Good Bad Girl
By Alice Feeney

Genre:
Adult Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Red Flags:
Postpartum Depression, Abduction, Loss, Murder, Family Saga with Severed family relationships

“Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.”

Summary/Review:
A sweet baby girl is abducted from a grocery store, and twenty years later, the woman is murdered in the local nursing home. Somehow…the two incidents are connected, and the reader will wonder how until the last page is read. I will not share too much and ruin this novel for anyone, like some reviews do. This is my first novel by Alice Feeney and I can’t wait to read more from her. I did feel the beginning was a little slow for me, but after about half of the novel, the pace quickened as the story quickened. A psychological thriller, with unexpected twists until the very end!

***I listened to the audio version, and recommend it. The narrators Katherine Press and Stephanie Racine did a wonderful job!


Thank you to Alice Feeney, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#Goodbadgirl
#Alicefeeney
#macmillanaudio
#netgalley
#advancedreadereditions

The plot builds at a slow place, with multiple characters and two different mysteries going on at once. By the time the storyline comes together I was no longer invested in the characters. This one just didn’t work for me. I received a digital audio copy via NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to thank Alice Feeney, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I have read a bunch of Alice Feeny books. She is known to be the "queen of twists," and I must always agree with that statement...

Good Bad Girl starts with a stolen baby and then moves into the future twenty years, where a woman is murdered in a care home. A "good bad girl" is the key to uncovering the truth.

I knew I would struggle with this book from the beginning when I had to restart the audiobook four times to understand what the heck was going on! There were so many POVs and characters, and the narrator's voice, besides being monotone, was the same for all the different characters! I was so confused the entire time that I found myself rewinding to keep up with what was happening. Maybe if I had a hardcover, it would be easier to turn back pages. Struggling to get to the end, I was disappointed with the "twists" that came. It all just fell short. I did not develop any character attachments and honestly kept reading so It would all end.

I am not writing off Alice Feeny just because this book and her last book were a bust. You can't win them all!

Unfortunately this won’t be a favourite of Feeneys, I’d say 3.5 star rounded up. In saying that, I still really enjoyed the reveals and unveils, but it didn’t get my heart going like her others have. While pieces were easy to put together, others were still shocking as expected from her! The back and forth chapters without revealing who’s POV it was I really enjoyed too, it did make for a good guessing game. It was more of a mystery vibe than a thriller which wasn’t my fave. Still worth the read!

THAT WAS A WILD RIDE!!! Omg what a twisty turny story! 90% of this book was me just screaming “WHAT IS GOING ON!” And trying to pull out my own hair. We have multiple POVs, a slew of unreliable narrators, and a jumping timeline. I was so hooked, I couldn’t stop, not even for a second. There’s so much going on, but the plot didn’t feel messy. We’ve got a baby kidnapping, a murder, and a whole lot of drama, rolled into a roller coaster of a storyline! I was constantly pausing the audiobook to try to piece things together along the way, and in the end, I got it all wrong 😂 Alice Feeney is an absolute legend! This book is going to run through my mind for a long time to come.

The whole way I kept wondering how things were going to come together. Then BAM! You get hit in the face with it. SURPRISE! There it is. Wow, nice job Alice.

Thank you Macmillan audio and Netgalley for my advanced audiobook of Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney The narrator of this book is fabulous. However, there are a number of characters and each chapter flips back and forth between time and different characters, so you need to pay attention closely or you will get lost. (Disclaimer- I would have rather read than listened)Do not give up, the second half of the book comes together seamlessly and wraps up. Also, this is not like other Alice Feeney books that I have read and other reviewers feel the same way. (another lighthearted warning) Like other Alice Feeney books, there are twists and turns all the way to end – riding the line of good and bad… be prepared for the ending!

Thank you Macmillan audio and Netgalley for my advanced audiobook of Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney.
This book I would give 3 1/2 stars. I did like it but you should know that it is more of a convoluted family drama vs. a thriller with a huge surprising plot twist you might expect from this author. I loved listening to the narrator of this audiobook - I love her accent. There are a number of characters to keep up with so you really need to pay attention to figure out how the events from the past (a child abduction) and present (a murder at a nursing home) come together and how all of the characters connect. The book also delves into postpartum depression and mother/daughter relationships. It did seem a little slow burn at first to me but I was trying to keep up with who was who - there is Patience, Cleo, Frankie and Edith. Once I finally got them straight the story seemed to flow more for me. I did like how everything wrapped up in the end. It was interesting finding out their connection even if some of it was a bit of a stretch. While this was not my favorite book by this author I think it was well written and liked the audio version.

Omg… this book takes you on a ride the entire time! This is a great mystery/thriller book that keeps you wanting more! I at some points did have a hard time keeping up with all the characters, but I eventually caught up with who is who. Overall, it was a great and fast paced read/audio book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m the biggest Alice Feeney fan, finding each book perfect in its own way. This audiobook was tad confusing with all its different POV all sounding the same. There was so many characters the first half of the book is hard to follow. I encourage you not to give up. The confusion turns into a beautiful well written story by the end. Not so much a thriller I would say as a family drama.
Thank you Netgalley and Pan McMillan for this ARC audiobook copy you provided for my honest review.

