Wow! This book sure was a twisty ride! There are strong themes of complicated mother-daughter relationships throughout. Alice Feeney keeps you guessing all the way to the last pages. I really enjoyed the story although there are so many characters that I had to really pay attention to lest I get them confused. I liked how everything came back around and all ends were tied up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alice Feeney for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook! The narration was great and the quality was excellent. I always enjoy listening to books read by narrators with the same accent as the setting of the story. It really helps transform me into that time and place.

I’ve read a few of Alice Feeney’s books before and have found that I always THINK I know what is going on, however, in the end, I’m not right.

This book didn’t compare to her other ones in my opinion. I wasn’t invested in the characters or the stories. I was confused for half of it and it didn’t have the page turned draw in that Rock Paper Scissors had. I’m giving this book 3 stars as I did really enjoy the last half, but it was very meh before that.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC!

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, for an advanced listener’s copy.

Does Alice Feeney ever miss? I picked this up looking for a light little mystery, just to be left on the brink of tears after binging it in one sitting.

Told from four separate POVs, Good Bad Girl is a wonderfully crafted whodunit following the mystery of two seemingly connected crimes –a baby is stolen out of a stroller in a grocery store, and 20 years later, someone is found murdered in a nursing home, with one patient nowhere to be found.

Add this to your fall tbr if you like thrillers and mysteries. This book kept me captivated from beginning to end, albeit it did take me a while to find my footing and figure out who was who, but once I did, I could not put it down.

The story is well-paced and twisty. I found myself constantly guessing and second-guessing throughout the entire book. And it had so many surprisingly endearing and heartbreaking moments with an overarching theme of mother-daughter relationships.

If you like ‘The Push’ by Ashley Audrain and Lucy Foley, I recommend checking this one out.

This was such a good, steady read. The characters are multidimensional, human and palpable. The struggle of womanhood, motherhood and imperfection. Patience, Cleo, Frankie and Edith's stories remind us that good people can do bad things and bad things often happen to good people.

The way Feeney weaved this tale is phenomenal. Each unraveling reveals yet another twist that adds a poignant complexity to the story. The conclusion really ties up loose ends and allows for a Renaissance of life after so much sorrow.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Sigh. Obviously Feeneys style dosent vibe with me. I was so incredibly bored. there were way too many characters and names. If this wasnt an arc i would have DNFd before 40%. I probably wont try feeney again.

I look forward to Alice Feeney's books every year. After being blown away by 'Daisy Darker' last year, I've spent most of 2023 counting the months until I could read 'Good Bad Girl'. Though the book overall had a much different tone than what I've become accustomed to with this author, I still loved it.

A stolen baby, a runaway, a missing elderly woman, a murdered care home worker... there's an intricate series of events throughout the book that at a glance would seem unrelated but are very much connected. The POVs alternate between Edith, Patience, Clio, and Frankie with twists and turns following each of their steps.

At first, I was surprised by how differently the book read compared to 'Rock Paper Scissors' and 'Daisy Darker'. It didn't have the same urgency and sense of danger. I also found it much more predictable in the beginning, however, I was still caught by some twists by the end that made me react out loud as I was listening, causing me to scramble to backtrack to be sure I'd heard it correctly.

What I liked about this book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated mother/daughter relationships. So much has been withheld between them causing strain and ambiguity. It took me a little while to differentiate Clio and Frankie, but I don't think that would have been as much of an issue had I been reading with my eyes rather than my ears. (Side note: The two narrators did a lovely job reading!)

Though not what I'd expected, I can't say I'm disappointed. Now the wait is on for the next Alice Feeney book!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audio ARC of the book!

I liked it; but I didn't love it!! I liked how all the characters were connected but at the same time it felt a bit forced. What are the chances that so many completely different characters will all be connected in real life? It was way too predictable and with so many different character perspectives it was easy to figure out what was going on. The only thing I didn't see coming was the twist in the end when we find out who the kidnapper actually is because it doesn't make sense. The math doesn't add up. She would have been too young or her mom too old. I didn't like that nor did I understand it.

It was still fun to follow the story and witness the progression but I do think it was lacking depth and originality!!

