A Little Bit Bad: A Novel

by Cassandra Neyenesch

“Pretty much the platonic-ideal beach read.” —Ada Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Crush

I had tried to be a good person and live a nice, normal life. It wasn’t working out. Why was I such a no-but-er? I would be a yes-ander!... And after that moment, I didn’t give another little f*ck what I did.

Perdita Jungfrau thought she was going to be married to her husband forever, so falling in love with Nando, her neighbour's anarcho-Marxist roofer, is a crisis. Life seems to put every possible obstacle in their she’s pregnant, he has a girlfriend, he’s fifteen years younger, she’s terrified of messing up her children and equally drawn towards this magnetic man who entrusts her with his deepest secret.

Now it's three years later and Nando has been murdered.

As her bewildered husband tries to make sense of the wildly unpredictable person his wife has become, Perdita has other things on her mind. For starters, who is the mysterious woman sitting outside her house in a parked car all day? How can she stop her adored baby brother from being pulled under by his opioid addiction? Can someone with a childhood like hers ever be the mother her children deserve?

And most of all, what should she do with the searing memories of the affair which turned her life upside down?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery, Romance, Family, Humor, Thriller

Audible Audio

First published May 5, 2026

About the author

Cassandra Neyenesch has written for Art in America, The Guardian, Huffpost and Public Books, among other publications.

Reviews

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little Bit Bad, the debut novel by Cassandra Neyenesch, starts with a man falling off a ladder. Reading this gleefully disorienting story, you’ll know how he feels.

Neyenesch’s book is a little bit of many things, none of them bad: It’s a feminist critique of parenting labor, a parody of true-crime documentaries, a tale of erotic obsession, and, most improbably, a murder mystery.

The narrator, Perdie, announces on the opening page that she hates “shows about unsolved crimes,” but that’s no guarantee she’ll solve the murder of her old lover. Lying in bed next to her husband at 4 a.m., she spots the headline on her phone: Nando was shot and killed in the street. That news sends her spinning back three years.

In those dull, prelapsarian days, Perdie had been only vaguely aware of the man working on her neighbor’s roof — “You know when someone is either handsome or kind of wild-looking, and you don’t know which it is?” — but they weren’t properly introduced until Nando’s ladder tipped sideways and hurled him 25 feet to the ground.

Perdie calls an ambulance and knows just what to say because she listens to 911 calls on YouTube. She keeps Nando talking while they wait for....

To read the rest of this review, go to my Substack:
https://roncharles.substack.com/p/the...

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | S&S/Summit Books for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

One of those stories where the chapters flip between the present( 2010) and the past, and is centred on the death of a roofer( Nando) who once had an affair with an unhappy wife and mother, Perdita.

I read it all the way through. It covers some good topics, including motherhood, addiction, and navigating the grey areas of adulthood. The novel has a darkly comedic vibe, and the main protagonist, Perdita, is both relatable and frustrating. Admittedly, I didn't always enjoy being in her head. Also, I had moments when I wanted to throw in the towel and stop reading.

So, these conflicting feelings place me firmly in the "it's okay" 2-star rating.




Publication Date 05/05/26
Goodreads Review 26/05/26

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Little Bit Bad by Cassandra Neyenesch is one of those novels that sets up a fascinating premise and then deliberately refuses to stay in a single lane. At its core, it follows Perdita Jungfrau, a married mother whose life unravels after an affair with her much younger, politically radical neighbor, Nando. Years later, his murder forces her into a present that feels just as unstable as her past, where grief, guilt, and lingering obsession collide with everyday pressures like parenting, marriage, and family crisis. The setup promises intensity, and it delivers that, but not always in a steady or cohesive way.

What stands out most is Perdita herself. She’s deeply flawed, often frustrating, and consistently makes questionable decisions, but she’s also compelling in a messy, human way. The sardonic, dark humor threaded through her perspective helps keep the story from sinking under its heavier themes, and there are moments where her voice really cuts through. At the same time, the pacing feels uneven, and the narrative tone shifts between domestic mundanity and heightened drama in a way that doesn’t always fully settle. It leans into a genre blending structure—part literary drama, part psychological unraveling, part domestic suspense—but it occasionally feels like it hasn’t quite decided what it wants to be.

Ultimately, this is a book that intrigues more than it fully satisfies. The emotional threads; motherhood, addiction, memory, and the long tail of an affair are all interesting in isolation, but they don’t always come together in a fully cohesive way. Still, there’s something oddly absorbing about it, especially if you don’t mind an unpolished narrative that mirrors its protagonist’s own instability. For me, it lands in that middle of the road space: ambitious, occasionally gripping, but ultimately uneven. A solid 3-star read.

