From page one, right until the last page this book had my attention, I couldnt wait to pick it up, I just had to know what was happening.

We follow a number of different povs, the chapters are short and leave you wanting to read more!

Even though the book had a number of planted red herrings, I still didn't see the twist coming 😲

I have to admit it's not my favourite book of hers but I really enjoyed it

Excellent! This is the first novel by Alice that I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last! Wow! It had me completely captivated with more twists and turns especially towards the end. Written with wonderful characters all with a tale to be told.

This is not my usual sort of book,but I enjoyed it. The story is told in the first person through the eyes of 4 women from different generations. In the course of the story they all interact.with each other with differing results. All four are flawed yet compelling characters. To a tense conclusion.
The whole thing is set in a quite short timescale and it moves forward at a comfortable pace.
It's a well written book and we'll worth a read.

I was so looking forward to the new Alice Feeney after enjoying Daisy Darker but this just really didn’t do it for me. It starts very confusingly with both a timeline that jumps around and way too many POVs. When I finally got into the swing of things I found I really didn’t care for a single character. The family drama was not my thing and the coincidences that wrapped everything up seemed unbelievable. I’ve given an extra star because it was a fast read and I did want to see what happened, but I’m struggling to find anything I liked about this book. I really hope the next one by this author is more my thing!

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney 🖤 🐞

“The world is full of people who are good at being bad, and people who are bad at being good."
Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.
Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning messes and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.
Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door…and their intentions aren’t good.
With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.


Firstly, thankyou so much to Netgalley, Alice Feeney & Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free e book in exchange for a honest review.
I was soooo happy when I got approved for this book. I adore Alice's quick paced thrillers so I had to read it immediately.
For the first few chapters I was a little confused by the number of characters and had to write notes of who everyone was 😂 I don't really think that was necessary and it was supposed to be confusing to add to the story and the twists that were to follow. Once I got into this book I couldn't put it down, all my other current reads were abandoned. I think its best to go into this book blind and trust that it will all make sense eventually. Alice Feeney is one of my fave authors and I cannot wait to read more of her work. I still haven't read Daisy Darker so I think that will be on my August TBR.

I loved that one of the characters nicknames was ladybug - I call Isla that sometimes 🐞
QOTD - What nicknames do you have for your kids? Or what did your parents have for you?

#GoodBadGirl #NetGalley

I will post my review on bookstagarm on pub day 📚
@booksbooksbooksxoxo

I’m always delighted to get the chance to review a new Alice Feeney novel, as always Good Bad Girl was an entertaining read.
4 women, Edith, Patience, Clio and Frankie are mysteriously connected to 2 events - the disappearance of a baby 20 years ago, and the death of a care home manager in the present.
Told from the POV of the different women across the chapters, Alice Feeney uses her skill to keep the reader from completely seeing the whole picture, adding tension and mystery as she goes. It is certainly a page turner with short chapters that make you think - just one more!
I would say that this didn’t quite have Feeney’s trademark gotcha twist, where everything has to be looked at again. It’s more a mini twist that fully explains what has been happening and allows her to tie up all the different strands. I also found the constant good girl doing bad things motif became somewhat repetitive over the course of the book.
All in all, a good novel, but not Alice Feeney’s best.

I generally quite enjoy Feeney's books, but tbh, this one made me struggle. The book felt hard to get into, and for the first 30 percent of it or so, I was completely struggling to make sense of who was who and what was actually happening. The book did start making sense to me and there were a lot of twists and turns as it progresses, but I won't call it Feeney's best.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an e copy in return of my views.

🌟🌟🌟✨ (3.5)

I don’t want to say too much about this book as doing so would include spoilers.

A baby went missing 20 years ago and was never found. 20 years later we meet four women all with secrets to hide and are all connected in some way but can’t trust anyone. A murder occurs in a care home, a girl goes missing and then slowly the dots all start to join up.

This one had me guessing throughout the book and then little bits started to come together here and there. There were times when I was a bit confused about who was who and was afraid I would miss something if I didn’t concentrate on every line.

I did enjoy this thriller and flew through it fairly quickly. It wasn’t my favourite of her books but a good one all the same.

Thanks to #netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book

A well crafted tale that keeps you guessing throughout. I’m a big fan of Alice Feeney since her debut and if you liked that you’ll be sucked in by this engaging story and cast of characters too.

