Rating: 4.5/5

Alice Feeney has become one of those (relatively few) authors whose work I not only thoroughly enjoy, but whose skill I also greatly admire. She also manages produce standalone novels that are markedly different from one another, rather than falling into the potential trap of following a successful, but perceptible formula. "Good Bad Girl" is another superbly constructed story, but has less dark thriller elements than some of the author's previous work. It is essentially a domestic drama, but with a multitude of cleverly handled plot developments as the story unfolds.

The narrative is told from the perspectives of the four key protagonists. The characterisation is impressive and although it takes a little while to feel comfortably familiar with each of the central players they do become very well-rounded and fully fleshed and credible. This well-executed characterisation means that the author is is able to incorporate some delightfully humorous interchanges between the characters at various points, which demonstrates nice use of light and shade in amongst the growing intrigue and tension of the central plot thread.

You will certainly need to keep your wits about you as you read this novel. The unexpected developments keep on coming and coming. Just when you think that you have pretty much sussed out what is going on, so another blindsiding disclosure takes you unawares. But there are no underhand dealings on the part of the writer - the clues are all there, but tucked away amongst the subtle misdirection. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way that Alice Feeney closed a number of the chapters. When you read of lot of books from this genre, you become somewhat tired of reading the same old hackneyed and melodramatic chapter endings. However, here the author uses several deliciously mischievous ones, which makes for a welcome and refreshing change.

"Good Bad Girl" is yet another hugely enjoyable book from Alice Feeney that works wonderfully well on a variety of levels. This author doesn't always deliver the novel that I anticipate reading when I start one of her books, but that is no bad thing and I always enjoy the voyage of discovery. This one was no exception and I will, of course, be back again for her next offering too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Alice Feeney is my fave psychological author, so I was looking forward to reading this! I expected this to be a very twisty one like her other books, but this is actually more like domestic thriller / murder mystery. I didn’t know that, so I kept waiting for a big twist that makes my eyes fo wide. But it didn’t come… it was the most predictable thriller by her I have read. It’s not a bad book. I liked that it focused on motherhood. Just not what I expected from the author. 3/3.5 ⭐️

I have always enjoyed Alice’s writing style and twisty, unpredictable stories.

This is a story about mothers and their children, specifically daughters, and their choices and regrets that flow onto the next generation, which in turn influence their choices and behaviour etc etc. You get the idea. But Alice has entwined these insights into a cleverly constructed mystery full of surprises around every corner.

A wonderful page turner I can highly recommend.

Wow, what a fantastic read. Told from the view point of four very different women, from different generations, exploring motherhood and its many high and lows.

I always enjoy Alice Feeney and this didn't disappoint! Intriguing, with great characters, a great book.

DNF at 30%

Unfortunately I need to stop reading books by this author. The Facebook-esque cliché quotes every few sentences absolutely kills me off and I just can't read any more.

It's a shame as the story seemed quite interesting and I liked the characters, I just couldn't cope with the live laugh love quotes.

Good Bad Girl, Alice Feeney.

Three suspects. Two murders. One victim.

Twenty years ago a baby was snatched from a pram. Now a woman has been murdered in a care home. What links these crimes? & which good bad girl will be the key to unravelling the truth?

This felt like a real departure for me from Feeney’s usual thrills. I’ve gotten so used to her twisted, biting reads.
This multi narrative read is one that you’ll feel you’re constantly on the edge of unravelling just for another spool of twists to appear ahead.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for my copy

This was an okay read, nothing special, and definitely not as exciting as I hoped it would be. There were way too many POVs, it was very hard to follow along with which POV you were reading at the time, and the plot took so long to get going. The book definitely could have been shorter. I also wasn't a big fan of the plot twist and I think it was pretty predictable, which is an issue I've had with the author's previous book as well. However, if you liked Daisy Darker I'm sure you will like this one too.

