns. Suspenseful. Had me on edge almost the whole time. I flew through the book in a couple of sittings. This was my first read by the author, it won't be my last.

#NETGALLEY #ONEBADTHING. #MKHILL

I really enjoyed this twisty thriller!!

From the get go, you could feel the anxiety and tension as Hannah is threatened about something from her past and how she tries to figure out what’s happening to her… what did she do…? What dark secret is she hiding…? Well…

Suspicion was in abundance as I read this book - I suspected everyone haha! I also didn’t know where I stood with characters. One minute I loved them, then I didn’t, then I felt sorry for them, then was wary of them… head spin!

The final reveal was spot on!

An enjoyable, twisty and suspenseful thriller - my first book by M.K Hill but won’t be my last!

I kept reading to see if anything would happen that was more predictable. While there were some twists, they were also predictable. I would’ve loved to seen more personality from Hannah as well

This book was full of twists and turns and was a great read. The main character Hannah works for a radio station and has a woman call in who talks about her brother's suicide. His suicide is related to Hannah and a "bad thing" she did when she was younger. This leads to the woman getting involved in Hannah's life and causing issues for her.
Overall it was a quick and twisty read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

This book was filled with suspense and twists and turns. It kept me turning the pages just to find out what was going on. The story moved at a great pace.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was an enjoyable read. Well written and quickly paced. The plot was engaging and kept me hooked throughout. I will say that the "one bad thing" wasn't really all that bad (IMO). 🤷🏻‍♀️ The resolution caught me off guard (In a good way). So kudos to the author for that. Throughout, I had one crazy theory that turned out to be utterly untrue. That said, I still think my twist would have been even MORE shocking than the one we get! 😂 Overall, though, this one is getting two solid thumbs up from yours truly!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

All thrillers these days promise lots of tension, unreliable characters, a twist or several, a huge climax, and lots more. This title, 'One Bad Thing' by M.K. Hill, is quite the rarity - because it actually delivers - and more.

Really enjoyed this book. It will hook you in early and not let go. The characterization, in particular, is so engaging and then there's the plot to die for. Once finished, I found myself thinking back to it on a frequent basis.

Easily, a five-star novel. Well done and thank you, Mr Hill.

I am on a roll! I’ve just finished another great psychological / domestic thriller. One Bad Thing is a fast-paced read that twists, turns, and keeps you guessing.

Hannah is a sympathetic character hiding a dark secret. She’s surrounded by people she can’t – or shouldn’t – trust. It’s the perfect set up for this type of book.

Yes, I thought I knew who the ‘baddie’ was. But there was just enough seeds of doubt sown by M K Hill that I wasn’t 100% and I had to stay up later than planned to find out if I was right.

The only thing that didn’t quite work for me was the police. But this is something I’ve noticed a few times recently in this type of book so I assume it’s a trend. They pop up enough to drive the story forward but nothing beyond that. It’s not my favourite thing but then they aren’t in it enough to spoil the story.

It’s hard to say more without spoilers but a definite recommendation for those who like mystery and suspense novels. 4/5 stars.

Hill can write one of heck of a thriller story that kept me flipping the pages well into the night.
This was a fast paced, wild, intriguing ride!
A wild novel that is so very addictive. His writing is compulsively readable, and the more you read the more you want.
A high level of suspense, and the mystery will keep you glued to the pages until the final conclusion .. when all is revealed.
The characters are solidly drawn. And well written.
A perfect read for crime, thriller novels lovers.

Head of Zeus an Aries Book,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to B&N, platforms, blog and Waterstone close to pub date!

Hannah is about to take the leap from behind the microphone to in front of the camera. She has a new contract about to be announced, where she will be the agony aunt on a programme like 'Good Morning' and whilst she has a battle with her other half, Sean, about his drinking, she has a gorgeous baby girl, good friends, a bright future and a stable home.

Or so she thinks.

Her final phone in features the decidedly odd and ominous,Deborah who appears to be speaking directly to Hannah.

She promises vengeance for the death of her brother, who was allegedly bullied to death.

The one bad thing Hannah thought had been buried, from essentially another life time, has resurfaced.

Is it residual guilt making more of a situation than it is?

After all, at the time she was struggling with some difficult life choices and being overlooked by her parents in favour of her sick sister.

She isn't the same person she used to be,is she?

Hasn't she done enough in her career to support, and advise those who are lost and confused, as an agony aunt?

It is , after all,the only bad thing she ever did....

But can you really say you can pin the moment your life changed, to one single act?

The back and forths between then, when she and her friend-now well respected GP, Cam-played what Deborah is passing off as a deadly prank, shows that this was a catalyst that cannot be separated from everything which comes after.

And this includes the dreadful Deborah, and as she is described as a carbuncle on Hannah's life, you find yourself quickly forgetting her 'be kind' professional motto.

And despising this woman who turns up with her sweaty lasagnes,strange meals,odd 'Live Laugh Love' texts (hell that would have given me the jitters before things went any further! Shudder.. ) and an almost preternatural way of turning up wherever Hannah is.

