Alice Feeney is usually a go to author for me, but this one didn’t hit the mark. The writing was good enough to keep reading but the plot was, in my opinion, a little boring.

Beautiful, Ugly Alice Feeney

5 stars

This is the second book that I have read by this author and I absolutely loved it. Ms Feeney's books are different from any other author that I have read combining amazing insights into relationships interwoven with incredible atmospheric and descriptive prose.

Grady Green is an author who has just learnt that he has finally cracked the bestsellers list in New York. He immediately phones his wife to tell her the news but whilst he is on the phone he hears the brakes being slammed on. He rushes to the scene only to find an empty car, his wife's red coat on the road and no sign of Abby.

A year later, Grady is haunted by his wife's disappearance, they had what seemed like a perfect marriage and he cannot believe that she would ever have left him. He has not been able to write since the disappearance and his publisher, Kitty, decides to send him to the remote Scottish island of Amberley inhabited by only 25 people. He will live in a cottage previously owned by another writer, now dead, and hopefully the quiet and peaceful atmosphere will re-kindle his writing.

As soon as he arrives, Grady is drawn to the beauty and solitude of the island but is still plagued by the loss of his wife, so much so that he starts to imagine that he is seeing her everywhere. He is still struggling to write so when he finds a manuscript of the previous authors final unpublished book under the floorboards he decides to submit this to his publisher as his own work in the hope that it will relaunch his career.

This is a broad outline of the book but it is so much more. We hear from both Grady and his wife about their marriage and how differently they both viewed it. Their relationship is so complicated when viewed by the two different participants. The inhabitants of Amberley start to come to life and we learn about how the island came to be and the terrible tragedy of the children who had drowned many years before. Slowly the author draws all the threads of the story together and I was completely enthralled not only by the ending which was totally unexpected but by the way the atmosphere of Amberley is described so vividly.

It took me two days to complete this book and I thought it was brilliant. I urge anyone who enjoys a really thought provoking book to read this.



Karen Deborah
Reviewer Netgalley

I thoroughly enjoyed this dark thriller and found the plot and characters interesting; I was intrigued from the outset as to where the story was taking the reader and by the end was staying up later to get to the finish.

The book focuses mainly on the two principal characters, Grady and Abby, who are husband and wife. Grady is a writer and Abby an investigate journalist. When Abby disappears midway through a call one night near a cliff top, Grady is devastated, his writing dries up and his career is in jeopardy. When Abby’s godmother suggests he stay on a remote Scottish island to focus the book events begin to get seriously weird, with the island becoming more dark and Grady imagining he sees Abby wherever he goes.

As characters I didn’t warm to Grady or Abby but enjoyed their POV and the way the story was told. The gradual unwinding of what lead up to the events that night on the cliff and how these became the background story of Abby and Grady was quite dark and makes the reader understand how Abby in particular behaves. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoy a dark thriller and have been fans of this author’s previous novels. Good plot, unusual storyline and the writing certainly kept my interest.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful Ugly
Alice Feeney

The Queen of Twists Alice Feeney is back with a new addictive thriller about marriage and the aftermath of a terrible event.

“Constantly living inside an imaginary world must make it difficult to tell truth and fiction apart sometimes.”

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life and calls his wife Abby to share the news as she’s driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing… his wife has disappeared.

‘Grief is a patient thief and steals far more than people who have never known it realize.’

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby.
He can’t sleep, he can’t write, but he needs to, “The only way out is to write” after all. So he moves to a tiny isolated Scottish island and sees the impossible - a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

‘Constantly lying to yourself requires a special variety of stamina.’

We have a wonderful conundrum here; unreliable narrator or is everyone gaslighting here? Very compelling reading.

‘There’s no need to be afraid of the dead, it’s the living you have to watch out for.’

All the red herrings and misdirection were at play. It created a beautiful and unsettling atmosphere where you were just waiting for the other foot to drop. Who to trust? And the ominous warnings, compel you forward.

‘There might not be any crime on this island but someone is up to no good.’

This was perfectly executed and the pacing was wonderful.

‘I am my own worst enemy but I am also my own best friend.’

Beautiful Ugly is released 14th January 2025 in Australia.

