Goodnight, Beautiful

Goodnight Beautiful is such a clever thriller. I read part one, and when I got to the end of it, I had to stop and rethink everything I had just read. I'm not ruining it for anyone else so I can't say too much about the plot, but boy, did I not see that twist coming!!

Then I delved into part two and again at the end of that, I had another 'Whaaaat!!' moment. Brilliant!!!

I can't give away any spoilers because this is the whole point of the book - the element of surprise - but the basic premise is that Dr Sam Statler has gone missing. His wife Annie is devastated, but starts to have doubts about whether the man she married is really who she thinks he is. How can he disappear without trace, no sign of his car or him at all? Will she join the dots before it is too late?

I loved this book, brilliantly crafted and an immersive plot that was full of surprises and challenges the assumptions we make as readers.

Such a brilliant thriller packed full of suspense. I thought I had it all figured out but after all the twists that you just don’t see coming I couldn’t have been more wrong. This kept me gripped and desperate to keep reading.

Goodnight, Beautiful is absolutely gripping. A surprising and suspense filled plot that weaves secrets and lies like breathing. It's a book that is very very hard to put down when you start as you have to know how it ends and won't want to put it down until you do.

This was so brilliantly written! I was drawn in from the beginning and on the edge of my seat the entire read. If you love a thrilling story that has many shocking twists, then look no further. I highly recommend this! I can't wait to read more by this author!

I'm a huge fan of the book, Misery so without giving too much away, this was right up my street.
Initially I was a little confused about who was narrating which chapters but once I got my head around it, I raced through this book. I can't wait to see more from Aimee Molloy.

A read in one sitting psychological thriller that is absolutely brilliant and extremely addictive.

Goodnight Beautiful is a properly twisted tale and kudos to the author for changing the state of play every time you settled into it...it was great to have some outside of the box thinking when it comes to plotting and very cleverly done too

All the classic ingredients for the best psychological thrillers are in here, brought to the boil with a touch of class.

Recommended.

What an absolutely brilliant psychological thriller. I’m at a loss for words. It took me a while to write my review because after finishing the book, I had to go back to read certain parts again, just to see how very clever the author did what she did.
Usually, when you get to know the main characters in a book, you like them or you don’t. This time, all characters had so many different sides that with each chapter I had to think about it. The ongoing struggle Annie has because she’s kept her own name for instance. Why is this so important and why are people insisting on calling her by her husband’s name? Why is it for one of the main characters so difficult to find a job or even to do something worthwhile during the day, instead of just hanging around? Is Sam the kind of psychiatrist that is only successful because he’s handsome and knows how to talk with unhappy women? Did Annie do right with marrying him so soon and following him to this little town? Questions, questions.
And then BAM the author comes up with a twist you don’t see coming, with answers to those questions… or not?
I’ve read a lot of (very) good books this year. This one is my absolute favourite because of its many surprises, the interesting plot and the flawless writing style.
Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy.

Crikey I finished this book a few days ago and I’m only now getting to write my review so blown away was I by this very twisted and dark thriller. This book was simply outstanding and I don’t think I will ever forget it. A dark and twisty tale that had me gasping out loud at times, A brilliant 5🌟 read.

This is an unapologetic homage to one of Stephen King’s novels and a very good one it is too; full of completely unpredictable twists and turns. It is also a pretty crazy read and I felt tricked on a number of occasions in a very clever way.

Sam and his new wife Annie escape the big city and move to Sam’s hometown. The problem for Amy is that Sam has always been a big shot where he grew up and with his charm and good looks, she can’t help but feel a little insecure. Therapist Sam rents an office away from their home and begins to treat his patients. When a French girl in a Mini visits him, the craziness begins. Sam goes missing and Annie sets out to track him down.

The misdirection in this novel is first class. The action is erratic and it made for a hugely entertaining read. The characters are well drawn and, in some cases, completely oddball. Annie is particularly engaging.

It is difficult to say more as this really is a book you need to discover for yourself. Give it a go.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Y’all I was highly impressed with this novel. I mean wow... it definitely exceeded my expectations. Creepy read and the writing was amazing!

MENTAL!!
I love a good twist in a story. I live for those twists. I hadn't prepared myself for the quantity AND quality of mind numbing blow your socks off twists?!?
Couldn't recommend this highly enough!

Psychological thrillers don't get any better than Goodnight, Beautiful. I don't have the words to describe how much I enjoyed this book.
As engrossing as it is moving, the characters - Annie, Sam, Albert - are vivid and original. There are so many clever twists and turns you would need a very good crystal ball to see even half of them.
The novel is unsettling in its credibility. A rare achievement.

