Really didn’t enjoy this book. The storyline was too confusing and the plot twist didn’t really make sense. There should have been more exposition beforehand.

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited to read this book since it promised to be one of the must read thrillers of 2019.
Also, my attention was drawn by the beautiful cover.

Main character is Maddeline (Maddie) Wilson born in Kansas and damaged by trauma inflicted on her as a youngster. Destined to leave her safe, but sufficating rural hometown, she sets out to explore the world. First, she’s off to Spain to study. This is also where she meets the enigmatic Jo with whom she has an instant connection. Later on, both women move to the Balkans. Maddie teaches English in Sofia, Bulgaria and Jo is in neighbouring Macedonia working as an aid worker in a refugee camp.
Maddie appears self assured and fearless, connecting with all kinds of dodgy east Europeans and passing the Macedonian border numerous times in order to meet up with Jo.
It’s during one of her stays in Macedonia that Maddie meets Ian, an Englishman working as a bodyguard. Maddie is intrigued by him and although it takes a while before they admit and give in to their feelings for each other this is the start of a complex relationship between the two.
From the start this book switches timelines beginning with “the day of the killing”.
It is an intriguing way of story telling because as a reader you want to know what lead up to the horror that is being described through a 911 call described early on in the book.
However, I struggled with the fact that I didn’t really connect with any of the 3 main characters. I can’t say I particularly liked any of them. I felt I only got to know them and understand their actions until quite late in the story. Furthermore the stories atmosphere was too dark and gloomy for me and when I finished the book it left me feeling rather depressed.
All in all I guess I had the wrong expectations when I started this title since it was much darker and more disturbing than I anticipated, but if you are into that then please pick this up, it might be just right for you.

I have to say “ Beautiful Bad” was beautifully written that had me totally in its spell from the very beginning. The title is so apt, we definitely had the beautiful and a hell of a lot of BAD!!

Wow what a start!! There is an emergency call to the police with a woman shouting for help and a child screaming in the background. The police arrive and there are signs that a violent act has been committed!!

Told over several timelines and from different perspectives. Maddie is overseas teaching English and a travel writer, her friend Jo is a relief worker. Through Jo she meets Ian a Bodyguard who has travelled to dangerous countries and witnessed atrocities that has affected his character.

In the present time Maddie and Ian are married but there are signs that maybe this not a happy marriage. Maddie is left scared after a fall but cannot remember how it happened. Could Ian have hurt her?

This is definitely a story that will keep you gripped throughout, there is so much going on that before you know it you will have finished the book. We have lies, friendship, murder, secrets and terrifying accounts of the war.

Without giving anything away this book has several twists which took me by surprise.

Thank you to Netgalley for my review in exchange for a review.

It took me a while to get into this book as I wasn't sure where exactly it was going or could go but the speed picked up and with some unexpected twists, I ended up enjoying it, still a bit stunned by the ending mind you! A good psychological thriller. 3.5 stars

I was thoroughly gripped by the beginning but I slowly lost interest. The second half of the book just seemed to drag on. I did enjoy it for the most part so I will give it 4 stars.

Loved the first third of this book, but the next third lost my attention. It seemed to delay the story with too much long winded writing and this spoilt it for me.

Psychological thriller full of unexpected twists. I am not sure whether I would recommend this book to friends.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. I couldn't put it down! My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

This book could have been so much better! The beginning had me pulled straight in and I thought to myself yes! Oh but then sadly the second half was just blah. Overly explained plots, unlikable characters, and not in a good way, and it just dragged out to a sub par ending.

I was in a state of high tension at the start of the book so had great expectations but unfortunately they were not fulfilled by the rest of the story.
The middle section rambled on and on with unlikable characters who despite all the endless unnecessary detail never showed me why they behaved as they did.
Then the book seemed to get much better again only to waffle on into its rather strange ending.

3* Psycho Selfish Stars

The story begins in the present where a murder has taken place in Kansas. You are immediately hooked as the first chapter describes what the police officer is seeing upon her arrival. The book then alternates between the past, where you meet the main characters and get an insight into their personalities and how they met and the murder scene and how the investigation proceeds.

I liked the story of Maddie, Ian and Jo but did not love it as much as I hoped.

My main issue with the story, which was interesting and had a twist or two, was that after the first gripping chapter it dragged on with too much detail, which I found unnecessary to enjoy the storyline.

I found the characters unlikeable and selfish and the drama they created amongst each other was childish and exhausting.

Many thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Great scene setting and I loved the back story but I thought the pace dipped in the second half of the book. Original though and very interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. Great page turner which kept me guessing until the very end. Atmospheric and tense in places.

