Member Reviews

Alice Feeney has delivered another edge of seat thriller. She has an extraordinary talent for taking the seemingly ordinary and normal and twisting it until everything is just a little out of kilter. Her characters and settings are so plausible and in this tale, there are three narratives and it’s absolutely impossible to know where the truth lies. It’s a story of secrets, revenge and lies. The plotting is complex as the stories interweave and unfold and it kept me guessing. Another winner. I’m

Was this review helpful?

Started off very confusingg but as the book went on it got more clear and the confusing povs intertwined in a way that it....wasnt confusing anymore😂🤌🏻
I really enjoyed the way mother daughter relationships were portrayed and d quotesss i highlighted so muchhh.
Alice Feeney never fails and so far i have enjoyed all her bookss! Def recommend this:)

Thank you Pan Macmillan for the Netgalley ARC.

Was this review helpful?

An excellent, well woven tale that will keep you intrigued all the way through.
Told from different points of view, the pacing is excellent and the characters detailed and strong.

Was this review helpful?

It’s hard to review this without giving any spoilers and I don’t want to do that because I enjoyed the thrill and brilliance of this book by going in blind.

Frankie , Clio, Edith & Patience are all connected and are all in involved in a few different crimes, but how?.

This was was mysterious, I loved turning every page and finding another clue or another teaser, the story was just utter brilliance.

Please buy/borrow this book, it’ll be your new favourite just like it’s mine.

Was this review helpful?

this was a really good physiological thriller, it had me really thinking and still got me with the plot twists. The plot and characters are a bit confusing to begin with but once I grasped everything I really enjoyed it. The storyline had me gripped and was really enjoyable I would recommend you go in blind and you will be able to pick up on all the characters a few chapters in.

Was this review helpful?

4 stars

I was so excited to get my hands on this one! It’s been one of my most anticipated releases for 2023.

Why I ever bother trying to work things out in an Alice Feeney never I’ll never know. Because I never get it right and this one was no exception. Twists and turns constantly, every time I think I’d worked something out, off we went in another direction that completely threw me. I think this is one of the main reasons I love her work so much.

A story built on tricky and difficult, mother/daughter relationships made for some really interesting reading. Messy and somewhat toxic relationship dynamics from start until finish.

I can’t really say much about the plot, because without giving spoilers it’ll be totally confusing - which is how I felt through a good chunk of it.

Messy characters, plot twists galore and a really original & clever premise. Another amazing Alice Feeney's thriller.
.

Was this review helpful?

Overall this book was fine, I read Daisy Darker and loved that book so was excited to try another book from the author, however I didn’t love this one as much, the story sounded great but for me the different points of view confused me about who was who and took me out of the story at little bit and i put the book down and didn’t pick it back up which is a shame for me, I would still recommend it but for me I didn’t love this as much as I wanted too a 3 star for me but will still pick up the authors book.

Was this review helpful?

Having read Daisy Darker, I just had to read Good Bad Girl and I wasn't disappointed.
This was a great pschological thriller by Alice Feeney so many characters telling their stories and lies, covering up for other people.
The way the story was told by the individual characcters and how their stories all pulled together at the end was amazing, but how were they all connected?

Thank you to Pan Macmillan, Alice Feeney and Net Galley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Really enjoyed this and read it in one sitting. A little confusing to begin with - too many characters to keep track of, and all introduced pretty much at the same time. Nevertheless, it soon falls into a steady read and keeps you guessing right to the end.

Was this review helpful?

I have read a few other books by this author so was pleased to receive an advance copy of Alice Feeney’s latest novel. The red and black ladybird cover caught my eye and fits well with the story.

The story moves between the perspective of various characters, mainly Edith, Clio, Frankie and Patience. It took me quite a while to remember who was who and remember how the characters were linked. For me, it was confusing to follow at first but once I got more into the story it became clearer…ish!

All the characters seem to have secrets and issues and these are slowly revealed.

I think you need to suspend your disbelief a little for this story as I found some parts a bit implausible. However, the story held my interest and explores some extremely complicated family dynamics.

I found myself wanting to pick up the book and keep reading to find out what happened, but I didn’t think it was as much of a page turner as some of her other novels, it felt slower paced. The chapters aren’t too long and I liked the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, it seemed too convenient and unrealistic.

Overall, this is worth a read but maybe not if you’re in the mood for a fast paced book. Thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for my copy.

Was this review helpful?

I adored this book – it was everything I love in a crime thriller. It’s twisty, gripping and absolutely intriguing. The characters leap off the pages and all the short chapters seem to end with cliffhangers. Good Bad Girl is full of conundrums. It also soon becomes apparent that none of the main characters is who they seem to be: all are very good at hiding their true selves. The slightly clumsy-sounding title is a recurrent theme throughout: “Doing something wrong is sometimes the right thing to do”.
Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

Next book on the TBR list is one that I’ve been looking forward to for a while as, having read all of Alice Feeney’s books, I knew it was one that I was going to be excited about.

In “Good Bad Girl”, the scene is set when a woman is murdered in a care home, twenty years after a baby is stolen from a supermarket. The two crimes seem to be linked and there is an unlikely link between Edith, a new resident at the same care home, her care assistant Patience who has formed an unlikely bond with the old lady, and then the appearance of Edith’s estranged daughter Clio. All three women have a distinct mistrust of each other but they must work together to solve the mystery of two murders, a victim and three suspects, not knowing what secrets will be uncovered along the way.

