
Member Reviews

This was a great ride and had many twists and turns! I didn't see all the strands being so interconnected and I am totally here for that! I love that there was some healing in the end for everyone! I want to be as spunky as Edith when I am 80 years old! She was still taking names and kickass, even in the nursing home! Alice Feeney never disappoints!

This is my first thriller by Alice Feeney and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I will be picking up more of her books in the future. I also think the audiobook was done well and I liked the two narrators.
I was intrigued by the premise that the story begins at the end and ends at the beginning. It also touches upon the concept that the world is full of people who are good at being bad and still others that are bad at being good. Ultimately, sometimes bad things happen to good people and, in turn, good people are sometimes forced to do bad things. This theme is constantly brought up throughout the story.
I will say that the pacing of this book is somewhat slow, especially in the beginning. There is a lot of background information provided at the beginning of the story that slows it down. However, in the second half of the book, the pacing does increase as the twists and turns present themselves.
Some of the twists I figured at really close to the beginning of the book, while others became clearer along the way. There was only one twist that I wasn't really expecting, which wasn't fully realized until the end. Even though I was able to figure out most of the twists, I still thought the overall plot was enjoyable.
There are four main characters in this story and each of their points of view are told throughout. First, you have Frankie who is a prison librarian and her daughter has run away from home. Next is Patience who works at an elderly care home and Patience isn't her real name. Clio is a therapist who likes to help others, but she can't seem to help herself. Lastly, Edith is currently a resident in "God's waiting room" (i.e., the elderly care home) and she used to be a detective.
Good Bad Girl will take you on a journey to discover how these four women are interconnected, all while trying to figure out how they're linked to a child who was taken twenty years ago, two murders, one victim, and three suspects.

Good Bad Girl is a story told from multiple perspectives and it begins with a newborn being abducted from a mother, who is suffering from postpartum depression. From there, it is a roller coaster ride. This book immediately caught my attention and kept me hooked the entire way, and when I thought I knew what happened, I was thrown for a loop! I couldn't stop listening to this story because I just had to find out what happened next. It does take a little bit to find your footing in terms of the characters and setting the situations up, but it was well-paced and full of twists and turns! All I have to say is, Alice Feeney did it again!
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me the audiobook for Good Bad Girl! I was a huge fan of Alice Feeney’s Rock Paper Scissors so I was very excited to read this book. This one just didn’t hit the mark for me. The multiple POVs on audio was hard to follow at times so i took notes throughout. I couldn’t get invested in any of the characters so the story ended up falling flat. I may try this one again by physically reading it once it’s released.

What a great twisty mystery this was! Told in the alternating voices of Edith, Clio, Frankie, and Patience, Good Bad Girl kept me guessing the whole time - who was the stealer and who was the stolen and how do these women all fit together? It did take a minute to get into as you get your feet under the story, but then it's a thrill ride to the end. I will be recommending this title and most definitely the audio version since the narrator was amazing. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 big stars

3.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and McMillian Audio Production by Flatiron Books for this advance listening copy.
This was a quick and easy listen that I really enjoyed. In the beginning it was difficult to keep the characters straight and remember which was which. From there everything slid into place.
I'm not sure I would call this book a thriller and more about domestic family fiction. Unlike Feeney's other books there wasn't any edge of your seat suspense or fear for what will happen to a character. For me, it read more like fiction.
I enjoyed the story, it just turned out different than what I expected when starting the book.
It also seemed pretty obvious how people add up to one another based on the small amount of characters and timelines, but I'm not sure it was supposed to be a big reveal when it's all spelled out. Again, it read more like fiction so none of this even felt like was supposed to be a big reveal.
Enjoyable, but I'm not sure how fans of Alice Feeney will feel about this since it's a change of pace for her, which is also okay. The book just seems to be marketed like her other works.

I love Alice Feeney’s writing style and twists!
This book is not quite like her other books since this one deals more with the hard realities of motherhood and postpartum depression, along with trying to find out where you came from. I would say this is what the book is mostly about and then the murder mystery is second.
I did love figuring out the who dunnit and the other twists. They were not very difficult to figure out, but that didn’t deter me from wanting to continue to read the book.
Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 ⭐️
“Children only know how to love until the world or their mothers teach them how to hate.”
Good Bad Girl is told from the perspectives of Frankie, Clio, and Patience. Each woman has their own secrets and is nervous to have them revealed. When Patience begins working at a care home, she befriends a resident, Edith. Soon, the group of women will find themselves linked by a recent murder and a child abduction 20 years earlier.
This was my first book by Alice Feeney and I very much enjoyed the story. The character development was well done and their motives were believable. I also appreciated the twist in the story. Every time I thought that I had solved the mystery, more details proved me wrong. I will definitely read from this author again.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t think Alice Feeney is for me unfortunately. It always starts off great but somewhere in the middle the story gets boring and I just don’t care to continue. I wanted more from this story and it simply didn’t keep my attention like Rock Paper Scissors.

Good Bad Girl was a little confusing on audio because it was hard to keep the characters straight at first. There are 3 women - one a young adult, another middle-aged, and the third an elderly woman. The elderly woman, Edith, lives in a nursing home. The young adult, Patience, is one of her caretakers. However, Patience is using an alias and her background is pretty secretive. Edith's middle-aged daughter, Clio, is also part of the storyline. The story of a kidnapped baby is also woven into the plot. The story kept me entertained while listening, but it wasn't my favorite book by Alice Feeney.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a review copy of this audiobook.

