Review: Short story: "Bad Date" by Ellery Lloyd

Bad Date by Ellery Lloyd
Published September 2025 via Amazon Original Stories

Fay is off on a first date. There's just one problem: He's not what he seems, and he knows more than he appears to.

But then, there might be another problem: Fay also knows more than she appears to.

This is a dark little story. It's clear early on that nobody is what they are trying to present to the world; I'm not sure that any of the characters in this story could be considered mentally stable. Fay is an actress whose career has dried up (and with it her money); Oliver is a fan who badly wants more; Wolf is Fay's son who has never had a normal life; Poppy is Fay's best friend who knows exactly where the bodies are buried. The question is how far each of them is willing to go—and who will have the upper hand in the end.

I liked this more as I got farther into it and it became clear that Fay knew more than she was letting on (did not enjoy being in Oliver's head, thank you). The ending was a bit of a letdown—it was clear that that was the direction the story was going in, but I actually tried to swipe forward to the next page multiple times before realizing that no, the story was over; the ending was that abrupt. Still a fun little thriller (well—can I call this fun, when we had to be in Oliver's head and also contemplate Wolf being let loose on the world?), but I was glad that this was a story rather than a book.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.