Is she really a malevolent presence or just a sad and lonely, grief stricken woman who is desperately seeking help?

Or are Hannah and Cam, actually in danger?

This novel is fantastically structured, you lean into Hannah's character as her arc develops but then find yourself as guilty of the casual cruelties that Hannah and Cam dispense.

It is so easy to say 'be kind', far harder to show it through your actions.

Another clever and thrilling which takes a look at the easily used platitudes, and the meaning behind the casual extortion of behaviours, that those espousing them leave under the pillow, alongside their pyjamas.

Ooooh this is such a good book! I was hooked from the very first page when Hannah explains that she did something in her past that she's not proud of...but what did she do? I couldn't read fast enough to find out but that's not the only hook...someone knows what Hannah did and if the truth comes out it could destroy her.

Hannah is radio's Queen of Hearts and her crown would well and truly slip if people ever find out what she did, so when a caller to the radio show threatens to expose Hannah's secret, Hannah will do anything to keep it buried...even befriending the person who is threatening her. Diane is really creepy, she is so clingy and needy but it's clear that she is very lonely and I did feel sorry for her. Loneliness can be a crippling condition so I could understand Diane grabbing on to social contact whether obtained through fair means or foul.

Although Hannah has a deep, dark secret that could show her in a completely different light to her public persona, I still really liked her. She's a new mum, juggling a busy career and a home with a husband who needs a good talking to. I think Sean often forgets that he is married; he acts like a single bloke, always leaving Hannah to look after the baby. Sean's contribution to parenthood was to hire a nanny...enough said.

I just loved everything about this book: the well-developed characters, the fast-paced, drama-filled plot and the compelling writing that really drew me into the story. The writing is so good that I already have my eye on M.K. Hill's previous books and can't wait to read them.

Gripping, pacy and twisty, One Bad Thing is a cracking thriller that is as impossible to predict as it is to put down. I highly recommend it and I think M.K. Hill is definitely an author to watch.

Many thanks to Sophie Ransom for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and to Head of Zeus for providing an ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

A twisty and chilling thriller about a woman who did one bad thing when she was young... and must now suffer the consequences. A very fast paced, action packed story with lots of craziness and suspense to keep you reading straight to the very end! Highly recommend!

Hannah Godley is a respected psychologist and Agony Aunt on a radio show. On the last programme before she leaves to join a daytime TV programme, a career move that will massively increase her public profile, she takes a call from a listener, Diana, who talks about her dead brother Martin. Diana doesn’t say much but her few words chill Hannah to the bone “I’m going to make the people responsible for Martin’s death suffer…”. Hannah doesn’t know Diana, but she knew a Martin many years before when she and a friend did something that she is now deeply ashamed of. Afraid of what Diana knows, what she could do and how it could impact her career, Hannah decides to take control and the whole twisted story begins.

Hannah has a really complex background which has shaped her entire life. My feelings towards her were mixed and veered between feeling very unsympathetic as despite her motto, ‘Be kind, always’ she wasn’t always and frequently seemed to make one bad decision after another. At other times I felt sorry for her especially when it seemed that she was being stalked and when the story concerned her young daughter Amber – in fact none of the main characters came across to me as being particularly likeable but they were certainly interesting and I was so keen to see to what level they would go. I’ve either read too many thrillers or I have a very suspicious mind because every adult came under suspicion almost from the off, admittedly sometimes for the wrong reason and I constantly saw what I thought were red flags.

Twisted, intriguing, suspenseful. One Bad Thing is all of those. The reader will need to fight their way through the twists and turns and the misdirection to find a dark and addictive story of complex relationships, twisted obsession and more. The story was well paced with the reader being kept in suspense – I was desperate to know what the awful thing was that Hannah had done and which resulted in her turning her life around, particularly after all the references to it.

This is the first book I’ve read by M K Hill but it certainly won’t be my last – great writing, characters that you constantly doubt and a hugely enjoyable suspenseful plot. My thanks to Sophie Ransom for the tour invite and to the publisher for the Netgalley copy.

“One Bad Thing,” written by M. K. Hill, is a psychological thriller, a non-stop ride that grabs your attention on the first page and keeps you riveted until the very end. The plot centers around Hannah Godley, her baby daughter Amber, her husband, Sean, and Siobhan, their nanny. When the novel opens, the station’s resident psychologist Hannah is in the radio booth. She is on air, known as an “Agony Aunt,” taking calls from and doling advice to her many listeners. Hannah is known as “The Queen of Hearts” because of her kindness, concern for all, and constant mantra, “Always Be Kind.” She is almost done with the broadcast—it’s her last day at the radio station because she has taken a position with the very popular morning television show, Morning Brew. She gets an upsetting call from a listener who vows revenge on the people that pulled a prank on her brother years prior, causing his subsequent suicide, and shameful memories flood back to Hannah. After all the good she has done in her life and as far as she’s come, there was that One Bad Thing…

This is a riveting, exciting novel, full of twists and turns, leaving readers gasping, holding their breath, thinking they know where the book is heading, then being spun a different direction. It is completely engrossing from beginning to end. The plot and characters are fleshed-out and well-written, the climax is heart-pounding and skids to a satisfying conclusion. I would have given “One Bad Thing” more than five stars had I been able to do so. I’ll be happily diving in to whatever M. K. Hill pens in the future, and strongly suggest you do the same.