I really enjoyed the dynamic of a murder mystery weaved into an exploration of complicated mother daughter relationships. The combination didn’t leave any room for slow parts of the storyline; I was engaged the entire time. I did guess some of the twists, but that was because I was invested enough to think through all possible scenarios in my head, not because the twists were easily predictable. In terms of the audiobook specifically, I enjoyed that there were two narrators to give more variety to the 4 main characters. I also loved the transition of the accent when it is revealed that Edith is the person that lost the baby in the supermarket. Overall, a very good mystery that isn’t overly dark in theme.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC of "Good Bad Girl" by Alice Feeney. This is the first Feeney book I have listened to and I loved it! The layers of each characters and the twists and trying to figure out the ending had me hooked. I stayed up late and got up early to finish listening to it. I didn't see it coming, but my mind did travel down a similar path. Adictive listen and I highly recommend!

I was excited to get this ARC, because I loved Rock Paper Scissors. Unfortunately, this one didn’t earn my love.

At the start, I was intrigued, and really excited to see where it went. As it progressed, the time hops were jarring, and while the the dual narrators did a great job, their voices were far too similar to keep track of. The “twist” was predictable, even with the confusion. It was as though the goal was to make it so convoluted in the lead up that no one could make heads or tails, and if I wasn’t familiar with the genre, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to, but with as many titles as I read, it was easy to read the clues, but not at all with the payoff. It felt like a fever dream in the worst of all the ways.

I feel like I’m seeing this a lot lately in new releases, where they’re branded as “thrillers” but there’s no thrill, and all disjointed plot soup instead.

Really disappointed with this one. 1.5 stars, rounded up.

Absolutely amazing thriller. I was on the edge of my seat. I devoured this book in one day. I did not see the end coming. Loved this read.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alice Feeney does it yet again. I really enjoyed this story, and the narration was fantastic. I have a thing for British narrators as a New Jerseyan with no type of accent-we do NOT have an accent! Anyway, this story is told from multiple POVs, and it was a little confusing in the beginning, but I was quickly able to tell who is who and remember their stories. Three women who are seemingly strangers come together in unexpected ways. I really enjoyed Edith's character, I thought she was hilarious. The story revolves around a missing baby and a murder in a care home. The twists were twisting in this one, that's for sure.

Alice Feeney is so good at writing twists and turns that always keep me guessing. I really enjoyed this story. My mind wandered a bit at the beginning, but I was hooked once I got a bit into it.

Audio narration was so well done.

3.75 stars

This was my first book by Alice Feeney though there are a couple on my TBR list.

This story was tough and go for my liking. There were aspects of the story I enjoyed, some characters I truly enjoyed and could relate too. Personalities like Edith were priceless. There were also aspects I didn’t care for. The narration while even paced and proper for this story, I just didn’t care for it, though I can’t specifically place a reason for that.

I would say that the first chapter you hear probably should have been placed elsewhere as it did confuse me with regards to where the storyline was going. The beginning eventually caught up with the rest of the story, but it took too long.

Special thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced audio version of this novel.

Alice Feeney is one of my favorite authors. Period. I was so excited to get a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

There are two main things I LOVE about Feeney. One is the eloquence of her writing. If I highlighted books, it would be just a page of yellow. She is able to write so many phrases that I just want to tuck away and pull out later and yell "Listen! This is exactly how I am feeling!" And a book about mothers and daughters had allllll the phrases. Her writing, as usual, was enjoyable as ever for me.

And then of course, the second thing that I love so much is her is her ability to build suspense and knock you over with a twist you didn't expect. However (whomp, whomp) this one lacked the suspense, thrills, and twists that I've come to expect. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I went into it with the expectation that this wasn't a thriller (I'd say domestic drama/suspense) or if I didn't have certain expectations from reading all her other books. Don't get me wrong- there was still a surprise element, but it didn't knock me over. Honestly, the biggest surprise for me was how many easy coincidences that were written in the book.

