When I saw the synopsis, author with missing wife retreats to Scottish island to try to start writing again, I thought I would like this.
But I just did not. It is definitely not boring and I am glad I read it as it got my brain working , but I found it too confusing . As the book goes on and I realised that the narrators were being economical with the truth it then makes any twist possible as there is nothing that can be absolutely relied upon. Then the fictional Scottish island is so ridiculously contrived it casts further doubt on what is real and what is not. But there is plenty of spooky scary happenings on the island which give a good atmosphere of suspense.
Grady ,the author , is not a very likeable character so that by the end of the book I was not too concerned whether he was going come out of things successfully or not.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC

Review of ‘Beautiful Ugly’ by Alice Feeney. Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for a review. This book comes out on January 30th ♥️🗓️

3,5 ⭐️

Sometimes, when you’ve read a lot by an author already, your demands get higher and higher. Sadly for this author, I read her book ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ as my first book by her and it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. That makes topping that very hard. After not really vibing with ‘Daisy Darker’ last year, I’m very happy to have picked this book up. I really flew through it and was very interested to see where it would take me.

We follow Grady, a writer who’s just made it onto the New York Times Bestseller List. But his happiness quickly fades when his wife goes missing on the same evening. He’s devastated, but his agent helps him out: a visit to a remote island to stay in her family member’s cabin. The solitude and escape from busy London might help him get his writing back. Grady decides to go to the tiny Scottish island, but weird things start happening soon and the question rises: is everyone who they say they are on this island? Which secrets are being kept?

Like I said, I flew through this one and that’s a very good sign. Alice Feeney has a way of writing that always keeps me hooked. I liked the story as well and the many layers the characters had. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed and I had to go back to re-read some parts to fully understand what it was that I was reading. Usually, I find books to be too long, but this one could’ve been a bit longer. It would’ve made the ending feel less rushed for me.

Altogether, a great read for the colder months and I would definitely recommend it (as I would almost every Alice Feeney book I’ve read).

All opinions and thoughts in this review are my own 💕

THANK YOU !!!

Just superb as always I do not see the multiple twists coming - read it as your others super quickly totally engaged bravo !!!

Beautiful Ugly is the new dark thriller from Alice Feeney. The story centres on Grady Green, a reclusive author whose life is turned upside down when his wife goes missing one day. Determined to escape the ghost of his lost wife and to get his life back on track by penning a new book, he sets out to stay on a tiny isolated Scottish island not knowing what lies in store for him.

The island is almost a character itself, adding a deep sense of unease and foreboding to the story. As he encounters inexplicable happenings and his fears begin to unravel his sleep-deprived mind he's forced to question what is real and what is not. That wasn't really his missing wife he saw, was it?

It was definitely a slow burn story and a locked room mystery combined, with the dark, psychological suspense building to a crescendo where you will be questioning everything you think you know.

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

This was a strange read with a good beginning a strange middle and an ending that was very flat.
Having enjoyed Alice Feeneys other books I will read more in the future but this one just wasn’t her best in my opinion. Hope other readers will enjoy
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the Arc.

So this is a bit of an early review for me as the book is not actually published until the end of January 2025 but my goodness I just couldn't wait to share my thoughts on this fantastic read!

Grady is a New York Times bestselling author and his wife, Abby, is an investigative journalist. Grady receives a call from his agent Kitty confirming the news that he has made the New York times bestseller list but unfortunately his wife wasn't there to share the news with him. He calls her on her mobile and she confirms she is driving home and not far away. Grady then hears her slam on the brakes, initially thinking she's been in an accident but it turns out Abby came across someone lying in the road. Abby gets out to investigate and leaves the phone on loudspeaker in the car but she never comes back. Grady rushes to where Abby said she was when she stopped and finds no sign of Abby but does find a creepy looking antique doll with its mouth sewn shut.

The story then follows on a year later where Grady is understandably still broken, lost and unable to move on from his wife's disappearance. He's lost his house, as he couldn't afford the mortgage payments and was living in a one star hotel full of distractions meaning he hasn't written a thing in the last year. He goes for a meeting with his agent who throws him a lifeline and offers him the use of a cabin tucked away on the remote Scottish Highlands called Amberley, which was left to her by one of her clients who had been a famous bestselling author.

From this point on the book takes so many twists and turns I could barely keep up! The author really is a master at deception with this story, just when I thought the plot line was heading in one direction, it then swiftly turned and led me down another path. The setting of Amberley in itself could not have been more perfect to tell this tale, the isolation, the creepiness, the strange characters that also call Amberley their home, all mixed together to create a perfect storm in the best way possible.

I haven't read a book with an ending like that in a long while. I was honestly in shock at how things unravelled and the cryptic clue at the end left me flicking right back to the beginning of the book to see what I had failed to pick up on. When you get to the end you will know what I mean by this comment!

Bravo - well done Feeney, I can't wait to check out this authors backlist and eagerly await what she delivers for us next.

This is what i would call a dark and tense book. Excellent writing style as per usual by Alice. I found it a bit slow in the middle but it picked up again with a great twist to ensure that you had to keep turning the pages. However i did find the ending a bit unexpected and rushed.

This book is creepy dark and tense, The characters are well written and I enjoyed around 85% of the book. I found the ending was rushed and didn't really make sense. A good read just the ending let it down.

This is my third Alice Feeney book after Daisy Darker and Good Bad Girl and though the first two books were not that impressive, Beautiful Ugly made me understand why so many readers loved Alice's writing. This book kept me engrossed right from the beginning to very end.

The night that Grady Green receives the news that he has made the New York Times best-selling author's list, his wife, Abby goes missing. Her car is found with headlights on and the driver's door still open near a cliff. Grady is so distressed that he loses the will to write a new novel and soon finds himself in debt and without a decent place to live. His agent, Kitty, who is also his wife's godmother bails him out by allowing him to spend 3 months in a remote log cabin on an island called the Isle of Amberly. During this period, Grady is supposed to author a new book that will help him to redeem his career.

