3.5 stars

I would’ve liked this better with less POVs. I found it hard to keep track of who everyone was and how they were related to each other until about 60% into the book. I wouldn’t call this a psychological thriller, but more a lot of mama drama. Not my favorite from Alice Feeney but I still did enjoy the story as a whole.

This was my first ever audio book and I loved it! Alice Feeney is a go to author and I’ve never not given her books a 5 star review- her newest was no different! I loved the different narratives and the creative storyline. 100% loved this story!

I got to listen to this on audio and really enjoyed it. I loved that the narrator changed their voice so I was able to determine which characters were talking; which was great because there were so many and they were so unreliable and my head was spinning in the beginning trying to figure out where this story was going. ⁣
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Four characters, four back stories, two murders, a missing baby from the get go; lots of secrets, twists and turns. Make sure you pay attention to keep track of everything, so that while you’re in the ride, you enjoy it like I did. ⁣
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When things finally started clicking, I l⁣
Really liked how this story was finally solved and the puzzle pieces finally fit together. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another excellent work! Great characters and plot. Great twist! Couldn’t put it down! Finished in one day.

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

As usual, auto-buy author Feeney kept me guessing with a family suspense novel focusing on mothers and daughters, secrets and lies, murder and coverups.

To avoid spoilers (it’s best to go into Feeney’s books blind), I’ll quote the synopsis. “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.”

Bottom line? This was one of my favorites from Feeney. I enjoyed the audiobook with the addition of a beautiful Scottish accent in addition to the usual crisp British one. It was an engaging listen that I couldn’t put down.

Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the Advanced Listening Copy. US Pub: 29 Aug 23

Alice Feeney does it again! She has a way of weaving stories together that is just flawless and this book is no exception. I loved all of the various storylines and had to keep listening to see how they would intertwine. I wanted to know who was who in the mysterious first chapter. I loved the narrators. They were so pleasant to listen to. And the accents were just enough to get a feeling of where the characters are from without being distracting. Overall, this was a great read and I'm already looking forward to her next one!!

I was a huge fan of Daisy Darker and could not wait to read:

☂️ Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
✨ Publication Date: August 29, 2023

Here’s the short synopsis because you know I go in blind and don’t want to ruin anything for you!

Short Synopsis:
Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.

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.

Thoughts:
🌂 I was into the story from the beginning! I could not stop listening to this audiobook.

🌂 There are many twists and turns and just when I think I know where the story goes, I am wrong!

🌂 I am now excited to read Rock, Paper, Scissors, which I also hear is a great read.

🌂 Definitely recommend this one, especially to those thriller lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

GOOD BAD GIRL
Alice Feeney

Two separate Mother’s Days:

A baby is taken from their stroller.
A woman is murdered.

Mother’s Day is hard for everyone!

I had so much fun unraveling the mystery that is GOOD BAD GIRL and I think you’ll enjoy it too.

GOOD BAD GIRL is Alice Feeney’s 6th novel, and it seems she only gets better with time. Her most recent works have been some of my favorites and this one is up there amongst the best.

In GOOD BAD GIRL, we are following Edith and Clio, mostly.

Clio recently put her mother, Edith, into a care home. Edith feels she doesn’t belong there amongst the elderly and frail at the end of their lives. That is not her situation. She has much more life to live, and she intends to do just that.

As soon as she can get out of the care home.

Clio is a therapist with issues of her own. She isn’t exactly speaking to her mother Edith and that is just where the story begins, kind of.

From the beginning of the book, you can tell you’re in for a wild ride. The characters are mercurial, and the story is multifaceted. The second you think you’ve got a handle on what is going on a path opens and what is revealed is better than you could’ve imagined.

I enjoyed this page-turner in one sitting, and I can’t wait for you to read it.

GOOD BAD GIRL comes out next Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

GOOD BAD GIRL…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for a review!

Twenty years ago a baby was stolen from a stroller. Now, someone is killed in a care home and as far as the detective is concerned there are three suspects.

Frankie who works as a librarian in a female prison, has decided that today (Mother's Day) will be her last day at work.

Ever since being unceremoniously put into a care home, Edith's relationship with her daughter - which was holding on by a thread before - has deteriorated more and more. The only companion she has is Patience, one of the staff of the care home who has taken to helping Edith out with tasks.

Clio, Edith's daughter, knows that things between her and her mother are strained, but their past doesn't allow for much else between them. She does care for her mother in her own way as much as she's able.

Alice Feeney has built her own reputation in the mystery/thriller genre. Creating tantalizing stories and characters that pull you in and don't let you go until the very end. Compulsively reading (or listening) to find out what happens next. This is something that Alice Feeney does exceptionally well in her books and the way she builds and builds until a some kind of cracking reveal.

I think this book, moreso than others I've read by Feeney, was pretty easy to piece together. The connections were easy to make, and even by the end for the extra extra twist that Feeney likes to throw in for good measure - making sure that it's doubly difficult to sort out all the pieces ahead of time - I had that one figured out too.

I don't know if it's because it takes a bit to get to the "meat" of the story. The descriptions of characters, and their surroundings, are very precise. Everything is very calculated. Especially the particular bits of information that are glaringly left out in order to string the reader along. But this also gave me a lot of time to contemplate who these characters were.

I have by no means read (or listened to) all of Alice Feeney's stories, but from the ones that I have, I felt like Good Bad Girl went a little too far with the cliffhanger setups. At the end of each chapter, as narrators switch, we're typically left hanging on some kind of intense almost-reveal. This accomplished the goal of getting me to keep up with the story as I just wanted to find out what happens next, but for the most part, I was underwhelmed with the big reveals.