I have enjoyed Alice Sweeney’s books but this wasn’t my favorite. There was too many point of views with multiple timelines. It was a mess! But, it was enough to keep reading. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC audiobook.

I really didn't like this book. Alice Feeney books have been so hit or miss for me. This was so confusing at the beginning, multiple female characters and one was using a fake name. It was very hard to keep track of everyone. It felt like there was one great idea for a character connection and then everything was added around that idea to create a mysterious story. This was just not the one for me!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book!

Wow! This book sure was a twisty ride! There are strong themes of complicated mother-daughter relationships throughout. Alice Feeney keeps you guessing all the way to the last pages. I really enjoyed the story although there are so many characters that I had to really pay attention to lest I get them confused. I liked how everything came back around and all ends were tied up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alice Feeney for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook! The narration was great and the quality was excellent. I always enjoy listening to books read by narrators with the same accent as the setting of the story. It really helps transform me into that time and place.

I’ve read a few of Alice Feeney’s books before and have found that I always THINK I know what is going on, however, in the end, I’m not right.
This book didn’t compare to her other ones in my opinion. I wasn’t invested in the characters or the stories. I was confused for half of it and it didn’t have the page turned draw in that Rock Paper Scissors had. I’m giving this book 3 stars as I did really enjoy the last half, but it was very meh before that.
Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC!

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, for an advanced listener’s copy.
Does Alice Feeney ever miss? I picked this up looking for a light little mystery, just to be left on the brink of tears after binging it in one sitting.
Told from four separate POVs, Good Bad Girl is a wonderfully crafted whodunit following the mystery of two seemingly connected crimes –a baby is stolen out of a stroller in a grocery store, and 20 years later, someone is found murdered in a nursing home, with one patient nowhere to be found.
Add this to your fall tbr if you like thrillers and mysteries. This book kept me captivated from beginning to end, albeit it did take me a while to find my footing and figure out who was who, but once I did, I could not put it down.
The story is well-paced and twisty. I found myself constantly guessing and second-guessing throughout the entire book. And it had so many surprisingly endearing and heartbreaking moments with an overarching theme of mother-daughter relationships.
If you like ‘The Push’ by Ashley Audrain and Lucy Foley, I recommend checking this one out.

This was such a good, steady read. The characters are multidimensional, human and palpable. The struggle of womanhood, motherhood and imperfection. Patience, Cleo, Frankie and Edith's stories remind us that good people can do bad things and bad things often happen to good people.
The way Feeney weaved this tale is phenomenal. Each unraveling reveals yet another twist that adds a poignant complexity to the story. The conclusion really ties up loose ends and allows for a Renaissance of life after so much sorrow.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Sigh. Obviously Feeneys style dosent vibe with me. I was so incredibly bored. there were way too many characters and names. If this wasnt an arc i would have DNFd before 40%. I probably wont try feeney again.

I look forward to Alice Feeney's books every year. After being blown away by 'Daisy Darker' last year, I've spent most of 2023 counting the months until I could read 'Good Bad Girl'. Though the book overall had a much different tone than what I've become accustomed to with this author, I still loved it.
A stolen baby, a runaway, a missing elderly woman, a murdered care home worker... there's an intricate series of events throughout the book that at a glance would seem unrelated but are very much connected. The POVs alternate between Edith, Patience, Clio, and Frankie with twists and turns following each of their steps.
At first, I was surprised by how differently the book read compared to 'Rock Paper Scissors' and 'Daisy Darker'. It didn't have the same urgency and sense of danger. I also found it much more predictable in the beginning, however, I was still caught by some twists by the end that made me react out loud as I was listening, causing me to scramble to backtrack to be sure I'd heard it correctly.
What I liked about this book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated mother/daughter relationships. So much has been withheld between them causing strain and ambiguity. It took me a little while to differentiate Clio and Frankie, but I don't think that would have been as much of an issue had I been reading with my eyes rather than my ears. (Side note: The two narrators did a lovely job reading!)
Though not what I'd expected, I can't say I'm disappointed. Now the wait is on for the next Alice Feeney book!
A huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audio ARC of the book!

I liked it; but I didn't love it!! I liked how all the characters were connected but at the same time it felt a bit forced. What are the chances that so many completely different characters will all be connected in real life? It was way too predictable and with so many different character perspectives it was easy to figure out what was going on. The only thing I didn't see coming was the twist in the end when we find out who the kidnapper actually is because it doesn't make sense. The math doesn't add up. She would have been too young or her mom too old. I didn't like that nor did I understand it.
It was still fun to follow the story and witness the progression but I do think it was lacking depth and originality!!

I really enjoyed the dynamic of a murder mystery weaved into an exploration of complicated mother daughter relationships. The combination didn’t leave any room for slow parts of the storyline; I was engaged the entire time. I did guess some of the twists, but that was because I was invested enough to think through all possible scenarios in my head, not because the twists were easily predictable. In terms of the audiobook specifically, I enjoyed that there were two narrators to give more variety to the 4 main characters. I also loved the transition of the accent when it is revealed that Edith is the person that lost the baby in the supermarket. Overall, a very good mystery that isn’t overly dark in theme.