Akuce Feeney is back with another banger!

Grady's wife disappeared one year ago on the night his book hit the New York Times bestseller list. Now, Grady is broke and broken, can't sleep, function, or write. His agent, Kitty, offers him a chance to go to a remote Scottish island to recover and write. On his way there, Grady is convinced he sees Abby, his wife.

This was creepy, atmospheric, and twisty, and I did not see that ending coming. You should definitely read this book.

Beautiful Ugly - Alice Feeney
Pub Date - 1/14/25
Rating - 2/5
Page Numbers - 320
Media- Audio

Summary - Upon finding out that he is a New York Times Best Seller, Grady Green calls his wife, eager to share the news. When she picks up, she tells him that there is someone on the road and she needs to go check it out. Everything goes silent after that and she's never seen again.

A year later, Grady is in the worst position of his life. Since his wife's disappearance, he can't write, doesn't have a home, and is struggling to keep it together. His agent sends him to a secluded island to a cabin to help get his juices flowing and his life back on track. When Grady gets there, he starts seeing his missing wife everywhere and strange things begin to happen.

Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Alice Feeney is one of my favorite authors since I stumbled upon Rock Paper Scissors and I was THRILLED to get this audiobook. Unfortunately, the last two releases of hers have been a miss for me, including this one. The story is very slowww and there are so many details and characters in this that I felt were unnecessary. The ending had a twist, but not enough to increase the rating or even shock me. I felt like I needed more.

On a positive note, this is probably the best audiobook I've ever listened to! The sound effects, narration, and everything in between was very well done! As an audiobook apart from the story, I was very impressed!

Author Grady Green is thrilled to share some great news with his wife Abby, an investigative reporter driving home. As they are talking on the phone, she stops and says she needs to get out and check on a woman lying in the road. He says no, call the police. But of course she gets out of the car....

A year later Grady is still lost without his wife. Where is she? And how can he get his love of writing back without the love of his life?

Twisty and compelling story line that had me hooked trying to figure out what was going on. And of course, you must suspend some reality to fully be immersed in this book. I only hope the book, when published, has the map of the island!

Great narration by actor Richard Armitage.

My thanks to Net Galley and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I loved the opening of the book and the direction I assumed it would go in. But, I was totally off base with my guess and the story seemed to creep along slowly with me gradually and increasingly losing interest until about 70-75% into it when we start getting bombs and twists. I loved the dual POV and am so glad I was able to listen to the audiobook (which I loved the narration!). I was reined back in toward the end of the book but it wasn't quite enough to save the rest of the journey for me. Not my favorite from her but ultimately, a wild and fun conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this ARC.

The story centers on a husband who is grappling with the disappearance of his wife. Additionally, it explores the life of a writer on a mysterious Scottish isle who believes he has seen his missing wife.

Initially, I considered giving this book a three-star rating, as the early parts didn't fully engage me. However, the final 25% of the book significantly shifted my perspective. This segment of the story really picks up the pace, introducing some startling twists and turns. The concept of "beautiful ugly," which Feeney intricately weaves throughout the narrative, adds a compelling layer to the tale.

Despite its slow start, I highly recommend "Beautiful Ugly" to readers. Just be prepared that the true depth and thrill of the story emerge later on. It's a journey that's well worth the wait!

I always love a well narrated audiobook. This was well done, the voices and the background music really planted me within this island's world. I've read several of Alice Feeney's books and they're always suspenseful, with unexpected twists and turns. Beautiful Ugly, did not disappoint. I found myself wondering with each new development and was completely surprised and shocked as the story continued to develop. Just as I was understanding one character and one possibility, another would jump out and have me questioning what truly happened.

There were a couple of developments that at times felt rushed or confusingly didn't feel fleshed out enough, towards the end of the book. However, I did very much enjoy this book and it's well done and fits well within Alice Feeney's repertoire.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!

If you are a fan of suspense, you MUST read or listen to this book! So well written, so unexpected, so well narrated. I couldn't stop listening to the audiobook.

