Maddie and Joanna met during their youth and travelled the world acting as translators and teachers. During their time in the Eastern Block they meet some bodyguards and Maddie falls for Ian. Now years later, Ian and Maddie are married and have a young son and this book finds us at the point where someone is dead.

This was very cleverly written and I really enjoyed it. Maddie needs help to deal with her emotions and Ian is so controlling with his army background. Is she safe? Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I feel sad that I can only give this book a 3 star as it started so well. I was gripped from the start and settled down to what I thought would be a wonderful read. Disappointingly it didn’t live up to the tension created in the initial pages. The characters weren’t likeable and the story dragged in many places. Despite the ending I can’t say I enjoyed this book - it was like a sandwich which had no filling even though the bread was great.

The synopsis made this book sound like it had all the features of a fantastic thriller. Dabbled with themes of romance, betrayal, family, and mental health, I was really taken in by how diverse this story was.

I was gripped by the initial few chapters in which we realise some kind of violent crime has taken place, and that it's likely a young child may have come to harm. Following Maddie and Ian's relationship, we delve into their past, how they met and what led them to being where they are.

It appears that both characters have had their own difficulties in the past, but have come through those almost as different people, however both the physical and emotional scars are still observably present.

The chapters flick between several different time frames, which although usually holds my attention quite well, in some places left me a little lost in connecting up all the dots. I didn't overly feel a connection to Maddie, or any of the other characters for that matter, however I did enjoy following their story.

Due to the disconnection I experienced as I read this, it took me much longer to pick up on plot twists, which in turn left me feeling confused and uninvested in the book. This also made the book feel quite slow, and quite a task to actually push on. I'm sure that there's probably something huge in the storyline that I've missed because of this.

I considered DNFing this read because I really felt I wasn't enjoying it, but I'm glad I pushed through because the fast pace and drama of the final chapters made it worthwhile. If only the rest of the book had also been written that way!

I really don't think I've taken anything away from this read, and the fact that I'm struggling to recall the content even though I only finished it yesterday is a sign that as a reader I wasn't completely taken in by this book. However there were elements that I enjoyed, primarily at the start and end. So I gave it a three star review on Goodreads.

What a twisted story - no likeable characters, very complex storyline and just overall creepy but a really good read. Maddie who seemed obsessed with her now husband Ian from the start, her best friend Jo who suffers from a whole lot of hate and Ian himself who struggles with PTSD and alcohol dependency. When one is murdered the past is unravelled, what was the motivation and why? Brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘stir crazy’ that’s for sure.

Maddie and Jo have been friends for years. Working in war torn areas Maddie meets Ian.
Many years later Ian and Maddie are married with a little boy Charlie. However, Ian is still working in war torn areas and suffering from PTSD.
After an accident Maddie starts having therapy and begins to fear for her and Charlie, Ian's PTSD and the impact of Jo in their lives.
This is a fast moving book but the end will leave you reeling!

When the police is called to a crime scene, they are prepared for the worst: a child’s voice could be heard during the 911 call. Flashback to a time fifteen years before. Maddie works as a teacher in Bulgaria while her best friend Jo is based with a NGO in Macedonia. During one of her visits, Maddie gets to know Jo’s British friends, among them Ian to whom she feels immediately attracted. Times are hard for the two young women abroad and not everything runs smoothly, misunderstandings, too much alcohol and words that better had not been said. Their friendship does not last in contrast to Maddie’s love for Ian, but their love was not meant to be immediately and now the big question if it ever was meant to be looms over them.

Annie Ward’s is a psychological thriller in which nothing is what it seems, in which you have to re-assess all relationships, all events narrated and all characters again and again to get a complete picture which differs a lot from the first impression you had. The fact that different characters’ perspectives are given alternately and that the story is told at different points in time, all mixed up so that you spring forward and backward and sometimes get the same event two times, does not make it always easy to keep an overview. Even though this to a certain extent supports the suspense that is created, for me it also contributed to some lengthiness.

There are two strong aspects in the novel that I found quite remarkable and authentic. First of all, it clearly shows how detrimental bad relationships can be. Being literally addicted to a person never is a good basis for a partnership since it easy opens the door for abuse and oppression. Second, the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder should never be underestimated. There are experiences that you will never forget and you never really come to terms with. They shape your personality if you want or not and have an impact on your behaviour, relationships and whole life.

“Beautiful Bad” could certainly surprise me with all the twists and turns and was cleverly crafted to lead you in a lot of wrong directions.

