ARC Review: Bearer of Bad News by Elisabeth Dini

Bearer of Bad News
Author: Elisabeth Dini
Publication: Gallery Books (April 29, 2025)

Description: A sharply funny and moving debut in which a young woman accepts a job that takes her though the Italian Dolomites and into an international mystery far greater—and more personal—than she could have ever expected.

For someone who hates secrets, Las Vegas hairdresser Lucy Rey is about to be faced with a whole bunch of them. After discovering that her fiancé has been cheating on her with someone from his improv class, she finds herself short on funds and desperate for a change of scenery. Enter a most unusual job opportunity: a Bearer of Bad News.

Sure, it’s a little weird—the job description has few details, and the bad news is more like a vaguely worded threat—but Lucy can’t say no to the perks: an all-expenses-paid trip to the Italian Dolomites, plus a generous bonus if she proves she’s delivered the message. Then she learns that her task is just the tip of the iceberg.

Launched into a world of betrayal and greed involving eighty-year-old secrets, stolen jewels, and a World War II–era mystery, Lucy is in over her head. And she’s connected to her mission in ways she never saw coming.

For fans of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Kirstin Chen’s Counterfeit, Bearer of Bad News is an exhilarating romp that deftly explores the weight of secrets, the power of friendship, and how, by healing the wounds of the past, we can build a brighter tomorrow.

My Thoughts: Lucy Rey has almost hit rock bottom in this story. Her fiance, who gave her a lovely cubic zirconia for an engagement ring, has been photo'd with his new love - a guy from his improv class. There she is in Las Vegas in an apartment she hates and with a job she hates when she sees on add on social media. Someone is looking for a Bearer of Bad News to travel to the Italian Dolomites to find a person and give her some news.

Sure, it looks like a scam, but she doesn't have any better prospects. After signing a draconian NDA, Lucy finds herself traveling at quite a bit less than First Class to Italy to find her employer's sister and deliver some bad news. 

One in Italy, Lucy finds herself in the middle of a mystery concerning an emerald necklace lost during World War II and the people who interacted with it. And she's not the only one looking for it. The Department of Lost Things have been trying to track it since the 1940s and has an agent in place and there are other people looking too. Then Lucy discovers her own family's relationship to the necklace and some mysteries in her own family. 

This was an engaging story that began as an almost cliched humorous romp and ended up being a story about heart and finding yourself. I liked it a lot. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Gallery Books. You can buy your copy here.