I have a hit or miss relationship with Alice Feeney. I’ve loved some, I’ve hated some. This one was getting so much buzz, I decided to give it a try.
Feeney is a master of creating tension and suspense.
Grady Green’s wife went missing a year ago. Ever since, he’s been unable to write, so his agent sends him to a cabin she’s just inherited on a small Scottish island. The island has just twenty five permanent residents. Yet, he keeps thinking he’s seeing his wife on the island. The reader is left to guess if Grady is losing his mind. Because let’s face it, grief, alcohol and lack of sleep will do that to you.
Feeney has created a great locale for this story. The title is truly apt. The place is gorgeous, but it’s also really eerie. The island lacks all communication with the mainland. And the residents all seem to be hiding something.
The story vaults between Grady’s POV and flashbacks to his wife, Abby’s. I was left not knowing whom to believe.
The strength of this book is Feeney’s ability to keep the reader off balance for the entire story. Grady is a great unreliable narrator. But then, as much as I was enjoying the story, it went off the rails at the end. It was OTT to the point of silliness. By the end, the only character I cared about was Columbo.
I listened to this and both Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton did great jobs.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook.

This was an amazing story I was hooked on from chapter one and I couldn’t put it down I hope everyone listens to this one

I love an Alice Feeney thriller. She is one of the few authors whose twists genuinely surprise me and shock me. I listened to this audiobook in a single day because I needed to know what happened next. I loved the premise of this story, with Grady looking for his missing wife. The pacing was taut, and I could feel the tension throughout. The audiobook itself was well-narrated!

3.5 ⭐️ This is a perfect reminder that there are always two sides to every story.

“Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t. Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.”

This book is a psychological thriller with loads of mystery and suspense. Where “I hope you die in your sleep” is meant as a term of endearment. It’s set on a remote island in Scotland where a lot of bizarre things happen. Population 25. No electronic communication or reliable transportation in or out of the place.

The book proceeds at a slower pace than I prefer but that doesn’t mean it was boring. I found myself constantly trying to figure all the mysteries out (and failing) and anxiously awaiting for the big twists I knew would be coming to show themselves. The plot starts to really thicken at 50% and then straight roller coaster at about 75% with a huge record scratch jaw dropping moment.

At first I felt for the MMC but as the story went on I was conflicted and then eventually hated him. I think that maybe I might even have trust issues with book narrators from here on out. I really enjoyed hearing Abby’s POV in the end. I wish the book had more scenes with the dog in it.

I have not read a truly shocking, twisting mystery in a long time and this unique novel grabbed me right out of my reading slump. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend this book for anyone who loves an Agatha Christie or Anthony Horowitz novel.

Author Grady Green has accomplished one of the most exciting career goals of his life. When Grady calls his wife, Abby, who is driving home from work as an investigative journalist, he hears her gasp. Abby almost hits a body lying in the street. Grady can hear her getting out of her car and then he hears nothing else. From that fateful night, the story grabs you and takes you on a tumultuous ride of secrets and twists.

The narrator of this audiobook was Richard Armitage and he was fabulous. He did an incredible job and s voice was perfect for the character of Grady Green.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Advanced Reader Copy. I will not only recommend this book to other readers, but I will also begin reading Alice Feeney’s other back list novels. #NetGalley #BeautifulUgly @Macmillan.Audio

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney was really one of the worst audio books I’ve ever endured. The narration of the book was well done which is why I kept at it. The story is of a wife gone missing told from multiple viewpoints with several red herrings; the only constant is the theme that men are pigs and that women are better off without them. The unreliable narrators are creepy and the ending is unsettling.
I honestly could not recommend this book to anyone. It was truly an unpleasant experience.
MacMillan audio provided an advance copy of this audiobook for me to review. All opinions are my own.

I think the trickiest part for me was the speed. It started off slow and then picked up. I didn’t fall in love with any characters.

This book takes its reader on a gripping roller coaster ride, providing only the most minimal, yet utterly tantalizing details that leave you in the dark until the grand finale. Yes, you may notice some things and feel that you are on the cusp of figuring out Alice Feeney's mind, but you are wrong. This is one of those unputdownable books that we, the avid readers, crave. When you finish book, find me on social media because I need to process!

I thought this was a good one but def not my favorite of her. I rounded up my 3.5 stars. The plot and premise were interesting but I felt like the story was a bit too far fetched. Still an enjoyable listen.

I’ve been dying for a Feeney book that makes me feel like I did when I read Sometimes I Lie, or His & Hers… gripping plots and jaw dropping twists! Unfortunately, Beautiful Ugly was neither of these things.

The premise, though intriguing was not well supported. The plot moves extremely slowly, being bogged down by unnecessary details and red herrings that ultimately made zero sense. Character were also super one dimensional and honestly… boring.

I was hoping that a final twist would pull things together for me but that too was a huge let down, unbelievable and far fetched (in the worst way)

The only reason this was not a DNF for me was because of the audio - the narration was a 10/10

"The only way out is to write."

ha! I loved this deliciously dark read! It's tense and suspenseful. I listened to this one and I can't recommend the audiobook enough - it has sound effects like the waves of the ocean and bells from a church.

In this our POV is mainly Grady - who has recently lost his wife, the love of his life, and has gone away to a small island to write and try to come to terms with his wife's disappearance. But the island is odd and Grady is so tired and it's a struggle to understand what's going on.

