Every time I pick up a new Alice Feeney book, I wonder how she is going to shock and surprise me this time. Surely she can’t keep topping those twisty endings. But you know what, she does, and has again blown my mind with Beautiful Ugly. I had.no idea where it was going, who I could trust or how it would end.

This is such a cleverly worded story, that thinking back now, the clues were there. It is dark and the setting is creepy and eerie. I could feel the isolation, not being able to leave the island. It would drive me insane and I loved how Feeney drew it out and had me questioning everything and everyone and still not be able to work it out.

Another triumph for Alice Feeney, and a book that I won’t forget in a hurry. I devoured it in a few hours, telling myself that I would just read a few more chapters before going to sleep. That didn’t happen and ai am not mad about it at all. It is a slow burn but so incredibly addictive that you just won’t be able to put it down.

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan for my very early copy to read. Always a delight and o read this author. Publishes on January 30th,2025.

There's absolutely nothing ugly about the prose in this extremely chilling tale of a wronged spouse, as Alice Feeney delivers just the most word-perfect delivery in the story of Grady and Abby Green - there's a sudden disappearance, a banishment, a remote yet strangely cultish Scottish island of just 25 inhabitants and, two weeks in from finishing this book, the characters are still in my head.

It's absolute joy to read a novel where the darkness just whacks you over the head and leaves you reeling, and yet Beautiful Ugly does it so subtly. Only as I read on, on occasions, did I see what is missed, and only hours, days after I'd finished did even more 'pennies drop ', which is a rare thing indeed. And a good thing; to still be thinking about a book when you're several books on is a rather wonderful feeling.

Alice Feeney once again proving that she is a master/mistress at creating some seriously freaky characters to populate a thoroughly unique story.

Maybe the blub about being 'The queen of twists' didn't help but I didn't find any in this novel so, for me, it was simply a dark tale of selfishness and a marriage turned bad.
Beautifully written, hence the three stars, I just found it a bit weird to be honest and the only character I was rooting for was the dog.
I'm obviously in a minority though.

Firstly thank you to pan macmillan and netgalley for allowing me to read this early!!

I will forever be thankful because this book is one of the best book I have read all year!!!

The twists in it wore honestly spot on my jaw was swinging open with the shock!!

I loved all of the characters I loved the vibe of the island it was honestly such a perfect book!!!

Cannot waitttttt to get my hands on a physical copy of this book as there was literally not 1 thing I didn’t not like about It!!

But those plot twists????

Honestly, I loved the book, the author’s writing style, the characters (some of whom I more or less hated), and the unexpected twists!!!!!

Not being a fan of slow burns, I had a hard time getting into it, but the more I read, the harder it was to put my phone down. And that sloooooow burn was worth it for what happens at the end.

The story took me through all kinds of emotions and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. The way the author keeps us hooked is a bit twisted, but incredibly clever.

There are a few details that, in my opinion, are unnecessary and make no sense, but still, this book remains an excellent thriller.

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers with seriously twisted plot twists!!

My first time reading a book by this author and I was not disappointed! Full of tantalising twists and turns, the plot had be hooked and I will certainly be looking to read more by Alice Feeney.

Twisty, dark and an absolute jaw dropper of an ending. Alice Feeney once again writes with twists that absolute blindsight you out of nowhere.

I’ve read a few of this author’s books and this is my favourite. Not shy of twists. Really didn’t know how this would pan out. Unexpected, but good ending. Enjoyable and I would recommend to others.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

I loved this book - an isolated Scottish island and some seriously creepy goings on - or was the writer going mad. I loved the ending too - highly recommended

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

This book was an absolute page- turner. It was so compelling, I was completely engrossed and so invested in learning what had happened. Not a single dull moment in the entire book. This is the best book I’ve read so far by this author.

The setting of this book was brilliant. We have a down on his luck author being sent to a remote Scottish island to an isolated cabin to work on his new book by his editor. He’s been struggling since his wife disappeared a year ago and his editor sends him to the former home of a deceased, famous writer to get his book completed. The island is such a gorgeous, wonderful community, with a warm welcome from residents, a lovely village vibe and a well-appointed home to write in, in peace and quiet with his dog. However something isn’t quite right, he can’t seem to get a schedule for when the next ferry will leave the island, he’s finding strange items in his cabin, he’s learning that people have secrets. And weirdest of all, he keeps finding newspaper articles that his missing wife, a journalist, had written.

I loved the use of the newspaper articles, it was so clever, dropping clues and misdirection in a way that’s so satisfying once you work out what’s happening!

The use of unreliable narrator here was so well done. The main character we quickly learn is no saint, and has had some pretty dishonest behaviour in the past. This created such an interesting conflict where he’s pretty unlikeable and yet you feel sorry for him due to his recent circumstances. I went back and forth on how I felt about him a lot which is testament to the cleverness of the writing.

Couldn’t put this one down! Such an exciting and compelling read!

Beautiful Ugly

This book was so different to anything I’ve read before. It really felt reminiscent of a folk tale or something from a film. Grady is an author who is struggling. Struggling to write another book and struggling with the disappearance of his beloved wife Abby.
Grady starts to lose his way in his grief and times become desperate, unable to write he can no longer afford his house, he is desolate & living in a run down flat until his editor Kitty throws him a lifeline. She was left a cabin on a remote Scottish island - and she is offering Grady the chance to go & stay in this cabin in the hope he can overcome his writer’s block & write another best seller.
So Grady packs his things into his car with his dog Columbo & heads off to the Isle Of Amberley.
From the unusual map, the micro climate, the strange community & the lack of birds on the Island, Grady feels a little unsettled at first - not least of all when he starts to see his missing wife wherever he goes.
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book - the characters, the plot, the twists…it’s SO good & SO clever! I really loved it.

