Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: An author grieving his wife's mysterious disappearance finds his life upended again when, a year later on a remote Scottish island, he encounters a woman who looks exactly like her.

My review: Having read five books by Alice Feeney, I can confidently say she’s mastered the art of keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Beautiful Ugly is no exception—a wild ride from start to finish with twists that make it nearly impossible to put down. The story unfolds through dual points of view, and Feeney’s use of unreliable narrators adds to the suspense, keeping you guessing at every turn. The eerie atmosphere of the remote Scottish island perfectly complements the dark and mysterious plot.

Narrator: I loved the narrators - great job. I also enjoyed the added sound effects!

Genres/Themes: Fiction / Thrillers - Psychological / Thrillers - Domestic / Family Life - Marriage & Divorce

Beautiful Ugly is scheduled for publication on January 14 2025 , by Macmillan Audio.

I love Alice Feeney, but her last two books have fallen a little short for me. Did I love them both? Yes, but Beautiful Ugly was predictable. I knew what happened from maybe half way through. There was only one little twist that I didn't see until the end and then the very last bit was just confusing.

I really enjoyed the audio for “Beautiful Ugly” by Alice Feeney. The audio gave great eerie vibes that contributed to the overall feel of this thriller. I enjoyed the dual narration and all the accents as well. The beginning and end of the story really sucked me in, but I will say the middle was a bit repetitive. I enjoyed that this novel flipped the genre a bit and had a paranoid man at the center and not a woman. I did not see the twists in this story coming. I audibly gasped for one of them and had to rewind a bit to make sure I understood. That is always the sign of a good twist to me. Thank you, NetGalley for this eARC! I can’t wait to recommend this book to patrons and friends.

The premise of this book is great, but it was a bit too slow and repetitive for me to thoroughly enjoy. The creepy vibes leading up to the big reveal set the tone, but this book was too slow of a burn, for me. The beginning and end I was hooked, but the middle I got a bit bored with.

The narrators and audio effects are excellent, I really enjoyed the audiobook experience. The accents are always a plus to listen to. I will say that the big "twist" at the end did completely shock me, but it also felt a little cheap to use that method. I do think I will check out more of this author's work, but would probably recommend thriller lovers start with another one of her books instead of this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author Alice Feeney for the ALC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful Ugly releases Jan 14 2025!

Author Grady Green calls his wife as she is driving home, to see how much longer it will be until she gets there. He wants her to celebrate with him - his latest novel just landed on the NYT bestseller list. While they are on the phone, he hears her slam on brakes and he asks her what is wrong. She tells him there is a woman lying in the road. Despite his protests, she gets out of the car to check on her, although Abby does leave her phone on, so he can hear what is happening. His wife doesn't come back. Grady starts running since she was not far from the house and finds her car abandoned, the door still open....and Abby is missing. Fast-forward to one year later, and Abby still hasn't been found. Grady has lost everything he owned and is living out of a cheap motel. He can't sleep, and he can't write. His agent calls him in and offers him a cabin she inherited from an author she represented. Three months on the secluded Scottish island of Amberley, to try to get his life back on track and his writing mojo back. However, once he arrives, things are not what they seem, and he feels as if he is going crazy. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

I am a huge fan of this author's books. This is my new favorite. I listened to the audiobook version of this, and loved it. It was told primarily in Grady's voice, but interspersed randomly were both a backstory in a female voice (presumably Abby) and therapy sessions with "the woman in black" (also presumably Abby). Neither one of those specifically said they were in Abby's voice, but everything that was said fit her narrative.. The narrators for both of those did excellent jobs bringing the story to life and making it feel like you were actually there. Whenever it switched locations, there were also sounds - waves crashing, church bells tolling, there was even that static sound every time they used those walkie talkies on the island ( that was how everyone communicated since there was no cell, internet, or phone service on the island). All of those also helped to make the book feel more realistic and like you were actually there. The entire time, you are not sure if Grady is an unreliable narrator, or if he is being gaslit, or what exactly is going on. The last 10% or so is when it gets REALLY good. There is twist after twist after twist. My head was spinning. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers then you will want to put this at the top of your TBR pile. You are going to love it!

Super strong start and storyline. I was fascinated by each development and twist. I thought the premise was quiet and kept my attention. The way the narrator told the story kept me strongly invested.

The ending was a bit extreme and I felt you had to suspend reality for parts of it but all in all I loved the way it wrapped itself up.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

"I hope you die in your sleep."

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Alice Feeney for providing me with an ALC of Beautiful Ugly. This is my second Alice Feeney novel, and I absolutely loved it.

The story follows Grady, whose wife has gone missing one day. His editor, Kitty, sends him to a remote island in Scotland, hoping the solitude will spark his creativity for his next best-selling novel. However, once he arrives there, things are far from what they seem.

The women on the island are a bit strange and speak in circles, and frequently use walkie-talkies after Grady leaves their presence. There’s no phone service, no internet, and no return ferry to the mainland. As time passes, Grady starts to feel trapped, and is haunted by visions of his wife.

