Bad Intentions

by Iliana Xander

The next heart-pounding thriller from bestselling author Iliana Xander.

Josie Boots messed up. Really badly.

So she returns to her small hometown of Burnville to care for her ailing grandmother.

It's been twenty-five years since an unspeakable crime rocked Burnville.

Twenty-five years since her grandmother's trial.

Twenty-two years since her mother's death.

Six years since Josie was called the "bad seed."

Two months since she proved them right.

Josie just can't catch a break.

Maybe, finally, she can find peace in Burnville. But then a stranger shows up, promising to tell Josie all about her family's dark past. When Josie goes to meet him, a brutal crime happens right in front of her eyes.

Josie was born out of secrets, and they all start clawing their way to the surface. They say history repeats itself, except this time, the past isn't repeating, it's hunting her. And it might be deadly.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2026

Reviews

[chantalsbookstuff]

This book definitely had me suspicious of basically everyone.

Josie returns to her small hometown of Burnville to look after her sick grandmother, but coming home means being surrounded by all the secrets and rumours surrounding her family. Her mother is dead, her grandmother refuses to talk about the past and suddenly a stranger contacts Josie claiming to have answers. Obviously, nothing good comes from that.

I really liked the multiple POVs and dual timeline because we slowly get pieces of the past while trying to figure out how everything connects. There’s stalking, murder, mysterious messages and plenty of secrets to keep you guessing.

The pacing was definitely more slow burn for me, and Karen refusing to tell Josie anything got frustrating at times. But once the story picked up, I flew through it.

Some parts were a little predictable, but the final reveal was definitely wild and managed to surprise me. I also loved the creepy small town atmosphere where everyone knows something but nobody is talking.

This is my second book by Iliana Xander and I’m definitely interested in reading more.

[Liana Gold]

Josie's family has a bad past. Her grandmother was on trial 25 years ago. Her mother died 22 years ago. Josie is someone who harbors a lot of her own secrets. She's also known as the 'bad seed'. Her life is all crime and no break. Until she meets a stranger who promises to tell her all about her family's dark secrets.



Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author Iliana Xander for an early copy!

Publication date: August 25, 2026

[Kate O'Shea]

Josie Boots is back in Burnville after a disastrous video is aired on social media. In a second her whole career as an aspiring musician is ended and she returns to her home town to lick her wounds and care for the grandmother who raised her.

But with the return come the questions that nobody had answered about her mother and father and what happened 25 years ago. But as she tries to get her life together a man arrives who will throw everything into turmoil for her and all the people in Burnville.

Bad Intentions is a very slow burn novel which I struggled to engage with at times. The characters aren't particularly likeable and the dialogue is quite clunky at times.

If you enjoy a more convoluted murder mystery then this may be for you, there are certainly enough twists and turns along the way. It might not have captured my interest all the way through but it was an interesting premise.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for the digital review copy.

[Cecily - MillennialBookGal]

3.25 Stars

I have mixed feelings on this one. I am starting to see a trend of the type of characters Xander likes to create and I am here for it. However, the amount of character storylines to keep track of is high and I am not sure if all are necessary.

I enjoyed that twisted crazy since of rage instilled in one of the characters in particular but the whole narrative takes small town secrets and blows them to the extreme.

It was fun but it didn't blow me away.

Decent read.

[Nikki Lee (Nikkileethrillseeker)]

I loved Love, Mom by this author, so I was really excited to read this one.

Josie heads home after 25 years to care for her ill grandmother. The actions of her family have haunted her. When she returns she accidentally hit a man with her car. Only now she starts to receive strange text messages.

What really happened 25 years ago and how is it connected to her.

This is a popcorn thriller perfect for Freida fans. If you like fast moving twisty thrillers, give it a read. I’m just not the right reader for it, however, others have loved it.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[gottalottie]

I stuck with this because so many reviews mentioned how slow it was to get into, but I never became invested. This is fast-paced on paper, its first person and opens with a hit and run, then there’s a captured girl. Never gives you a reason to care though. No real characters. Lots of filler with lack of proper exposition. There is an entire chapter of her trying to get information out of her grandmother and complaining about how it’s so hard, the whole chapter is just this long exchange and we learn no information.

[Dozelina 666]

I’ve read Iliana Xander’s previous books and really enjoyed them, so I was super happy to be approved for this one.

Overall, this was a good read.

The pacing is a mix of slow burn and faster moments, which kept things interesting, even if it dragged a bit here and there.