[Christie Guillory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a ride through mental health awareness this was. The main character tells a dual timeline story through multiple POV as her internal perspective shifts through different emotional lenses. Perdita is insightful and therapeutic even while her life is messy and chaotic at times. I kept changing who I thought the killer was and then circled back around.
The book took me by surprise, challenged me to think more deeply about mental illness versus internal conflict, and moved me as I reflected back on it.
Thank you, Summit Books and NetGalley, for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.

[Romi · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book!)

I approached this novel slowly, as I wanted to fully absorb its ideas and narrative choices. The premise is definitely intriguing and was what initially drew me in. In particular, the author’s approach to the mystery feels refreshingly unconventional, offering a perspective I have not often encountered in similar works. That originality, in itself, I feel like is one of the novel’s strengths. However, the book did not fully align with my personal reading preferences, though I can easily see it resonating with a specific readership and being well received by many.

For me, the pacing felt uneven, often leaning toward the slow side. At times, several chapters came across as transitional or filler-like, with the central premise only truly coming into focus on a handful of occasions. I also struggled to form a meaningful connection with the characters, which likely contributed to my sense that the narrative occasionally dragged.

Nevertheless, the novel does succeed in delivering moments of drama, which provided a compelling element and offered something to stay invested in.

[Bre Clem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This. Was. Messy.!!!! In the best way lol! What a crazy time line of events - although I know this totally unfolds in real life - the main character shares open and real thoughts about parenthood, having an emotionally distant husband, a brother struggling with addiction, and a never-present dad turned Monk in his later years of life while having an affair with the roofer her neighbor hired for work. If you are into family drama, secrets, “who done it” murders… this one is for you!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

[haslerroberson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story snowballed from ‘a little bit bad’ to ‘pretty bad’ to ‘I think ‘illegal’ is the word you were going for’. And no, we can’t actually blame any of this on the owl witch. At its core, I think this book depicts the extremes
of a midlife crisis and how an intense lack of satisfaction, appreciation and/or companionship can negatively impact one’s psyche and mental wellbeing. Motherhood is one of the most under-appreciated roles out there and it can certainly be isolating (especially if you and your toddler get kicked out of music class), though again, Perdita’s predicament is certainly an outlier. Also, Nando is just a textbook fuckboy. This story definitely went off the rails in the last 25% and I’m still honestly scratching my head, but if you like watching not-so-bad people doing pretty bad things, I recommend giving this a read- it’s literally and metaphorically like watching a car crash.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published today, May 5th.

Perdita is a social worker turned stay at home mother to a son with health and social issues. With a husband who won't help with even the most basic chores or childcare, she finds herself estranged from any support systems. When her neighbor's roofer falls from the 2nd story, she rushes to help and so begins their relationship.

This isn't one of those 'will they or won't they' situations, Nando and Perdita are almost immediately completely captivated with each other. Their relationship is challenging for so many reasons, not the least of which is that as they find more time for each other, the rest of their lives begin to fall apart.

Perdita is so complicated, and her singular focus on Nando to everyone else's detriment is painful to watch. It's disheartening to see her repeatedly hand over ownership of her life, knowing what's at stake for her.

I loved the emotional growth and turns this novel took, it was bold and wildly original.

3.5, rounded up because I'm a native San Diegan and it's fun to travel well beaten paths and laugh at the creative liberties.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster | S&S/Summit Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars rounded up. Little lost Perdita has a very nice life but just isn't happy--it seems her husband isn't helping out as much as he could with their children and isn't paying her enough attention or really listening to her. She develops a crush on a much-younger roofer working next door and as their friendship develops, she comes to believe he is her soulmate, her one true love. Not surprisingly, this affair doesn't end well.

The story goes back and forth between then and now which can get confusing at times. Perdita is not a very likable character, I just could not relate to her, but her story drew me in and the mystery kept me guessing. Yes, Perdita is a little bit bad.

I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks.

[Remi]

i smell drama, i'll be at the front row of the show

*thank you to S&S/Summit Books for the ARC*

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don’t know how to give a review for this book. I don’t want to be mean but how ever I word it it’s going to sound horrible. I’ve been million on how to write it for a few days and I’m just going to say the truth the best I can.

If the FMC was a social worker for real she would be fired. I feel like the story had no purpose. It feels like a 12 year old girl with a lot going on in her head wrote it. It was all over the place. The back and forth in time wasn’t always evident. A few side characters that didn’t bring much to the story. I could not relate to ANY of the characters. They were not realistic at all. I only finished it because it was an ARC and I owed that to NetGalley. The narrator voice was not the right fit for this book.