Goodnight, Beautiful blew me away. Even without the big ‘reveal’ halfway through that was so unexpected and so devious I had to go back and skim a few chapters to confirm what I just read/understood was actually correct and not an editing error. It was so awe inspiring that I burst out laughing at the authors brilliance, and audacity, how she carefully formed the chapters and exactly how she was creating this brilliant psychological thriller that I could not put down once I started. One of the best of the year!

Wow this was a great thriller! It was totally like King's Misery but even more of a twist. I love the twist when you realize what is actually going on. I would highly recommend this one!

Annie and Sam have a wonderful life settling into his home town. They are newlyweds in love, enjoying an intense relationship when Sam disappears. Has he run from his problems that Annie didn’t know about or something else?
Firstly I nearly didn’t finish this book. I just didn’t ‘get’ the first portion but then I got to ‘the page’ that turns it all upside down and inside out and from then I was hooked! It’s really well written and I would recommend you try it and keep at it without a doubt! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

4,5 Stars

Did somebody open a window? Because there is a breath of fresh air blowing through the genre of psychologic thrillers with unreliable narrators. Aimee Molloy played masterfully with my expectation and let me make assumptions just to blew it all over. After the first twist I had to go back and reread a few chapters to check how she outsmarted me. And don’t ask how I gasped after the next twist.

It probably gets boring to get repeatedly the advice in reviews that you should go blind into a book. But most of the time it is true and it is definitely true for this book. I am afraid to say too much so I would spoil it for you. There is a newlywed couple, Annie and Sam. They moved from New York to a small town to care for the Sam’s mother. They are happy and in love. Sam is a therapist and he has set up his own office. And that’s enough you have to know.

This was my first book from the author. I am not sure I am going to read her previous book because I had my share of books about missing children. But I will definitely watch out for her next book because I just loved how she was able to put a new meaning into the strained stylistic device of the unreliable narrator. This clever and twisted psychological thriller was a much appreciated fresh approach to this genre and enjoyed it very much. I would have given it 5 stars but towards the end it gets a bit muddled and as much as I dislike long showdowns, the end was a bit too neatly and quick delivered. But that’s complaining on a very high level. If you like psychological thriller go and get this one!

I received an advance readers gonna be in exchange for an honest review

This book was a lot of fun. Plenty of twists I honestly didn’t see coming. Easily the best thriller I read this year.

Absolutely Bl**dy Gripping! This is a deliciously dark and twisted thriller. I don't want to give too much away. But this author is a genius in using and abusing my sympathies for her characters! Annie and Sam have moved to a gorgeous described upstate New York town. Both have successful careers - Annie as a lecturer and Sam as a therapist. Sam's mum is the reason they are here - she is in the local retirement home. So far so perfect...but peek under the surface of anyone's life and you discover it is far from that. The unravelling of their perfect lives is acerbated by someone who listens in on Sam's therapy sessions with local members of the community. I LOVED this. My sympathies pinged back and forth until the final page. HUGELY RECOMMEND.

I. Am. Breathless!!! I’m trying to put into words exactly how much I love this book. I can’t. I’m sorry. So you’ll have to excuse how lame this review is in comparison to how PHENOMENAL this book is. I’ve never screamed (Out loud. In bed. Late at night. Sleeping husband wasn’t thrilled but I don’t even care.) in shock so many times as the bombs just kept dropping! BAM! BAM! BAM! I realized so many times that I was holding my breath as I was reading. It all ended with my bawling my eyes out and I can’t imagine any other ending. I loved every character. Then I didn’t. Then I did. The twists just kept coming and coming!!! And it’s REALLY difficult to shock me with as many thrillers as I read. This just might have the best ending of any book I’ve ever read. I’ve just ordered Aimee Molloy’s debut novel, The Perfect Mother, without even reading the description because if she wrote with a fraction of the talent in that one as she did in Goodnight, Beautiful, I’ll be giving that one ten stars. I wish I could give this book a zillion stars because that’s what it deserves. Goodnight, Beautiful has skyrocketed to the very top of my list of books to recommend.

I cannot possibly thank Hodder and Stoughton enough for allowing me the incredible privilege of reading this book in advance!

This was a brilliant book, it just flowed along quickly and you never lost interest even for a second. I read it whilst in hospital feeling very unwell but the book kept me happy and entertained, I was so sorry when it was finished.. Like other readers mentioned, the twists are ones you just don't see coming and you do question all that you have read so far to try and work out how that could possibly be, what happened while you had been concentrating on the previous page. It's so cleverly put together and the second half is a beauty. Definitely one of the best books I've read recently. An absolute corker if you forgive the phrase that justly deserves five stars. Keep them coming..