In this author’s distinct writing style, you are drawn in from the very first chapter, the scene set from the very beginning at the moment when a baby was stolen all those years ago. The story then seamlessly travels along with fragments of the past injected in at relevant points to enhance the character’s backgrounds. At first I felt it jumped around between the different characters a bit too much and this wasn’t allowing the chance to connect with them but actually, on reflection, this rapid change of direction amid the chapters, actually kept the suspense and translated the urgency of the situation of all these women to the reader in a very clever way.

I really enjoyed this book and flew through it, wanting to know what happened next way too much! The final twist was also not predicted and I thought very nicely tied up the intense connections and events in the book.

I think it also included one of my favourite quotes that I think all book lovers could agree with: “A good book can be a light in the darkness. A good book can cure loneliness, change minds or even change the world. A good book is nothing less than magic.”

A definite recommendation and another great title from this author.

Was this review helpful?

I really wanted to like this one, but just couldn’t get into it. I had to leave this half way through so that’s why the score is low.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this and the way it was told In separate sections re each individual. It was also told in past and present tense which was fine as it didn't do it too often. At first I didn't know were this was going to go but it all came together brilliantly.

Was this review helpful?

Another great read from Alice Feeney. An interesting plot with intriguing characters. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and timelines. Some good twists along the way and written at a great pace - I couldn’t put it down! I’m looking forward to the next one.

Was this review helpful?

Another good book from Alice Feeney. I loved Daisy Darker and this one is written in the same way with several character’s point of views, with the twists and turns cleverly hidden, keeping you guessing most of the way. Enjoyable though not as amazing as her other books.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much NetGalley, Pan MacMillan and Alice Feeney for my ARC of Good Bad Girl!🐞

I LOVED this book so much! It was a little slow to begin with, but once it got going… golly me — I couldn’t put it down!! I was so invested! I really enjoyed the different POV’s; they had me continuously trying to work out what the relations were.
Also, can we talk about the TWIST… 🤩

Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy now!!

4.5/5⭐️

Was this review helpful?

Rating - 4.5 stars rounded off to 5

🐞Blurs the lines between good and bad! 🐞

Thanks NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the ARC!

Good Bad Girl is a classic Feeney thriller with her trademark addictive hook – this time in the form of a lady-bird🐞!

Synopsis -

A baby is stolen from a stroller in a supermarket. Twenty years later, there’s a murder in a care home. These two seem to be linked to our “Good Bad Girl” and she might be the only one who can help uncover the truth.

Octogenarian Edith, is frustrated with her care home and can’t wait to make her escape. Striking up a friendship with Patience, the cleaner, Edith begins trusting her – given her strained relationship with her daughter, Clio. But will Patience live up to her confidence?

Meanwhile, Frankie, the prison librarian is looking for her runaway of a daughter. Soon, the lives of all these women is bound to intersect.

Review -

The plot grabbed me right from the first page when the baby gets stolen. It’s here that the narrative is so cleverly disguised setting in motion – extreme confusion and curiosity.

As the POVs alternate between Edith, Patience, Clio and Frankie - our minds become a whirlpool of a multitude of questions - how these women might be related, who the runway girl might be, who took the baby and most of all – who can be trusted. Only, Feeney will not give away any of the answers easily.

While the havoc causing kidnapping, murders and runaways drive one half of the plot, the other half is subtle and tenderness infused, as it deals closely with various shades of mother-daughter relationships - the struggles of a new mother, post-partum depression, the devastation of losing a child, a daughter, the betrayal and finally estrangement.

The murder in the care home is the crucial tangent that sends the momentum through the roof. A cat and mouse game of sorts begins revealing the secrets, the lies, all the bad things that happened to good people, the bad deeds the good were forced to resort to and finally how all these women are connected.

You might feel as though you have figured it all out – the baby thief, the disappearing daughter and the murderer, but don’t be fooled! Feeney will say “not so fast” and smack us bang on the head with a twist you never imagined!

Don’t miss out on this one!

Was this review helpful?

I wasn’t sure on this one at first, the story is told from 4 different povs and I don’t know if it’s just me but I’m easily frustrated when I can’t work out what the connection is between all the characters at first.
As it went on and began to unravel I really did enjoy it and the last half I couldn’t put down I was racing through to see what happened and the twists through your where fab.
Overall a slow start but packed a real punch as it got going.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this arc.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great convoluted, mystery that is both clever and highly entertaining.
Edith is forced into a nursing home by her daughter and son, She is an intolerant, somewhat overbearing, no nonsense, shrewd and thoroughly entertaining character.
She self isolates in her room as she has no time for the other residents but has found a bond with one of the staff, Patience, who smuggles in her dog in to see her, after her daughter said she could not keep it in the home.
Struggling to get by, with a slightly chequered past, Patience gets caught seemingly stealing things and is sacked. This is the same day that Edith’s daughter visits on Mother’s day and argues with the vile Residential Home Manager about her inability to keep paying the fees. A short while later the manager is found murdered. So the whodunnit quest begins…
The story cuts back to an early time when a baby is abducted from a supermarket, never to be found, as well as the backstory to all the characters so you fond out about them, what they have become the way they are and how they are all connected…
Despite the murder is it fun filled, with lots of wit and humour amidst the more tender and emotional stuff. You’ll probably piece it together before the end of the book, but it is still fun getting there.

Was this review helpful?