I enjoyed this book but it was obvious who was the one lying on the floor. Flipping between past and present was confusing at times but i5 was a quick read. Would make goos beach reading

Beautiful Bad was a highly intriguing, slow-burning and suspenseful read with plenty of surprising twists. I was invested in the finely drawn, credible characters and the dynamics among the main characters kept me glued to the pages. This well-written psychological thriller was not only plot-driven but definitely character-driven, as well.

The totally gripping story was full of secrets, lies, friendships and darker themes of abuse and murder and I think the title could not have been any more appropriate. Annie Ward really nailed it with Beautiful Bad and this fantastic thriller should not be missed!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Park Row Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I was so confused with the swapping between the past and the present that I gave up on the book and didn't finish it

Wonderful twist to the end.. Not what I expected as I followed Maddie's sessions in therapy and what we discovered about her, her marriage, and her husband.
It seems very clear that Ian is suffering from PTSD from his time in the army and is unstable as a result. And as the story progresses, you begin to wonder about Maddie's injury. Just how did she get it? Who was involved? Was it Ian?
And the therapist seems so helpful, but rather unprofessional but Maddie finds her useful to help her process her thoughts and emotions.

What a lovely book. I loved the way the book lets you travel through time around the world. Beautiful characters with such deep secrets and troubles. A compelling read.

I love books where you’re really not sure who to like. This is one of them.

Dark, twisty and psychologically challenging, this is a really well-told story with complex characters and a satisfying ending. Loved it.

What a brilliant read, twist and turns from start to finish and an end I never saw coming, this book has kept me up at night and late for work

Anyone who enjoys a thriller that is interwoven with relationships, friendship, marriage, love, betrayal, and mystery will adore this book. Well written, with a smooth plot full of twists, I think I was supposed to hate the characters and be unsure of them but somehow I still ended up liking them! A fantastic portrayal of human weakness, frustration, love and lust.

I was so pleased to be able to review this, and really surprised - usually when a book is very hyped it’s a let down. Not here.

Yes, the time jumps around a lot, but I didn’t find it hard to follow. Great characterisation. A really strong read.

What a brilliant book- I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it quite quickly as I was totally gripped by the story. It was dark and disturbing but also plausible. I don’t want to give any secrets away but a great twist at the end. Do read this!

Maddie and Ian's romance began when he was serving in the British Army and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend Jo in Europe. Now sixteen years later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America.

But when an accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian's PTSD; her concerns for the safety of their young son Charlie; and the couple's tangled and tumultuous past with Jo

OMG OMG OMG, thats all I want to say about this book. It knocked me sideways, its brilliant, The characters are totally believable, the story is un-putdownable and the twist...............................well you'll have to read it to find that out.

This book was amazing!

I could not put it down!

It explores many things that the usual psychological thrillers do not. There is the ptsd from being in the army and murder scenes from the army.

It was different to anything that I have read before and I absolutely loved it.

I will look out for more by the same author.

I really enjoyed this. Incredibly well written. Didn't want it to end. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I had to give up reading this at 41%....I just couldn't get in to it. The story jumps in timeline and character whoch makes it quite tough to concentrate on. I don't think that there was much going on in the bit I read...or not that made any sense to me. I didn't like any of the characters which was a shame as that may have endeared me to the book. I wish I'd been able to finish this and maybe one day I'll go back to it but for now, I'm done.

Lots of twists in this story. The main character is dealing with underlying issues while also entering into a relationship with a man who also has underlying issues. There is a twist I did not see coming, so that was nice but something was just missing for me.

Swapping between the past and the present had me so confused that I gave up on the book and didn't finish it

Unfortunately, I couldn't empathise with this book. Although its worthy to set the background to the 'big reveal' I found that it was getting confusing jumping back and forward, and between different points of view.

I didn’t like this book, I read it until it was half way through and then sadly gave up. The story can be a bit confusing as it keeps switching between the past and present and I didn’t care enough about the ending to read it all the way through. Disappointed

I initially struggled with the timeline in this book. It jumps between the ominously named 'Day of the Killing', with Maddie and Ian living in Kansas (it said ten weeks before and I did have to wonder 10 weeks before what? It referred to the killing but this wasn't obviously to me to begin with), and events around about the time that they met in Macedonia/Bulgaria in 2001. It also wasn't immediately too clear when the killing was - one year later, ten years later or what?

I struggled to empathise with any of the characters - Maddie and her friend Jo seem to care about no one but themselves and, at a push, each other. They behave how they want and treat a war torn country as their own personal playground with a sense of arrogance. For this reason I did not warm to them or their plight. Therefore, when things turn sour I wasn't upset or sad for them. You then have Ian, a protection officer of sorts, and his colleagues/friends. Again, none of them seem particularly likeable so I struggled to connect with them.

There is an element of mystery - who is killed, how and why - which we find out more about through an unravelling of Maddie and Ian's past. The end was completely unexpected and helped to boost the book in my eyes.

Ultimately, it kept me gripped enough to want to find out what happened and the resolution was satisfying enough to have said I enjoyed the book. However, I just did not connect with it in a way that would make it memorable.

Beautiful Bad was both beautiful and bad all at once. I love a good twisty thriller and that's what this book was beautiful at! What was it bad at? A lot of the storyline seemed like filler with nothing gained from some parts.
I'd recommend to readers that pick up a thriller now and then, if you're like me and read multiple thrillers a week give this one a miss.