I have to say this is not the best book that I have read. I personally found the story difficult to get into and follow. The characters didn’t draw me in and I did not manage to finish the book

This was a book I found that i didnt really know what was going on and what was going to happen next.

It’s a wild and captivating setting on a remote Scottish island and you never know who to trust and the events that unfolded had me second guessing as to what was really going on.

I loved the premise of a missing wife and an author finding solitude to write his new novel and the cast of characters added to the feeling of tension and unpredictability and i was hooked to find out how it was all going to play out.

I did think I knew at one point how the book would end but the twists and turns towards the end as the story unravelled left me breathing a bit too quickly.

I great isolated setting with characters and events you cant put your finger on and an ending I am still thinking about, even after a few days of finishing it.

Author Grady Green is waiting for his wife Abby to return home so they can celebrate his inclusion on the New York Times bestseller list together. But Abby calls him on the way home to say she's stopping the car and that there's a woman lying in the road. That's the last Grady will hear from his wife - he finds her abandoned car on the road with her mobile phone on the seat. A year later Grady is still grief stricken and, as he's been unable to write, his agent suggests he goes to stay in an old cabin on the remote island of Amberley, where another of her authors previously stayed.

Grady takes her up on the suggestion and moves to Amberley. Whilst there he often imagines that he sees his wife and sometimes feels he's rather losing his mind. There are twists and turns aplenty along with an ending that is a surprise. Sort of.

I admit that unlike most of the other people who've reviewed this I found it pretty tiresome - the plot does drive you to want to read to the end, but that's about the only positive thing I could say. I found Grady to be annoying, self-pitying, vacuous, self-absorbed and pretty one-dimensional (incidentally he's the second male character I've recently encountered in a psychological thriller who follows this self-pitying path). As the story became more convoluted it also became more far-fetched and by the time I got to the end I couldn't care less what happened to Grady, only that I wanted to finish the book and get it over with. Plus the ending is a complete copy of the ending of a fairly well-known Danish film I watched some years ago - only in the original film the ending is much more shocking and horrifying than here, partly because you cared about what happened to the character.

Oh my God! I couldn't put it down! What an amazing read that truly is a page-turner. Alice Feeney has done it again, delivering a knockout story. I shrieked with joy upon receiving this book, and it's clear why Alice Feeney is an automatic purchase for me. This book reaffirms that reason.

Author Grady Green calls his wife on her way home, to share some exciting news. But during the call he hears his wife slam on the brakes and she leaves the vehicle. It is the last time he speaks with Abby, as she disappears into the night. A year later, Grady has been unable to write and is still consumed by grief. He is broke and living in a motel when he is offered the use of a cabin on the Scottish island of Amberley. Grady loves solitude and needs a change, so he jumps at the chance. But once on the island strange things occur and it feels like he is seeing his wife everywhere.

This one was twisted and spooky, with the deserted island setting of just 25 residents and ghosts appearing everywhere. I did not deliberately set out to read this in the spooky month of October but it was perfect timing. For anyone who has read this author previously, you know what to expect - the unexpected!
I honestly could not have guessed where this one was heading and it was another wild adventure.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Panmacmillan and the author for this gifted review copy. I am so thankful I was able to read it early.

This book is creepy, tense and gripping. I certainly did not see that twist at the end. All in a a good read.

Loved this book!! Grady Green is having a baby day. His wife want home for him when he was waiting for a call to let hi know if he was now a New York Times bestseller and he felt disappointed. But she phones ro say she's on her way home now but tells him she's stopping the car as there's someone lying in the road. She is never seen again. After a year his publisher offers him the use of a cabin to write his next book on a wee scottish island where he starts to think he sees his wife. Cuttings froths wife's columns as a journalist are starting to be left in the cabin for him but he has no idea what is going on. Another great twist of an ending

Being approved for the new Alice Feeney book I was absolutely delighted. I have loved this author's books since Sometimes i Lie.
Generally a good story which I enjoyed but there were a few, quite major negatives.
I haven't noticed anyone mention formatting issues but there were major issues with my copy. Broken sentences and random bits inserted made it challenging at times to read.
The other issue was the book was written with Americanisms and American spellings. Not every English language book should be written in American. British English is a language that is alive and well. The author is British after all.
I live on a Scottish island and the issues were unbelievable. Yes it's challenging sometimes but this stretched believability to the limit.
I am female but this idea of a female only island made me shudder.
Grady was clearly unlikeable but so was Abby which meant you couldn't really be totally OK with the ending and it all felt a bit disjointed.
Overall 2.5/5 stars

A year ago marked a turning point in author Grady Greens career, he made the New York Times bestsellers list. It was also the day he lost his wife, travelling home to celebrate with him she came across a body in the road, pulled over and vanished without trace.

Since then he's been on a downward spiral, he's lost everything and failure to produce the second novel in his contract has resulted in this publisher pulling the plug on him too. His agent offers him a lifeline - the loan of a cabin on the remote Scottish island of Amberly, a chance to get his head in order and start writing again.

Creepy and atmospheric the scene setting is impeccable, portraying the beauty and wilderness of the Amberly landscape, a scattering of locals and a definite sense that somethings not right. I thought I'd figured it out but it was never going to be that easy, the curve-balls, twists and red herrings, they kept on coming.

Perfectly put together with great characters, its clever, its intriguing and its a great read.