Thank you to NetGalley for graciously allowing me to preview and rate this work.

Hannah is an agony aunt on a London radio show, Queen of Hearts, dishing out advice to troubled people over the airwaves. Her catchphrase is 'Be kind, always', but it is a motto that she has not always applied to her own life - something that is about to have great significance for what follows...

Queen of Hearts has become very popular, and Hannah is now moving on up to a spot on day-time TV. On her last day at the radio show, a woman called Diane calls in, telling the tragic story of how her brother Martin was tormented by two strangers years ago - an episode from which he never recovered, causing him to eventually take his own life. It is a story that Hannah knows only too well, as she was one of the strangers involved, and this woman somehow seems to know all about what she did. Before ringing off, Diane vows to get her revenge...

From this moment the 'one bad thing' Hannah has tried to forget can no longer be ignored. Even though she is not proud of what she did, and it was the turning point in her life that made her change her ways, she would prefer that it didn't become common knowledge. She feels compelled to track down Diane to protest her innocence, but once she meets her she cannot seem to to get rid of her. Diane is there at every turn and seems to know even the most intimate details about her life. Hannah is unsettled, but she cannot decide if Diane is really out for revenge or is just lonely and looking for a friend, until things start to go seriously awry. She is relutantly forced to turn to someone from her past for help - someone she really did not want to see again...

One Bad Thing is a deliciously creepy psychological thriller about how ill-judged episodes from our youth can come back to haunt us. 

Hannah is, for all intents and purposes, a very respectable wife, mother and professional agony aunt, dolling out advice to those who need a bit of extra help. But the veneer of her current respectability covers up the troubled young woman she used to be - the woman who drank too much and often stepped outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour to make herself feel something. It's a life she left behind when the traumatic event with Martin made her realise that things had gone too far and she didn't like who she had become.

The story is told in two timelines, moving back and forth from the past when the 'one bad thing' happened, and the present as Hannah's life goes into freefall. We only very gradually learn what the bad thing was and who was involved, which builds suspense nicely, and all the while the tension in the present ramps up notch by notch as the mayhem plays out. This is a plot full of glorious threads of secrets, deception, jealousy, and obsession, with some skillful misdirection that allows Hill to toy with your perception time and time again, until all the twists, turns and shocking revelations leave you feeling breathless.

Hill touches on some poignant themes about family dynamics, mental health, loneliness, and the treatment of the vulnerable which are really affecting, but I think this book also asks an interesting question about what actually makes someone an ideal 'agony aunt'. What qualities and experience should they have? And do they always have to be paragons of virtue? Something to ponder in your quieter moments...

I read this book in a single, highly entertaining sitting, with my heart in my mouth for almost the entire time. It's perfectly pitched, unnerving, and totally absorbing - and would make a cracking TV drama!

A very interesting and thrilling read! Once I started I had trouble puttign this book down and I was very eager to keep going

Hannah is an agony aunt on a phone in on her local radio station. One day she gets a phone call from Diane, a woman whose brother killed himself some years previously and who wants to get closure on what happened. The call rings alarm bells for Hannah who has successfully buried a terrible incident in her past, and is worried that her guilty secret will ruin everything she has worked for.
Coupled with worries about her husband's loyalty, the stress of a new TV career, estrangement from her own parents and a nanny that she can't trust, Hannah doesnt know which way to turn to try and resolve everything for the best. Or is the best option to come clean about what she did all those years ago?
Page turning and devious in its plot twists, I couldnt put this down

One bad thing by M.K. Hill.
She thought she'd got away with it. She was wrong.
Hannah Godley is an agony aunt on a London radio show Queen of Hearts. She's warm and empathetic; a good listener. Her catchphrase is: Be kind, always. But when a stranger phones in to tell a tragic story about her brother who killed himself after he was the victim of a terrible prank by two people, Hannah goes cold. Because she remembers Diane's brother well. In fact, all these years later, he still haunts her dreams. All because of that one bad thing she did when she was young...
Is Diane just a sad, lonely woman looking for a friend, or does she know what Hannah did, and is looking for revenge? Because as Diane insinuates herself into her life and family, Hannah is going to discover that you can never truly escape that One Bad Thing you did – sooner or later, you're going to have to pay the price...
A very enjoyable read. I did enjoy this book. Great story. I liked Hannah but not
Cameron. I didn't trust him. 4*.

3.5 stars.

Proof that karma always comes back to bite you eventually. A slow burn with a satisfying ending, although there was one character I was hoping would die but sadly didn't. This definitely went in a direction I wasn't expecting, and I did peg the villain from the start, but I really enjoyed this and will look for this author again in the future.