“Bring me your bad news, and I will deliver it,” Adam booms dramatically, flashing his hand across the empty space in front of him with no shortage of theatric flourish. “That has to be your slogan, Lucy. And you need a shingle. It should hang, obviously. I’m picturing something vintage that creaks as it blows in the breeze. Very atmospheric.”
“Just call it a sign like a normal person.” I roll my eyes, but we’ve been best friends for so long that I know exactly where Adam’s quirky little head is at. He’s picturing Sherlock Holmes and the Nevada equivalent of Baker Street and me with a stylish lady pipe, if such a thing exists. Definitely tweed. Maybe a skirt suit of some kind. And a riding crop. You never know when one of those will come in handy.
“I’m thinking pink,” Adam soldiers on. “Maybe some lights that tastefully flash. Nothing tacky.”
“Oh really, nothing tacky?” I scoff. Adam would not exist in a world without tacky.
But despite my protestations, I can see it. My shingle. Something refined, definitely not pink. The flashing lights are a maybe.
“Also, you should start thinking about files and invoices and probably a case report when it’s all over,” Adam lectures, as if he knows the first thing about running a business. “You should document everything that happens, just in case you’re sued.”
“Why would I get sued?” My eyebrows rise in alarm. I’m taking this job to escape the crapstorm my life has become. And to get to Italy, as one does. Either way, lawsuits are not part of the plan.
“Did you not read the contract you just signed?” Adam leans against the wall as if to brace himself against my bad judgment. “They should have called it 700 Ways I Can Sue You. In fact, I strongly suggest you take extremely detailed notes about everything that happens, but Lord help us, we both know you won’t.”
And of course Adam is right. When it’s all over, I won’t have taken a single note, lawsuits be damned. Reflecting laziness, artistry, crapstorm exhaustion disorder or all of the above, Case Report # 1 by Lucy Rey, Bearer of Bad News (shingle design pending) will consist of a single serviceable copy of a black-and-white photograph of two girls, their faces full of stars.
Bearer of Bad News
Genre: Humorous Mystery
Release: April 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
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.
Meet the author
Elisabeth Dini is a lawyer and former prosecutor of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Born in Nevada, she is a graduate of Brandeis University and Stanford Law School. Elisabeth currently lives in the Netherlands with her husband and a bevy of mostly well-adjusted houseplants. Bearer of Bad News is her debut novel. Connect with Elisabeth at elisabethdini.com or on Instagram @elisabethdiniauthor.