As the blurb says, Josie returns to her small hometown after a series of misfortunes and while trying to take care of her sick grandmother. Growing up, she’s always heard whispers about her family. Everyone knows bits of what happened to her mother, her father is a mystery and her grandmother has a past that people don’t forget.

And of course… small town = secrets.

Everyone knows everyone, everyone has something to hide and everyone is willing to protect those secrets, no matter what.

Things take a turn when Josie is contacted by a stranger who claims to have answers. And from there? Chaos. We get stalking, murder and a lot of unhinged situations. At one point, everyone is suspicious and you can't really trust anyone either.

That part was really fun to read.

What frustrated me the most though… was Karen, the grandmother.

I understand she wanted to protect Josie and keep things hidden, but the constant refusal to talk, only to suddenly decide “okay, now we talk” after dragging things out… it got annoying. It felt like unnecessary tension at times.

While I found parts of the story a bit predictable, especially with the small-town setup, it didn’t completely take away from the enjoyment AND the final reveal was definitely on the more unhinged side, in a good way and that it really managed to surprise me.

Overall, a solid and entertaining thriller, perfect for a chill night.

⭐ 3.75–4 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the ARC!

https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...

[Carys Megan]

I read ‘Love, Mom’ at the start of the year & absolutely ate it up! The bar was set high & Iliana Xander did not disappoint👏🏻

This thriller was addictive - I devoured it & struggled to put it down (even when sleep was calling my name🫠) Any book that has the ability to tug at my heart strings one chapter, then absolutely blow my mind the next is a 5⭐️ read for me!

Straight away, this book shocked me so I was immediately drawn in. The change of perspectives & timelines was executed so seamlessly that it was easy to follow. The twists though🤯 My mind was reeling!

If you love a psychological thriller where the secrets are continuously layered, tension builds & revelations make your jaw physically drop, this one’s for you📖

[Jessica Ramirez]

This book was full of twists! The secrets, the lies, the past coming back to change everything.

[Nathalie]

Iliana Xander can write the craziest stories, and I will enjoy the experience every time. I went into Bad Intentions (mostly) blind, and was instantly trying to figure out what was going on. It starts as a bit of small town drama and suspense, and quickly devolves into a chaos circus with a backstory (complimentary). At no point in this story did I accurately predict where it was headed, and I really enjoyed the twists. The multiple POVs provided so much dimension to the story, and I appreciated seeing events from different perspectives throughout. That epilogue was the perfect final note, and is absolutely required reading.

Bad Intentions releases on August 25, 2026. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me with an eARC (via Netgalley widget), all thoughts expressed are my own.

[Tiffany]

Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press, for sending me this ARC. Loved her other two books so I am very excited for this one.

Not my favorite of hers, full rtc!
Pub Date Aug 25 2026

[Lu thrillskillsandchills]

Recently “cancelled”, Josie Boots returns to her hometown of Burnville to care for her ailing grandmother, Karen. But once she’s back, the town’s old secrets start resurfacing, and it quickly becomes clear she’s not the only one who’s returned… 👀

While Josie’s cancellation certainly gives her another reason to come home alongside Karen’s declining health, it ended up being the one storyline that didn’t quite land for me. There was so much build-up surrounding what had happened that I was expecting a bigger payoff, but it never quite got there.

It was a little slow to get going, but at around the 30% mark everything started falling into place and the pacing took off. From there, I was hooked. The final reveals (and there are quite a few!) were executed fabulously, and I really enjoyed just how twisty this turned out to be.

If you’re after a thriller packed with family secrets, small-town drama and plenty of twists, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up. A fab popcorn thriller!

[Hannah The Cajun Bookworm]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ **3.5 stars rounded up!**

*Bad Intentions* by Iliana Xander feels like **morning coffee at your Maw-Maw’s house** ☕️🏡 — you’re about to learn ALL the town secrets, uncover the dark hidden past, and probably find out way more than you ever signed up for! 👀☕️🫣

Xander starts off **STRONG** with a hook that had me wanting more immediately — anonymous texts 📱, threats to dig up the past 🕵️‍♀️, and a hit-and-run 🚗💥 to really seal the deal. Okayyyy… I’m listening! 👀

The story jumps between alternating timelines ⏳, and it quickly becomes clear that the past may be repeating itself… 😬 The middle does drag a bit, though, with the thrills taking a backseat while the **drama meter gets turned ALL the way up** 🎭🔥.