I’m sorry, it was not good, confusing and pointless.

Thanks NetGalley and Audio.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bit bad was .. a little bit unhinged. And by a little bit, I mean a lot bit, but in a good way. This book sort of straddled genres and kept me on my toes guessing what had happened, and I liked it was set in San Diego, because I grew up there and it’s not often a book takes place there! The one thing that sometimes seemed misplaced in the book was the Obama commentary (the book partially takes place during his presidency) as it was not a political book at all so the dialogue about it seemed out of place. Otherwise I really enjoyed this one and the absolute craziness of it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an arc of this book and provide honest feedback.

[Tina Humphrey Boogren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark delight…

[Kate Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in return for an honest review. I'd rate this book 4.5/5 stars. Overall, this was a quick, fun, read; perfect for summer. I felt like the main character Perdita was unlikeable, but in a way that kept you wanting to know what she was going to do next. This book had a good storyline with a mix of humor and some heavier topics (abuse, addiction, trauma). I felt it all played out well together. I felt like the author did a good job of keeping the ending suspenseful, as I was surprised by the twist at the end. I think I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a summer read who likes suspense/thrillers with some contemporary fiction.

[Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to begin this review by saying a huge thank you to the team at Penguin Figtree for sending me this proof copy of A Little Bit Bad in exchange for a totally honest review.

I honestly found this book to be so unique, engaging and riveting. I couldn't put it down. We are introduced to Perdita, a mother and a wife. Her characterisation was absolutely perfect, and I just couldn't figure her out, which added an immense layer to the mystery of the book.

I thought that the way in which Neyenesch approached the mystery element was very unconventional and this made for great reading. I spent the entire novel trying to figure Perdita out, understand what was going through her head and process what was happening.

It felt so unbelievably refreshing to read a mystery novel that was unpredictable. This novel did not follow conventional storylines, plot changes, characterisation and tropes that would be expected in a novel of its calibre and yet, I found myself feeling at home in the book and desperately wanting to uncover what had happened to Nando. The book left me feeling on edge, at times uncomfortable, and quite frankly disturbed, but in the best and most controlled way.

An absolute raging success for me and one I will be recommending to all mystery lovers.

A Little Bit Bad is out June 4th.

[Danna Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was one of those books you’re reading and screaming “ Yes! This is fantastic!” the whole time. It’s funny (Hilarious) and relevant and touches on so many things in a woman’s life and loves. Cassandra Neyenesch is an exciting new voice. Straight to the point and unguarded. Voicing thoughts I’ve had before that I never dreamed someone else was thinking. This story is many things. Most of all it’s a great read. I predict this will be one of those books everyone is talking about. Read this and enjoy the ride.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. The characters are not relatable or enjoyable for that matter. Perdita makes some very questionable choices and is just over all messy. The ending did shock me, I did not see that coming.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Cassandra Neyenesch for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for A Little Bit Bad is May 5, 2026.

[Amie Derricott · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the outside, Perdita Jungfrau has the perfect life. But boiling just underneath the surface is some serious discontent. Each day, she looks at her husband and hates him just a little bit more. Enter Nando, a charismatic roofer ten years younger than her, who she ends up having an affair with. The story begins three years after their affair ended, when Perdita finds out that Nando has apparently murdered in a mugging gone wrong. His death forces her to look back over their passionate and destructive relationship and how it changed her life forever. We switch between the present-day aftermath of his murder and the past, showing how they became involved despite so many obstacles-she is married and pregnant, he has a girlfriend, and they both know that whatever happens between them is going to end in disaster. As she looks back at their affair and tries to come to terms with Nando’s death, she also struggles with several personal crises. Her husband is trying to understand the person she has become, her beloved younger brother is battling opioid addiction, and a strange woman seems to be watching her from a white VW Beetle. As these seemingly unrelated threads weave together, it builds to a mind blowing conclusion about what really happened to Nando.