Good Bad Girl is a departure from Feeney's earlier works. It has more of the tone of Daisy Darker, which was only saved by a very amazing twist that took it from 3 stars to 5 in my eyes. She's one of my top authors so I'm always looking for the best but these last two books have been so different. Still very twisty but I think my biggest problem is it's full of adages and sayings and it comes off as phony and cheesy to me, and somewhat condescending in its attempt at simplicity. Like I'm reading a self-help book or a nursery rhyme.

The structure of the book is unique. Comparable only to Megan Miranda's All The Missing Girls which also boasted the telling of a story in reverse but in reality was also just confusing and cluttered until the end.

I got two of the characters in this one mixed up a lot and would have to refer to my notes to figure out which it was. Part of the fun is wondering but this was different.

Her books are always worth reading but I don't like the newer writing style. I appreciated the attempt at nuance of this situation(I don't want to spoil) and flirting with the concept of narcissistic mothers. I just found it all foul. This is supposed to be about the thin line between good and bad, right and wrong, but it was very clearly just bad.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.

Fun, super twisty, Mystery, suspense, thriller. I was very invested in knowing all the angles. I didn't figure out the very final twist, so as always a minimum of 4 stars if I finish and couldn't guess. Every character has questionable morals, and a glimmer of goodness (Good Bad Girl). I really enjoyed the jumps back and forth in time and different character perspectives, it really allowed the reader to dig in and get to the nitty gritty. Not one character is as good or bad as they seem at first glance.

I have always enjoyed Alice’s novels. This one via audiobook was my first audiobook by her that I’ve listened to. I prefer to read physical copies but am very happy I got a chance to get his early ARC. The plot was easy to follow in some parts , others not so much. Overall I did enjoy this !

This is the 2nd Alice Feeney book I've read/listened to recently & I truly enjoyed Good Bad Girl.

This book jumps between the present & decades early. The events of the past intertwine with the present crimes that just occurred. The characters each have secrets that lead to an unexpected ending. There's a theme that sometimes bad things happen to good people who sometimes have to then do bad things & also on the flip side is that there are people who are good at being bad.

I listened to this audiobook & think the narrator nailed this one! I'll definitely look into more books that she narrates.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

This audiobook truly had me hooked from start to finish. I finished it in less than 24 hours! I basically had it playing at all times because I couldn’t wait to see how everything would unravel.

One feature about this book that I have to point out is that there were a lot of POVs. Most of them were third person, so it wasn’t terribly confusing, but it was enough to make me question who was who a few times. This may have been because I listened to it on audio — maybe I would have had an easier time following along if I had read the physical copy.

As expected with Alice Feeney, there were twists and turns up until the last chapter. There were a few times that my jaw dropped while listening!

As for the audiobook, I enjoyed both narrators. Katherine Press and Stephanie Racine did a great job! The accents were immersive yet easy to understand.

In all, this wasn’t my favorite Alice Feeney novel (which would go to Daisy Darker), but it definitely isn’t my least favorite either.

Good Bad Girl is a blend of mystery and family drama, exploring the complexities of relationships and consequences of our actions.

This story spans two decades with a dual timeline and multiple character POVs, making it a little confusing at first. A baby is stolen in a supermarket and a woman is murdered 20 years later in a care home. It would seem these two events couldn’t be connected yet they are interwoven.

Edith emerges as a central character, trapped in a nursing home yearning for her freedom back. She has become close with her caregiver Patience who is hiding their true identity and motives. Edith is estranged from her daughter who she believes tricked her into the nursing home. And Frankie works in a prison library, desperately searching for her estranged daughter. The multiple mother-daughter strained relationships added emotional depth to the story and kept me invested.

I enjoyed how the plot unfolded and felt that the twists and revelations were well timed and created an atmosphere of distrust and secrecy. Good Bad Girl is a testament to Feeney’s ability to keep readers engaged and emotionally invested. I would recommend this for any Alice Feeney fan and anyone who enjoys a family drama with mystery woven in.

This book was a little slow going at first. I stuck with it as I am a HUGE fan of Alice Feeney and I am so glad I stuck with it. The more and more I read the more and more I tried to guess what was going on and I was close but not right! There are always twists that I don't see coming and this one yet again had one! Once the book got going I could not stop listening. I had to keep going and know what was going on. I needed to know. I eventually saw all that little hints that were dropped that lead to the final answers and was like OH!! Yet again, Alice Feeney has written another good one!

Really enjoyed this book! The story had me guessing throughout how the characters were related. Full of suspense!

Feeney is back at it with her twists and turns. What you think you know, think again! This one was not my favorite of hers but a close second. I enjoyed this tale immensely.

I loved Good Bad Girl, I listened to the audio and Katherine Press and Steohanie Racine killed it !
I was expecting something more psychological and I was pleasantly surprised by the mystery/domestic drama/thriller.

Alice is a genius at developing multidimensional characters and twisty plots. I didn't catch this one and was pleasantly surprised

There are a lot of pov and it's a slow burn- so give it patience and let it play out. I found myself rewinding a few times at some of the more nuanced clues and still didn't figure it out.

What a pleasure to read and listen to her writing. There's nothing formulaic here !
I'm going to go back and read a couple of her earlier works, so far all of her books slay

Thank you Netgalley. Thank you Alice!