And y’all know me… I’m here for the **fast-paced kills, thrills, and “WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK?!” moments** 😂🔪💀. This one leaned a little heavier into the domestic drama than I typically prefer. There were a couple of things I didn’t see coming 👀, but nothing that had me throwing the book across the room in shock. 😂📖

Still, this was an **easy, enjoyable read** that kept me invested enough to see how everything would unfold. 💕📚

👉 **I’d recommend this one to readers who love their thrillers with a healthy side of EXTRA domestic drama!** 🏡🔪☕️

Thank you to **NetGalley, Iliana Xander, and Poisoned Pen Press** for the ARC and the opportunity to provide my honest feedback! 💜📚✨

[Janet S]

I had a good time reading Bad Intentions, the first book I've read by Iliana Xander. I enjoyed that the chapters were told from different female characters' perspectives. The story revolves around bad events that affected three generations of women. These women deal with teenage desires, bullying, jealousy, female competition, and insecurities. Josie returns to her hometown running from something scandalous, and we're not immediately told what - loved the build-up. Grandma is an ex-con, and we learn the reason, as the story unfolds. We're introduced to a man named Derek Sickler, who seems like a bad man at face value, but is face value ever 100 percent? Iliana Xander penned true-to-life characters with fears, flaws, lies, mistakes, and yes, bad intentions. If you enjoy reading about sociopaths in psychological thrillers, this is a must-read. I couldn't put it down, and there were surprising revelations right up to the end. #Badintentions #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC

[Jena Tamez]

If you liked love, mom you’ll really like this one! Many unexpected turns!

[Heathers_readss]

I enjoy these authors books, they are easy to read, fast paced, catchy thrillers with down to earth characters. Out of the three books i’ve read, this plot took me longer to get into. At the half way mark i grew invested in the characters and enjoyed watching the scenes unfold. An auto read author if you enjoy easy to read thrillers with twisty surprises

[Sydney D’Amato]

2.5⭐️ This was a little slow to get into and kind of felt all over the place. I wasn’t sure where this book was going, different things kept happening, time frames were back and forth without any warning, there was no rhyme or reason as to whose POV was next, it was just really messy. I feel like the ending pulled itself together to find out what actually happened, but then there’s just another piece of plot dropped at the end and then the end. Idk, prob wouldn’t recommend.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for my ARC!

[Karen Traversy]

Bad Intentions
By Iliana Xander
Pub Date: August 25, 2026

I was approved to read this ARC by Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley, and this is my third book by Iliana Xander. I’ve really enjoy her writing style.

I’m usually not a fan of multiple POVs, but this one was easy to follow. I specifically enjoyed Rika’s character.

Bad Intentions is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business—except for the details surrounding a 25-year-old murder. The story follows a dual timeline, alternating between 25 years ago and the present day.

There are family secrets spanning generations, and while this isn’t a fast-paced read, it definitely kept me interested. I really enjoyed seeing everything come together in the final chapters and loved how all the pieces of the story connected.

Btw… DON’T skip the epilogue! 👀

[Keila (speedreadstagram)]

This was such a fun read. I was instantly sucked in and fell in love with Josie. She is messy and quite the character. She had a rough go at life, and she thought she had escaped, only to end up back home after a very humiliating video made it online. This is a family drama of sorts with a mystery element tucked in as well. I enjoyed Rika. She was quite the opposite to Josie and you could see that they would end up together, but the reveals along the way were surprising and made me question whether or not that would work out. I enjoyed that the pacing was fast and I just ended up flying through the pages. Overall I really had a good time reading this one and I cannot wait to read what this author publishes next.

[Sarah]

4.25 ⭐️⭐️ Wow! Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the pre-release read of this title! What a wild ride! My first Iliana Xander book and it did not disappoint 👏 The book was fast paced and nice short easy to read chapters. Told from different POVs with alternating time lines. You think you know and then BAM, you don't! Kept me guessing and kept me up reading way past my bedtime lol. Definitely recommend this book for a good, face paced thriller that keeps you wondering "who done it?".

[Hayley O' brien]

Thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC copy .

Oh my this was wonderful even better than love mom and that was pretty amazing. There is a lot of intrigue and build up where you are guessing and theorising who did what etc and what actually happened. Then from the middle of the book it is slowly unravelled with a satisfying conclusion. There is a great character build up and its nice that not every character you assume would be nice was infact not. It gave a sense of realism as not everyone leads a good life. The great switching of points of viee but all timely and not yoo many characters. A few twists some guessed some not so much and even if you did its the details thay flesh it out.

A must read , gripping suspense thriller

[J.]