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

Thank you so much @macmillanaus and @alicewriterland .

‘Marriage is made of a million beautiful and ugly moments stitched together into a shared tapestry of memories, all of which are viewed and remembered slightly differently, like two people staring at the same painting from opposite ends of the room.’

What’s your favourite Feeney novel?

(Posted review on 30th December 2024).

Grady’s wife disappears on the same day that he finally becomes a bestseller list author.
A year later, unable to write, his publisher sends him to a remote island off the coast of the Scotland and here he starts to see his missing wife everywhere.
Oh my days this book had me gripped from the very beginning. I could not put it down. It was eerie, gripping and so suspenseful with the most amazingly dark twist I could never have seen coming! Ten out of ten I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspenseful thriller

I’m a huge Feeney fan and her novels keep getting better and better. I adored this, so fast paced I read it in a matter of days desperate to find answers. Full of jaw dropping moments - this is a must read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Beautiful Ugly.

This book follows Grady, a writer who is having an unbelievably bad year. First, his wife Abby goes missing, and then he’s hit with writer’s block. In an effort to escape, he travels to a remote Scottish island—only to see the impossible: his missing wife.

While the premise sounded intriguing, I had very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the concept held so much potential, and there were countless ways the story could have unfolded. However, the execution didn’t work for me. The pacing was a significant issue—it was far too slow to build, and the tension I expected was missing entirely. Then, around 80% in, the story suddenly felt rushed, with too many elements thrown in at once.

I also struggled to connect with the characters. Grady wasn’t likable, and none of the other characters stood out in a meaningful way. Abby’s point of view and motivations were especially confusing, leaving me with more questions than answers. The unreliable narrator aspect added to the confusion rather than enhancing the plot.

At times, the book almost felt like it was written with a TV adaptation in mind—it’s easy to imagine it becoming a mini-series. Unfortunately, as a novel, it didn’t quite land for me. Despite the authors popularity, the far-fetched plot and inconsistent pacing made it difficult to enjoy.

'Wives think their husbands will change but they don't. Husbands think their won't change but they do.'

Grady speaks to his wife, Abby, on the phone on her way home. Abby stops the car and gets out - but doesn’t return to the car... and she doesn't return home. A year later Abby is still missing. Aspiring writer, Grady, is offered to take residence in a writer's house on a small island off Scotland, shrouded in mystery and inhabitants that seem to know more than they let on.
In true Aluce Feeney fashion, this is another suspenseful, gripping read from the very start right til the last page

Alice Feeney is a bit of a hit or miss author for me. I like her setups and the ideas, but I'm often a bit disappointed with her twists and endings. "Beautiful Ugly" gave me exactly that.
The premise is an old hat, admittedly. Man is on the phone with his wife, overhears his wife leaving her car because she sees a woman lying in the street, and it's the last time he ever hears from her. But old hats can still be fashionable and I do like that kind of setup.
Feeney's writing is as accessable as ever so once again her thriller turns out to be a quick read, and there are creepy elements throughout the story that I really enjoyed. Sadly, I did not care at all about our main character so I was pretty indifferent towards his ultimate fate. And sadly the big twist is one I saw coming because it's such an overdone twist in thriller books right now, so I was actually actively hoping it wouldn't be that, but yeah it was. Some things also simply didn't make any sense because of the twist, and it genuinely felt like the story was simply written around it instead of it being an organic solution to the mysteries. This is something I've noticed a lot in recent thriller fiction - it's like the Shocking Twist is the most important aspect of the story to a degree that almost seems forced instead of focusing on a coherent mystery that unfolds organically. Here's my apparently unpopular opinion: Not every thriller needs a shocking twist.

So yeah, lacklustre main character, pretty boring side characters, a rather meandering pace, plot holes and big parts of the story where simply nothing happens with a disappointing twist as the cherry on top. The actually really atmospheric setting and the interesting premise couldn't really make up for all the issues I had with this one.

A very slow book.
Grady is on a phone call to his wife Abby when the call ends and she disappears.
A year later Grady goes to a small Scottish island to hopefully write a book in peace, but that's when strange things start happening and he believes he has seen Abby.
The plot is very strange and a bit unbelievable so I Gave it 2 1/2-3 stars
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

I usually write a review immediately after I finish a book, but in this instance, I let the book wash over me, I sat with my thoughts, before I tried to put in order how I felt. This is an incredibly hard book to review, without giving away spoilers. There is so much more I want to say, but am unable to.