This is the first book I have read by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Initially, I found myself feeling quite confused as the tale jumps from one character to another and also includes flashbacks to a child being taken from a supermarket – there is such a lot to take in. I found I didn’t take a liking to any of the characters and as the book progressed, it became apparent that everyone had secrets they were hiding from each other. As I read on, I kept trying to convince myself that I knew what was going on, when in fact I didn’t. It is clear that the author put a lot of thought into weaving a web of deception for each of the main players, but for me, it didn’t quite hit the spot.

All in all, I didn't love this book, but I didn't dislike it either.

The twists keep on coming. Mother daughter relationships are never straight forward and this magnifies the conflict and confusion. A wonderful multi layered story.
Good people do bad things for good reasons is true of this story.

This book was set out in the different points of view of its main characters, so you got to know their views of what happens rather than a one sided account. I was completely in the dark over who had committed the murder until the reveal as each character seemed guilty of something at different times in the plot. It wasn't as fast paced as a lot of the books I read, so it took me longer to finish it, but it's a good book.

From the very beginning I was 𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗗! I'm not one who is particularly good at seeing twists and turns coming so it's safe to say I was on the edge of my seat throughout reading this one.

We have not one but 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 main characters in this story. Frankie, Clio, Edith & Patience. They are all somehow interconnected to a murder and a missing baby. I won't lie and say that it was easy to keep up with who's narrative I was reading because it really wasn't, what I can say though is that it was definitely worth the ride!

There is a massive emphasis on mother daughter relationships in this book - the trials and tibulations that can be experienced.

As with every book she writes, Alice has a way of drawing you in. Making you feel like part of the story, connected to those she's writing about and the next thing you know you've been blown away and your gasping at what you've just read. This one was no different - i really would be a poop detective because I never see the obvious coming!



𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘
• multiple POVs
• twists and turns
• multiple stories that intertwine
• short chapters

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an ebook ARC of this book in exchange for this review.

I didn't love this book, but I didn't dislike it either. I thoroughly enjoyed the jumping of perspectives from each of the characters and the short chapters (love me some short chapters!) BUT, somehow, I didn't feel like any of the characters spoke to me. In the first 30% (approx) as the chapters went on I kept telling myself that I knew what was happening but then found I really didn't know at all..which led to me having conflicting feelings towards this book. Not knowing what was happening helped me enjoy it, to an extent. However it did occasionally make me feel like so much was happening but also so little at the same time. This meant that at a point towards the end (around 65% onwards) I just began reading in order to finish and see what was actually going on rather than because I was desperate to devour the ending.

This experience did not put me off reading any other books written by Alice Feeney and I'm very much looking forward to reading Rock Paper Scissors!

I so thought I had this one worked out but that one twist got me! Some red herrings in there to keep you guessing aswell. Multiple Povs and a great overall story. 👌

Dull. This could have been a short story rather than dragging it out for 300+ pages. I enjoyed the letter format it began with but it seemed to have lost that as the book progressed. Not a recommend from me.

I'm always excited when a new Alice Feeney book comes out and cannot wait to start it.

A great beginning, a mother has her baby taken from a supermarket, "she had wished her daughter would disappear and now the baby is gone"
from that moment on I was hooked!!!

The story is told from three perspectives- Edith, Clio, Patience and Frankie with each having alternative chapters. Their stories run parallel like train tracks and their lives will cross.

Edith believes she was tricked into living in a care home by her daughter Clio. Edith has bonded with Patience who works at the care home and there is Frankie who works as a librarian in a women's prison.

What is the connection between these women?

Another great read from the amazing Alice Feeney. The characters are brought to life so that you feel you know them by the end of the book and you want them to all have a happy ending.

Definitely a 5 star rating from me - sure brilliance!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

I originally picked this book up as I've seen a lot of positive feedback about Alice Feeney's work, but never read one for myself.

I found this book to have an interesting plot which was unique to many mystery books I've read in the past and it had a lot of twists along the way. Although the action did take perhaps a bit too long to come into effect, when it finally got to the climax it was gripping and compelling. I liked how the story began with multiple different mysteries (the care home, the stolen baby, the runaway teen etc) and how they all began to merge into one intense storyline was very well planned by the author. Clearly a lot of thought went into weaving this intricate web of deception and it showed.

The characters were well constructed. Each character had their own POV at different points throughout the book which is always a feature I enjoy in a mystery novel. As the book went on, it became clear that everyone had secrets they were hiding from each other. The author did a great job at diving into the minds of each character whilst also hiding just enough from the reader to keep us guessing.