I had a feeling something was off from the start and spent the whole time trying to guess what was happening. To my surprise, none of my theories were right—this book is not your typical psychological thriller. It’s unpredictable and constantly unsettling - the ingredients for a great story.

I couldn’t stop listening. The twists and turns, especially the ending, took me completely by surprise. It left me thinking, what just happened? And learning more about Grady was just as wild.
The dual POV narrators were fantastic and kept me hooked the entire time.

This book was that good. I highly recommend reading or listening to it—I hope you love it as much as I did.

Thank you again, NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Alice Feeney.

Please turn this into a movie!!

Author Grady Green has just gotten the biggest news of his life: his new novel is a New York Times bestseller. The very same night his wife Abby mysteriously goes missing while talking with him on the phone on her drive home. Still devastated and aimless a year later and unable to write, his agent Kitty - Abby's godmother - suggests he go to a quiet, idyllic island off the coast of Scotland to see if that will help inspire him to write again.

Welcome to the Isle of Amberley - a place so perfectly defined by the title of this book and one that might be giving me nightmares for the next few days! One friend described it and its residents as giving Stepford Wives vibes, and I'd absolutely agree with that, but for me it also had shades of the 70's folk horror movie The Wicker Man, ironically also set on a Scottish island.

The constantly changing weather, the folklore, the ferry that mysteriously never seems to have an outgoing schedule, the pounding sea, the towering trees and forest, the residents whose smiles belie their suspicious stares and the writing cabin atop a cliff's edge once inhabited by another male author, now deceased, all inundated my senses with an undercurrent of foreboding from the moment Grady steps onto the island.

From the get-go you know something isn't right, and the unease stuck with me through every moment of my listen, narrated expertly by the wonderful Richard Armitage, with a few chapters by Tuppence Middleton. The sound effects of the waves crashing, voices calling out, the crackle of walkie talkies and increasingly ominous occurrences built the sense of dread so perfectly that I would almost classify this as lite psychological horror.

Grady is the perfect unreliable narrator, as you lose all sense of whether he's seeing and hearing things or if it's real, which only increases as his insomnia and drinking affect his perception. The residents of Amberley were written so well that I almost felt like I was in Grady's shoes, which was quite an unpleasant and claustrophobic place to be!

Alice Feeney has officially scared the bejeebers out of me with this one. She nailed the atmosphere and characters so well, and I could visualize the whole story so vividly in my mind like a movie. The denouement lost a little bit of its zing for me with an arrangement I couldn't quite buy into, but the big twist preceding it and the foreshadowing for the ending were so delicious!

Feeney has written an excellent book and I highly recommend it to those who like a pervasively creepy, ominous, psychological suspense story that creatively examines the power dynamic between men and women.

Author Grady Green is eager to share news with his wife, Abby. He’s on the phone with her, as she’s driving home, when he hears her slam on her breaks.

Then-he hears her get out of the car.

Then-he hears nothing.

Grady eventually finds Abby’s car by a cliff. The driver’s side door is still open but Abby is nowhere to be found.

A year later, Grady is en route to a remote Scottish island to help get back on track. But this one woman on the ferry to the island looks eerily like Abby…

Imagine driving on a road with a blanket like fog around you. This fog gives you a feeling you just can’t shake. And that road—oh, does it have some twists.

That’s how I would describe listening to this book and what a deliciously delightful journey! Alice Feeney’s latest thriller (my new favorite book by her!) is both incredibly clever and thought-provoking—I was thinking about it for a long time after I finished. The dual POV of the book is exquisitely narrated by @richardcarmitage and @twopencemiddleton.

Start your new year off right: Beautiful Ugly is available on January 14, 2025.

Colleen Chi-Girl on GoodReads
Dec 20, 2024
Bookshelves: 2024, audio, crime-mysteries, netgalley, thrillers, scotland, women-centered
**** Stars
Publisher's Intro: Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

MY REVIEW:
I enjoyed this novel narrated by the wonderful Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton. It involves a happily married couple Abby and Grady, when one dark evening, the lovely wife, Abby, stops her car to help someone...and goes missing.

I really enjoyed the setting of the remote Scottish isle and felt Feeney wrote a very good, suspenseful novel. Firstly, the mystery is interesting, the secondary characters are unique and interesting as well, and finally, the thriller is a just a good one with surprises and twists and turns. Most of the time, I couldn’t put it down and finished it in 2 days. I rated this 🌟 4 stars.

Here's my only con: The husband, Grady Green... is the biggest downer unfortunately. He pouts and complains, and whines so frequently that it was simply annoying. (I actually rolled my eyes throughout the audio and yelled, “Stop whining!!” )

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this fun and unique novel. Thanks so much to the publisher, author and NetGalley for my advanced copy. The review is my own.

