Not too many psychological, thrillers surprise me, but this one threw me off a little bit. I knew that something sinister was going to happen, however, I could not place my finger on exactly what would happen.
Abby and Grady are happily married, or so it would seem. They have shared in each other, successes, call each other for support, and always use their unique term of endearment “I hope you die in your sleep”. (although this sounds morbid and dark, their explanation for why they say this is actually quite adorable.) one day, Abby and Grady are on the phone sharing Grady‘s good news, when Abby says there is a woman lying in the road. Grady tells her not to get out and check, but Abby does whatever she wants to do and of course, she gets out to look. That is the last reported time anyone has ever seen or heard from Abby again.
A year later, Grady is morning, the ambiguous loss of his wife, and is continuing to attempt to write his books. His editor is trying to give him new scenery to inspire his writing, and invite him to an island where other famous authors have gone to write their novels. At first all goes well, and then more and more weird stuff begin to happen to Grady. Is he being gaslighted? Or is he in fact, seeing his dead wife?

I love Alice Feeney's books. I am such a huge fan! Like all of her books, I loved this story and the plot of it, so this one did not fall short! I loved it. I did not like the narrator though. It was hard to pay attention and keep me. I looooved the story and would love to hear it with another narrator.

Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly is a dark, suspenseful thriller that had me hooked from start to finish. The island setting is vividly atmospheric, adding to the story’s tension as secrets slowly unravel.
The audiobook was especially fantastic, I enjoyed both the narrators but Richard Armitage was really excellent and really brought the plot to life. At times, the story was genuinely scary, and I couldn’t stop listening because I needed to know what happened next. I really loved this one! Thank you for sharing it early with me!

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Alice Feeney is a thriller author that usually wins me over. I’m a hesitant thriller reader - they are rarely my favourites, but her books are often unique and engaging.

Unfortunately this one fell flat for me. The setting was great, and I appreciated it was a quick listen, that’s about all the positive aspects I found.

It was very slow and then the big reveal ending felt like a bit of a scattered clean up. I wish we’d found out more little tidbits along the way. And I wish the end was more surprising.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my early copy!

The story of an author with a missing wife. He sees her everywhere and is haunted by her a year after her disappearance, but Grady knows he needs to move forward in life. Down on his luck and needing to publish a new book to get back on track he goes to the home of a beloved late reclusive author to write his next book, but the island is strange and so are the people.

Beautiful Ugly is a book of contradictions. A gripping story full of mystery and twists, asking the reader to face some harsh and complex realities about life and morality. This novel gets its hooks in you from the first chapter and doesn’t let you go until the very end, leading you into an emotional free fall at the reveals. If you love a good multi layered mystery, a cleverly crafted story, complex and emotionally raw characters, then this is the book for you.

Wow. Alice Feeney can definitely count on me to read anything she comes out with in future.

Beautiful Ugly is a masterfully crafted thriller filled with so many different interwoven threads and twists and turns I never saw coming—I say that even as a seasoned thriller reader. I felt wonderfully dizzied by the book’s plot twists stacking one on top the other, never relenting until the very last sentence. This book pulls no punches and refuses to hold your hand as it sends you into a state of utter astonishment. Beautiful Ugly takes the rather tired old trope of the unreliable narrator and makes it feel fresh and inventive.

This is one of those far-fetched, bizarre thrillers I love so much but others might find over-the-top, forced to stretch their own imaginations. I read for larger-than-life stories that will suck me in and not let go until the final page. If you prefer your mysteries with more plausibility than the likes of Julia Bartz’s The Writing Retreat, for instance, perhaps you wouldn’t care for this one. I positively devoured it. I’m greedy to get my hands on Alice Feeney’s back list and can’t believe this is only my first read of hers.

And the audiobook? Spectacular. It had such high quality (and famous) voices actors and production value. The sound effects sprinkled throughout were a nice touch. I loved every minute of it. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, I definitely recommend giving it a listen.

This audiobook was kindly gifted to me as an advanced reader copy from Net Galley.

3⭐
Genre ~ domestic mystery
Setting ~ Scotland
Publication date ~ January 14, 2025
Publisher ~ Macmillan Audio
Est Page Count ~ 320
Audio length ~ 9 hours 19 minutes
Narrators ~ Richard Armitage, Tuppence Middleton
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ locked room (island), secrets, slow burn

Grady & Abby
A year after Abby disappears, Grady and his faithful dog, Colombo, are off to Scotland to try to write his next bestseller. Then he starts getting weird things delivered to him, and thinks he sees Abby. Is he going crazy or could Abby be on this picturesque island, too?

The locked room (island) is well done. No phones, a bunch of weird islanders and the ferry rarely visiting gave it a creepy vibe.

The prologue was super intriguing and the twist was twistable, but I can't say I was blown away. It's quite the slow burn as the author really built up the suspense making us wait for ages. It did do a pretty good job of keeping me engaged, though. Perhaps because it was due to the well done audio version. Even though I do seem to be a bit of an outlier I'm sure this one will be a big hit.

Side note ~ Colombo is safe throughout!