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of Bad Intentions! This one was a win for me and earned a solid 4 stars. It hooked me from the very first chapter and kept me invested the entire time. I really enjoyed the dual POVs, they added depth to the story and kept the suspense building.
Rika ended up being one of my favorite side characters. She brought so much to the story, and her friendship with Josie added another layer that made the plot even more engaging. I also spent the entire book worried about grandma and desperately hoping she'd be okay… like that stressed me outttt. The epilogue is what truly ties everything together, so whatever you do, don't skip it. It reveals a key piece of the story that makes the ending even more satisfying.

[Abhinav Ka]

The story takes place in a small town called Burnville, where the only real excitement over the course of a year is the annual fair. During one such fair, James Derek Sickler, a young man who seems to leave trouble in his wake, drifts into town.

All the girls in town are smitten with Sickler, and the story follows two of them, Alysha and Victoria, who are just about to leave for college. Both girls are completely head over heels for him, but as the story progresses, we see their mothers, Karen and Donna, trying to warn them about the manipulative Sickler.

The events then move a few years into the future, when Alicia's daughter, Josie, returns to her hometown to care for her grandmother, Karen, who is now ill. And what happens when James Sickler decides to pay Burnville another visit forms the crux of the story.

I'd been seeing posts about Iliana Xanders' Love, Mom on Instagram, which prompted me to request an ARC of Bad Intentions through NetGalley.

This turned out to be a really good and engaging thriller, with a small-town setting and a relatively contained cast of characters. And as we've come to expect from small-town thrillers, it's a place where secrets are easy to bury and not everyone is who they appear to be.

I really enjoyed this book. Despite having limited time to finish it, the characters and the events of the story stayed with me even after I had put the book down.

I'd recommend Bad Intentions to anyone who enjoys a pacey thriller set in small-town America, especially if you like stories involving secrets, manipulation, and characters with hidden motives. Thank you NetGalley, for the ARC.

[Cait Sully]

This book had me hooked from the beginning! It’s a fast-paced mystery that kept me on my toes. The short chapters made it especially easy to fly through and I loved how the different POVs and timelines slowly came together.

A fun, twisty read that kept me guessing right up to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[lily]

i tried very hard to enjoy this because the premise was really interesting, but it's a shame i ended up disliking a lot more aspects to the book than i liked.

the main thing that didn't work for me here is the writing. it was a bit too choppy for me to fully immerse myself into and the first half of the book was just going around in circles while somehow not adding anything to the plot. also, the way the 24-year-old fmc talks was really grating. her personality is pretty flat and the few times she did show some emotion, she would talk like a high schooler: "oh. my. gosh." or "are. you. kidding me?" it was insufferable.

i also didn't care for the way things were revealed towards the end. that kind of scene just felt a tad overplayed in the genre. the plot twists didn't really leave much of an impact and the last chapter especially seemed like it was just thrown in there. probably hoping for a shock factor but ultimately was just underwhelming.

i did appreciate the short chapters which made reading feel very fast, much like most thrillers do, and added a bit of excitement. overall, i don't really think i would recommend this. sorry.

thank you to netgalley and poisoned pen press for the arc! all opinions are my own.

[Deni Fox]

3,5/5⭐Bad Intentions by Iliana Xander
Josie returns to her hometown to take care of her grandmother, who is battling cancer, after Josie finds herself caught up in an online scandal. Her grandmother is the person who raised her and has always been there for her during the most important moments of her life. But now Josie wants to learn more about her mother, and as she starts digging into the past, numerous family secrets begin to surface.
After reading "Love, Mom", I knew I would be picking up more of Iliana Xander’s books. What I really appreciate about her writing is that her stories are not just about mystery and crime. She creates and develops her characters and their stories so well, giving them depth and making their choices and struggles.
Bad Intentions is also an incredibly thought-provoking exploration of human nature. It delves into a mother’s willingness to do anything for her child, the mistakes and failures we make as human beings, and the consequences that can come with them. Sometimes we make choices believing we are doing the right thing, only to realize later that some mistakes cannot be undone and some things can never be repaired. I really enjoyed how the story explored the gray areas of human nature and the difficult choices people make when love, guilt, and desperation collide.
That being said, the book surprised me a little because it focuses much more on family drama and secrets. I found those parts interesting, and I enjoyed uncovering the truth about Josie’s family, but I did find myself missing the thrill and tension I was expecting. At times, I felt like I could predict where the story was heading, so I didn’t have that constant feeling of anticipation and wondering what would happen next.
However, the ending managed to surprise me, which I definitely appreciated!
I recently picked up "All eyes on him" as well, and I can’t wait to read it! I’m definitely curious to see what Iliana Xander has in store for me next. ❤️
I'm also incredibly happy that I was approved to read this book as an ARC. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press🖤

[Amy Appleby]

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bad Intentions by Iliana Xander is a gripping, mystery-laden tale set in a small town where every resident seems to have something hiding behind closed doors.