Overall I think this story was well-written with a great plot and very interesting characters. I rated this 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alice Feeney for the ARC.

Well I must admit this wasn't quite what I was expecting.

This is the story of 4 women: Frankie, Patience, Edith and Clio.

The story starts with a woman taking a baby to the supermarket. She is overwhelmed and tired and distracted by a friend. When she looks round at the pushchair again, she finds that the baby is missing. Screaming the babies name she runs round the shop trying to find her before collapsing - because she knows who has taken the baby,

Fast forward 19 years and we meet the first of our four characters. Frankie works in a prison library. Clearly an anxiety sufferer she counts things to make herself feel better. She counts steps between doors and cars on the roads. Today is her last day at the prison but no one knows that she is leaving - it's not that she has resigned, it's just they won't want her back when they find out what she has done....

Next up is Patience, 18 years old and working as a cleaner/carer in an old person's home. She is friends with the lady in Room 13 and has tried to encourage her to leave her room. She has secretly adopted the old lady's dog and smuggles him in to the care home each day so the lady can spend time with him. Patience is not her real name, it is the name she gave herself when she ran away from home a few months ago and now she lives in the attic above an art gallery.

Edith is the old lady in Room 13. She is friends with Patience and has given her a ladybird ring as a gift for being kind to her. A former store detective, she believes that everyone in the care home is crazy - including all the staff, and she is trying to get the Power of Attorney lifted from her daughter so that she can leave here and go back to her own home. She has even managed to engage a 'no win no fee' solicitor to act on her behalf. Her only other friend at the Care Home - May, died some weeks previously and Edith believes that May was murdered because she believed that the care home manager was killing the patients for cash from their relatives.

Clio is Edith's daughter. She is a therapist who lives in a large town house. She can't afford to keep paying the fees at Edith's Care Home and has fallen behind on the payments. As she and Edith don't get on, she doesn't want Edith to live with her. Clio is hiding secret heartbreak, mourning the loss of her daughter and the break up of her marriage.

The story kicks off when Edith goes missing from the care home and the body of the manager is found in the elevator with her head bashed in. Just what links all of the people to the care home and who killed the manager?

Spoilers ahead!

I was quite confused with this story as it jumps about from character to character and has some chapters that hark back to when the baby is taken and what happens after that. I didn't much like the characters as none of them felt real - they feel almost 2D. There is even the introduction of a brother for Clio who is not mentioned at all until he suddenly has a purpose in the story - he is such a caricature of a gallery owner it is insane.

The Detective investigating the murder is laughable - it's not her appearance, it's that she speaks in ways that a detective just wouldn't - she announces to each suspect, after telling them what has happened '...and you are suspect number...' It's just ridiculous (she even has links back to the baby abduction as it was her mother who was the investigating detective at the time - her mother who goes on to be Edith's friend May in the care home).

I found the description of prison unbelievable - I am not sure if prisoners would be bought into prison in the afternoon and not given any dinner as they hadn't ordered anything on the computer system the day before and couldn't even order tomorrow's meals as they didn't have a log in for the computer - that just doesn't seem right. As well as the highly implausible circumstances surrounding one of the characters getting arrested for murder and remanded in custody at the prison where Frankie works and even gets placed in a cell with the person who Frankie has asked to help find her daughter.

It was really quite a convoluted story and when I got to the end I had already worked out who all the main players were - with the exception of one, I hadn't seen her reveal coming at all - it felt like it had been shoe horned in to link all the characters together and to give her a reason for the actions that she took.

The murder is also solved - but solved in an implausible way. Footage of the murder was captured on a hidden 'teddy cam' but the teddy was knocked over by the dog during an attempted murder so the footage was incomplete - however, there was enough evidence in the footage to secure a conviction had the detective not been more concerned with making someone pay for the death of her mother....I'm not sure people would be allowed to get away with murder in real life.

All in all, I was left a bit confused and kind of disappointed really though I know some will love this book and call it a thrill ride - for me, I just didn't hit the spot.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've really enjoyed the last couple of Alice Feeney books I've read so was expecting good things and I was not disappointed. This book is different from the off, where we actually start as the end, when we find a baby missing, taken from a supermarket. The book is told from different characters points of views and how they may be linked. Set also in a nursing home, when the manager is found murdered it is down to the police to figure out who has done it and why, with a number of suspects it won't be easy for DC Chapman. There we characters I liked and also others not so much, I finished the book really quickly, definite page turner!