I find with Alice's books they can start off slow but are well worth sticking with and this was no different. Lots of twists some I saw coming and some I didn't. Very good read

I'm a big fan of Alice Feeney's previous novels and Good Bad Girl lived up to my expectations. A delicious, fun, twisty thriller that's perfect for your August summer holiday

Thank you to NetGalley and Panmacmillan for this ARC

20 years ago old a baby is stolen from her stroller and 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.

Alice Feeney thrillers are always a must and this one definitely didn’t disappoint.

Multiple timelines and poi’s and a super twisty emotional story line!

This is not my first Alice Feeney read so I knew I would get a good thriller. Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to get an early read. I was really enjoying the story throughout, not just the murder side of the story but how the different characters parts were playing out and how their stories became entangled. I enjoyed the twists and one in particular I really did not see coming which was a big shock towards the end. As always well written and a really good read. This is going to be another big hit from Alice Feeney.

Good Bad Girl - Alice Feeney

A new Alice Feeney title is a must read ASAP. Everybody knows that!

Alice Feeney frequently challenges expectations and perceptions of what mystery / thrillers can be, and Good Bad Girl is no exception.

With a cast that includes eighty-years-young Edith, tricked into a nursing home by daughter Clio, Prison Iibrarian Frankie and care worker Patience you know you're in for a bumpy, unconventional ride.

The tag line is 'Three Suspects - Two Murders - One Victim', the murder seems almost incidental to the interplay between the characters, which is brilliantly done!

Everything rests on 'who knew what about who, and when' they are frequent twisty reveals and plenty of Alice Feeney's signature throwaway philosophical truisms.

I wouldn't say it was a great thriller, but it is a hugely enjoyable read.

If you love Alice Feeney's books, this is a must!

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan MacMillan

This has multiple timelines and multiple points of view which led to some confusion for me, particularly in the first part of the book. Edith's character is well described as is Patience's but I never really got into Clio's head so I wasn't 100% gripped and didn't really feel her pain at the loss of her baby. There are good twists and turns and a satisfying ending so an overall good read.

#GoodBadGirl #NetGalley
Masterpiece.
Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, 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 messes 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 was a wow.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me an advance copy.

4.5* rounded up to 5

Okay, so. I only discovered Alice Feeney last year with Daisy Darker, but I was instantly hooked on her writing. It was excellent and I couldn't wait to read more. She's clearly got a passion and a talent for writing mind-bending thrillers, and I for one am here for it.

This is completely different to Daisy Darker. Whereas that was very much a whodunnit, this isn't. We see several points of view - including Clio, Edith, Patience, and Frankie - of the same event that things get muddled in your head, which adds to the thrill. It's much quieter than Daisy too. It's not as visibly full on - that's not a complaint by the way. It's quiet and it's tense and it's curious, and you just want to fly through it to get to the end. It's got this creepiness about it, you don't know who or what to trust or believe.

I really liked that it was a bit slow to begin with. There's quite the build-up whilst we get to know our main characters and how their stories may link, and for some maybe it would be a bit slow, but 100% this was a positive for me. It gave me time to fully appreciate the characters she had created and worm my way into the setting and the story.

Like I say, we have four main viewpoints, four main protagonists:

Clio - a psychiatrist, living in a pink house, daughter of Edith
Edith - an elderly lady in a care home who strikes up a friendship with her carer, Patience
Patience - an artist, working a care home to make ends meet, hasn't seen her mother Frankie in years
Frankie - Patience's mother, works in the library in a prison

There...that shouldn't have spoiled too much, these are things mentioned pretty soon into the book.

It is so twisty and turny with surprises round every corner. Who did what and to whom? Who is related to whom? Why are people running and why are people staying? What do people want? Are people who they say they are? Why should we believe those who have constantly lied? It really gets into your head, and won't leave for a while. I read it in less than 24 hours, but it did stay with me for a bit whilst I worked through what I'd just read. I have a general rule that I only read uplifting books in bed, but I just couldn't put this one down and I did take it to bed with me.

