Alice Feeney never fails to surprise me. Each of her books feels distinct as she isn’t afraid to try something new. GOOD BAD GIRL takes Feeney’s signature cleverness into domestic suspense territory as she explores mother-daughter relationships with a kidnapping of a child and a murder in a nursing home.

The story lacks the page-turning thrills of her previous books, but it makes up for it with fully developed characters and a thoughtful portrayal of postpartum depression. Feeney challenges readers to consider what it means to be a “good” mother.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story on audio and found it easy to follow. The dual narrators brought the characters to life in a fun way. Fans of Sally Hepworth won’t want to miss this one!

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: August 29, 2023

Many thanks to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Mother’s Day means different things to different people. To some it’s a day of celebration, to others it’s a reminder of the worst days of your life. 20 years ago on Mother’s Day a baby was stolen from a stroller. Now, two murders exactly 20 years later, are opening up old wounds from the kidnapping and have unknowingly tied four women together. 80-year-old Edith is convinced she doesn’t need to be living in a nursing home while her estranged daughter Clio is struggling to cover the financial cost of the home and keep her life together. 18-year-old Patience, as a caretaker at the nursing home, has developed fond feelings for Edith but is also searching for answers on her past. Lastly, prison librarian Frankie is convinced Clio knows where her runaway daughter is and is determined to find her. All four of these women have secrets, and this Mother’s Day they’re all about to be revealed.

In Good Bad Girl, Feeny tackles the complex dynamics of mother daughter relationships, and she has certainly crafted some unique and interestingly flawed characters. I found all our main narrators to be both unlikable and likable at the same time but while I felt they were well crafted, the different POVs and not fully understanding how they were connected gave the story a slow start. The web Feeney was laying out for us with these characters was almost too complex which made the first half of the book feel slow. Once I finally started to make connections, I had lost some of my initial interest in the story.

Something that could be triggering for some people but that I appreciated in this story as a new mom, is Feeney’s portrayal of postpartum depression and what it means to be a good mother. As a newer mom, I’m finding myself to be very vocal about the struggles women face in the 4th trimester and on. Even though this is a thriller with a kidnapping, I feel strongly that the more we see these topics in mainstream media the more likely we are to see change in the way society stigmatizes new moms. But this could certainly be a Trigger Warning for some people.

I’m ashamed to say that while I have copies of Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors, this is my first Alice Feeney book. I think with most her books it’s good to just dive into the story without any context and so I’m glad that’s what I did here. While I did enjoy this book, the complexity of the plot bordered on confusing resulting in 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4-star rating.


Good Bad Girl comes out August 3, 2023. Huge thank you to Flatiron Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

OMG. Alice Feeney, you've done it again.
I literally SCREAMED when I opened this piece of book mail... Like how did I get so lucky to receive an ARC from ALICE FRIGGIN FEENEY, the wizard herself??? I am so thankful to Flatiron Books for thinking of me, and YOU KNOW I had to drop everything and read this one in less than 24 hours because that's how I roll as a mood reader.

In proper Alice Feeney form, we have a multi-POV tale where it's pretty confusing at first, but strap in because this is one hell of a story. 20 years ago, a baby was stolen from her buggy, leaving the mother to go mad, as she should. Fast forward into the present-day scenario, we have Edith who feels she was wrongfully placed in a care home, her daughter Clio who is just trying to make it work with her mother but can't seem to get ahold of their relationship. There is Frankie who is a prison librarian and has been keeping a huge secret and is dying to let it out to her therapist, who also happens to be Clio. And then we have Patience, who has run away from home and is staying in a gallery attic for free in exchange for information. She is also providing care for Edith in more ways than the average employee, including helping her to leave the home and reclaim what's rightfully hers.

That's a mouthful, but there's the setup. Of course, every character is lying and really good and being bad, as the title lets on. I won't spoil anything further, because I know how anticipatory this book is, but take my word for it. You don't want to pass this one up.

Good Bad Girl is set to hit shelves on August 29 -- so get your pre-orders in now yall.

I enjoyed this one. I love when an author keeps you guessing about the lives in the boos. This one connecting 3 women for different reasons. It too me a second to keep straight who everyone was, but once I did it had a nice pace and a good story.

Edith is a reluctant patient in a nursing home, Patience works in the home helping care for the residents. Edith thinks she’s found a kindred spirit, not realizing that Patience is lying to her. When the truth comes out, there’s no more reason for pretense, but the two women must rely on each other to sort out the past and keep another tragedy from occurring. Feeney is the queen of plot twists and her latest doesn’t disappoint

This book leans more towards the family drama/ domestic suspense side rather than a psychological thriller, so I was not as shocked by any of the major twists. Still, the story was fast paced, clever and engaging. I loved the multiple POVs and how with time, each narrator’s story intersected in ways I did not fully expect. Plus, the short chapters made it easy to binge the book, as I was eager to find out the truth of what really happened.

Read if you like:
-Domestic suspense
-Slowburns
-Family drama
-Alternating POVs
-Sally Hepworth books

This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023 and I really enjoyed the twisting and turning storyline.

This revolves around four women who are all more connected than they realize. I went into this one completely and I mean COMPLETELY blind… I knew Alice Feeney had a new book and I was already sold! I am glad I didn’t know anything, because the way this story unfolds was remarkable.

What happened when you do something bad for a good reason? That’s what this book really is about. Four women connected by their actions. And the ending had me REELING.

I thought this was narrated to perfection!