✨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.

Patience is a general dogsbody at a nursing home.

Edith is a reluctant resident of the same nursing home.

Clio is Edith’s estranged daughter.

Frankie is a prison librarian.

The story is told from the POV of each of these women, across two timelines twenty years apart. How their characters evolve, twist and merge to make a connection between all of them is a work of art! Full of secrets, lies and deceptions, this is show of great storytelling. Addictive and compulsive reading, beautifully written. A bit of a “cop” out at the end but it takes nothing away from the rest of the book.

Would definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I am a bit conflicted about this book. Yes, I flew through it. It was gripping and addictive. I felt myself wanting to dive back in. But I’m not sure I loved it much. The Multiple POVs where quite confusing at the start and when they started to make sense I found it predictable and other twists too far-fetched. I couldn’t really connect with the characters, except for Patience and Liberty. I did enjoy reading it but I just believe there could have been a better ending to it that would leave the reader more satisfied.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short chapters
Twisted family relationships
Multiple POVs

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
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.

What an amazing read! Loved the twists and turns that were dealt. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to anyone

New author for me. I enjoyed this book but felt halfway through that it dragged a little.

Story taken from 3 different people, lost children, abduction, adoption, and then the fight to find the truth.

Will watch this author for future books

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

Short chapters? Yes
Multiple POV? Yes
More twists and turns than a maze? Yes

I really enjoyed this read! It was quick and fast paced. Some of the twists I guessed early on but most were a total shocker!

Good Bad Girl is a complex, twisty narrative seen through four alternating points of view. Edith, an 80-year-old woman in a nursing home looking to escape, Patience, an 18-year-old runaway and caregiver who lives above an art gallery, (my favourite character) and Clio, Edith’s estranged daughter who is in her fifties and lives in a pink house. The fourth is Frankie, a thirty-year-old prison librarian, living on a narrow boat whose teenage daughter ran away a year ago.

Each character has a secret held at a cost which is what makes the book so satisfying. But how do their pasts intertwine? How is each character linked? But most importantly, when these pasts are untangled, what will it reveal about each character? The book explores themes of betrayal and the lengths a family will go to protect their loved ones.

One of the most horrific crimes⸺and the biggest hook for me⸺is the theft of a baby from a pram on Mother’s Day. I had to know what happened. 20 years later, there is a murder in a care home. Is there a connection between the two crimes?

On this occasion, I wasn’t able to read this book in one sitting, sadly, but I highly recommend doing so. It’s harder to remember multiple chapter POVs without going back to reread sections to reacquaint yourself. But I couldn’t wait to read the book every chance I got and that’s a sure sign of how addictive Alice Feeney’s story is. It’s an emotional book about four sharply drawn characters that grabs you and holds you in its thrall. I was totally hooked. Not many books can surprise me but this one did!

"The world is full of people who are good at being bad and those who are bad at being good and sometimes bad things happen to good people who are forced to do bad."

I really enjoyed this book even though it was a bit of a slow burn to begin with.

It is told from four womens perspectives. Frankie, Patience, Clio, and Edith.

On mothers day, twenty years ago, a small lapse in concentration led to the taking of a baby from her pram.

In the present day, we learn about all of these four womens characters and lives. Frankie is sad and lonely after her daughter ran away. Patience is living by the skin of her teeth. Edith is stuck in a care home and believes that her friend May was murdered. Clio lives in a beautiful pink house from which she runs her counselling business, but she is lonely and sad.

Three of these women become suspects in another murder that happens at the care home, and as the story unfolds, we start to learn how these women are connected.

The connections and revelations are extremely clever and well written. You start to become bombarded with twist after delicious twist, and it's brilliant!

Alice gives us beautifully written and relatable characters and a wonderful story with an extremely wonderful ending.

I'd call this more of a domestic suspense rather than a thriller, but it doesn't disappoint and is definitely worth a read!!

xx

Wow. I devoured this one and couldn't put it down until the last page. I love Alice Feeney ever since Rock Paper Scissors and reading this reminded me of her magic in this genre.

I would recommend to go blind with this one! Without going into spoilers this is told in multiple perspectives. A missing baby, a lady in the old age home and several connected characters make the story. It is well layered and keeps you hooked and I personally didn't see the twists coming! Must read for all thriller fans!

Thank you Pan Macmillan, Alice Feeney and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan, Alice Feeney and Netgalley for granting me an arc of Good Bad Girl.
Overall rating: 3.5 ⭐

I liked it a lot - I saw a lot of other reviews saying the pacing was slow and the end of chapter cliffhangers didnt work for them - but I was the opposite, I think the pacing was fairly fast and the cliffhangers kept me hooked and wanting to keep reading, hence why I finished the last 70% in one sitting.
I will say that the overall plot does seem a bit over complicated, there's a lot of different POVs and characters that somehow all tie into the story and it did get a bit overwhelming. It was also predictable, there was only ONE twist that came out of left field which I felt was a bit underwhelming. The ending was wrapped up all nicely in a bow which also felt a bit boring to me and the fact that the detective let (everyone) off in the end felt a bit unrealistic.

It was a good, quick read, filled with suspense and mystery, but I think that Rock Paper Scissors still remains as my top Alice Feeney book for now.

This story follows 4 women, Edith an elderly lady living in a care home, Patience, a young girl and Edith’s carer, Clio a psychologist who lives in a big pink house and Frankie a prison librarian.

A twisty domestic thriller that keeps you guessing: At first you can’t imagine how their stories will intertwine, but everything is slowly revealed, with the ending nicely bringing everything together.