This was my first Feeney on audio, having read all her others in book format. I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it as much since I find her books to be so quotable, but that definitely wasn't the case here! I don't think the narration had any influence on how much I enjoyed the plot of the book! If anything, it may have helped me enjoy it more because the narrators (Katherine Press; Stephanie Racine) did a great job capturing emotion. I wouldn't hesitate to try any future books of hers on audio.

Alice Feeney has done it again! A book with so many twists and turns it kept my attention the entire time.

Good Bad Girl is not as her other works. A thriller with so many twists you’re never going to know what’s coming next. I am really glad to have been able to have a glimpse of how their lives turned out at THE END. A great read.

The narrator did amazing as well!

Thank you NetGalley & Publisher for allowing me an early access copy of the audiobook.

Wow!!!! Another amazing read from Alice Feeney! I previously read Sometimes I Lie and was blown away by it so I had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint! I don’t want to spoil too much as it’s best to go into this one blind but I loved how this unfolded. I did call a couple of the twists, but there were still several that snuck up on me and some links that I missed. I loved the characters and was satisfied at the way it wrapped up. The audiobook was fantastic and each of the readers helped the characters to come alive for me. I highly recommend this book, and this may be my favorite so far this year!

I received an audio DRC through NetGalley in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I will always give Alice Feeney's books a read, as I have enjoyed some many. However, I have not finished her last two, this one included. Too many characters thay I couldn't connect with, and a plot that moves slower than I like my mysteries.

2.5 stars rounded up

The trouble with listening to a novel written by the proverbial “Queen of Twists” is that I started inventing twists that weren’t there and then feeling rather let down. This is a, comparatively, straightforward mystery, all about mothers and daughters, in which four women don’t tell each other (or the reader) what they know and what’s going on until the end.

Twenty years ago, on Mother’s Day, a baby was stolen from a stroller in a supermarket. This section is narrated by a nameless woman, and, it must be said, the audiobook narration fumbles this section in a way that would be a spoiler.

In the present day (or is it? You never know with the QofT!), on Mother’s Day, Frankie, Patience, Clio, and Edith take us through their day. Frankie is a prison librarian who lives on a narrow boat on the Thames and her teen daughter ran away a year ago. Clio is a therapist who lives in a house in Notting Hill that she can’t afford. Her mother, Edith, is in a care home which she hates. Patience, a young carer, is the only thing that makes Edith’s life bearable.

There is a murder at the care home and three of the women are suspects. There is an unusual police detective on the case, unusual to the point of being mysterious and she keeps popping up, saying “Three suspects, two murders, and one victim.” But really the heart of the mystery is what connects the four women. Frankly, it’s a bit of a slog getting there and the narrator’s slightly stressy reading doesn’t help.

The women all think/speak in a continuous rush of cliches and aphorisms of the “there are two types of people in the world…” variety, often to the point of sounding like caricatures rather than real people. There’s also a lot of musing about good/bad to justify the title, along the lines of “good people doing bad things.” Frankie has an obsession with counting and this gets a little wearing as well.

So not my favorite Alice Feeney novel and I didn't feel the audiobook format enhanced it.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the digital audiobook review copy..

4/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

Three suspects, two murders, one victim, and a 20-year old crime. 80-year old Edith is convinced that something, or someone, at her care home is amiss. Patience, a caretaker at the home and kindred spirit of Edith's, is on her team but not entirely sure how to help. It doesn't help that she's lied about almost everything. Edith's daughter, Clio, will never forgive her mother for what she did all those years ago, and their strained relationship someone becomes the center of it all. With a nosey detective at hand, these three women will have more in common than they could have ever expected.

Though I enjoyed this one overall, it was not my favorite of Alice Fenney's. In some ways, this book was lacking the usual depth and absolute mind-boggling twists that are usually characteristic of the Queen of Twists. Despite that, his was a fast-paced and enjoyable read. Each of the characters brought a level of dimension to the story that was well-done and much-needed. This story centered around the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, and how these can affect us in so many unexpected ways, even years later. I appreciated the twists, though I anticipated a few of them, and always the enjoy the intellect that comes with an Alice Feeney story. While this wasn't my favorite of hers, it was still a solid and excellent thriller, and great on audio!