A decent thriller, full of twist after twist, though pretty farfetched in plot. I listened to the audiobook which kept my attention well. The narrators were pleasant and the few sound effects thrown in were enjoyable. The way the characters were tied together seemed disjointed, a bit too unbelievable to work. But its worth a listen for a few hours of entertainment. My thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Alice Feeney delivers yet another brilliantly twisted tale in Beautiful Ugly, a suspenseful story that will keep you guessing until the final page. The story follows Grady Green, a struggling author whose wife mysteriously vanishes one night during a phone call with him. Stricken by grief and plagued by writer’s block, Grady retreats to a remote Scottish island to reignite his creativity. However, the island seems to hold secrets of its own, and Grady’s grasp on reality begins to blur as he repeatedly catches glimpses of his missing wife or perhaps just figments of his unraveling imagination.

The atmospheric setting of the Scottish island is richly described, creating an eerie backdrop that mirrors Grady’s inner turmoil. Feeney masterfully crafts a story where nothing is as it seems, pulling readers into a labyrinth of uncertainty and suspense.

I experienced Beautiful Ugly as an audiobook, and the narration elevated the story even further. The narrator was perfectly selected, bringing the characters and the tension to life with impeccable delivery.

A huge thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing the advanced audiobook. This is a must-read (or must-listen!) for fans of psychological thrillers and Alice Feeney’s signature twists. Highly recommended!

Another Alice Feeney book that is full of twists, surprises and difficult to review without giving away too much of the story!!

I will say this is very twisted and the ending was diabolical. If you are a fan of Feeney this one will not disappoint, in fact I think she kicked it up a notch.

Well done!! The audiobook had dual narration and the sound of the ocean was a nice touch, great listen.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

5 ⭐️ .

Grady Green calls his wife to share exciting news. After his wife answers, she slams on the breaks, as she sees something on the street. She leaves the car to check on the object and never returns to the call. Grady finds her car, but does not find his wife.

After a year of grief and not being able to write, his publisher sends him to a remote island to write. Weird stuff starts to happen, and frankly, at this point, I should’ve put the book down and not finished it. It was so far fetched and weird. I kept hoping for some sort of twist. For something to make sense. This book was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was given an advanced copy of the audiobook on NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t see the twists and turns coming, but I loved the decisions the author made with the story. The audiobook version was even more immersive with the sound effects, etc. included in the narration. Would definitely recommend for others, just don’t assume you’ll be able to figure it all out on your own before the story fills you in!

A writer’s wife, Abby, disappears, and he’s now unable to write any new books. When his publisher offers her cabin on a remote island, he jumps at the chance for a change of scenery, but things aren’t what they seem!
The audio book was quite a production with ringing bells and phone calls. Very nicely done! The book is very suspenseful, and the islanders give a creepy vibe. So it’s certainly a slow burn thriller!

Overall, I didn’t find the story too unusual. There was heavy foreshadowing with Abby’s work in domestic violence that pretty much let me know what was to come. The main character was extremely unlikeable with little depth and only ego that seemed to drive him. I liked how the story tied up nicely at the end!

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.

Grady Green, the newest New York Times best selling author, is about to have his life completely change. On the night he gets this amazing news, his wife disappears while he is on the phone with her. A year later, he still hasn’t gotten any more answers to her disappearance.

When he has to opportunity visit a small Scottish Island, home to one of his favorite late authors, he accepts, in hopes of getting his life back together and getting inspiration for his next great novel. However, nothing on the island is what it seems and the locals are strange enough and made me question everything.

Feeney gave twist after twist in this book all of which caught me so off guard and made my jaw drop.

The audio, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton, was very well done. With their voices, they both added to the emotions of the story enhancing the reading experience. There was also music and sound effects that added to the atmosphere of the novel.

WHAT THE??? Almost every chapter had my jaw on the ground. The multiple twists had me SHOOK! And the ending was truly CHEFS KISS!

This novel centers around Grady Green, a newly minted NYT Best Selling author. He calls his wife in the car to give her the good news. During the conversation, the car crashes. He drives to the scene minutes away, and the car is there, but not his wife. The year that follows is one of depression for Grady. His wife still hasn't appeared. His agent offers him a place to write on an island in Scotland. Strange things begin to happen, and he spots a woman who is the spitting image of his wife. This book kept my attention through the quirky characters and twists and turns. I do think that Feeney jumped the shark with the ending.

First, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this ALC for review.
Unfortunately, I did not like this book. A twist isn't a twist if the entire premise of the story is based off a potentially unreliable narrator and the story is filled with lies. That doesn't give the reader the opportunity to solve the mystery or even make educated guesses.
As with all fiction, I believe you need to suspend your disbelief at least a little bit...however, the end of this book required much more than that for me...like, what actually just happened??
Aside from the above, I liked the premise of this book, it sounded intriguing enough that I jumped in almost immediately after being approved for the arc. The middle 70% of the book felt repetitive and drawn out for me which caused the pacing to lag. Also, if I had to hear him ruminate one more time about whether or not he just saw his dead wife, I might have gone crazy right along with him.
To wrap up, the narrators did a wonderful job and I loved the production of the audiobook. The introduction of the sound of waves, ringing phones, etc added a nice touch. If you are a mystery/thriller reader that enjoys an unreliable narrator, this book would most likely definitely be for you.

Alice Feeney has written some books that I very much enjoyed, unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.