Ms Feeney did a great job portraying the angst felt by protagonist Grady Green. He is an author who's wife Abby disappeared on the night his book made the NYT best seller list. Her body was never found and he could not let her go. He couldn't write, he couldn't sleep, and he seemed to be losing his will to live. His agent needed a new book from him. Instead of firing him, his agent offered to send him to a secluded cabin on a Scottish island for some quite and introspective time to help him get started again. The cabin once belonged to a well known writer who died and he decided to take the chance to jumpstart his career again. He and his dog loaded up the car and make his way to the island. The locals did not like visitors in the off season, but when they found out that he was a writer going to that cabin, they made an exception.

As soon as he got there he felt comfortable, but uneasy, as if he was being watched. He still wasn't sleeping well and his therapist told him extreme insomnia could cause the hallucinations he was having. He saw his missing wife everywhere, people were leaving notes and news clippings in his cabin, and he kept hearing things. He just wanted to finish the book and get off the island.

I loved the description of the island and it's eccentric inhabitants. As with all good suspense novels, there had to be a twist, and this one caught me by surprise. And then there was a second twist!

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and Macmillan audio for the ARC of this audiobook.

Huge thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook!

WOW- this audiobook truly blew me away. It may have been the best audiobook production I've ever listened to! The sound effects, the narrator, the music all were absolutely PERFECT!

As for the book itself, it was utterly brilliant as Feeney always is. She may be the smartest thriller writer of our time period. Her books are so much more than a thrilling story, but rather they are a intrinsic puzzle that somehow always blows my mind. Whatever you may think the twist is in this book, I can guarantee that you will be wrong, and that's the best feeling. Being absolutely GOBSMACKED by a thriller twist is so rare as an avid thriller reader, but it's also the reason I'll never stop reading thrillers, because there is nothing like it when it happens.

Read this book. You will not regret it!

This psychological thriller is crafted to keep you guessing until the very end! If you love unreliable narrators, you won’t want to miss this one. The story focuses on Abby and Grady, whose seemingly perfect lives begin to unravel as their dark histories and hidden truths surface. Each character has their own twisted motivations, leading to a chilling yet authentic revelation of secrets. The alternating perspectives kept me intrigued about where the plot was headed, and the details in Abby's narrative all came together beautifully at the end. I was completely blindsided by that final twist! If you decide to read it, I highly recommend the audio version. The dual narration and sound effects are incredibly well done.

Thank You NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to review this audiobook

What on earth did I just read? Definitely fiction, this was not very believable at all to me. Interesting premise, but a strong no.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
What an awesome book with a crazy twist. Just wow! I love Alice Feeney books and this one was brilliant. I listened to the audiobook version. The narrators were amazing, they told the story so well. The characters, plot and setting all complimented the others so well. I loved Grady and Abby, the two main characters as well as the other characters in the novel.
I finished this in two days, just didn't want to stop listening, I needed to find out what happened. There was so much suspense in this novel, and twists, and the reader isn't sure what's real or imagined at some points
I'd say one of Alice Feeney's best books. Highly recommend

Holy smokes! Alice Feeney knows how to captivate you and keep you guessing the entire time! This was absolutely fantastic. I thought I had things figured out and it felt like a little ping pong back and forth. The audio version was great, I loved the narrator. Highly recommend this one.

Alice Feeney is my go-to author when I'm in the mood for twisty, eerie news told in lush, lyrical prose. (and there are very few authors who delivers a better novel within that tiny niche as Alice Feeney!) I want to linger over every gorgeous sentence but I also want to rush through to find out what happens next, and next, and next. Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton brought Feeney's characters to thrilling life and I was absolutely riveted until the very end. And that ending!!!! Highly recommend!!!!!!!!!

This book started with such promise! Grady was speaking with his wife on the phone when she suddenly stopped her car and told Grady someone was laying in the road. Grady begged his wife not to get out of the car, but she did ….and she disappeared.

The rest of the book, until the last few chapters, really dragged with not much happening. The only reason I continued was because of the amazing narrators on this audiobook! They did such an incredible job and were able to hold my interest even when not much was going on.

I’ll definitely read other books by the author, but this one was a miss for me! I will still recommend this audiobook on publication day because other listeners may enjoy it, and as I said before the narrators are phenomenal!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to listen!

