Bad Influence

London wraps up her Bad Bachelors trilogy (Bad Reputation) with the delightful story of the Manhattanite who founded the controversial Bad Bachelors app. Annie Maxwell’s world was rocked when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her almost-fiancé (she saw the ring in his sock drawer) dumped her after she decided not to follow him to a high-profile new job in Singapore. Three years later, Annie’s secretly helming Bad Bachelors, the internet’s favorite place to check out the behavior of single men in New York City. When Joseph Preston, chief information officer for a global bank, returns to Manhattan, he literally runs into his ex, Annie, in Central Park, and immediately begins his plan to win her back. After Annie starts to receive threatening messages from an incensed man who calls himself Mr. Justice, Joseph steps in to help protect her safety—but he can’t protect his heart. London spins a multilayered tale that any woman who’s navigated the dating scene can empathize with and introduces an appealingly gutsy heroine who doesn’t wait for Prince Charming to rescue her. Romance readers will fall in love with Annie’s colorful Italian family, and cheer for her to reunite with Joseph. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Mar.)