I wanted to so badly like this book but i just couldn’t get into it at all. I struggled hugely to follow the plot.

This book took me by surprise as I was drawn in from the start and was desperate to keep reading to find out what would happen.
That plot is hugely compelling and the characters are well placed and keep developing throughout.
It’s a fabulous domestic thriller that I would recommend. The writing is strong and I look forward to reading more from this author in future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Annie Ward for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This absorbing psychological thriller begins with Maddie looking for a therapist ‘12 weeks before’ and then a chilling 911 call in which a woman pleads for help to hurry as a child shrieks in the background…

Maddie Wilson and her husband Ian live in Meadowlark, Kansas, with their three-year-old son Charlie. From the start we learn their marriage is strained and both also have their own personal struggles. Maddie is seeking out a therapist to work through the anxiety and panic attacks she’s had since a mysterious accident that left her scarred and settles on writing therapy with the unconventional Dr Camilla Jones. In these sessions she also begins to open up and details her fears due to Ian’s PTSD and her worries for their son’s safety.

As we’re taken between the different timelines we see the couple meet in the Balkans when Ian was a soldier and Maddie was teaching English to poor students. Her best friend Jo lived in Macedonia, where Ian was based, and the two met at a fundraiser there in 2001. At first Jo was the one to get close to Ian but then something changed and she warned Maddie not to trust him but their friendship ended when Maddie followed her heart instead of listening to her friend. The story doesn’t just focus on them as a couple but also talks about the things they went through separately that shaped the people they are today. In the present day both are damaged and pulled apart rather than together. Ian’s PTSD causes him to be volatile and rely on drink as a crutch, and Maddie’s anxiety causes panic attacks about disaster befalling her family constantly. She dreams of escaping with Charlie and feeling safe again.
The story is told in various timelines and multiple points of view, although Maddie is the narrator we see the most. The Day Of The Killing is the present day but it isn’t until near the end of the book we learn who was killed and what happened that day. Instead we are given occasional glimpses of the gruesome crime scene, which are described in beautiful but macabre detail, as the first attending officer enters the house. I liked that the story was told in this way, it added a greater level of suspense and apprehension as I was always waiting for the next snippet of information about the crime and looking for clues as to who was the victim or perpetrator in the flashback timelines. I love guessing those kinds of things and seeing if I get the twist right or if I’ve been wonderfully mislead.

The characters in this book were strong and relatable, as were a lot of their problems. We haven’t all been in war torn countries but PTSD, anxiety and panic attacks are common, as are struggles in a relationship, the instinct to protect your child, and losing a close friend after falling out. I think anyone can find something to connect to in this book. I found myself relating to Maddie the most when she first realises Ian is struggling with PTSD and wonders how she missed his darkness. When we first fall for someone we all show our best side and it isn’t until later the less pretty things are revealed and by then we can be in so deep that we dismiss our fears and what our gut is telling us, making excuses that allow us to stay because we love them and want this to work. Also, am I the only one who found this book really funny at times? Usually because of something Maddie or Jo said or did.

Beautiful Bad is a phenomenal and enthralling novel that is gripping from the start. I had my suspicions from the start about the big twist but the author still shocked me with elements of the reveal and eerily haunting ending. Fabulously written and unputdownable this is a thriller you don’t want to miss.

BEAUTIFUL BAD is a domestic thriller, twisty, brilliant, and beautifully-written. It’s the story of Maddie and Ian, how they met, fell in love, got married, and had a child, until one night the police is called to their house. The house is in the dark, there is blood, signs of struggle, and probably a child is involved, but what really happened in this seemingly perfect suburban house? To find out, the reader is taken back in time and space, in 2001, in East Europe where a young Maddie is an American writer, journalist, and teacher living in Bulgaria and often travelling to Macedonia to visit her friend Jo, a relief worker. It’s through Jo that Maddie meets Ian, an English bodyguard. From the beginning, their relationship is very complicated and we see them travel around the world until they finally settle in a small town in Kansas with their young son Charlie. However, their lives are far from perfect, Ian in often away for work and Maddie suffers from anxieties that lead her to seek for the help of a psychiatric.

Annie Ward is definitely an author to watch. She created very multi-layered characters and she is also very good at portraying them as real people with their flaws and their psychological and emotional problems. You can almost feel Maddie’s fears and inquietude and Ian’s paranoia that it often made for an heartbreaking read. Ian and Maddie are also dark and complex and, even though the story is told mostly from Maddie’s point of view, she remains a mystery until the very last page.