Alice Feeney does it again 😍

As always, this book is based in the vibiest, coziest location in the Scottish islands. I absolutely blew through this 9+ hour mystery and thriller novel in just a few days 🫣

It kept me hooked from start to finish and the narration was FANTASTIC! This was the first book I’ve listened to that actually includes sounds that are mentioned in a book (rain on a windshield, walkie talkie static [iykyk], etc.) which improved the experience tenfold.

This book is set to be released January 14, 2025 so mark your calendars - you already know I’m going to order a hardcopy for my bookshelf! Thank you, @macmillan.audio for the ARC!

Grady Green was speaking to his wife on the phone as she was driving home one night. She told him someone was lying in the road in front of her car, gasped and the line went dead. Grady's latest book had made the New York Times bestseller list and he had wanted to celebrate. A year later, Grady still hadn't seen or heard from his wife and he hadn't written anything. at all. With no income, he was eventually forced to sell his house.

His agent, who was also his wife's godmother, offered him the use of a cabin she owned on a tiny Scottish island. Grady took her up on the offer and moved to the island with his dog. The cabin was great but the island was very isolated and the islanders somewhat odd. Then he sees a woman who looks exactly like his wife. He tries to see her again but the islanders seem to be conspiring against him.

Feeney has packed the book with twists and turns, right up until the end. Her fans will enjoy it and those who like to read psychological thrillers such as Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train will enjoy this one. Personally, I didn't find any of the characters very appealing and was not invested in how it all turned out, but I'm sure others will disagree.

Narrators Richard Armitage captures Grady's insecurities well and Downton Abbey veteran Tuppence Middleton brings wife Abby to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eARC.

First I was so excited to be approved for this. I love Alice Feeney. Her books are the best kind of twisty and even when I think I may have something figured out, I don't.

The narrators in this book did a stellar job at keeping me hooked. I liked all the additional sound effects throughout and the way the story really blossomed in my mind. I did not see all of the twists as I anticipated despite predicting some.

The hardest part for me was that Grady, our main character, was absolutely insufferable. And while I may have found myself having a twinge of sympathy for him in the beginning as things progressed I was just so over him. The ending sequence was just punch after punch.

A solid 4/5 for me.

4.5⭐️ that I actually rounded up!

Wow, this is definitely the case where the right narrator can completely make a potentially slow book come alive and be its best. I’m not sure if I would have rated the book as high as I did had o not had Richard Armitages vocals to listen to as he propelled the story forward during slow passages.

I want to thank Net Galley and MacMillan audio for the audio AlC so I could have the chance to write a forthright review.

I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into when I hit play as when I choose audiobooks I only look as the most basic of info as k prefer to go in blind. I have never read Alice Feeney before (yeah I know, what?) so I had nothing to compare it to but I expect she will be out on my TBR for the future.

The best way I would describe this would be a “slow burn” except it’s not a romance. I did have to speed it up to 1.25 rate to be able to focus on the narration as it was very slow for me individually as it was recorded.

Whilst reading so many scenarios flooded my head as to what could be going on and the outcome did have pieces of some of those musings but the entire package was definitely a nice suspension twist. Twist is the wrong word but it’s all I have right now!

While this book is a mystery/thriller it also gives a bunch of social commentary both underneath and then blatantly toward the conclusion. So it does lend itself to some thought provoking material that many need to hear.

This book comes out January 14,2025 and is the perfect book to curl up with after the holiday letdown. I highly suggest the audiobook so you can sink into listening to the silk of Richard Armritages voice.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Read this if you like:
•slow burn mystery
•atmospheric reads
•immersive audiobooks


Alice Feeney has been hit or miss for me the last few books. The audiobook of this was so well done, partly because it was immersive. They use sound effects to add to the story. This was a bit more of a slow burn than I would have liked but the audiobook helped kept me going. I adored the quote “life is beautiful and ugly”, because it’s spot on! & I’ll be thinking an out the ending for awhile! Thank you Macmillan for the ALC

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan publishing for the advanced audiobook copy.

Alice Feeney is an automatic buy for me so I was excited to see if she had a new book and excited to review the audiobook copy. The narration was great. I loved it.. I enjoyed the occasional sound effects. And there was a few plot twist. I didn’t see coming.