When Grady arrives at the island, everything feels strange, for instance the island has some very strict rules about visitors-they cannot bring their own vehicles into the island which is protected by a close knit community of twenty-five people. There are no birds in the forest of the large redwoods and some local tales gives the whole place a creepy vibe. But at the same time, its a beautiful, pristine island and the remote cabin provides Grady a good place to come up with his new bestseller. When he starts to see his missing wife on the island, Grady knows that either he is loosing his mind or there is something sinister going on in the island.

There are lots of twists that kept me guessing till the end. I loved reading the book and also loved the Isle of Amberly and honestly speaking, wouldn't mind shifting to this fictional island 😀.
There were too many plot twists towards the end but I didn't mind them too much. So overall it was a very satisfying and engaging read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of the book.

Thank you for NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC of Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, in return for my honest and unbiased review.

Plot

Grady is an author whose wife disappeared a year ago. He’s lost everything and is given a second chance by his Editor to sell his next novel, and sent to live on a remote Scottish Island to recuperate and write. But secrets plague the island and Grady who seems to be losing his grip on reality.

Review

Although the book isn’t due to be released for a few more months, this book has been on my TBR for a while.

Alice Feeney is a one of a kind author who has the ability to send you down a hole you think you know the way out of, but ends up getting you lost, confused and happily surprised before coming out the other side.

Beautiful Ugly is probably her most tantalising tale yet, and does not disappoint. Just when I thought I had it figured out - Feeney found a way of giving me a great big metaphorical bump on the head. This book has Daisy Darker vibes, His & Hers twists and still manages to stand tall on its own merit.

This book is just enough dark, just enough twisty, just enough crazy to work. A combination that Alice Feeney has perfected for herself. The book is an absolute winner from start to finish. I could not recommend this enough. I’ve preordered my copy for official release because this is a book I need on my shelf. Whilst Daisy Darker is still my favourite Feeney book, this is a very close second.

Due for release January 2025

This book is CAPTIVATING! As to be expected with Alice Feeney, there are multiple twists and I found it impossible to predict.

The Isle of Amberly was so beautifully described I can’t believe it’s not a real! The writing is so atmospheric and eery. I didn’t want to put it down.

There is an excellent little nugget at the end - a secret message in each chapter of the book that had me searching back through and re-reading!

(Also, as a fan of book maps the illustration is stunning!)

Highly recommend.

* Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely spellbinding, the best so far from Alice Feeney. This is simply superb storytelling. Feeney explores those dark areas of the soul and human nature with exquisite ease, creating characters and situations that are so believable. This is a take that grips and doesn’t let go. The central character is a tortured soul after his wife goes missing and he retreats to a remote Scottish island, seeking solace and peace. His world turns upside down when he thinks he sees her…The clue to the heart of this book is in the seemingly ambiguous title. Feeney excels at reaching the dark side of humans. Scrape away the surface and all is not as it seems. What appears on the surface is not reflected beneath. And she extends this skill to places. The remote setting is superficially a place of healing but it too has secrets. This is just a wonderful adventure. Her narrative flows and there isn’t a wasted word. Miss it and be sorry.

This is the first time I have read a book by this author.

It started well, quickly describing a married couple and then moving onto a shocking event that changes their lives. Grady Green is a writer and his wife Abby suddenly disappears. His life goes into a downward spiral and his writing comes to a standstill.

I found the middle of the book really slow and very strange. The descriptions of the children in the mist and the mist/fog descending on the island had a mystical quality and it felt like the book was going in a fantasy direction. In the final third, the thriller element takes off and the plot is full of twists and turns. Parts of the final third were predictable whilst others were not at all. I found the ending quite unexpected.

I liked this book and read it quickly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This gripped me instantly and was really well paced, I just found the conclusion so bizarre!
3 stars.

I love author Alice Feeney, loved all of her past novels so when Beautiful Ugly came up to request I was quick to ask when I got accepted I had to literally put my other novels on hold and get stuck into this new one.

This novel is just a thoroughly great read, I loved the character of Grady - he has had a bad year, having had his wife just disappear suddenly and obviously Grady can not just forget about her.

He is an author and finding it hard to get his head back together he travels to a remote island and this is where he spots someone who resembles his wife.

This novel is like a rollercoaster that I did not want to get off.

The writing, as usual, was impeccable and the story line the same.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How brilliant was this book?

Author Grady is waiting for his wife to return home to celebrate his successful new publication with him. But whilst on the phone to her, he hears something sinister and then his wife disappears.

Overcome with grief, he moves to a remote Scottish island. But strange things happen and he is certain he sees his wife there.

This book was fabulous, utterly unexpected, creepy in all the right ways. Yet another knock-it-out-of-the-park read from Alice Feeney.

5***** from me!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is absolutely not what I expected! The story is almost dreamlike, we follow Grady as he is trying to write a new book on an island off the Scottish coast.
Having lost his wife a year ago, in a sudden disappearance, he seems almost lost in life.

The story is interwoven with flair and definitely a good read.

The opening chapters of this book had me hooked from the start, I did find it a bit slow in the middle but it picked up with a shocking twist that I didn't see coming. This will keep you on the edge of your seat. I have read all the authors books and find her newer ones a bit different to her older work but overall I would highly recommend this thriller to anyone. I rated this 4.5 but rounded up to 5. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

This took me a while to get into, but then I was gripped - also was genuinely surprised by a reveal (no spoilers!). Would recommend for readers of the domestic thriller genre.

I really enjoyed this thriller and finished it in a couple of days. I liked the characters and the storyline.