And I highly recommend not knowing more than that! Go into this one blind, and just let the story confuse you until it all comes together. It was so good! I absolutely loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Yaaaaay, I can love Alice Feeney again and forgive her for “I Know Who You Are”.

Beautiful Ugly was DIFFERENT. Definitely not a storyline I’ve encountered before, and I was intrigued from start to finish. I really don’t want to rehash the plot at all because it would be hard to do without spoiling, and the revelations need to be revealed on their own schedule.

I will say - it is not my FAVORITE Alice Feeney book, but it’s near the top. The ending lost a star for me only because it was SO twisty that I was confused and felt like without a hard copy (I listened to audio) that there wasn’t a good way for me to go back and reread some things I needed clarification on.

Great read - very atmospheric, as she always is - very suspenseful and chilling. The narration by Richard Armitage was perfection as well.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan for an ARC of this audiobook.

The book starts off as intriguing as the synopsis and has a steady pace that kept my interest. The narration and atmospheric sound effects brought the characters and remote Scottish island to life so much so that I made a mental note to listen to more thrillers. Overall the build up made for solid thrilling listen and the unraveled mystery was definitely unexpected, but more in a far fetched out of left field way that felt more like a convoluted fever dream versus a tied together masterpiece. I’d say this is still an entertaining thriller, but would recommend putting it at the top of your list, ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5.

This was immediately suspenseful without hitting you over the head with it. I was intrigued right away and ready for whatever ride this was taking me on. The drama built in the exact right way to keep you reading and excited to keep going. And then….things start to get weird. Once that happened, I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it. And the way everything came together in the end….so good.

Excellent audio quality. Richard Armitage killed the reading of this and I loved how there were sound effects added to set the mood but that they weren’t overwhelming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

Readers, enjoy the ride! No one makes you question everything like Alice Feeney!
I highly recommend this unpredictable domestic thriller!

5/5 stars

one of the best audiobooks i've enjoyed in 2024!!!! the narration was excellent and really intriguing!!


grady is a famous author. his wife goes missing. one year later, he relocates to an island to write in a cabin but begins to feel like he's seeing his missing wife all around the island.

the island has 25 residents, only women. he befriends the island's sheriff. some shady things come out about what grady did to his wife. we also discover his wife abby desperately wanted a baby, and grady had a secret vasectomy.

huge twist at the end! great book!!!!

(Would give it 3.5/5) The first half had me hooked and I did thoroughly enjoy the characters and the scenery. The twists were good - I just felt that some of the ending was a little farfetched/unnecessary and there was no way I would've guessed it. It was almost a little too detailed.

I did really enjoy the audiobook! The narrators and sound effects were fantastic additions.

✨Wednesday Book Review✨

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I hope you di3 in your sleep”

I received an advanced audiobook copy of Beautiful Ugly and loved every second of it! This book was exactly what I needed to get me out of a reading slump. First off, the audiobook is incredible with background sounds and male/female voice actors for the two main characters.

The story follows Grady, a somewhat struggling author, whose wife Abby goes missing after getting out of her car to help a woman lying in the street. The twists and turns this book takes will bring you on a psychological rollercoaster in the best way! I had to pause multiple times just to give a little “wtf” before moving on 😂

I HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy of this thriller on January 14th to find out what happened on that dark, rainy night Abby disappeared and how it’s changed the trajectory of Grady’s life. You wont regret it!

#arc #audiobook #bookreview #newrelease #bookstagram #read #thriller #thrillerbooks #netgalley

I have been a long time fan of Alice Feeney and this audiobook thriller really had me just pulling out all the stops searching and figuring out logically what in the world was going on and where it was going. I had many theories of how things could fit together, yet I was still surprised and am left really thinking about the ending!

In the beginning Grady and Abby share of their lives together as a married couple, but "happy" was most questionable. Grady hits the New York Times bestseller list, Abby a supportive wife with bringing "fish and chips", working on herself and job, and living in a beautiful home that had been fixed up by them.. they searched and found a reason to keep them together with their separated interests and values.

Feeney did a fantastic job of unpacking their history, their upbringing, and offered alternating points of view that were so well thought through. I had empathy so many times with Grady and then later times that I questioned why I felt that way and truly what mental illness Grady was having or what he was really tripping on. I really valued Abby's Point of views through it, there were times that I was begging them to be longer. It really portrayed and shared a different side of the picture and a clearer introspection to their relationship and the fullness of what was happening in their life. I could not stop listening!

Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton really did a wonderful job narrating "Beautiful Ugly", which releases January 14, 2025. The accents of the characters from Scottland, the background noise of the ocean, sound effects from the background, and the personality of the characters were portrayed through and through. They all really added layers to this novel. There were also some eery aspects of listening to the story and I found myself at times really trying to fit all the pieces together, making sense of the occurrences on the island, and what happened to Abby. I was really surprised about the twist and the outcomes and i'm still thinking about it all. The suspense and ending was really well done.

If you are a fan of Feeney, of entertaining audiobooks, I believe that “Beautiful Ugly” will satisfy the twist, thriller, and psychological twist that you are seeking for. Thank you so much Macmillan Audio, Netgalley, and Alice Feeney for this ALC. It was so wonderful and satisfying to be able to listen to this at the end of 2024. It sets high expectations for the remainder of the year!!

I think this might be a me problem. I listened to this one and went in blind and couldn't see where this was going for like 60% of the book. It's really well written and the last 40% of the book really grabbed my attention. Great twists, great audio, but I just can't get over suffering through the first 60%. Maybe I should've read the physical book!