Bad Intentions
Updated: Aug 25
By: Iliana Xander
ISBN: 9781464264283
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: 08/25/2026
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
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.
Praise
"With a claustrophobic small-town setting and jaw-dropping twists that hit one after another, BAD INTENTIONS doesn't let off the gas for a second!" - Marlee Bush (Author of Whispers of Dead Girls)
My Review
Intro
Iliana Xander returns with Bad Intentions, a dark, slow-burning piece of small-town suspense. An addictive, multi-generational mystery that proves family secrets have a way of clawing their way back to the surface. (Collector's alert: The limited deluxe edition out today features gorgeous printed edges!)
The Hook
A newly "cancelled" woman flees her public fall from grace and returns to her quiet hometown, only to witness a brutal crime involving a stranger who promised her the truth about her family's dark history.
Elevator Pitch
Josie Boots messed up badly online, forcing her back to Burnville to care for her ailing grandmother—a woman who went on trial for an unspeakable crime twenty-five years ago. When a mysterious text lands on her phone from a stranger offering answers about her long-dead mother and the truth behind her family’s rotten reputation, the man is brutally run over right before her eyes. Josie must suddenly untangle a chaotic circus of secrets before the town’s murderous past hunts her down next.
🌳 Setting
The deeply suspicious, insular, and cold-staring small town of Burnville.
🕵️♀️ Vibe
Atmospheric, deeply paranoid, deceptive, and filled with slow-burning small-town drama.
🔍 Genre
Psychological Thriller / Small-Town Suspense.
👥 Themes
The heavy burden of online hostility, generational trauma, protective family lies, and escaping a bad reputation.
Standout Characters
~Josie Boots: A highly flawed, sharp, and easy-to-root-for narrator carrying massive emotional baggage.
~The Boots Family Matriarchs: Her ailing grandmother Karen and her long-dead mother, whose historical shadows loom large over the entire town.
Author Writing Standout
Xander masters the cliffhanger chapter ending. Her atmospheric writing relies on short, concise, and bingeable chapters utilizing multiple perspective shifts that maximize the tension and make it an easy book to devour in just a few sittings.
Title Significance & Metaphor
"Bad Intentions " perfectly encapsulates the hidden agendas of a town full of suspicious characters trying to keep decades of history buried. The narrative moves like a slow-burning fuse—it lights early, piles on the tension, and keeps burning steadily until it triggers a total explosion.
My Thoughts
Having enjoyed her last book, EYES ON HIM, I went into this new standalone eager to see what Xander would pull off next. She completely delivers on building a family tree so crooked it needs a warning label! The pacing is a bit of a slow build initially compared to her previous fast-paced work, but it works beautifully to highlight the suffocating, small-town atmosphere of Burnville.
Josie’s backstory regarding her viral, public mistake brings a very modern, relatable layer of paranoia to the script. Xander does a fantastic job of weaving dual timelines and family secrets together, building toward perfectly timed plot twists that left me completely dumbfounded by the final chapter. The epilogue is an absolute required reading kicker that changes everything.
Why You Should Read
If you are a fan of Iliana Xander's thrillers and love highly unpredictable, multi-generational family drama wrapped up in a dark mystery, this release deserves a firm spot on your TBR list.
Verdict ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 / 5 Stars "A highly entertaining, atmospheric, and twisty small-town thriller. It proves that when you start digging up buried roots, you risk setting the whole town on fire."
Recs & Read Alikes
~All Eyes on Him by Iliana Xander
~Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
For that perfectly flawed, fiercely independent protagonist vibe.
~The Good Lie by A.R. Torre
For twisted domestic family deception and sharp pacing
Special thanks to partner, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Aug 25, 2026
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About the Author
Iliana Xander is the author of the psychological thriller Love, Mom. She's been writing stories since she was a teen and has published over twenty novels in various genres under different pen names. Secrets, heartbreaks, love, envy, and twisty twists―you'll find it all in her books. When she's not writing, she is traveling the world or making crazy art. INSTAGRAM