With all that said, however, I feel like this is an interestingly crafted story about family, the lengths we'll go for those we love, and how doing things with a person's best interest in mind can still hurt. I always find it interesting how Alice Feeney writes these characters who aren't inherently likeable. This story is complex in the fact that we get such a rounded perspective on each character's personality. First we get their own point of view but then peripherally we see them through the eyes of each other and oftentimes the veneer that they put on themselves, their own situations, rubs off just a bit and I feel like their true personalities lie somewhere in the middle, open for interpretation, of what we as readers are privy to.

I liked the dual narration and the idea that one narrator was for one particular character and the other narrator kind of took on the remainder of the characters was interesting because I felt like it denoted a certain level of age and maturity in the characters. There's also a haunting quality to the inflection used as the past events and mysterious present and future events determine the fates of the characters. Both at times innocent as well as ruthless, these narrators enhance the story in the best way possible.

Overall, I felt like this one was a bit more slow-burn of a mystery than an overly thrilling one from Alice Feeney. I think going into it with that in mind will help in appreciating the story for what it is.

This was my first read by Alice Feeney but definitely will not be my last! This book definitely kept you guessing! 5 stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

This highly suspenseful novel had me on the edge of my seat! I truly enjoyed the unraveling of the mysteries in this book. Quirky characters made this book super intriguing! I also loved the different POVs. Each chapter flipped back and forth between narrators. I recommend this to those who want suspense but not gore or violence in a thriller!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC! I discovered Alice Feeney a couple of years ago and love her books. They always have a great twist. However, this one didn't shock or surprise me like some of her others. I still enjoyed the story and think it would make an awesome book club discussion!

I LOVE Alice Feeny's books, and I always prefer audio book, because who ever is narrating always gets the job done!

The books has twists and turns, per usual and I love them all, because just when I think that I have everything figured out, I'm always wrong as usual!!

Patience, Edith, Cleo, Frankie and Jude certainly all have a story to tell and they all know each other whether they realize it or not, as they soon find out how their past and present weave together.

As far as mystery thrillers go, this one seemed a tad mild. But it was exciting to learn how everything tied together in the end!

LOVED!! I am an Alice Feeney fan, and she continues to prove she is an auto-but author. First, I’d love to commend the narrator on an excellent performance. One scene in particular where she portrayed DC Charlotte Chapman, I was so impressed.

I thought the book had great pacing, and left just enough at the end of each chapter to leave me wanting to listen for just five more minutes.

Overall, a solid story that I would recommend to all lovers of the genre.

Wow, this book pleasantly surprised me! This was my first Alice Feeney read, and it had me hooked through the whole story. The twists… the intertwined characters… so many things I never saw coming. This also gave me a new appreciation for ladybugs! This is a perfect murder mystery for fall.

Good Bad Girl
Alice Feeney
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Fantastic Book!! This was my first time with this Author. I've had her other books in my TBR pile. I'm so excited to move them up to the top of my pile. LOL
This story & characters were great! It was full of twist and turners & more just when you think you have it figured out or guessed. It keeps you on the edge wanting to know the rest of the story.
Also there were so many Amazing quotes throughout the book that you don't expect in a Thriller. It was a GREAT BOOK!
Thank you Netgallery!
Thank you Alice Feeney for the great Thriller!
Publish date 8/28/2023

“The world is full of people who are good at being bad, and people who are bad at being good.”

The book begins with a baby snatched from a mother on Mother’s Day. Twenty years later, it is another Mother’s Day and we are introduced to a new set of characters.

Frankie is struggling with the loss of her teen daughter who ran away from home. She finds it extremely hard to connect with people. She works as a librarian in a women’s prison collecting and sharing her love for books with the inmates.

Edith, an eighty-year-old woman was tricked into a care home by her daughter, Clio. Edith hates the place and the fact that her daughter left her in the place without her pet, Dickens. Her only friend/solace in the care home is Patience, the young caretaker who has secrets of her own.

Clio is a therapist and has an unusual relationship with her mother, Edith. While she helps her clients deal with their problems, she is unable to find a solution for the issues that plague her mind, especially relating to her relationship with Edith.

The chapters alter between these four characters. I absolutely loved how the story unfolds through the different relationships and explores the ups and downs of motherhood, and the dynamics between mother-daughter relationships. The real drama begins with a murder and with Edith’s disappearance. Shortly, there’s news of another murder. It becomes evident soon that each of the four women has something to hide and nothing is as it seems. Two murders, four women, and three suspects.

The best part of reading this book for me was how I kept thinking I knew where the story was going only to be surprised by the exciting twists and turns Alice Feeney cleverly wove into this thriller. Each character has their own unique voice and is fully fleshed out. If I do have to point out a negative, then it would be the initial confusion in the beginning chapters while the four main characters and their relationships are set up. It did feel like there were too many characters and you had to keep a close watch as to what happened to whom and who said what!

I give it a 4.5 stars out of 5. If you love reading domestic thrillers that keep you guessing and changing your mind until the very end, then this book is perfect for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

All I can say is, the ending was not what I expected. Alice Feeney did a fantastic job of weaving a web of mystery and leading you towards a conclusion without deceiving the reader. Although I had correctly predicted "whodunnit", I did not predict how everything came together. Once it was presented though, I had to take a few moments to think back through the book and look for what I had missed.

I also appreciated the format of this book. It began at the end and ended at the beginning, which was a refreshing take compared to many modern mysteries. Very well done!

I listened to the audiobook ARC thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

It was my first time solely listening to an audiobook without reading along, so I was a little confused at times but the fact that the narrator had distinctly different and clear accents made it so much easier to judge who was speaking. As for the story, it was intriguing and fast-paced, with a few twists thrown in. I love the family values at the core of the book as well.