Good Girls Die Bored

 

Good Girls Die Bored by Elizabeth Little
8/4/26; 448 pages
Ballantine 

Good Girls Die Bored by Elizabeth Little is a highly recommended thriller which opens with: "My name’s Juno Hardwick—and I’m here to save your life."

Juno is an ex–military intelligence officer who is now working as a private security specialist in LA.  As she would tell you, "one woman's generalized anxiety disorder is this woman's superior situational awareness." Currently that means she is using her skills as a bouncer at Mr. Tansuman's bikini bar. She also cares for and stays with her sister Cassie, a tech specialist, at her home in Altadina. Cassie is in the midst of a breakdown/deep depression brought on by their father's death. Juno is watching a suspicious customer along with bartender Danny when Min-jung Ecklund, ex-CIA officer and her friend, shows up at the bar.

Min owns and runs a security firm with Gabe Haddad, formerly with the FBI. She wants to hire Juno to assist with a 3-day job at a charity gala. Circumstances open up her availability and Juno accepts the offer because she needs the paycheck. She joins her new teammates, Harry, Ethan, and Bianca to assist Min and Gabe on the job. They will be protecting first Amendment rights advocate and  Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Maelle Ruiz, who brings her own team that are filming all of them for a documentary. It becomes clear immediately that they are not prepared for this job, which quickly becomes more dangerous and escalates from there.

This well-written thriller is a highly character based and all the characters are portrayed as fully-realized unique individuals bring their own set of special skills and secrets to the job. Juno is the character who holds the whole novel together. She may not always be likeable, but you will understand that she is irascible, excels at situational awareness, is highly intuitive, has superior observational skills, and is trained in physical combat. You will also understand that Juno is the only character you can trust. She is highly flawed, but trustworthy.

This action-packed thriller starts out moving. When the security detail is in place and on the job it becomes clear that they aren't as prepared as they should be and the tension begins. As the action hits a high-octane pace, it keeps moving right up to the multiple surprising twists at the end. In some incidences toward the end the pace is so fast moving you may lose track of motives. The tension remains throughout due to immediate threats. Sometimes the threats are combined with suspicion over the motives of team members. The final denouement surprised me.  It would be wonderful to see Juno explode on the scene into another security detail someday, perhaps with the narrative tightened up a bit.

Good Girls Die Bored is a great choice for readers who appreciate fast-paced thrillers with a very flawed, but capable main character. Thanks to Ballentine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.