Well that was a wildly twisted ride! I genuinely had no thoughts or ideas how this was going to go! It was such a fun edge of your seat thriller!

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

Beautiful Ugly centers on thriller writer, Grady Green. He is stricken with grief and anxiety over his missing wife, Abby, who disappeared mid phone call when she saw a woman in the road as she was driving home. We jump to a few months later, and Grady is so debilitatingly depressed, he can hardly form a sentence, let alone write another novel. His agent, Kitty, calls him in and offers him the cabin of famous author Charles Whitaker, that she inherited after his death, to try help Grady get back into writing. The catch is, the cabin is on a remote island in Scotland. Shortly after finally setting foot on land, after a rickety ferry ride, Grady swears he sees a woman that looks just like his missing wife.

I was immediately drawn to this premise, though I have an inconsistent time with enjoying Feeney’s writing, and I figured I’d give this a shot either way. I thought she created excellent suspense in this plot with starting off this book with a bang and then slowly unraveling this intricate plot with an unreliable narrator, twists and turns at every corner, extremely bizarre island residents, and strange happenings constantly keeping Grady on high alert. I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I love psychological thrillers, twists you don’t expect, and unreliable narrators. Although, I found some of the detailing to be a little cheesy and twists to be a little far fetched. Nonetheless, if you take this book just as pure entertainment, it was super entertaining and I devoured the audiobook in just a day’s time.

The audiobook was narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton. Both were able to capture the essence of the characters effortlessly. The audiobook included some atmospheric sound effects too, which I always appreciate in an audiobook production.

I’d definitely recommend this book to any thriller or mystery reader! I can definitively say this is my favorite Alice Feeney read I’ve read thus far.

Thank you to @netgalley and @flatiron_books for giving me the opportunity to listen to Beautiful Ugly!

Alice Feeney was my favorite thriller author until I read Daisy Darker. It wasn't for me. When I saw she had a new book coming out, I had to give it a try. Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read it before it's release. LOVE IT! It was perfectly haunting and thrilling! I do recommend reading TW.

This has to be one of the best Alice Feeney books to date! I really loved the story and all the lead up to the end reveal!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This story is a psychological thriller about a best selling author Grady, who’s wife disappears. His grief leaves him unable to write. At the suggestion of his agent, he goes to a tiny remote island off the coast of Scotland. The characters he meets there are creepy and had me screaming “ Get out” , but to no avail.

Unfortunately, for me to enjoy a book I need to care about or be fascinated by at least one of the characters. In this story, however I wasn’t able to connect with Grady or his wife Abbey ( who we meet via flashbacks). All the characters were either flat or just plain horrible people. Grady kept drinking, and hallucinating and depriving himself of sleep, so we had no idea if he was imagining or experiencing things . Instead of amplifying the tension, It made me roll my eyes. The “ twists” were ludicrous and I suspected what was going on at the mid point. I found myself not caring about any of the characters, except perhaps the dog -a black lab named Columbo. Im glad he had a happy ending.

I don’t have a problem with an unreliable narrator, in fact they often make great protagonists in a thriller, I do have a problem with an unreliable author. In the name of maintaining the “Queen of Twists” title, Alice Feeney lies to the reader from chapter one, which does make figuring out some of the twists much harder as we readers disregard certain possibilities knowing what information the author has given us so far.

Grady Green is obviously one readers cannot fully trust as he is emotionally torn apart by his wife Abby’s disappearance. When he can’t seem to produce his next novel, his literary agent offers her family cabin on a remote Scottish island where he can run away from his troubles and focus on work. This idyllic situation quickly turns sour, when Grady feels something far greater than him is at play on the island. The community, or at least those that he has met, all feel as though they are hiding something, but Grady blames it on his insomnia. Slowly, along with the reader, Grady discovers what is really happening on this tiny island, and he does his level best to figure out how he is going to flee.

I couldn’t stand Grady, but that’s fine as his character isn’t supposed to be likeable, my problem is that I didn’t like Abby much better, and she does come across as one readers are supposed to root for. Grady and Abby’s relationship felt shallow to me. Um, hello—having kids is an important conversation a couple should have prior to getting married. The lengths these two went to were extreme rather than calmly conversing with each other, making them both horrible in my opinion. The whole feminist slant also loses its punch, when the women on the island resort to extortion and violence like the men from their pasts. There were too many tangents (Abby/Abby) trying to cram as many twists in at the end.

