'Good Bad Girl' by Alice Feeney is a story of secrets and lies brilliantly told with a cleverly constructed plot line. The story does examine the effects of pregnancy at a young age and how it fashions life and uses flashbacks to 20 years ago to good effect. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book in return for an honest review. It is not a long book and I completed it in a couple of days.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.

Frankie: A librarian at a prison

Patience: A dogsbody at a care home

Edith: A resident of the care home and former store detective

Clio: Ediths daughter who put her mother in the care home. 

Twenty years ago a baby was stolen from her push-chair and then a woman in a care home is murdered. These 2 events are linked and Edith, Patience and Clío need to solve the mystery. 

I have read a few books by Alice Feeney and having loved them all I was so happy to have been picked to read this arc via NetGalley. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

Anyway back to the book which had so many bumps and twists I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. My brain got scrambled trying to work out the connections with the characters but this wasn’t a bad thing because it just had me in a choke hold and I just couldn’t put the book down.

Did I expect the ending? Nope and I’m glad because it would have spoiled it a bit for me. Another brilliant book by this author which I highly recommend.

I really enjoyed Daisy Darker by the same author and although I havent read any of her other books, I was looking forward to this one but I didn't like it.

I thought, from the blurb, that it would be a bit lighter but I found it all quite sad and upsetting I especially disliked the grim and so depressing description of the care home and the staff so I just skimmed those bits and possibly missed things as a result.

I was confused by the characters and what their secrets were and in my opinion the book was slow and took too long for the connections to be made clear. I am sure it is skillfully written with twists but it is not for me.

This book does follow a number of perspectives that I did find it a bit confusing at first and couldn't really see the relevance in each character. However, it didn't take long for the twists to start revealing the storyline and how they were all connected.

It's very fast paced that I literally did not put it down - I had to know what was happening. I certainly didn't expect the big twist at the end!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would recommend it to those who have enjoyed Alice's previous books.

This is the third book by Alice Feeney that I have read, and I've loved them all.
Four women, Frankie, Patience, Edith, and Clio. We learn a little about each one through their pov.
Mother's Day 20 years ago, and Clio's daughter was taken from a supermarket while in her mother Edith's care. Clio has never recovered. Suffering from postpartum depression.
Frankie works in the prison library. Her daughter ran away on her 18th birthday, but why?
I loved how it's quite a slow burn, lots of twists, and turns as each piece of the puzzle starts to come together. How each of these women are connected.
Edith was a great character. I loved that her dog Dickens was smuggled into the care home.
The twist towards the end was very clever. I never guessed.
This is a different style of writing from the author. More drama/ thriller than the previous dark suspense.
This is definitely unputdownable. The chapters are short, so it's very easy to just keep reading.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Good Bad Girl is a very entertaining mystery, told from multiple perspectives - a young runaway working in a care home, an 80-year old former store detective who she befriends, and their respective estranged mother and daughter. The characters each have their own flaws and some of the relationships are deeply damaged but the story manages to be heartwarming as the characters come together to solve the mystery of two deaths, months apart, that occur at the care home. A feel-good mystery that keeps you guessing.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney is a dual timeline multiple perspective mystery thriller, about 4 women, who may or may not be connected in some way.


This is definitely the type of novel that really should grab you from the start as the first scene is the description of a baby being kidnapped. The story then moves 20 years later to the present.

The story then drags as we are introduced to the main characters in the novel whose point of view will make up the story with each individual getting their own chapter. However even though each individual had their own chapter there were times at the start of the book that I was unsure on whose perspective I was reading.

Which made the story difficult to get into and nearly led to me not finishing the book, although once everything clicked the story became a competent domestic mystery thriller, with lots of twists and turns..

While some twists and turns were explained in the book, others just seemed a bit of a coincidence that put the story almost into the unbelievable range that could be expected from this type of novel.

I am now going to go on a little rant about this novel. Firstly I would like to say I know this story is told all the way through the female perspective and shows how good people can do bad things, and this is mainly told through a female perspective.

However, why are all the men in this book either not in the picture at all,ran away when the going got tough to carry on as normal, or have very little redeeming features.

While not all women in the story who do not get their own point of view told are, can be on either side of good and evil.

So while there are some weakness to the novel in style plot and character development their is still an interesting mystery thriller,

Good Girl, Bad Girl Alice Feeney

5 stars

Another author to add to my list!

I tried to get this author’s previous book to review but was unsuccessful so I was very excited to be accepted to review this one and I was not disappointed.

The story starts with a baby girl being snatched from a supermarket 20 years before. It then switches to the current day where we meet Edith an 80 year old living in a dreadful care home having been tricked into moving there by her daughter, Clio. Her only friend is Patience, an 18 year old care worker who helps smuggle in Edith’s dog which she has adopted and also is allowed to use Edith’s credit card to buy her items. When Patience is discovered with this card by the care home manager, Joy Bonetta, she is immediately fired.