I loved SO much about this book its hard to know where to start! Although we have this mystery of who killed Nando, this really isn't the main focus of the book. We get an in depth look into main character Perdita’s life and what leads her to the decisions she makes. She is unhappy with her marriage, is exhausted by the realities of motherhood, has a deep set longing for freedom, and is determined to follow her desire despite the consequences that may arise from that. Perdita is without a doubt one of my favourite characters I’ve ever encountered in a book. She is an incredibly complicated character, intelligent, frustrated, so very self aware and yet so very flawed. She is absolutely hilarious and her internal dialogue feels so familiar and real. Several times I had to take photos of specific lines or paragraphs to show my friend followed by “that’s so us” or “I feel like this” which just shows how very relatable she is. Rather than creating a predictably likeable heroine, we get a woman who makes mistakes, acts selfishly, and constantly questions herself, clearly dissatisfied with this carefully constructed life that she is leading.
The affair between Nando and Perdita is passionate, reckless, and often uncomfortable to witness because both you and they understand from the beginning that it is doomed, yet they pursue it anyway. The author has captured the intoxicating nature of obsession with remarkable honesty, showing how desire can cloud judgment and reshape a person's understanding of themselves. Their romance is never made out to be something beautiful, instead it’s presented as exhilarating but completely destructive, and this is just reflected further by Perdita’s increasingly erratic and selfish behaviour.
Another aspect I loved was the novel's treatment of motherhood and marriage. Perdita's frustrations with domestic life, the unequal burdens of parenting, and her struggle to reconcile personal freedom with family responsibility are explored with sharp insight and biting humour. The book raises difficult questions about what society expects from women and what happens when those expectations become suffocating.
Neyenesch's writing is absolutely phenomenal. It is witty, conversational, and laugh out loud hilarious, even when dealing with darker subject matter. The novel balances the humour with heartbreak beautifully, moving effortlessly between moments of absurdity, tenderness, and suspense. The whole time I was reading this, it felt like I was in conversation with a friend, them telling me about their affair with the same honesty and “I’m funny to hide the trauma” kind of attitude that so many of us fall back on to deal with awful situations.
The mystery surrounding Nando’s death does add this thriller layer to the book, and all the way through you do question who is involved and how. Everyone is a suspect and it really could have been anyone right up until it is revealed who did it and why. However, this really isn't a thriller in the traditional sense, and you actually find yourself less invested in what happened to him than you are in this character driven tale of lust, obsession and revenge.
Overall this is one of my favourite books of the year and I will be recommending it to everyone I know!

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perdita Jungfrau is the kind of woman who absolutely did not plan to blow up her entire life over a man who literally fell off a roof… and yet here we are. Married. Pregnant. Two kids deep. Husband emotionally clocked out like he’s on a permanent silent retreat. And then in struts Nando, the neighbor’s anarcho-Marxist roofer, fifteen years younger, bleeding from the face and somehow still charismatic. Of course she falls in love. Honestly, if a hot revolutionary with a hammer looked at me like I was the only person in San Diego, I too would ruin my life.

A Little Bit Bad opens with the murder. Nando is dead. Shot. Which means the entire book has this humming undercurrent of dread because we already know this chaotic situationship ends in a body bag. And instead of a neat whodunit with a corkboard and red string, we get something way messier. We bounce between the fever dream of their affair and the aftermath, where Perdita’s husband is trying to figure out who he married and Perdita is trying to figure out… well… herself.

And here’s the thing. Perdita is not always likable. She is selfish. She is obsessive. She is spiraling while insisting she’s totally fine. But she is fascinating. The book lives inside her head and that head is loud. She’s juggling guilt over the affair, panic about being a bad mother, trauma from a chaotic childhood, and the slow devastation of watching her baby brother sink into opioid addiction. It’s domestic drama meets existential crisis meets “why is there a mysterious woman sitting in a car outside my house every day.” Casual.

The dual timeline structure is either going to thrill you or test your patience depending on your tolerance for emotional edging. Just when you think you’re about to get clarity about the murder, we’re back in the sweaty glow of rooftop flirtation. Just when the romance feels intoxicating, we’re slammed back into the present with grief and suspicion. Around the last quarter, though? Oh. The shift. Suddenly the pieces click and you realize you maybe shouldn’t have trusted everything you were being fed. I love when a book makes me side-eye myself.

Nando, for his part, is written with this magnetic, slightly unhinged charm. He’s ideological and impulsive and very young in that intoxicating way where everything feels like it could be revolution or disaster. Sometimes both. Their connection feels reckless and real and occasionally a little try-hard in that “look how edgy we are” way, but it works because Perdita wants to feel alive. And he makes her feel incandescent.

What I appreciated most is that this isn’t really about the murder. It’s about identity rot. It’s about being a woman who did everything “right” and still feels like she’s suffocating. It’s about desire colliding with responsibility. It’s about how mental health can blur your own narrative until you’re not sure which version of yourself is telling the story. That’s where the book gets sharp. That’s where it stings.