With an explosive beginning, a shocking ending, and many twists along the way, BEAUTIFUL BAD made me hold my breath many times. The novel is completely unpredictable and the different timelines and perspectives kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. BEAUTIFUL BAD is a gripping, haunting, carefully-plotted, and tragic story about friendship, about love, and about trauma that will move you, intrigue you, and captivate you all at the same time.

Beautiful Bad is a book that will surprise you. I was so sure I had it all worked out towards the end, but I was so wrong! I didn’t see the end coming!
The story is set in different times and is told through mainly by Maddie’s narration, although you get the odd third person account from Ian, and then from Diana who is the first responder on the crime scene on the day of the killing.
Maddie and Ian met back in 2001 in Macedonia, where Ian worked as a bodyguard and Maddie (who lived in Bulgaria) often visited her friend, Joanna.
We do learn about their troubled past and the seemingly complicated relationship between the three main characters. Joanna remains absent from their lives after she and Maddie fall out before Maddie moves back to the States.
Maddie and Ian’s relationship isn’t a simple on either. Ian is really damaged, as would anyone be who spent a decade working in war zones.
Maddie’s account moves through the years from 2001- until now and we find out how she and Ian found each other after spending years on different continents. They have a seemingly happy life on the outside, a beautiful suburban house near Kansas City, but early on we learn that Maddie seeks professional help from a hippy looking psychiatrist. She appears to be afraid of Ian after an accident that left her with a brain injury and a massive scar across her face. She’s also scared for the life of their son, Charlie. Is Ian really the loving husband and father that everyone thinks he is...?
We don’t find out until almost the very end about who died. I found this concept intriguing, as from quite early on, we literally walk through the crime scene with Officer Varga but we don’t know what happened and who got hurt until almost the end. It lets you make your own theories as you read more about Maddie and Ian’s past and their current situation.
There were some times when I found the accounts of their past from the Balkan times a little too detailed and almost boring, but I guess it was needed for the full picture at the end!
All in all it’s a really great book that I will definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publishers for my free advanced copy to read and review!

OMG WHAT have I just read. Hooked from page one and there was no way I was putting this book down until I turned the last page. Oh well take away tonight. This book lives upto all the blurb and hype. A domestic noir but so much more, a psychological thriller yes but so much more. It was funny, yes laugh out loud funny, atmospheric, chilling and in places terrifying. This book ticked all the boxes I expect in this genre but so much more. It is a slow burner but please stick with it as I promise you will not be disappointed. A new author for me and I can't wait to read more of her work. I am an emotional wreck and very tired as I finished this book at 4am. It is that good. A very very happy reader, a MUST READ and an easy five stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I would like to thank the author, Quercus Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

My thanks to Quercus Books for an eARC via NetGalley of Anne Wards’s tense domestic noir/psychological thriller, ‘Beautiful Bad’, in exchange for an honest review.

Ward did an excellent job of setting up a few mysteries very early on. A short opening chapter titled ‘Twelve Weeks Before’ has the main character, Maddie, doing a Google search for ‘should I see a therapist?’. Before what? Then
the next chapter titled: ‘DAY OF THE KILLING’ features a frantic 911 call. I was certainly hooked from there to the final pages.

From that startling opening the narrative shifts between the early years of the relationship between Maddie and husband Ian, a countdown to the aforementioned DAY and the events of the DAY and beyond.

We learn that Maddie and Ian first met in 2001 when she was a travel writer and visited Macedonia where her best friend Jo was working as an aid worker. Jo had already met Ian and his British Army buddies who were serving as bodyguards. Maddie and Ian were immediately attracted to one another but circumstances delay their relationship.

Sixteen years on finds Maddie and Ian married with a young son living in the suburbs outside of Kansas City. Ian now runs a private security firm with his brother and continues to spend a good portion of his time overseas in dangerous parts of the world.

So why was Maddie seeking a therapist? Why is she hiding that search from her husband? Who was killed? And so much more. Many more questions arise and are ultimately answered in this extremely twisty thriller.

Ward takes her time to establish the various relationships and explore her characters including the Maddie/Jo friendship. As usual, I would advise for maximum enjoyment to avoid spoilers and to just enjoy this well plotted thriller. I certainly found it impossible to put down.

Holy Cow, another remarkable thriller, right up my street! A gloomy, twisted tale that’ll have you biting your nails whilst hastily turning pages until the penny drops with a twist you will not see coming.