Joy is subsequently found murdered and Patience becomes one of the main suspects. However, Edith’s daughter Clio who had visited that day only because she felt obliged to, as it was Mother’s day becomes another suspect. Clio has a terrible relationship with her mother which stems from the fact that it was her baby, Eleanor who had been kidnapped and Edith had not supported her at the time. The third suspect is Frankie Fletcher who works as a librarian in a prison. She also has a daughter but has been estranged from her for over a year. She comes to the care home signing in as Clio who is her therapist but whom Frankie thinks may know something about her daughter.

It soon becomes apparent that all these people are linked but how is gradually revealed throughout the book and the most shocking reveal for me was right at the end.

I really enjoyed this book, all the main participants have difficult mother-daughter relationships and we are told their stories by each individual which I could relate to having had a difficult relationship with my own mother. The title is so appropriate as all the characters do bad things but mainly because they think they are doing good. I was intrigued by all the relationships and particularly enjoyed the author’s thoughts throughout the book.

One of my favourites was

‘The maps inside our minds that lead to happiness and sadness are all self-made. We are not born with mapped-out lives, we are the cartographers of our own destiny.

I will definitely be searching out the other books by this author, I would love to read more by her.



Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

Wow what a suspenseful joyride of a story! Twenty years after a baby is stolen in a supermarket an intricate tale is woven together as we try and solve the mystery of not only what happened to the baby but also of murders occurring in a care home.
I love Alice Feeneys style of writing and how she tells the story through each characters personal point of view. There were some twists that I definitely didn't see coming and I loved the characters. Definitely give this book a read!

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.”
After devouring Daisy Darker I was very excited for the opportunity to read Good Bad Girl and it did not disappoint. The story centers around three women, assumed interconnected, but we don’t know how. There are twists and turns, a very exciting final twist, and several good people doing some bad things. One of my favorite aspects was how many times happy accidents occurred that showed key plot points, but just as many near misses happened as well. Dramatic irony at it’s finest.
I did find the book slightly difficult to start as there was so much ambiguity at the beginning. I found it hard to follow the characters and the plot with so many missing pieces that were not yet filled in. Once these started being filled though I was hooked.
Favorite quote: “There is often a gap between what we think and what we say: it’s where what we feel lives.”

Thank you NetGalley, Pan MacMilan and Alice Feeney for the advances copy in exchange for my honest review.

Drop everything to read this book as you will need all your time and thoughts to process what you're reading. The prologue starts with a young baby being taken from a supermarket and then moves to an old woman, Edith, in a nursing home. We meet Patience, a carer in the home, Clio, the owner of the pink house and Frankie a prison librarian.You may wonder what they have in common and you'll keep wondering until the last quarter of the book. Yes, it's confusing but as Alice Feeney fans that's what you expect. Keep your wits about you.
I loved Patience and Edith's characters, thought they had a bond. The others not so much. I'm sure it will be a hit but it wasn't really for me
Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read this advanced copy for which I'm under no obligation to review

ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʙᴀᴅ ɢɪʀʟ ʙʏ ᴀʟɪᴄᴇ ꜰᴇᴇɴᴇʏ

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things."

When the email popped up to say I had an advanced copy of @alicewriterland new book, I dropped everything to read it and did so in one day! Thank you @netgalley 🥰

Good Bad Girl gripped me from the start as a baby is taken, before skipping to present day where a scene is set in a terrible nursing home for the beginning of the end to unfold! The characters were well thought out and kept me switching theories as to if or how they could be connected. This wasn't Alice's biggest shock of a twisty book, but it promises still to keep you giessing. It was unputdownable, and she remains one of my must-buy authors 📚

Make sure you've got your copy ordered or plan a bookshop trip for when this is released on 3rd August 2023!

Description:
Twenty years after a baby is stolen from her push-chair, 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 up mess 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.

#kaylouisereads #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #reading #bookaddict #bookaholic #bookshelf #goodreads #bookclub #selfcare #quiet time #escapewithagoodbook #authorsofinstagram #alicefeeney #goodbadgirl #netgalley

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC of this book.

The story begins on Mother’s Day twenty years ago when a baby is kidnapped from their pram in a supermarket. The main characters are Edith who is in a Care Home, Clio, her daughter, Patience who works in the Care Home and Frankie who works as a Librarian in a Prison. We slowly find out how these women are interconnected, their secrets and the mother/daughter dynamics around them.

It’s a slow moving family thriller, but has a lot of twists and turns along the way. I really enjoyed it and can see why the author is a favourite of many. I will definitely be reading more by her.

It will be released on 3 August.