This was an exciting domestic thriller that started of as a literal rollercoaster and never slowed down. The characters were well drawn and the storyline flowed seamlessly. Highly recommended!

Sam Statler and Annie Potter are newlyweds and have just moved back to Sam's home town to be nearer his mother, who is in a care home. He is a therapist and has a brand new office and spends hours there listening to his patients
However, someone else is also listening to the conversations through a vent. in the ceiling.
The Sam disappears and Annie starts to realise that perhaps she didn't know him at all and perhaps she married to quickly.
This will keep you gripped to the end.

Five massive stars for this amazing and unique book that is the very definition of a proper thriller, I loved it.
When I first started reading I must admit after the first few chapters that I did think where is this book going, is anything going to happen and then I came to the end of part one and I sat there gobsmacked and shouting out loud “what the hell!! “. From then on in the twists kept coming and each and every one of them completely floored me so many times it really was amazing writing.
This is a book that’s impossible to describe without spoiling it so I’m not even going to try, I love thrillers and read a lot of them but oh this book just had my head spinning time and time again.
So if you love twists, shocks and surprises you have it all here, amazing writing and characters and how the hell can you miss this book , well you can’t you need to read it because you will never guess was happening and that is the mark of an exceptional thriller and that’s just what this book is so.
Massive thanks to Aimee Malloy oh boy you did yourself proud !!
My thanks also to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

“Hey There, Heartbreaker”
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I have genuinely never in my life read a book in just one sitting... until now. Just honestly, wow, I couldn’t have loved this book more and I couldn’t put it down for a second as I was dying to know what happened next!!
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Twist after twist this book HAD ME GRIPPED, I’ve seen a few people raving about this book too and now I’m not surprised! I haven’t read Aimee Molloy’s first novel but will definitely be grabbing myself a copy after reading this one!!
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This book gave me serious Gone Girl vibes, with its unexpected twists that I truly didn’t see coming. I just kept flipping page after page hungry for more details so I could fully put together what was happening, a wonderful novel about secrets and lies and how everything is not always as it seems.
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A true 5 star read and I couldn’t thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC! I can’t wait till this is out and everyone is talking about it too!!!

Goodnight Beautiful is one of those books that is so very hard to review as I don’t want to give anything away! There are two major twists in the book that not even I had seen coming and really challenges the reader not to make assumptions. They are so well constructed I gasped out-loud as a read them and I congratulate Aimee Molloy for catching me off-guard! I would say if you feel like you want to read the book, try not to read any reviews or anything and just delve in to get the full experience. That said, I will ensure not to have any spoilers in my review so feel safe to read below!

The book focuses on the life of psychologist Sam Statler and his wife Annie Potter who move to Chestnut Hill to look after his ill mother and start a new life together. However, when Sam disappears we start to see the lies and deceit that have been building up in their marriage.
The book bounces between quite a few perspectives but it is quite an easy plot to follow. The twists come thick and fast at the beginning which meant I raced through the book and finished it in one sitting – I couldn’t put it down! I do however feel a little disappointed at the ending, although the plot started very strongly the book then just wrapped everything up a little too neatly. I was waiting for a final twist and had a few ideas about what I thought might happen but this never came to fruition.

I should warn people that there are a few minor West Wing spoilers in this book. I have started watching since lockdown began and was sad to see a season 7 spoiler in here. Although I know that it’s been out for a long time by now so I can’t really complain! It’s hard to mention the things I liked about the book without giving anything away so please don’t take any of these nit-pick negatives too strongly. I enjoyed the psychology elements to the book and the nicknames for characters that one of our main players comes up with.

Overall, Goodnight Beautiful is a well-constructed thriller with some brilliant twists. The fact that I physically could not put it down has meant that it has more than earnt the first Kindig Gem for 2021! Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton – Hodder Paperbacks for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
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I loved this book. It was an inside look at marriage full of lies, secrets and deceit. And so many twists and shocks. A brilliant read xx

My best advice to you... go in blind. That's right... stop reading reviews just in case you learn something you shouldn't ahead of time. The delight of this book is that the author leads the reader a merry dance ALL THE WAY THROUGH! Just when you think you've sussed it all out - BAM! Another about face, twist, turn, secret, lie... Phew... I'm exhausted just thinking back on it.
Still with me... yep... I'm not one for following orders either... Suffice to say that I am saying nothing about what happens apart from it mostly revolves around the disappearance of therapist Sam Statler with fingers pointing to certain aspects of his life and those of the people around him.
Characterisation is interesting, and you'll understand that when you have actually read the book. Spoilers prevent me saying much more but I can say that I really didn't like many of the characters, and there aren't that many main ones, but that didn't mar my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
Pacing is good - there are a few parts to the book so there are pause throughout at the end of the sections. But, at the start of the next off we go again, back into the wilds of the action...
And the ending... well... all I could do was sit back and applaud the author for a job well done. I've popped The Perfect Mother on my TBR on the back of this already.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book gave me so many feelings that I genuinely struggle to put them into words. It was just brilliant and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished reading the last page. It was simply mind-blowing.