I really recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC.

Good bad girl is the second book I have read by Alice Feeney and I’m hooked! This novel is a mystery/thriller that keeps you on your toes throughout. I love how she keeps you guessing right up until near the end. Alice’s writing is original and suspenseful, with great character development.
I’ve read so many thrillers over the years and have really developed a dislike for this genre as there is a huge lack of originality, however Alice wins in my opinion as queen of the mystery/thriller category.
A brilliant read!

Another one I could not put down and devoured in one sitting. I absolutely recommend this book. Be ready for an afternoon or evening of completely neglecting any chores as this one will have you hooked within the first chapter. I live for books that leave me speechless and this book did just that. I actually feel quite sorry for the next book that I read because there is no way it be able to compete with this twisty gem.

I even don't know where to start! WOW! This was just something! Something fantastic, something so, so enjoyable! I was thinking about how to describe my feelings while reading this book. This morning I finally realized how to make you understand how exactly I am feeling.
Imagine you love cakes, of all sizes and shapes. You get a cake, grab a spoon and dig in and after a couple of hours or a day the cake is gone and you grab your next one, and next one... and then you get a cake you were waiting for for a month and month and without thinking you munch in, one spoon after another and you realize that this cake taste better than many, many previous ones! And you slow down. You don't want to "just" finish this cake, you want it to last as it tastes so, so good.

7 days! This is how long I manage to enjoy this book!

The first chapter sucked me in straight away. A couple of the following ones were confusing as many new characters were introduced and were hard to understand how they could be related.
Eleanor - Missing (stolen) baby
Frankie - prison librarian
Clio - a psychologist from the Pink House
Jude - art gallery manager
Patience - care home assistant
Edith - care home resident
Chapter by chapter like plaiting hairs this story comes together, connections in between are established and you start to guess who is carrying the darker secrets!
As you can guess there is a murder to solve and somehow solving this murder they may just get some answers about what happened to the baby who disappeared.

Twists and turns one after another. No one knows anyone and everyone knows everyone, head spinning and you trying to understand "What is going on!" some chapters I reread twice just to ensure I understood correctly!

This was so an unbelievably yummy book that first thing after finishing I went to Amazon and ordered a hardcover! I need to keep this book on my shelve!

I can't express how grateful I feel to be chosen for this advance copy! Thank you NetGalley and thank you Pan Macmillan for choosing me!
#GoodBadGirl #NetGalley #PanMacmillan

This book is a little slow but I did enjoy it. I thought Edith was a great character. Rock Paper Scissors is still my favourite book by Alice Feeney though which is one of the best books I have read and a lot to live up to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC.

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

This is a stand alone book which revolves around a group of women who are all connected in some way, which becomes clearer as the book goes on.

The book really picked up for me around 70% and I finished the book that day as I really wanted to see how this turned out.

Without revealing any spoilers, my favourite character is Edith, who at first seems a no nonsense, say it as it is, hard faced old lady, but it turns out she does have a heart, a very big one.

There is a big twist towards the end, which I didn’t see coming and I did get a bit emotional at the end.

The book was well written and kept me gripped towards the end, it wraps up at the right pace. It didn’t feel rushed.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I’d rate it 4 ⭐️ out of 5.
🐞

Thank you to Pan MacMillan & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

Alice Feeney does it again in her new novel Good Bad Girl!

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.

This book drove me mad trying to work out what connected these characters, Alice Feeney truly is the queen of twists and turns, I started to work it out about 60% in and boy did I have fun getting there. I loved the multiple POV’s and I just wanted to carry on reading until I found out what on earth was going on in this book! I had a good time, if you like a good mystery, you won’t be disappointed. I love Alice Feeney and I will devour anything she puts out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there were so many twists and turns I couldn’t believe I didn’t see them coming!

This book is told from 4 different current view points and 1 from the past. Patience, Clio, Frankie and Edith are our storytellers but how are they all connected. Patience is Edith’s carer and confidante in the nursing home and her mother is Frankie. Edith is Clio’s mother although they are pretty much estranged.

The story is set on Mothers Day and after the Nursing home manager, Joy is murdered, Edith goes missing and Patience, Clio and Frankie are all suspect no.1. Who killed Joy and how do these women all know one another?

There was a lot going on in this book and it took me a while to get what was happening but once I did I was hooked!

Such a good suspense thriller, keeping me on the edge of my seat!

I always get excited for a new book by the author Alice Feeney and Good Bad girl is another amazing read.
Be careful what you wish for, because it may come true.
Mother’s Day twenty years ago, a new tired mother was on a trip to the local supermarket. She was so tired, and her baby wouldn’t stop crying that she wished her baby would disappear. Little did she know when she gets to the supermarket her baby gets snatched and never seen again.
Frankie is a librarian at the local prison. Her daughter went missing over a year ago and she will do anything to find her.
Present day, eighty-year-old Edith resides in the care home where she has been tricked to go there by her daughter Clio. Her only respite is help from general dogbody 18-year-old Patience who goes shopping for her and brings her treats and her dog who is not supposed to be there. Patience is only working there as a stop gap until she can get into Art college. But really can you trust her? So, when the manager and one of the residents is murder, they all are in the frame.
DCI Chapman is investigating and intrigued by the three suspects. They all seem to be lying about something. Who did murder the manager. Only time will tell.
Thank you, Pan Macmillan, for a copy of Alice Feeney latest book. This was slow at first to get into with each character complex back story. But this another riveting, twisty read by the author. Showing how far will a mother go to protect their daughter. Another 5 star read from me.