Bad Nature

Brought to you by Penguin.

What would killing him accomplish? Nothing, mostly.
Then again, neither would letting him live.

When Hester is diagnosed with cancer on her fortieth birthday, she knows immediately what she must do: abandon her possessions and drive to California to kill her estranged father. With no friends or family tying her to the life she’s built in New York City, she quits her wildly lucrative job in corporate law and sets off. She hasn’t made it far when she runs into John, an eco-activist in need of a ride to superfund sites where he documents environmental crimes. From five-star Midwestern hotels to cultish Southwestern compounds, the two slowly make their way across the country. But will the experiences they have along the way dissuade Hester from her final goal?

Ragingly singular and surprisingly moving, combining tragic intensity and pitch-black humour, Bad Nature is an incendiary debut novel. Part road trip, part revenge tale, part eco-thriller, it’s ultimately a deft examination of the futility of violence and the eternal possibility of redemption.

© Ariel Courage 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025