The book is absolutely brilliant and I loved every minute of reading it. There were no over descriptive sections that really add nothing to the story.
It is probably impossible to write about the story itself in a review as it will almost certainly give away the single most important clue as to what happens. So I won't!
Every so often (well, not that often!) I read a book where I reach a point that completely turns my expectations upside down on how the book will develop. The first one comes right at the end of 'Book 1' and there are 2 or 3 more further on but not quite at the same level. I'm sure some readers might work out things before I did but I'd expect the majority of readers to be similarly astonished. (I say astonished here as many years ago someone tried to explain the difference between surprised and astonished)
So if you want a really, really good read then go for this book.

I can’t believe I almost gave up on this book very early on because simply didn’t enjoy the opening chapter. I would have missed a brilliant read if I had chosen not to carry on. I read a couple of reviews which were very positive and they together with the fact that I hate not finishing a book encouraged me to continue and boy am I glad I did. This book is excellent. The plot, the characters, the timing and the humour are all equally clever. It’s not like any other thriller I’ve read and it doesn’t slot into an easy category because it’s much more than a thriller but thrilled and on the edge of your seat you will be!
I’m already looking up Aimee Molloy books although reading the authors Acknowledgments I think this was a very original venture even for her.
Easy to score it an outstanding five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.
Oh My! This is an excellently-written thriller brimming with obscurities and mis-direction which I found difficult to comprehend at first, resorting to re-reading parts to get my head around it. By the end I was in total awe of this author's expertise in weaving this complex plot - full of surprises and red-herrings. Amazing.
I can't write too much without going into the realms of spoilers but it centres around Dr Sam Statler and his wife Annie Potter. Having moved from New York City to the suburbs of Chestnut Hill - Sam's home town, Sam's mother Margaret is in an expensive local nursing home and he is a psychologist. One stormy night Sam disappears..................................

There is just so much to this story I couldn't put it down, I just had to get to the bottom of what exactly was going on - just when you think you've got a handle on one aspect, the author throws a curve-ball, exploding your thoughts apart.

A really good and intriguing read.

Goodnight Beautiful is set in Chestnut Hill, New York, the childhood home town of psychologist Sam Statler. He’s happily returning with his wife, Annie Potter to set up an office space in which he can meet with his clients, a move necessitated by his need to be physically closer to his mother who is now residing in a facility caring for those with dementia. The Statler family are well known within the community, Sam with a reputation as a ladies man, his mother a secretary of long standing at the local high school and his absent father remembered mainly as the man who left his family for an underwear model. But Sam is now a reformed character celebrating his marriage on a weekly basis with the woman who’s finally managed to pin him down. Finding an office space to rent in the historic Lawrence house is the icing on the cake and life is looking rosy for this couple until one stormy night when Sam,having left his office for the evening fails to turn up for a romantic assignation with Annie. A community wide search begins for her missing husband but unfortunately that’s as much detail I can sensibly relay without giving away any spoilers. The strength of this thriller lies in the gullibility of the reader and I was a willing victim!

I really only have positive thoughts about this compulsive thriller that stands out from the crowd , even though there isn’t anything particularly original about the methods employed for obscuring the truths that have a tendency to creep up on you without warning. Perhaps it’s simply the author’s delivery and timing of pertinent details that makes reading this like a breath of fresh air. If I have one negative thing to say about this thriller it’s that as a British gal with no interest or knowledge in baseball, these references completely passed me by. I was worried this would detract from my enjoyment of the plot but fear not,in in the scheme of things this subject matter is background information only. Once I’d overcome my initial worry this author had me eating out of the palm of her hand gobbling up every morsel of this storyline that delivers on every count.

I liked how Molloy has used Sam Statler, as a psychologist and therefore an expert in the complexities of the mind as her main character who now finds himself caught up in the mind games of others around him. Whilst he’s a complicit partner in the sexual role play games he enjoys with wife Annie, there’s also his mother’s condition of pre senile dementia to cope with and his almost non existent relationship with absent father and fellow baseball lover. The state of this relationship is really the only black cloud on the horizon but one that has shaped his life as a child growing up into the man he is today, desperate not to repeat his father’s mistakes. As details of this couple’s daily life emerge, there’s something incredibly enticing about this author’s writing, making this thriller one NOT to miss.