All complaints aside, most people will enjoy this book, so long as they don’t dive too deeply. The narrators for the audio version were fantastic and the production added to the overall creepy mood. I personally liked Feeney’s Daisy Darker better.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and author Alice Feeney for the advanced copy of the audiobook. Beautiful Ugly is out on January 14th! All opinions are my own.

Alice Feeney continues to be the queen of the thriller! I was excited to get an advanced reader copy of the audiobook “Beautiful Ugly” through NetGalley. Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton’s dual first person narration was well done and added to the tone of the story from beginning to end. The story begins when Grady Green’s wife goes missing on the same day he hits a career milestone. Grady’s story picks up one year later with Grady traveling to a remote Scottish island. We bounce between Grady and his missing wife’s point of view. Overall the plot was engaging and I found the ending satisfying. I could have done without the few open door scenes and a description of child abuse.If you have enjoyed other Alice Feeney books, this one will not disappoint. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen and give my honest review.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Release Date: 1/14/25
Format: audio
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Whew Feeney has done it again!! This was one of my most highly anticipated reads and I am so grateful to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the advanced listening copy of this phenomenal audiobook!

First, I need to speak to how well this audiobook was produced. They really went the extra mile with this one and I felt like all the extra ambiance noises really added to the overall eeriness of this story without being distracting. It was just the perfect amount to help build the setting without taking you out of the story or bring too cheesy.

Also, without giving too much away, I loved the way this book ended. There is one small detail of the twist that caused me to take a bit off my rating, but overall I was hooting and hollering by the end! Feeney has been one of my favorite thriller authors for several years now and this book did not disappoint!

If you’re looking for an atmospheric and haunting thriller that has a DOG in it (and the doggo is ok I promise) I cannot recommend this book enough! And audio is certainly the way to go for this title!

This is a fast paced, immensely entertaining read! Grady Green is a New York Times bestselling author whose world is thrown into turmoil with the disappearance of his wife. Still unable to write a year after the event, Green agrees to go to a cabin on a remote Scottish Island to try and provide his agent with another book.
While on the island, multiple strange occurrences make Grady question what is real and who he can trust.

Feeney draws the reader in by making us all wonder, along with Grady, what is fact and what is fiction.

I listed to the audio version and both Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton do an excellent job narrating. The audio also has other sound effects that add to vivid descriptions.

Thank you to #netgalley and #MacmillanAudio for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Okay this is one thriller I did not figure out ahead of time. Partially, yes- but there were many twists. The narration was on point with this lost and confused author. There was one big twist that didn’t seem to make sense with all that has happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Grady Green is happily married to Abby and he is an author trying to write his next bestseller. Abby calls him on the way home from picking up take out and while they are on the phone together she comes across a body lying in the road. She tells Grady that she is going to get out of the car to see if she can help. As this takes place on a dark road at night, Grady tells her not to get out of the car......she doesn't listen....and that is the last time Grady talks to Abby. A year later he finds himself struggling to write and his publicist recommends that he take a trip to a small scottish island to try and recoup and get some creative inspiration. From the minute he stepped on the island, this book gave me "Misery" vibes from Stephen King. Grady has no way to communicate with the outside world and he seems to be stranded on this island as the ferry only comes a couple times a week. Then he starts to see things as well.....like his missing wife....... found it interesting but after reading several of Alice Feeney's books, this was not one of my favourites so I will just end my review here so I don't give you any spoilers and see what you think....Enjoy!!!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio!!

I LOVED this book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but then boom I was hooked!! I finished it in one sitting! My first by this author but will not be my last!!

A year ago, Grady had the best and worst day of his life; his book went to the top of the New York Times Best Sellers list.... and his wife disappeared. Now, dealing with writer's block and unable to finish books and therefore make money, he's left without a lot of options. When Grady's literary agent offers to let him live at a cabin she inherited from one of her old clients, he jumps at the chance to enjoy the secluded island and have some peace to write but right from the start he realizes the island isn't quite what it seems.