Did it drag in places? Yes. There are stretches where you can feel the pacing wobble and you’re like, are we circling the runway or landing this plane. But when it lands, it lands with purpose. I didn’t always like the ride, but I respected the audacity of it.

By the end, I felt equal parts unsettled and impressed. It’s not a clean thriller. It’s a messy, morally gray character study wrapped around a murder. It’s suburban dissatisfaction with teeth. It’s a woman trying to decide if she’s the villain of her own life or just someone who wanted more.

For me, it’s a solid 3.5 stars. Compelling, chaotic, occasionally frustrating, but undeniably memorable.

Whodunit Award: For Making Me Question Whether the Real Crime Was the Murder or That Husband’s Emotional Availability

Huge thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC. Nothing says “have a relaxing week” like handing me a morally messy housewife, a hot anarchist roofer, and a murder. I had the best time spiraling.

[reading raul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little Bit Bad is a near-perfect combination of litfic-y wit and slow-building crime thriller, kind of like if Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead was set in sunny San Diego, instead of snowed-over Poland. The novel moves between two tenses: the past, chronically the affair between SoCal housewife Perdita and her roofer, Nando; and the present, where Perdita wakes up to his murder in the news. Although the time they spend together was a tense, desperate (and often on her part, anxious) whirlwind, Perdie has no choice but to move on with her life. She frets over being a good mom to her kids, tries to not hate her clueless, frustrating husband, and keeps in touch with her sweet but troubled baby brother who's always in and out of rehab. If only her dead lover's girlfriend would stop stalking her, as the memories of that affair linger on the periphery of her daily life.

Perdita's inner monologue was hilarious, and I especially loved the ways she pointed out all of San Diego's idiosyncrasies. Cassandra Neyenesch did an excellent job of portraying the area, and I appreciated how she pulled the nature hidden in San Diego's canyons into the story. The late 2000s time period was very subtle, but its influence on the tone of the story and some character's behaviors were tangible enough to make me appreciate that choice. It especially paired well with the themes of class and gender in suburbia, which really showed the true crime inspirations behind this story.

At times I found the choice of a dual timeline a little jarring, the cliffhangers at the end of some chapters felt more annoying than attention-grabbing. I wish the ending had more oomfph. What makes this novel a fun read (at least for me) was the way Perdie's mind spirals and swerves, her erratic behavior delightfully entertaining. But ultimately, as much I appreciated the dark comedy and the thrill of both her affair and the murder that follows it, I felt that the very end failed to really tie together the themes set up in a gratifying way. It's, some might say, A Little Bit Satisfying.

However, I did enjoy reading this book very deeply, and it got me out of a summer reading slump. I loved following Perdita's chaotic train of thought, even if the final destination couldn't bring everything home.

[Goodshelftalk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genre-bending murder mystery meets obsessive love story, rife with dark humour and blistering social commentary.

Cassandra Neyenesch’s debut novel 'A Little Bit Bad' is one of those delicious books that reveals the things we’re not supposed to say out loud but relish to read in private. Billed as a 'Big Swiss' meets 'All Fours', 'A Little Bit Bad' has joined the ranks of recent novels about relatable, albeit unhinged and messy women. It does seem that ‘unhinged and messy women’ is officially a genre now and I, for one, am loving these raucous lady romps that have materialised from the dust of Thelma and Louise’s car crash. This recent literary trend is so exciting that, if I wasn’t so fickle and indecisive, I’d get a tattoo proclaiming ‘unhinged’ and ‘messy’ across my ass cheeks for when I want to moon the institution of patriarchy. Which if I am being honest, is frequently.

Listen, forget spicey hockey novels this is the mommy porn the world needs right now. In fact, A Little Bit Bad speaks to the plight of a large spectrum of women, not just mothers but all women dating, in relationships or even having casual sex with men in these fraught times. Women who are caught in the daily wash cycle of regressive legislature and the rolling back of rights, the latest mantrums in the manosphere, and basically ping-ponging within the dichotomy of not being enough of one thing or too much of another. So, for those evolved men out there who want to know what’s really going on in the heads of women, well here’s your manual, put A Little Bit Bad on the ‘Women 1.01’ syllabus.

In essence, Perdita is highly relatable. Most women would recognise at least parts of themselves in her thoughts, her struggles, her chaos, even her “self-inflicted” crisis’. She is an encapsulation of the current status quo, a character that represents the intersection where women’s longstanding frustrations collide violently with their expanding self-awareness and latent yearnings. Neyenesch brilliantly observes and articulates the casual misogyny, subtle and overt domestic inequalities, hypocrisies and gaslighting that have collectively built a bonfire of contempt and fury for many women. Perdita just brought some gasoline and a match. Someone had to do it.