Overall this is a good, well thought out, twisted thriller. I thought the whole idea was very good but in parts the story seemed to get bogged down by the detail. I felt that parts of the story was too long and that some of the ending was a bit rushed. The twist is really good. I had not fully worked it out and it was a bit of a shock.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Maddie, an American from Kansas, works as a translator in Bulgaria and her friend Jo works in Macedonia assisting refugees. While in different countries, Maddie visits Jo quite often and it is on one of these that she meets Ian, a British soldier in the Middle East. Maddie falls hard for Ian despite the fact that he has a girlfriend, Fiona.

While the book opens with a murder in Kansas, we are transported to the Balkans to explore the relationships between Maddie, Jo and Ian. I found this sudden jolt rather disconcerting at first but soon became engrossed in the character development of Maddie and Ian in particular. Jo and Ian do not get along and Jo warns Maddie about getting involved with Ian. Despite this Maddie and Ian go on to marry and have a child Charlie, although Ian is away for much of Charlie's childhood.

The pace really picks up in the second half of the book as we get to know the characters through their different points of view. Ward plots cleverly and leads the reader in all sorts of misdirections so that all your assumptions are questioned. When we are brought back to the murder the psychological intrigue really comes into play in a way that totally works. Loved it.

Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward is an amazing psychological thriller. I could not put it down!!

Throughout the whole book there are so many unanswered questions that make you want to keep reading. The ending was twisted and unexpected also!

I read this book in two days and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers!

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the chance to read this ARC.

This is a fabulous read and one I just couldn’t put this down it was so compulsive and the way it was written with differing timelines and points of view it made just reading another chapter addictive to say the least. It starts with a call to the police followed with a death/ killing but we don’t know who and so the story gathers pace in setting the scene for exactly what has happened and this is where the intrigue begins as to who and why thus making it a definite psychological thriller of the best kind. The writing was excellent and the characters well described and felt very real and what a twisted ending, a real must read book and highly recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus books for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had 2 separate ratings for me, one part of me wanted to give it a 3, another part a 5. So here we are with a 4.

From the opening page of the book you are gripped. The book starts with a 911 call which immediately alerts you to a sense of danger. Straight away you begin to think of what could have happened and who could have done it. I really enjoyed the sense of knowing something terrible happened but at the same time trying to figure out what actually happened. That is the great thing with this book, it keeps you guessing. As it switches back between the POV of Maddie and Ian we can see the story start to unravel. You begin to think you know where it's going, but do you?

The middle section of the book continues to alternate between the same POVs to build a background for "The Day of the Killing." At times I found this section a little drawn out and unnecessary which caused me to skim read a page here or there in the middle.

However as we pick up towards the ending again, you're gripped to the edge of your seat. Even the ending itself leaves you sitting there wondering. A great 4 star book that could definitely be a 5 star with some slight editing.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest and fair review.

In a sea of identikit 'psychological thrillers' this one stands out - primarily for its complex, multi-dimensional characters. The strapline ('beautiful home, beautiful family') is rather misleading and inaccurate as for most of the book Maddie is living in the Balkans with neither stable home nor steady boyfriend - I almost passed this one by since I thought it was going to be another one of those 'how well do you know your husband'-type tales, but it isn't, and it would have been a shame to have missed this one.

While it does conform to many of the genre conventions (someone's dead at the start but we don't know who, toxic friendships, troubled marriage, a woman in therapy, fractured timelines, switching PoV), it all comes together here beautifully. The characters are what made it for me: Maddie, Joanna and Ian are more than cardboard cut-outs and I was wrong-footed a couple of times - rare but oh so delicious when it happens!

It's only in the final 10% or so that things take a slightly silly turn... all the same, one of the best 'domestic thrillers' I've read.

This book shocked me! It lets you create a theory in your mind of what’s happening, runs with it for a few chapters and then something happens that completely ruins that theory! I just couldn’t work out what was happening. The only thing I didn’t like is that it would have been good to have a few more chapters in the point of view of the police officer, Diane. I am really hoping that there’s going to be a book two because I would love to know what happens next. There’s so much more that could happen! The characters in this book all have such strong personalities and I really enjoyed reading about them all. Charlie is adorable! I was intrigued right from the start of this book. Before being approved a proof of this book by NetGalley I had seen a lot of people posting about this book saying how good it was or how they couldn’t wait to read it. I always get a bit nervous when there’s a hype about a book because I sometimes feel a bit disappointed by them. However this book did not disappoint! I’m definitely glad that I read this one and would love to read more from Annie Ward in the future.