So what makes this read so addictive? Well, for me it is the way in which Molloy has understood how the majority of readers will interpret and assimilate the information she presents to her audience, tricking you into forming assumptions without you even realising you’re doing it. With deliciously deceptive writing, twice she stopped me in my tracks, having to flip back a few pages to make sense of what I’d just read because I couldn’t believe how masterfully I’d been played. With the first twist comes the realisation that you could be in the company of an unreliable narrator but if that isn’t enough to convince you how cleverly masterminded this plot is then just wait for the next jaw dropping surprise! My face was a picture of shock and horror as I laughed at how easily, once again,I’d fallen for the bait. Unusually for a thriller there is wry humour to some of these characters exchanges that I greatly appreciated and didn’t expect to come across. This is a storyline that keeps on giving!

I’ve begun to fall a little bit out of love with books of this genre since the market is flooded with thrillers that in my opinion are often good but not outstanding. Occasionally you chance upon one that is deserving of all the rave reviews and with Goodnight Beautiful the author has restored my faith! Believe the hype and read the book today! I promise you it is time well spent. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

This is such a fabulous, gripping, read. It's got great characters with real depth, a cracking plot, a nod to the great Stephen King and twists and turns aplenty.
It's rare that a storyline makes me shout out loud and this did!

For me, this is a book that, when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.

A young couple move from New York to the country due to the husband's mother being ill. He's a psychiatrist and unbeknownst to him, his sessions can be heard within the house, via an air vent. Who wouldn't listen?
What follows is so well written I was absolutely hooked and I'm gutted now that I've finished it.

I understand from the author's acknowledgements that this almost became a different story. Thank goodness she trusted her instinct and Congratulations Aimee Molloy on delivering a first class 5* thriller of a read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author for the opportunity to preview this cracker.

EXCERPT: October 20

I look up as a man with ruddy cheeks walks into the restaurant, shaking rain from his baseball cap. 'Hey, sweetheart,' he calls to the pink-haired girl mixing drinks behind the bar. 'Any chance you can hang this in the window?'

'Sure thing,' she says, nodding toward the piece of paper in his hand. 'Another fundraiser for the fire department?'

'No, someone's gone missing,' he says.

'Missing? What happened to her?'

'Not her. Him.'

'Him? Well that's not something you hear every day.'

'Disappeared the night of the storm. Trying to get the word out.'

The door closes behind him as she walks to the end of the bar and picks up the flyer, reading aloud to the woman eating lunch at the corner seat. 'Dr. Sam Statler, a local therapist, is six foot one, with black hair and green eyes. He's believed to be driving a 2019 Lexus RX350.' Whistling, she holds up the piece of paper. 'Whoever he's gone missing with is a lucky lady.' I steal a glance at Sam's photograph - those eyes, that dimple, the word MISSING in seventy-two-point font above his head.

'I saw the story in the paper this morning,' the woman at the bar says. 'He went to work and never came home. His wife reported him missing.'

The pink-haired girl goes to the window. 'Wife, huh? Sure hope she has a good alibi. You know the old saying: 'When a man goes missing, it's always the wife.' '

ABOUT 'GOODNIGHT BEAUTIFUL': Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele.

Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie's happily ever after.

MY THOUGHTS: I made this comment when I was 38% through Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy, 'OMG! This is like a packet of chocolate biscuits. You just can't stop at one!'

I read Goodnight Beautiful voraciously. I devoured it, and licked my fingers afterwards. This is a cleverly plotted and addictive read. I read it every moment I could, and many when I shouldn't have.

Goodnight Beautiful is a true psychological thriller. I am not going to recap the plot, or talk about the characters. I read the synopsis back in September 2020 when I requested the ARC. I didn't reread it before I started reading, and I recommend you do the same. The twists and turns will knock you for six, so clear your day and settle down to read this in one session.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.8

#GoodnightBeautiful #NetGalley #aimeemolloy718 #hodderstoughton

@aimeenmolloy @hodderbooks

#fivestarread #contemporaryfiction #crime #psychologicalthriller #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Aimee Molloy is a New York Times bestselling author of several books such as: However Long the Night: Molly Melching's Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph. She is also the co-author of many non-fiction books like Jantsen's Gift and The Perfect Mother.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Loved this one! So easy to read and lots of twists and turns along the way. Definitely a quick read and one I recommend.