Grady Green is an author, desperate to be acknowledged as a New York Times bestseller. So much so, that all he is, all he feels is dependent on whether this dream is realised. On that highly anticipated day, the highest of highs, is followed very quickly by the lowest of lows. His wife, Abby, disappears on her way home. Her car, with their fish and chip supper, is found abandoned on a remote cliff top road. Fast forward a year, and Grady’s life is understandably in tatters.

I found this character driven thriller to be very intense. It is brimming over with locked room claustrophobia. The characterisation is deep, the Isle of Amberly itself is a rich, brooding landscape. So much time is spent within Grady’s head. I questioned his perception of the events surrounding him continuously.

As I’m sitting here, the significance of a small detail towards the end of the book has just registered with me, though I can’t share this with you sadly.
There are so many different elements to the book, so many story strands; that it is only when everything is drawn together by the conclusion, that I understood how intricately woven the plot was.

I wholeheartedly agreed with some of the sentiments expressed by the characters. Authors are my rock stars, and I do enjoy a revenge thriller.
I thought I was reading a book about an author trying to piece his life back together, but the reality was, I was reading an entirely different book; and I loved it. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Alice Feeney has done it again. This thriller had everything. The intensity throughout is what Alice Feeney does best! This may actually be up there with one of my favourites! The characters were amazing as always. I absolutely loved this book

Alice Feeney is one of my favourite authors. I love her dark twists, messy characters, and effective atmospheres. Her books always entice me straight away with the promise of an unnerving mystery, and Beautiful Ugly certainly hooks you with a banger of an opening.

From then on, I was completely taken in by the beautiful but chilling atmosphere. Set primarily on an island with only 25 residents, I loved the confining pressure that this created with the curious characters, claustrophobic mist, and eerie goings on.

There’s also a brilliant exploration of marriage at the core of this story which I think really makes you re-evaluate some of your priorities. I love this quote:

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

However, while I love Feeney for her messed up characters, these guys should not have been together! Brilliantly written, but it’s no wonder they had issues!

Unfortunately, I have this knack for predicting Feeney books and it’s really annoying for me! Her books are far from predictable, but this is the third time now that I’ve had an inkling early on that has been right. So that’s the only reason this book was deducted half a star from me, as it lacked that shock factor in the concluding scenes.

Of course, there were many other twists that took me by surprise, so this is a classic Feeney thriller that will keep you on your toes! Definitely one to add to your wishlist if you love a thriller with an isolated setting and dark twists.

This was a thriller with many layers and a twist that I never expected - didn’t see it coming at all. Grady Green is a writer who has just found out that his book has become a New York best seller. Calling his wife Abby, who is driving home, to share his excitement, he hears her stop the car because she has seen something in the road, he hears her get out and then nothing. Abby has disappeared. A year later, still grieving, he cannot write and is running out of money. His agent, Kitty, suggests that he take himself off to Amberley, a remote Scottish island to live in a cottage that used to belong to another writer but which she inherited after his death. Thinking that getting away will be just what he needs, Grady agrees but the first thing he sees when he arrives is, he thinks, his wife. But it can’t be, Abby is dead. The sense of isolation on the island is very well done and there is a sense of calm and peace which is just what Grady needs. But there is also a growing sense of unease. Grady has questions that he can find no answers to. He seems unable to get back to the mainland. There is no phone or internet service, cutting him off and all the time he feels that he is being watched. And then we get the drip, drip, drip of strange occurrences and strange behaviours displayed by the women on the island. Strangely, there seems to be no men. I like the growing sense of tension but I wasn’t a big fan of the reveal/twist. I didn’t expect it but felt that it needed me to suspend my belief a little although looking at other reviews, I’m in the minority. Told with some flashbacks giving Abby’s POV, Grady is not someone who gets my sympathy, where as Abby maybe does. A twisty thriller that doesn’t do what I expected it to do.