Veering into the MILF market, A Little Bit Bad offers new talking points around women’s self-empowerment and sexuality post-forty, particularly through relationships with significantly younger ...

For the rest of the review go to https://substack.com/@goodshelftalk

Many thanks to Cassandra Neyenesch for the advanced copy

[Linda (The Arizona Bookstagrammer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Simon & Schuster @simonandschuster S&S/Summit Books @summitbooks Netgalley @netgaalley and Cassandra Neyenesch @cassandraneyenesch for this free book!
“A Little Bit Bad” by Cassandra Neyenesch⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Genre: Very Dark Comedy+Murder Mystery. Location: San Diego, California, USA. Time: 2007-2010.

San Diego suburban housewife Perdita Jungfrau fell in love with Nando, her neighbor’s anarcho-Marxist roofer. She’s pregnant, he has a girlfriend, he’s 15 years younger, she’s terrified of messing up her children, but obsessed by him. Now it’s 3 years later, and Nando has been murdered. She wonders: What about the affair that turned her life upside down? How can she stop her baby brother’s opioid addiction? Can someone with a childhood like hers ever be the mother her children deserve? And who is the mysterious woman sitting in a car outside Perdita’s house all day?

Author Nenenesch’s novel covers infidelity, obsession, family drama, addiction, marriage, and murder. I thought this was going to be a funny, light book. Nope, not at all. This is the story of a wildly mercurial woman teetering on the edge, trying to hold it together for her children while caught up in an obsession. Narrator Perdita has a wickedly dry, caustic voice (which I loved!). She digresses constantly-you’ll learn more about obscure music genres than you ever wondered about.

Neyenesch will surprise you with the twists and turns of Perdita’s story. Her book flips back and forth between the beginning of her obsession and the time just after Nando’s murder, but it’s all labeled so you’ll be able to follow. I must say thank you to publishers Simon and Schuster. In our current political climate, this messy, unpredictable book exists because “Simon & Schuster strongly believes in freedom of expression and stands against censorship in all its forms.” It’s a “Women on the Verge” book, it’s full of chaotic, unreliable characters, it isn’t easy to read but her complicated narrative will draw you in. It’s 4⭐️s from me 📚👩🏼‍🦳 #netgalley #alittlebitbad

[parareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perdita gets news that Nando, a roofer who once worked for her, was robbed and shot to death. Perdita and her husband, Theo, had hired Nando to fix their roof. Before they officially met, Perdita had actually helped Nando when he fell while working at their neighbor Jill’s house. From that moment on, Perdita started catching feelings for Nando and began neglecting her family.

The 3️⃣ Things:

🏜️𝑨𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆.
That’s it. That’s all I wanted to say. Because even if you’re dealing with postpartum depression or your husband isn’t giving you enough attention in the marriage, I truly believe those things can be fixed, but cheating is a choice. It made me sick to read how Perdita was willing to turn her back on her own family just for Nando. If you think this is a spoiler, trust me, it’s not.

❤️‍🔥𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉, 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍.
I love this book because it lays out Perdita’s thoughts so naturally. Her desires, her home life, her conversations with people, and her suspicions all flow together seamlessly. The darkness isn’t just in her thoughts but also in the overall vibe, to the point where I was just thinking, God forbid I ever end up like this haha! I believe Nando was a good guy at first, but no player is going to pass up an easy opportunity. Personally, I just feel so bad for Charleigh and Theo, even though Theo has his own red flags as a husband.

📄𝑨 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕.
I really like this style because it unpacks the mysteries one by one. Trust me, I did not see Nando’s killer coming. Every single one of my guesses was wrong. I love how it’s a thriller without trying too hard to be one. It feels more like a drama-filled novel with dark humor that is simply a fun read.

✍🏻: @cassandraneyenesch
🖨️: @penguinfigtree
📖: 330
⭐: 3.8/5

Even so, I felt like the pace was a bit slow and dragged a little in the middle, but the ending was totally worth it. Thank you, miss @putrifariza and @times.reads for this ARC. 💛🧡#parareads #timesreads #alittlebitbad #cassandraneyenesch

[Michelle Beginandendwithbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t want to give too much away, but this book was a ride. It started with some “a little bit bad” decisions and careened into chaos.

Living in San Diego, Perdita, the main character, is a mother and social worker. The most tender part of this story is Perdita’s love for her much younger brother and the child she sees in the adult with addiction he has become.