Narration notes:
2, woo hoo! They did great. I love when there are added side effects when they are on the phone to make it sound like they really are on the phone. Appreciate the extra pizzazz.

I was very disappointed in this book by Alice Feeney as I am a big fan of her books. I gave it a 2.5 rounded up to 3 as I listened to the audiobook and the narration was top notch. I found the story to drag on and on and the characters were very unlikeable starting from the main characters all the way down to the side cast.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Title: Beautiful Ugly
Series: n/a
Author(S): Alice Feeney
Genre:
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Publishing Co.: Flatiron Books
Length: 320 pages/ 59 chapters
Rating: 5 ⭐️ / 🌶️

Trigger Warnings:

Mental Health
Substance abuse (alcohol)
Death
Suicide

Tropes:


****Check back soon for a full review***

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Flatiron Books for an advanced copy of Beautiful Ugly in exchang for an honest review.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Grady Green is on the verge of a breakthrough. He’s been writing for years, but this latest book may turn out to be the New York Times bestseller he’s always dreamed of. He was at home waiting for the call from his agent, and waiting for his wife to get home. Abby was a journalist and running late, but she had their usual celebration dinner ready for him. On their first date, they’d had fish and chips. When they got engaged, they had fish and chips. And now that Grady’s novel is about to become a bestseller, Abby had bought them fish and chips.

But she never made it home that night.

Grady, on the phone with her, heard it when she stopped. There was someone lying in the road, and Abby was afraid that the woman was hurt. Grady begged her not to get out of the car. She’d been getting threats from someone who was unhappy with her reporting. But Abby couldn’t just leave someone in the middle of the road. Grady insisted she at least carry her phone with her. She does, and goes to check on the person, and then her phone goes dead. Only her car and her red coat were ever found.

A year passes, and there is still no word about Abby. But Grady is not coping well. He can’t write, so he goes through his savings pretty quickly. Without Abby there to help with the mortgage, he loses their house. He tries living in a London apartment for a while, but the rent is not sustainable without an income. So when he’s living in a cheap motel and about to be thrown out of there, his agent steps in.

Kitty was the one who had gotten Grady to the point where he could write his bestseller, and he was Abby’s godmother, so she knew the pain he was in. She offers him the use of a rustic cabin on a remote Scottish island for three months, rent-free, so he can come up with his next novel. He arrives on the island by ferry to find an island with only 25 permanent residents. Everyone knows everyone else, and they all know he’s the writer on the island to work on his book.

Grady worries that he still won’t be able to write. But within a few days, he discovers an unpublished novel from a popular author who had lived in the cabin previously and decides to rewrite that novel and submit it as his own. He spends several weeks with his head down working on making the manuscript his own. But after he gets his draft ready for his agent, he has some time to learn more about the island. And the more he sees, the more unsettled he feels. When he asks about the ferry going back to the mainland, he keeps getting put off. Grady doesn’t know who to trust. He’s haunted by his missing wife, who he keeps seeing everywhere, even thought that’s not possible. He’s drinking too much and sleeping too little. He’s starting to wonder what’s real and what’s not. But the feeling that he could be in danger is getting stronger and stronger, until karma steps in to make things right again.

Beautiful Ugly is a study of the dualities we all live with every day. We are basically good people who make mistakes constantly. We love but are selfish. We want to be successful at work but have fantastic relationships also. We are passive aggressive, perfectly imperfect, and silently screaming for love. And putting two people into a marriage can cause those similar differences to add up even higher.

Fans of Alice Feeney will know her for her deliciously twisty thrillers. She is a masterful writer, and Beautiful Ugly is no exception. She digs deep into the things that bring us together and break us apart, and she does it in a way that makes you miss the obvious clues until she hits you in the head with them. She is absolutely a genius of this genre, and Beautiful Ugly is a breathtaking example of how she is ten steps ahead of us all.

I listened to Beautiful Ugly on audio, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton. I thought the narration was lovely. Armitage took on the voice of Grady, emphasizing his insecurities with ease. But I thought Middleton was amazing as the entire cast of women, particularly the women on the island. She was able to produce a strong Scottish accent, giving many of the characters a distinctive voice, but she kept it so that listeners could still understand what these women were saying. Her work added layers of meaning and passion to these women and gave them the strength and intelligence this listener was cheering for. I adored this audio version, and I think it’s richness will stand up to however many times you may want to listen to it.

An early copy of the audio book for Beautiful Ugly was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I received an audio from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this audio. Both narrators were so good. Both portrayed the characters supremely. Both gave me exactly what I expected in a great audio.

To me this is the best book Alice Feeney has written. She's a great thriller writer and this one had it all going on. Had me guessing and on the edge. I could not figure out exactly who did what. I loved it. I loved the why they did it too. Especially now. Especially when so many men have taken over again and said some of the things they say. Read this book and you will understand...

When a woman goes missing, presumed dead, her husband spends all of his time trying to get his life back. He can't eat. He can't sleep. He can't write. He is a bestselling author. Or was. When his publisher gives him the use of her cabin on a very remote island and a large check to help him get by he takes it. He is trying to do what he needs to survive alone. To write another best seller. To live without his wife. He loved his wife. But was she truly the love of his life or was it his books?

