Thank you for letting me read a digital copy of this amazing book. Alice Feeney, all I can say is “wow”! What an incredible story you’ve written. It was fantastic. I didn’t expect the twists at the end but they were perfect. I look forward to the next book. Thank you.

#NetGalley #BeautifulUgly

My first Feeny book!
So, a writer whose book has reached number one on the New York bestseller list… and that same night, his Wife disappears without a trace. As a faithful husband, he naturally grieves and tries to find his wife and understand what happened, but now it’s been a year and she’s still nowhere to be found. He’s just a shadow, he doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t write… so his agent sends him to a secluded Scottish island so he can write in peace.
But what his agent dosen't tell him is that once he’s on the island, it’s almost impossible for him to leave, that only women live on the island, and that the house he’s going to live in once belonged to a very famous writer.
It’s a strange house. It’s like being looked after by a fairy folk, because there’s always food waiting for him and there’s always a fire in the fireplace and everything he needs just appears as if by magic and then he finds…
What happens next and how/or if he gets off that island … that is in the hands of our brilliant author and you’re reading it.

A real pleasure to read!

I have previously read a couple of Alice Feeney’s novels and enjoyed them so was excited to read this one.
This book was really engaging and I couldn’t work out what was happening for quite a long time with twists and turns. It kept me reading late at night until I could work out what an earth was going on! Well recommended read

Only just got round to reading this but oh my word!! Always has me guessing the twists and turns. Yet again I was tricked!! I love love love Feeneys writing and devoured this in a day!

Another excellent read by Alice Feeney. I love the way that Alice keeps you guessing right until the very end. 5 stars

I’ve always enjoyed Alice Feeney’s books, and this one was no exception. It’s a gripping, atmospheric story packed with twists, red herrings and just the right amount of unease.

From the start, I felt completely drawn in as Grady tries to rebuild his life after Abby. The descriptions are beautifully vivid, especially the island setting, which Feeney brings to life so well that you can almost feel the isolation and tension creeping in.

There was a point where I thought I’d cracked it - only to be completely thrown off track. It’s one of those stories that keeps you second guessing right up until its chilling, brilliant ending.

Dark, intriguing and unsettling in all the best ways, this is another cleverly crafted thriller from Feeney!

This book kept me turning the pages as I wanted to find out what happened. I felt there was alot going on, on such a small island, There were twists and one in particular I did not quite understand.

Alice Feeney is one of my favourite authors and I know her books will always be a hit for me! Her writing style is so engaging and I love the way she describes each scene.

A thrilling story that held my attention from page one. Alice Feeney is simply brilliant and I love her books and writing style . Highly recommend. Easy 5 plus 🌟. This is a must read

Such a good thriller!! Alice Feeney has a way of writing that leaves you on edge and the setting >>> SO GOOD
I had such fun buddy reading in a book club with the publisher, it made the experience even better.

Alice Feeney is the queen of plot twists and she executes them so well! Just when you think you know bam there comes the plot twist!

I just love this book. It blew my mind. On the island nothing is what it seems to be. Odd and bizarre things happen on this island. There are so many crazy characters on the island too they are all unlikable.

A good read a bit of a slow start but once I got into it I thought it was ok. It is a thrillers where weak characters, loose plotting, everything is built around a wacky twist that of course you didn’t see coming because it’s so ludicrous.

I love books by Alice Feeney, each with their unique, quirky story. This one is a fascinating story, full of blind alleys, dark emotions and mysterious happenings for the reader to try to solve.

I felt personally involved in the story as Grady tries to move on with his life after Abby.

Alice Feeney writes beautiful descriptions, bringing settings to life vividly, particularly on the island of Amberly, clearly creating the emotional turmoil felt by the main character.

There was a moment when I felt that I had it worked out easily, how wrong was I!

This is a fascinating, twisty tale raising interesting thoughts - what would I do in that situation?
It is a strange dark, story full of intrigue and suspense with a brilliant, chilling ending.

Twisty turny goodness as always from this author.

Slow burn but I enjoyed the building of tension, it ended up so dramatic I loved it.

If you don’t like extra then this maybe isn’t for you but if you like an over the top thriller then give it a go.

Thrillers are so hit and miss for me now! Once you’ve read so many, they can start to feel formulaic and predictable. But Alice Feeney’s new release has finally broken my run of thrillers that didn’t quite hit the mark - it was pacey, jaw-dropping, and packed with twists!!