Perdita’s voice captures the more mundane parts of early motherhood and the lack of freedom and loss of self control that comes with being the full-time physical caretakers of babies and toddlers. At times, Perdita’s husband is an infuriating coparent, at least from Perdita’s point of view. The author depicts in a raw way the harder parts of marriage and the changes that come with parenting and financial decisions.

The driving force of the novel is Perdita’s obsession with the roofer next door. Perdita’s discontent with her own life, the true conflict, leads her to using the roofer, Nando, as a distraction. Lust, infatuation, desire–whatever you want to call it–makes people selfish, and Perdita neglects her children, husband, and friends while chasing her distraction.

For most of the novel, I was invested, but Perdita’s erratic behavior and spiraling went too far for my reading comfort when she put her child in danger. At times the story turned almost stream of consciousness, I’m assuming to reflect the deterioration of Perdita’s mental state, but the reader could perceive it as a lack of editing. It was a can’t-look-away reading experience by the end, but it was unique and earned some wide eyes, jaw drops, and chuckles along the way.

The publisher’s note accurately categorizes this type of fiction as “women on the verge” and that tracks. I can’t imagine this character being a social worker offering anyone else advice.

Thank you to @SimonBooks and @Netgalley for access to the egalley of A Little Bit Bad in exchange for an honest review.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cassandra Neyenesch’s A Little Bit Bad is one of those novels that slips a hand around your wrist and pulls you into a life already in motion—messy, magnetic, and impossible to look away from. At its centre is Perdita Jungfrau, a woman who has spent years trying to be good, sensible, and predictable… until she isn’t anymore. What begins as a reckless, intoxicating affair with Nando—her neighbour’s anarcho‑Marxist roofer, fifteen years her junior—spirals into a tangle of desire, guilt, and self‑reckoning that feels startlingly human.

The book moves between the heat of their affair and the cold aftermath: Nando has been murdered, Perdita’s husband is bewildered by the stranger his wife has become, and Perdita herself is juggling motherhood, grief, and the slow‑motion collapse of her younger brother to addiction. Neyenesch writes these tensions with a confiding, conspiratorial tone—almost as if Perdita is whispering her worst impulses to you over a glass of wine.

What makes the novel so compelling is its emotional duality: it’s sharp and funny in places, then suddenly tender, then quietly devastating. Perdita’s voice is charismatic, flawed, and painfully self‑aware. She’s not always likeable, but she’s always alive on the page. And the mystery—who’s watching her from the parked car outside, what really happened to Nando—threads through the narrative with a slow, simmering unease.

This is a story about desire and consequence, about the versions of ourselves we try to bury, and the ones that claw their way to the surface anyway. It’s messy, bold, and surprisingly moving—a novel that lingers like the echo of a confession.

My thanks to Cassandra Neyenesch, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon&Schuster for early access to this book in exchange for my review.

I absolutely loved the premise of A Little Bit Bad. A suburban housewife, an obsessive affair with her neighbor’s much younger roofer, and a murder hanging over everything? I was in immediately. The setup is sharp and darkly funny, and the tension starts early and never really lets up.

The mystery surrounding Nando’s death is genuinely compelling. The pacing is quick without feeling rushed, and I kept wanting to read just one more chapter to see how it would all unravel. The writing feels confident and controlled, especially in how it layers the affair, the family drama, and the looming question of who killed Nando.

The character development is also a major strength. Everyone feels real and complicated. Perdita’s husband, her brother, even the side characters all feel fully formed. Their flaws and motivations make sense, even when they hurt to watch.

Where I struggled was with Perdita herself. I appreciate an unlikeable or morally messy main character, but I had such a hard time connecting with her. Her choices felt chaotic in a way that frustrated me rather than intrigued me. I didn’t need her to be perfect, but I needed something to hold onto emotionally, and I just never quite found it. It made it difficult to root for her, even when I understood the pain driving her decisions.

Overall, this was fast paced, bold, and undeniably readable. I was hooked by the mystery and impressed by the depth of the characters, even if I couldn’t fully get behind the protagonist. A solid 3.5 stars for a story that kept me turning pages, even when it made me want to shake the main character.

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Fig Tree for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I will start this review by saying I have no idea what I'm going to write. It's one of those books that made me feel (negatively, in this case) but I can't quite explain why, so bear with me.

I am so confused by this book. I'd nothing but praise for it and was really excited for it.

From the synopsis, it sounded like some thriller-cum-crime novel. But I didn't get that. Yes there's a murder but for me, that's where it stopped.

It's a mishmash, there's a touch of crime, and there's romance, and there's literary fiction and contemporary fiction, and just a lot of chatter and not a lot of happenings. I wasn't settled on what it was trying to be, it felt lost, like it was trying to be something it wasn't.