Once Grady gets to the island he starts seeing his wife. Or he thinks it's his wife. Or is it the lack of sleep. He's been going on hardly any sleep for about a year. He has lost everything and just wants to write another book and try to get his life back. He's about to embark on something that he didn't see coming. He's about to find something that he didn't expect. He will get that best seller done or die trying.

This book has everything that I love in a good thriller. It's almost a horror story. Maybe it is a horror story. It's definitely one to keep you guessing what's going on. Keep you wondering who is who and why are they doing this... Excellent book. This was a BOTM choice for me.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio, #BOTM, for this audio ARC.

Five big stars.

Grady Green, a New York Times bestselling author, finds himself unable to write after the mysterious disappearance of his wife, Abby, an investigative journalist, a year ago. Battling insomnia and teetering on the edge of delusion, Grady often struggles to distinguish between reality and his imagination. A self-proclaimed recluse, he is given an opportunity to rekindle his creativity when his agent offers him the keys to a remote cabin on a Scottish island with only 25 inhabitants. On this serene yet isolated island, where everyone takes on multiple roles to keep the community functioning, Grady hopes to find solace and inspiration. But as time passes, he begins to uncover unsettling truths—nothing and no one on the island is as they seem.

This novel is beautifully written, with vivid and detailed descriptions of the picturesque landscape that draw the reader into the island’s eerie atmosphere. The plot twists are seamless and completely unpredictable, leaving me constantly on edge. The suspenseful and spooky tone is perfectly complemented by the dual perspectives, which allow readers to delve into both the events leading up to Abby’s disappearance and their aftermath. Watching how each character evolves was fascinating, particularly as Grady wrestles with grief and denial. The narrative also subtly reveals how disconnected Abby and Grady were as a couple, adding layers of depth to the story.

I experienced this book through its audiobook, which features two narrators—a male and a female. The production added an extra dimension to the story, with sound effects like crashing waves immersing the listener in the island’s setting and static from walkie-talkies enhancing the eerie mood.

I devoured this audiobook and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers and suspenseful stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Not my favorite from Alice feeney but I did enjoy the twists and turns. Reminded me a little bit rock paper scissors and daisy darker. Thank you NetGalley for this arc

I absolutely loved this book. I could not put it down. This was the first book I had read from this author, and after reading it, I immediately went and ordered a couple more of her books. This book had so many twists and turns I could not put it down. I finished it in a day.

This book follows Author Grady Green and it starts with the worst/best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to tell her the exciting news about his book. While on the phone his wife goes missing. After a year of grieving Grady and losing everything his editor offers him a chance to stay on a remote island in a secluded cabin to help him get back to writing. After getting to the island things start to happen and nothing is what it seems. Grady gets his story but at what cost?

I did not like this book. This is the first not great review I’ve ever had to write on here. It was too slow and I’m not a fan of an unreliable narrator. I love Alice feeney so I feel terrible writing this but the content was not for me. How slow it was was not for me. It was often confusing for me. It was too all over the place and the ending was ludicrous. Im sorry to say I just didn’t enjoy it.

Honestly, thought this was going to be just a regular "What happened to my wife?" type of Thriller. Boy, was I wrong! Beautiful Ugly begins with a married couple, Grady & Abby whose been married for about 10yrs or so. Grady is experiencing the best night of his writing career when he finds out his latest work has become a New York Times bestseller. While on the phone with Abby, he hears her mention about a person lying in the middle of the road. Abby despite Grady's wishes to ignore the person, checks on them and fast forward a year later his wife is still missing. Honestly did not know what to expect from this. Grady falls into a severe writer's block after this. His agent suggests a little house on a remote island in Scotland to try to get the writer's block to subside. What happens once he arrives is one mind thriller after another. He sees a woman in the same red coat that his wife was wearing the night she went missing. He hears voices all over. All this further hinders is writing and sleep. I was hooked from beginning to end. Finished this in two days and am dying to read more from Alice Feeney!

This book definitely lives up to its “page turner” descriptor. Narrated excellently, with lots of eery and creepy scenes. For me the twist was a bit too far fetched, although I love a reveal that makes you rethink everything you know up to that point. (Rock, Paper, Scissors fan!) I was wanting to know what the heck was going on with the island enough that I was picking the book back up every chance I could. I ended it with more questions than were answered but overall a fun twisty ride.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for advanced access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

The audiobook of Beautiful Ugly was very nicely done. I enjoyed the different narrators. The overall concept of the book was also interesting and kept me engaged.

Beautiful Ugly was spooky and atmospheric in the best possible way! I loved the shifting timeline unfolding. This did take me a minute to get into, but once I did I couldn’t stop listening!

#BeautifulUgly was a very good thriller. I understand why others thought the ending was a little rushed, but it worked for me. This was a pretty dark tale about an author dealing with his wife's disappearance. He goes to an isolated island to write. Then he sees her on the island. There is a lot to look into, including the island's history. A strong thriller. 4.5 stars.