Beautiful Bad follows the three main characters – Maddie, Ian and Joanna. Timeline alternating between the years when the three characters met and the weeks before the killing, making you believe authors deceit into how they arrived to the point where the 911 call was made in the opening chapter. I cannot remember the last time I was so wrong about the characters and the plot twist. This one hit me like a ton of bricks out of the blue and I LOVED IT!

Annie Ward is a new author for me, so I had no idea about what I was getting myself into. I absolutely love psychological thrillers and Beautiful Bad is just that- a slow burning, yet entirely captivating tale of deceit, jealousy, greed and suspense. I was completely mesmerized throughout and for once I did not foresee the ending!

5 out of 5 stars, deservedly so!

Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward. Thanks to @netgalley @annienighward and @quercusbooks for my ARC. Publication date 21st March.
_______________________________________
‘In the most explosive and twisted psychological thriller since The Woman in the Window, a perfect love story leads to the perfect crime’. _______________________________________
I have been dying to read this book for a long time. To me it sounded like the perfect domestic noir. However, this book is so much more. First of all it’s dark as hell which I love 😊I loved the alternating chapters of past and present and was pleasantly surprised that a great deal of this book is based in Eastern Europe, which is a bit of a personal obsession of mine, since travelling there a few years ago. The travel details are beautifully written and accurate and give a real sense of the various places the main character, Maddie visits. I loved, what felt like biographical accounts of Madrid’s travels, the sights she sees and the people she meets. I felt I was experiencing this myself.
______________________________________So yeah I realise I am gushing about this book but I cannot help myself. This book was also surprisingly funny. Like really laugh out loud funny. It was fascinating and also frighteningly real. The characters stories are all woven together so well. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a captivating, all consuming, suspenseful, bloody brilliant read. I Highly recommended this book xx

Beautiful Bad is a twisted psychological thriller that will draw you in with plenty of twists along the way. The story goes between the past and present day. Initially I found the pace to be quite slow but it quickly gathers momentum building to an explosive ending. I would rate this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author for the chance to review.

An ending like no other!

In 2001 Maddie, a writer supplemented her income from writing travel books by teaching English in Bulgaria. Her best friend, Joanna, worked for a charity organisation in Macedonia, helping in the refugee camps. Ian is stationed in Macedonia along with three other members of British Personal Protection. They are responsible for the safety of the British Ambassador.

Maddie falls head over heels in love with Ian, from the very first time she meets him, but it will take years before he is able to return the love that he too felt from that first meeting. He wanted to ensure that when he did finally declare his love, he was in a financial position to provide her with stability.

Present time; The police receive a phone call. A child is screaming and a woman begging for help. When they arrive, they find a body, a very traumatised little boy and two women with wounds.

The storyline takes us from the present, the day of the killing, back to 2001, the first time Ian and Maddie meet and then follows them between 2001 through the years and weeks leading up to the murder.

Annie Ward has written a superb novel which left me shocked and horrified that a psychopath could be so scheming and cool-headed without ever letting anyone see the terrible side of their nature.

If you want to read something that is so entirely different with many twists, then I can highly recommend this novel. I honestly never for one minute suspected what was going to happen on the day of the murder.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Although I was gripped by the beginning but I found my attention wavering, during the second half the book just seemed to loose momentum. Maybe it’s just my reading mood that I struggled with this book as there are some really great reviews for this book. It just wasn’t for me.

When the second chapter is titled ‘Day of the Killing’ you know where you are headed but the journey there turned out to be a slow one. I love that there were a few options for who the victim could be and the reveal was held until late on. The present time narrative was interspersed with flashback chapters detailing the 12 weeks before the killing and the meeting and early romance of Maddie and Ian. Complex but it worked well. I found myself circling from ‘I like you’ to ‘ooh not so keen on you’ then ‘no I think I was right earlier and I like you’ as we learned more about the main characters. I think this was well written and cleverly constructed and was a 5 star read for me up until the final chapters. Highly recommended.

This book tells the story of Maddie and Ian, how they met and their lives together up to the events at the beginning of the book. It starts with the night of the killing and flips backwards and forwards. It is slow paced to begin with but it picks up as you get to know the characters.
Maddie and Jo are best friends and they meet 4 British bodyguards in Skopje where Jo helps refugees. The story spans from the time they met to 2017 when Maddie has started therapy because of an accident.
The book explores themes of PTSD and how it can affect everyone around them.
I did work out who died at the beginning but I didn't work out how and why. I would recommend though.