In Beautiful Ugly, we follow author Grady Green, whose wife, Abby, mysteriously disappears after a frantic phone call. Her car is found by a cliff edge, door open, phone inside, but there’s no trace of her. A year later, still grieving, Grady retreats to a remote Scottish island to rebuild his life… until he sees a woman who looks exactly like Abby.

Feeney is the queen of unreliable characters and keeping you on edge, never knowing who (or what) to believe. The eerie atmosphere and the way everything played out so vividly in my head made for such a fun and immersive reading experience!

I saw that Claire Mackintosh described this book as having “twists that give you whiplash,” and honestly, that’s spot on! I didn’t see things coming, and I loveddddd it. Were the twists outrageous and mostly packed in at the end? Yes… and I know some readers might not love that, but personally, I love thrillers where just when you think you’ve cracked it, you realise you haven’t, then everything finally seems to come together… until the final twist throws you off all over again. Honestly, it was so cleverly mapped out, and by the time I closed the book, I needed a lie-down; it was exhausting in the best way!!

It’s a human affliction to see what we want instead of what is really there”

Beautiful ugly by Alice Feeney

When an introverted author’s beloved wife goes missing, his whole world falls apart. To get his spark on writing he travels to a remote Scottish island that doesn’t have any connection with mainland without actually travelling out of the island. There he meets the residents who are all telling a different story, sees his presumed dead wife everywhere and unable to find a way to get back to mainland.

“Sometimes I think we are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives”

The story is dark and setting is creepy once the protagonist reaches the island. All the characters are questionable making readers guess everyone’s motive. It’s a slow burn and I had no idea how the story was gonna be! That’s a plus because all the fun goes out when we guess the storyline in a thriller 😀

Awesome read by a fantastic author, whose previous works have set a high standard, which Ithis adventure continues, a twist or 2 along the way, really enjoyable,

This could have been up there with some of Alice Feeney's other works but something was missing.

For most of the novel, it gives off strong gone girl vibes and some of the present day chapters are a bit of a drag.

With that being said, the ending has all the Feeney magic and has one of the best twists I've read in a mystery in a while.

The flashback/dual poV chapters are intriguing and exciting against the main narratives at times boring story. Nevertheless, the main narrative is full of dark atmospheric scenes that would have been astounding had just a little more happened.

The ending really is the strong point here and what claims most of the stars in this rating.

Well, well, well...you didn't do so well guessing this one, Micky. It's been a while since I've felt so needy for answers and so unsure what was really going on in a thriller. I enjoyed the ride immensely.

This thriller had two unreliable narrators and they're the only narrators we had (laughs maniacally). The story centred around a missing wife, presumed dead and the grieving author husband who is offered a quiet writing spot on a highland island. This island was creepy, cliquey with a very evasive and close-knit community. It felt immediately like once Grady (the husband) arrived, he would never be able to get off the island. No one would share the ferry timetable, the phones weren't working, no internet and no transport.

Columbo the dog was Grady's loyal companion and a bright spot of joy. Grady then spent time writing a book (there's a lot to that element that was intriguing) and once he finished his book, things got even more weird. I'll say no more to the plot but it was wild and gripping.

The occasional POV from the missing wife in a timeline before her disappearance added massively to the intrigue but the answers always felt behind a foggy window and just out of grasp. The ending was satisfying, I didn't see the later twists coming and it stayed ominous and somewhat creepy.

I have to mention a gripe I had about an inconsistency in this book (or lack of research) in relation to the geographical setting. It's a small thing but it really bugged me. This highland island was called Amberley. If you take the time to look at a map of the the west coast of Scotland, you will see not one island that has an Anglicised name. Not. One. Amberley sounds like something of the south coast of England or in the Channel Islands. Just rather irritating.

Overall, a hugely enjoyable thriller that I really recommend.

Thank you PanMacmillan and Bookbreak UK for the review copy.

Having read and adored the author's previous novels (especially Daisy Darker), I was really excited for this new novel, but, even though I still liked the story, I think this is my least favourite of her novels. It started great, a husband who is on the phone with his wife as she disappears in the night. A year later, there is still no trace of his wife as he goes on a remote island to write his next book. And it’s on this island that he starts to see her again. Despite the intriguing premises, I couldn’t quite connect with the story. I found that the pace was a bit too slow and the narrative repetitive. I didn’t really like the protagonist of the story and I wasn’t a big fan of the other characters either, and, while I loved all the twists and turns that kept coming, I found that the ending was a bit too far-fetched.