Grady is an author whose wife has disappeared. He is unable to write and losing everything. His agent suggests he goes to a cabin on a remote island to write where he thinks he sees his wife. You also get her viewpoint and it is clear from early on that Grady is not a reliable narrator. There are several twists before the end of the book. This wasn’t really for me as it was too far fetched and I really didn’t warm to any characters at all. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

The book started off good and was intriguing in true Alice style. However, the latter part of the book was a bit ridiculous and rather predictable. The ending was silly and farcical. Definitely not Alice’s finest.

My Rating: 1⭐️ sad to say, I didn’t enjoy this one at all!!

I am not going to recap this one, Goodreads does a decent job of it and I am told by my reliable source (GR friend Kristy) if you love Alice Feeney you will love her stuff and if you don’t then you are likely going to hate it… I unfortunately fall in the latter category.

To say I hated it would be harsh, but I did not enjoy it at all.

I think it would be fair to say that this is very much a popcorn thriller, very far fetched and over the top. That is all fine I can deal with that very well… I do in fact love myself some over the top ridiculous plots… BUT… the writing needs to be good, engaging and entertaining. For instance, the M.W. Craven, Ben Koenig series… that is like Die Hard on steroids but the writing is “chefs kiss”…. To me!!!

I guess that is the kicker isn’t it… we all have our tastes and this one did not cater to me at all. I found Grady insufferable, again not a deal breaker but we twirled around and around and around with his moaning and insomnia and obsession going almost no where so so long…it was so repetitive I just couldn’t handle it. I actually didn’t think we were going to get to the point and I was going to be in a loop of Grady complaining forever… but thankfully that did eventually come to an end.

I felt like the plot was a bit all over the place, like the author maybe had so many ideas but perhaps didn’t need to put them all in the book. Like the fact that the Island had no birds… that was actually to me (and maybe I drifted off) completely pointless, I mean aside from the fact that would be my dream come true as I hate birds so much, it was actually just a nothing point…

That in itself does not ruin the book of course but when there are so many little things that you go… really you spent words on that… it just all becomes a bit much, I think the book was too long for the story she was trying to tell and I think the execution was a bit off. I found myself bored, in a book where there were actually quite a lot of twists and turns.

A lot of weird stuff happened at the cabin…and I know it was intended to be creepy, I unfortunately just found it cringy.

I didn’t really like any of the characters at all to be honest, which again is not a deal breaker but no one really stood out as a hero… and then in the end the whole reason for Grady being there became a moot point because of… well thats spoilers and people love this author and will love this book so I wouldn’t do that.

Overall, for me this was a disappointment, it actually does nothing to make me want to read anymore of her books. But I am glad I tried because now I can say I have. I think that a lot of people will love this, and already do. So perhaps don’t listen to me. My one GR friend that I don’t think will like this at all is Rosh (unless Alice Feeney is your guilty pleasure author) then do yourself a favour and skipparoo this one hahaha.

Everyone else… I feel like there is a good chance you will like it so ignore my grumpy ramblings!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

he ending might have dragged a bit, but this book is a good mix of quotable and mind-boggling, and one that will have you lookout for her next.

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

Grady Green is a best selling author. When his wife Abby disappears, he loses his will to write. His publicist sends him to a cabin on the remote island of Amberly hoping it will reignite his creativeness. But when strange things start happening on the island, Grady starts to wonder if he’ll get out alive, let alone with a new book.

In true Alice Feeney style, Beautiful Ugly is packed full of wonderfully quotable one liners. Sentences that really make you think. Ones you read more than once because they just make so much sense in so few words.

Told in a dual perspective of Grady and Abby, the story unfolds in such a clever way it just keeps you guessing and guessing and on your toes throughout. It’s like an impossible jigsaw trying to piece together the puzzle.

The characters are likeable, well developed and there are some really relatable and believable marital scenes.

Another hit from Feeney, she’s turning in to a go-to author for me. 5*

Deliciously weird and very dark this book was a joy to read and another page turner from Ms Feeney.
The plot is difficult to describe, but includes unreliable narrators, an author in an isolated cabin on a remote island peopled by strange inhabitants and a severed hand among other things. Add in a loveable labrador, some outrageous twists and turns, and I was up way past bedtime determined to find out what happened.
Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of this book .