Thank you to the author, Alice Feeney, the publisher, Macmillan and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for this honest review.

The story begins with a baby being stolen from her push-chair in a supermarket whilst her mother talks to an old work colleague. It's an intriguing set-up and I really wanted to know more. Time then speeds ahead to present day where a young girl is working in a nursing home and cares far more about the residents than other staff or even the resident's own families. It is here that a woman is killed and the mysteries surrounding the 4 female POVs starts to really unfold.

I connected really strongly with Edith and Patience and felt that their relationship was something special. Especially since she doesn't seem to have as strong a bond with her own daughter Clio and her past history as a store detective is a fun addition. I found Edith's character development very well written, even more so when you find out more about her past. I also thoroughly enjoyed the addition of Dickens the dog and the idea of sneaking him in to cheer Edith up.

I found Patience fascinating. The fact that you are made aware very early on that her name is fake, is a big hook to find out who she really is. She is just so likeable that you want everything to work out for her. It is easy to dislike the characters that make things harder for her and even easier to want only the best for this polite and kind, young girl. Her art is a great insight into her character and helps to further some of the other mysteries later on in the book.

I have always heard great things about this author and have read one other of her books in the past and really enjoyed it. The ending appears very rushed and so it's a little disappointing. There was a lot in this story that was predictable and the couple of twists that I didn't see coming weren't actually too shocking in order to bring the rating of the book up.

This book is absolutely a softer mystery than what I have experienced with Alice Feeney in the past. It definitely lives up to the first 2 words of it's title, 'Good Bad'. Although, the beginning of the story can seem a little confusing and some things are quite predictable, I found that the final twists did make it a good read in the end. The short chapters are also headed by which character the reader is now following and so that helps to clear up any confusion a multi-POV story can sometimes cause.

Full review on my Goodreads @ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5673040638

It took me a little while to get into this book with the different POVs and trying to remember complex relationships. However, I was able to dedicate a chunk of time to reading it uninterrupted and I then raced through it. Some of the twists, as in most books like this, relied way too much on coincidence but I hadn't guessed the main secrets and that kept me reading. It struck me at times like a Richard Osman, Joanne Cannon hybrid ( a complimentary comment), but Ms Feeney definitely has her own voice and is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.
Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of this book.

What a read,for me this has to be the best Alice Feeney has written so far. I raced through it I just couldn't put it. down.Told from multiple points of views from the past to the present with an amazing twist that I didn't see coming.
EXCELLENT
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillian for the ARC.

A murder in a care home, a baby stolen from a pram and a young talented artist who is working at the care home to save up for art studies. Just what is the connection between these seemingly unrelated and random events? This book started off as a bit of a slow burn and I struggled at first to remember all the characters. However, once I'd got that straight I couldn't put the book down. I pride myself on being fairly good at solving mysteries but this defeated me. Just as I thought I'd figured out what was going to happen, yet another devious and clever twist was introduced. Can't wait to read more by this excellent writer.

I had such a good time with this book! Got to around 50% and then literally couldn't put it down till I'd finished it. There are a good few characters thrown at you straight away and my brain was so occupied with remembering who was who that it wasn't until around 30% that I even tried to solve the mystery myself.
I thought I had it figured out, Alice Feeney even LET me think I'd figured it out, and then I got the rug pulled out from under my feet.
--Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian for providing me with an eARC of this book!--

✨Synopsis✨
In a web of deceit and danger, a stolen baby and a murdered woman in a care home are connected. Edith, planning her escape, bonds with caregiver Patience, who hides secrets. Meanwhile, Edith's estranged daughter, Clio, faces a menacing visitor as the women navigate a mystery of two murders and a missing baby, uncovering the ties that bind them.

✨My Thoughts✨
I really enjoyed this one! I was really in the mood for a thriller and this one definitely hit the spot! I think this one showed a different side to Feeneys writing and I really enjoyed some of the humourous, outrageous elements. I think she wrote Edith so well and managed to capture so many themes of someone growing older, difficulties in caring for them and knowing when care is going wrong whilst still completely gripping me in the story itself. I liked how it had my second guessing what I knew throughout and I found it just really satisfying. It was just such a strong four star read that I wouldn’t hesitate in recomending to anyone as I just know so many different people with different tastes would enjoy it! Such a quick pacey read too and just hit the spot nicely! This one comes out at the beginning of August so add it to your list!

This was a really good read with intricately entwined sub plots. It did get a little confusing at times but all came together in the end with a couple of big twists. One of which I definitely didn’t see coming. I absolutely loved Edith with her mischievous ways. She really gave me Thursday murder club vibes. I love reading books with older characters. I’ve previously worked in prisons and am a counsellor so loved those aspects of the book. A nice easy read which kept me guessing.