I love a good twist, and Alice Feeney is queen of the twist. For me this one fell flat.

Grady Green is a bestselling novelist whose wife went missing a year ago. He is lost without her - completely heartbroken, with his life falling apart around him. His agent offers him a stay on a remote island in Scotland, where he can hopefully write another book and pull himself out of his funk.

<spoiler> The book relies on an unreliable narrator for the twist, and for me at least so many of the earlier moments don't make sense once you learn what the big twist is.</spoiler> Rather than enjoying the ending, I more felt misled and confused. I was kept on the edge of my seat regardless, and fans of thrillers will be titilated as usual by Feeney's work. I just think she's done better, and I think a few changes in this could have made it a much stronger story.

Alice Feeney sure knows how to write a plot twist. This was suspenseful and intense in the best way. Grady was a very unreliable narrator and that just added to the mystery.

Beautiful Ugly has a fascinating premise that never held me but seemed to do the complete opposite of what I wanted to happen. Alice Feeney is a good writer with great skill but I feel that it is not my cup of tea.

Alice is always the queen of plot twists! She didn’t get me fully but partially this time. This wasn’t my favorite book by her but the setting was great and I did enjoy it, just fell a little flat.

ALL THE STARS!! Alice Feeney is the "Twist" Queen!! I am a big, big fan of hers & have read ALL her books, so was thrilled to get her latest & it did NOT disappoint!! This is her BEST yet!! Loved this tale of author Grady looking for his missing wife & trying to go on without her - what will happen when he goes to a remote island to write again?? This one has it all - an unreliable narrator, a locked room, many red herrings, and twists & turns galore!! Highly, highly recommend - I really enjoyed the roller-coaster ride! My most sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for my digital advance copy - my very sincere pleasure to review!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Alice Feeny is one of my favorite authors, but I don’t know how I feel about this one. Fast paced beginning and end, but middle dragged. It was an original concept book, but just not a favorite. 3/5 stars.

Grady is an unreliable author who lost his wife. Goes to a cabin in the middle and of nowhere and is suspicious of everyone on the island and keeps seeing things.- are they real or fake?

BEAUTIFUL UGLY was impossible to out down. I loved how it kept me in suspense the entire time.


FULL Review to come soon!

A missing woman, a reclusive author, and a secluded island converge in this slowly chilling novel. The ending felt breathless to me, and left me scratching my head in the best way.

This book was insane. I don’t want to spoil anything. There was a scene in the beginning that threw me off and almost made me DNF but I am so glad I pushed through. Finished it in a day!

What on the actual F*** did I just read?!?! A rollercoaster of a story with a mind boggling plot and unreliable narrator, I’ve never felt so paranoid reading a book in my life and it was amazing. This book made me question EVERYTHING I read and as the dots started connecting in the end, I found myself going back and rereading parts and seeing the puzzle pieces click together.

This concept is truly terrifying and I couldn’t put it down. Grady is a struggling author when, after one of his books hits the New York Times bestseller list, his wife suddenly disappears when on the phone with him. Now, a year later, Grady is trying to recover from the disappearance of his wife. He hasn’t written a new book and his agent is getting impatient so she sends him to The Isle of Amberley to write. When he gets there strange things are happening and residents are acting weird, and Grady could’ve sworn he saw his missing wife on the ferry over.

AH! This is just I feel SO weird after reading it. Feeney knows how to play with her readers minds and shows her skills in this book. I truly cannot get over how unsettled I feel after reading this book ESPECIALLY after that ending. I’m obsessed to say the least.

Man, Alice Feeney NEVER fails. This was a good one! Kept me guessing and as usual it was a mind-f$%k. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!!

4.5 stars

Another absolute winner by Feeney!
I was on the edge of my seat. This pulled me out of my slump.

You know, they're asking people now, like an actual hypothetical culteral narrative that goes something like: If you had to spend the night trapped in the woods with a man or with a bear, which would you choose? Well, for anyone who doesn't choose man, I have the book for you.

When your best day becomes your worst day...

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news while she is on her drive home. Abby stops when she sees something in the road and she goes to investigate and doesn't return. Grady finds her car by the cliff's edge, the driver side door still open; her phone is there, but Abby is gone. A year later, Grady is still grieving his wife's disappearance and his desperation to find out what happened is taking over his thoughts and his writing career is quickly falling apart. Maybe finding some peace on a picturesque Scottish island will help him get his life and writing career back on track, or will it?

There are a select number of authors that I not only read everything they publish, but I anxiously await their newest novels - Alice Feeney now tops that list as Beautiful Ugly did not disappoint. This locked-room (island) mystery had everything I wanted and more. Flawed and untrustworthy characters, suspense, adorable dog, quirky nosy neighbors, a beautiful setting, Alice Feeney's signature dialogue, clever red herrings, and even an Easter egg.

This was such an entertaining read, as I had to force myself to put it down. Just when I think I have everything figured out, she has other plans!

Expected publication date: 1.14.25 - A definite TBR add for anyone that loves a twisty thrilling mystery.

Thank you Flatiron Books for an e-copy, in exchange for an honest review.

This made my brain hurt. This was super good, as always with Alice feeney. This one definitely spooked me more than her others and made me doubt what I was reading

Sometimes I feel like a broken record, often saying how much I like a book. . . But I REALLY loved this book. I read a comment that this was Alice Feeney's best book yet, and I have to agree. The beginning is a little sad, full of melancholy, and I was hoping it wouldn't be too depressing for me to read. Luckily, it wasn't, and the pace picked up quickly. The language was super descriptive, and gave the entire book a atmospheric touch- at times I could almost pretend to be standing amongst the ancient redwood trees. The entire book will have you wondering if something sinister is happening, or if Grady is just losing his grip on reality. There were several twists I never saw coming, including why Grady was on the island in the first place..... so many times people become trapped by what they thought they want, while what's truly important slips away, and the plot of this book proves exactly that. Also- karma cannot be avoided, only delayed, which is another important lesson to keep in mind. Done correctly, this would make an excellent movie or miniseries. I know this will fly off the shelves on it own, but I'm definitely going to recommending it to anyone who will listen. Lastly, I loved the clever little message to readers in the end. The less I say anything further, the better, but this should absolutely be on your must-read lists!

I always enjoy Alice books , and this one can’t be the exception, very good mystery story, I thought I had guessed the plot and was very surprised at the end , whooo I wasn’t even close in my guess, the plot twist was amazingly surprising.

Beautiful Ugly exceeded all of my expectations. When I started this novel I didn’t realize that I never even read the synopsis. I saw “Alice Feeney,” and I started. And if you’ve read anything by Feeney, you already know the twists are immaculate. This might just be her best yet.

Grady Green is an author and has just received the best news he could probably receive… he is a New York Times Best Selling author. While on the phone with his wife, Abby, to share this news, Grady hears Abby slam on the brakes before telling him someone’s laying in the road. While still on the call with her husband, Abby leaves her phone in the car to check on the person in the road and the line remains silent. Abby never makes it back into her car. When Grady arrives in a panic the car is running, the driver door is open, and her phone is still there. Abby is gone.

A year later, Grady arrives on a secluded Scottish island to try and write a new book, but things aren't quite what they seem. And while on the island, Grady thinks he sees someone who looks identical to his missing wife.