The plot centres on Josie Boots, who returns to her hometown of Burnville following a disastrous viral social media video that put paid to her fledgling music career. When a stranger arrives promising her answers to the many questions she has about her past and family, a web of long-buried secrets, dark family history and tense local drama soon comes to light.

The lead characters are all strong females in their own right, each one desperately trying to sway the narrative into something a little less messed up. My only gripe is the character of Karen, Josie’s grandmother. Her logic was frequently frustrating: she claimed she would do anything for her granddaughter, yet consistently refused to answer basic questions, only to randomly flip a switch later and spill everything.

The pacing of the novel splits in two. The first half is very much a slow burn leaning into the atmospheric tension of Burnville to set up the plot and develop the characters. In the second half, the pacing ramped up spectacularly and I flew through the pages. While I managed to guess a few of the earlier twists, the final reveal caught me entirely off guard - a genuine surprise that landed perfectly.

Bad Intentions is a solid and thoroughly entertaining read. Iliana Xander has an effortless, engaging writing style, and I will definitely be picking up more of her work.

[Vito]

Iliana Xander is back with “Bad Intentions”. What are her intentions with this book? Because I’m left confused.

Let’s get to the premise. One of our leads, Josie Boots (lol) has made a mistake and now she’s back in Burnsville, PA, living with her grandmother Karen (yes, she briefly mentions why she’s not *that* kind of Karen). Her hometown comes packed with bad memories, including who she is and what her mother and grandmother were up to before Josie was born. Josie is on a mission to find that out, but when a chance encounter with somebody who may know something goes wrong, Josie is left to figure it out on her own (and Karen is nervous of what she may find out).

The intro, the strongest part of the book, grabs you by the neck. But it’s mostly on the promise of what may come and not as much about the delivery or contents of the book. Because, what comes next, does not measure up to what came before. I really struggled with the “so what” here especially with how this book was presented. We know something is up with our two leads’ past but it’s handled poorly that once it feels like something is about to happen, you may already be checked out. 

I’ll be careful here to avoid spoilers, but Josie isn’t sure of what her mother was up to before she passed away at a young (?) age.

~~ Side note: She died 25 years ago (so like 2001?) - did that many people have cell phones with texting capabilities back then? It’s brought up so often that I am easily convinced but a Reddit thread or two has me considering otherwise. ~~

Her grandmother, though, knows plenty… why didn’t Xander do the best (imo) thing and gives us multiple parts, with Josie’s chapters focused on the present and the grandmother’s from the perspective in the early 2000s? Instead, they’re mixed together… which led to pacing issues and confusion with timing.

The overall driver of the story was also ultimately not that interesting especially as things are (slowly) revealed. And I won’t even talk about the twist at the 85% mark, with a character ripped out of every cheesy 80s movie and the trope where they reveal their plan because there won’t be any survivors. Okay… Insult to injury, the epilogue adds another fragment/blemish that may illicit laughter than shock. 

People will eat this up, but there are probably “healthier” options in the next aisle. NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Dianna]

What a way to start September. 🍂⛈️

I devoured Bad Intentions in ONE DAY because I desperately needed to know what the hell was going on in Burnville.

Josie returns home to care for her grandmother and ends up dragged straight into decades of family secrets, mysterious strangers, murder, and one seriously messed-up small town. Every new character made me more suspicious, and the deeper Josie dug into her family’s past, the crazier everything became.

It’s fast, twisty, action-packed, and completely addictive. But what surprised me most was how much I loved the friendship at the heart of the story.

A dysfunctional family reunion, killers, buried secrets, questionable people everywhere, and a town where absolutely nobody seems normal? YES PLEASE.

Such a fun thriller to kick off autumn reading season. 🍂📚

[HighLadyofSpice]

4.5 stars and I am NOT okay.

First book I've read by this author and she had me from page one. Suspenseful, creepy in the best way, twists that actually twisted, and an ending that didn't fumble? Rare.

And can we talk about Josie and Rika? Strong female characters who actually hold their own. I loved them. I was stressed FOR them.

Highly, highly recommend. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.