What didn't help was that the main couple, Perdita and Theo, are so unsufferable and I had no empathy for them and so didn't really care about them.

It does get a bonus star for originality. I read hundreds of books a year an so it can be hard to stan out, but this did at least feel quite fresh.

The pacing is odd. Nothing happens and it's so slow, but then you find you're half way through. Some chapters felt pointless and like they were there to meet a word count. It flits between the present and an unspecified time in the past, which I did like as I like dual timelines.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good premise and an interesting idea, and I think it is a stable debut, but I felt so flat whilst reading it. I didn't get any of the excitement I was expecting.

It's just very messy and unsure of what it is, what it wants to be, what it's trying to say, and I am just really quite disappointed.

[aemynadira · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're into an unhinged female protagonist who will make you cackle & cringe in the same breath, this book needs to be your next read. It follows Perdita, a married mom whose life spectacularly turns upside down after an affair with a younger roofer, Nando. Years later, Nando's found murdered which drags her right back into the chaos, forcing her to juggle grief, lingering obsession, & the absurd pressures of just being a normal mom. Sounds like a thriller? Kinda. It's also a domestic drama & a psychological fever dream. It's a brilliant genre-bending novel.

Let's talk about Perdita's brain. It is the messiest, most interesting place to be stranded. I laughed out loud almost every page because her internal monologues are so hilarious, swinging from surprisingly wise & romantic to full-blown psychopath in a single paragraph. It's genuinely jarring how fast the mood shifts & I mean that as a compliment. The narrative is wildly uneven in the best way. It feels like the book is as unstable as Perdita is. I spent half the time despising her because, my God, she makes the most destructive choices humanly possible, but she's so insanely funny & occasionally clever that I couldn't stay mad for long.

Fair warning: if you need a steady, predictable plot, this ain't it. The pacing zigzags between mundane mom-life & intense psychological unraveling, & it never quite settles into a single vibe. But for me, that chaotic energy was exactly the point. It's a wild, deranged, darkly hysterical ride that perfectly captures how messy it is to be human. Just don't take any life advice from Perdita, please.

[Mario Mirabelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good debut novel about family life in San Diego and how to destroy/save it. Perdita is sort of happily married to Theo with a young son with a bit of a kooky mother and a younger step brother who has addiction issues. Theo works for a family business and is neglectful on the rearing front. Perdita's life takes a strange turn when her neighbor has her roof fixed by a "hot" young man named Nando who falls off the ladder from the second which she watches. Perdita was for ten years a social worker in an emergency room so she jumps into action and calls 911 which probably saves Nando's life. Slowly but surely Perdita and Nando become friends but Perdita becomes pregnant and throw her life into further chaos. A beautiful daughter arrives and Perdita seems overjoyed but also further trapped in her "perfect" life.
Perdita and Nando eventually rekindle their friendship which leads to a torrid love affair. Perdita looses focus on her children and husband as her affair deepens. More risks are taken with every rendezvous leading to Nando abruptly ending the affair. Perdita falls apart and barely survives but her family and especially Theo is able to "rescue" her.
A year later Nando is mysteriously shot and killed with little evidence to determine the killer. Hijinks ensue.
The story has several POV's with and some are not what you would expect. The family drama with her brother/mother and friends is weaved well into the story. Perdita's love for her children is always at the forefront even when she is "distracted". Poor Theo. Enjoy.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not 100% sure how to feel about this one. Let’s start with the murder mystery aspect, which I thought was good and surprising once the killer was so matter-of-factly revealed. I enjoyed the buildup and evolution of the main characters relationship.

Interesting delve into all sorts of psychotic thoughts and behaviors. Especially of Perdita, the main character who is actually a social worker as her occupation. The mantra of do as I say, not as I do ran through my mind as the novel progressed.

The story was a quick, beach read that sucked me in. I had the biggest problem with the threads of antisemitism woven through which were cast upon the “bad guy” Nando’s girlfriend. When an author feels free to perpetrate antisemitic tropes (describing the girlfriends father as a rich, Jewish Hollywood type, the top 1% of money) and foster extreme leftist viewpoints (Nando and the mother in the kitchen talking about the problems with Israel) that’s where I have to call this author out. If these viewpoints had been edited out (the author talks about the extensive editing process - I can only imagine what other vile viewpoints were left on the cutting room floor), I would have thought it was a much better book.

So 2 stars for the mystery, maybe another round of editing before release date. Or at least just keep your antisemitism to yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.