I really enjoyed this one! I enjoyed that it alternated between Grady's point of view and that of his missing wife, but I strongly preferred Grady's side so I was happy that the bulk of the story was with him. I absolutely loved the island and the way the author described it and built the town and the townspeople almost like a sinister version of Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls. I absolutely loved it. I do think the story got a little crazy and went in a bit of banana direction towards the end but it was very well done.

I know this is probably a bit niche, but I also really appreciated the way this author incorporated the dog in this book. I often find that when people put dogs in thrillers or mysteries they either become a burden and it doesn't make sense for the character to be carting the dog all over town or the opposite happens and there's a dog at the beginning but the main character is running all over pulling insanely long days and there's really no explanation for how the dog is being taken care of. This author did it perfectly. The dog is a companion, of course he has to come with Grady, but occasionally takes extra steps to explain the dog or keep it involved (she explains that Grady can't take much on the ferry because he has to take all the dog food, she explains that the weather is reasonable and the dog is ok in the car with the windows down, she explains that Grady doesn't love leaving the dog alone at the cabin) and it really makes all the difference. I loved that at the end she says he's greying a bit but doing well. She just honestly did a great job of incorporating the dog and as a dog lover I appreciate the attention to detail there.

This title was basically engaging, but by the end, the plot felt too convoluted.

Review copy provided by publisher.

In true Alice Feeney fashion, this is a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. A year after his wife Abby went missing without a trace, author Grady - with the help of his agent - has escaped to a remote Scottish island to focus and write his new novel at the same cottage a late famous author also stayed in. As Grady’s stay continues, strange things begin to happen - from odd behaviors by the townsfolk to mysterious notes left in his cottage - and perhaps the strangest of all: appearances of a woman identical to his missing wife. Is Grady losing his mind or is something terribly wrong with this place where he can’t escape without the rare ferry access.
Especially near the end, I found myself holding my breath and wondering what could possibly come next with each new twist. Feeney is great with psychological drama that embeds itself in and leaves you thinking about the story hours and even days later. The narrators were great at portraying the suspense and urgency throughout the story and their dialogue — even bringing the right amount of eerie creep to certain characters.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a wild ride! Grady, an author, has hit a writing block after his wife disappears. He has gone through all of his money, and now, with the publisher asking for his advance back, he is at a loss. His agent, also, his missing wife's godmother, has a suggestion. She has inherited an isolated cabin on a remote island and would he be willing to go up there to write? How can he turn down the offer? As he continues on to the island, his trusty dog, Columbo, along for the journey, strange things start to happen. He thinks he sees his wife, he finds bones in the cabin that disappear and many other frightening events. Is he going crazy, or is there something really wrong about this place? Told from dual perspectives, this story had me guessing until the very end.

Alice Feeney’s latest thriller is a masterclass in suspense and atmosphere. Set against the haunting beauty of a remote Scottish island, the story grips you with its eerie setting and relentless twists. Grady’s grief and obsession over his wife’s disappearance are palpably raw, and Feeney’s sharp prose makes his unraveling deeply compelling. The quote *“Grief is a patient thief”* encapsulates the emotional depth of this novel, while the unpredictable turns keep you guessing until the end.

Special mention to the audiobook production—enhanced by evocative sounds like crashing waves, the crackle of a walkie-talkie, and ringing phones—it adds a layer of immersion to an already chilling tale. If you enjoy dark, twisty stories of marriage and revenge, this one delivers. 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance audio copy of this book by Alice Feeney, an author I have loved in the past. This tells the story of an author who loses his wife...she disappears mysteriously and no resolution is ever made. In his grief he needs to get back to writing so he goes to a friends deserted cabin in the remote HIghlands to focus on writing...and things start to get very tense and creepy from there. Is he going crazy? He's an unreliable narrator which I love. This book was great, so many twists and I loved the tense, creepy atmosphere the author creates in this book. People will be talking about it.

"Fear can make something beautiful appear ugly."

"I have not taken orders from a man, and I wasn't about to start."

"I think sometimes things have to get really dark, to see what we have."

I really enjoyed this read, I ate it up. It was unsettling and creepy. I didn't know what was what.
The audio was really well done! I loved the sound affects, which played a large roll in setting the scene. And I loved the audio narrators!