It's not clear at first what the kidnapped baby and the missing care home resident have in common; for most of the book, Alice has left it up to you to figure that out, and I had great fun creating little storylines in my head.

The only complain I had, and it's a minor one, is I didn't think the detective's role was needed. No, let me rephrase that. It was needed, seeing as there's a murderer afoot, but I felt it was unrealistic and felt a bit weak compared to the rest of the plot. But not enough to hinder the enjoyment of the book.

The title - Good Bad Girl - intrigued me right from the off. We often say that bad people are bad and good people are good, but no-one is that clearcut. Good things happen to and by bad people, and bad things happen to and by good people. We will all have a line that we keep to in our daily lives, but we also all have that thing that would see us cross that line, whether it by a relative or a friend, a job, a stranger, money etc. No-one is black and white, in reality or in fiction, and I really liked seeing that explored. They are multi-layered and complex characters existing in a complex and multi-layered story.

Obviously I won't go into detail about the ending - regardless of my spoiler warning - but I really loved it. I've read the odd review that says they felt it was quite predictable but I didn't think so. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention. I felt it was the perfect ending. It was very sad but also uplifting and hopeful, and I couldn't think of any other way of ending it.

I have now enjoyed both Feeney books I've read. Whilst Daisy Darker is more plot and action heavy, Good Bad Girl is more about the women, their backgrounds, their presents, their futures, their loves, likes and dislikes, their pride and their worries. Fascinating.

Like I said, this is only my second Alice Feeney book but I'm definitely keeping my eye out for her others. Her writing ability on a very basic level is fantastic. I could go into details about the whys and wherefores and the whathaveyous, but simply put, she is an enormous talent and I enjoy her work very much.

This is my third Alice Feeney and my new favourite. I loved trying to guess the connections between the characters and trying to ascertain who was good, bad or both. I read well past my bedtime to finish this pageturner!

Thank you Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Alice Feeney for this ARC.

OMG I need a good sleep after this book!
Good Bad Girl had me in the most book chokehold and just like the title it was Good Bad.
The book is about a baby who was kidnapped from her buggy in a supermarket 20 years ago then it fast forwards 20 years later with us being introduced to a 80 year old woman named Edith, who wants to get the hell out of the care home her children placed her in.
First of this is a slow burn mystery thriller that will have you on the ropes from the get go and have you trying to cement all the broken puzzle pieces together. The first 20-30% of book had the chapters ending with a cliffhanger which just made me even more frantic to keep turning the pages. After a while I was getting quite frustrated because it was quite predictable what was what, but I’ve read 2 previous books from the author and knew there was another twist coming that I probably wouldn’t have guessed. Ding ding, in true Feeney fashion there was.
This book is a page turner and that’s down to Feeneys luring writing style. I’m not really a fan of slow burns and the constant riddles and incomplete/ interrupted conversations started to grate on me after a while. The police procedural was beyond nonsensical and somewhat unrealistic but the book concluded as well as it could have.
A high 3.5 stars for this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance review copy for an honest review

Thanks NetGalley and Panmacmillan for the arc of Alice Feeney’s brilliant new book, Good bad girl.

I absolutely love Alice Feeney’s books. I’m yet to find one I don’t like. This one is the best yet! Twisty perfect thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance review copy of Alice Feeney’s new novel. I enjoyed this twisty intriguing story and read it very quickly. The many points of view keep you guessing all the way through, with your brain trying to work out the dynamics and relationships of the characters. A satisfying enjoyable thriller.

I have read all of Alice Feeney's books and enjoyed them all. This one; not so much. It is the story of 3 women and although their stories do cross over we don't really find out why until the end. I found it really hard to keep track of the different storylines as they felt very disjointed. My bad perhaps. The story does come to a satisfying conclusion and everything is explained with the obligatory unexpected last minute twists thrown in. Not a favourite but worth a read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.