This book had the twists and turns that you would expect from an Alice Feeney novel. Listening to it an audiobook had me questioning the narrator's voice as it related to the characters but I feel they added to the story. It definitely picked up in the second half of the novel and I became more engrossed in the character development. I felt that the first half had Grady repeatedly say "I'm so tired" and "I miss my wife" so much that the redundancy became distracting. But once the story began to evolve I became more engaged.

This was the first book that I’ve read by this author. I will definitely read her back list. This book has a huge twist at the end. I definitely didn’t see it coming. I will definitely suggest this book to my mystery thriller customers.

2.5/5

author grady green is having the best day of his life - until his wife, abby mysteriously vanishes and he finds her car abandoned by a cliff side.

a year has passed since abby went missing and there are no leads on her disappearance. grady, an author with a terrible case of writers block, mixed in with insomnia and a drinking problem, is approached by his agent kitty to live in a cabin on an island out in scotland as a way to get his life, and career back on track.

this novel starts off rather slow and i will be honest that during the first half of the audiobook i did often find myself having to go back and listen to parts of chapters again due to losing interest in the plot. by the second half the book does pick up, and the audiobook has some additional sound effects that do really help you get immersed in the book.

alice feeney does a great job at keeping you on your toes, and wondering what’s going to happen next. the book being set in a tiny scottish island was an excellent choice & learning how the small community remained as tight knit as they were was at times mind boggling, but also kept me wanting to know more about each of the characters and what lead them to this small island.

with that said, i was let down by the book as i felt the build up to the “big reveal” and the twists to follow were hard to believe, as they seemed extremely outlandish.

a huge thank you to NetGalley & MacMillan audio for the arc!

The audio was fantastic. The narration fit the atmospheric creepy vibe of the story very well. The accents were perfect. I listened at 1.75x and 2x as the story developed.

This is definitely a slow burn suspense- but the very end had my jaw dropping with all the twists. In typical Alice Feeney fashion - you never really know who to believe and you are probably going to be wrong if you try and guess. I do wish the twists started a bit earlier because they were super fun.

This book was a fantastic read!! Could hardly wait to see what was going to happen next.

Grady Green, a writer, has just released a new novel and was calling his wife to tell her some exciting news about the book. But his wife spots something in the road, and despite him telling her to leave it be, she just had to see what it was. And that was the last he saw of her. What happened to Abby?

Grady struggled writing after that, so his publisher sent him to a small island to hopefully get him writing again. Only that’s not all that was in store for Grady.

Five-Star Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (Audiobook)

The narration of Beautiful Ugly is nothing short of spectacular. The male narrator’s delivery is gripping and perfectly complements the thriller's atmosphere. His voice aligns seamlessly with how I envisioned the protagonist, adding an extra layer of depth to the character's journey. Equally impressive is the female narrator, who masterfully captures the women’s points of view with nuance and authenticity. Their combined performances elevate the audiobook to an unmissable experience. Highly recommend listening to this one!

The story itself is a brilliant, twisting thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end. It follows a writer who is riding high on the success of his latest book hitting the bestseller list—until his wife suddenly vanishes, leaving him devastated and unable to write. A year later, still stuck in creative limbo, his publisher offers him a secluded cottage on a remote island, hoping the isolation will help him regain his inspiration.

But the island is far from a serene retreat. As the writer encounters the peculiar habits of the locals and experiences increasingly bizarre occurrences, he begins to question not just the townspeople but also his own sanity. The atmosphere is haunting, and the tension is palpable.

Alice Feeney’s ability to weave twist after twist is unparalleled. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, the story takes another jaw-dropping turn. I pride myself on solving thrillers early, but this one completely blindsided me in the best way possible. The twists were delightfully "twisty" and utterly satisfying.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the review copy. Beautiful Ugly publishes on January 14, 2025, and it’s a must-read (or listen!) for any thriller fan.

I absolutely loved the narration and production of this book! There were mind sound effects to signal switches in time and narrators and I thought it completely brought the story to life.
I did take issue with the plot twist in the story because I felt it was a little lazy and very closely mimicked another of this author’s plot twists, but it didn’t take away from my love of the audiobook.

What a twisty ride this is! After losing his wife and everything else, Grady is given one last chance by his literary agent, Kitty, to stay at the cabin she inherited on the tiny island of Amberley and try to write another book. This ends up being both a dream come true and a nightmare, which fits in this book of opposites and I definitely had fun listening to this audiobook which not only had a couple of great narrators (speaking Grady and Abby's parts) but also really well done sound effects to heighten the surroundings like the sounds of waves, church bells, and telephones and walkie talkies. I loved how it added to the story.

So, yeah, very twisty and not all is as it seems on the island or whether Grady is really experiencing the odd stuff or if he is an unreliable narrator. It was a very good unraveling and the only think I will says is I am glad that nothing happened to Columbo! That ending gave me shivers! I think it would be nice to visit the island though and see all the cool landmarks, but only during tourist season!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook and review it.

Didn’t see the twists coming. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The ending was a bit out of left field though. I thought it resolved quite well without that last bit.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney is a dark thriller that will keep you guessing until the final page! This story is psychological suspense, filled with drama and revenge. The novel follows Grady Green, whose life unravels when his wife Abby disappears. A year later, still consumed by grief and unanswered questions, Grady retreats to a remote Scottish island, only to see a woman who looks exactly like Abby. The story alternates between past and present while exposing secrets. The twists are absolutely incredible and suspenseful, I loved every moment!

Just finished listening to this gem by Alice Feeney. Beautiful Ugly has a plot twist that I didn’t see coming and left me gasping out loud. Good solid read. Entertaining!

Everyone who wants to enjoy this book should consider the audiobook. This is a classic Alice Feeney, with large twist towards the end after somewhat slow paced first 3/4. I found the setting, the characters, and the plot all interesting. The pacing was a little off for me, but not enough to make it unenjoyable. The added sound effects and the narrators on the audiobook were so perfect that it makes it by far the best way to enjoy it. The crinkle of walkie talkies, the foreboding music before Abby’s chapters, the sound of water… I loved it.

Thank you published and NetGalley for the chance to listen to this book.

I may never look at walkie talkies the same way again!

In this gripping thriller, we follow Grady, an author with more problems than he knows what to do with. After his wife goes missing, he's unable to write another book. When his agent sends him to the remote isle of Amberly, off the coast of Scotland, to write a new book, he thinks he's found his very own paradise. Except, the paradise turns out to be a nightmare.

I loved all the perspectives and trying to guess who all of the narrators were. The island was super creepy, and the ambiance was incredible. I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narrator and all the accents. Overall, an amazing thriller! The ending was intense but I loved it.

This is my first Alice Feeney book but it will definitely not be my last. I was at the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. If you are looking for a good mystery, thriller….then look no further. Unreliable narrator, what in the world is happening, am I going crazy too? All things you experience through out this book and I ate it up!

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this domestic thriller! The audio for this book was fantastic. Both narrators did a great job bringing these characters to life. This book felt like walking through a mirror maze. There are some breadcrumbs to pick up on some of the twists, and others just smack you in the face. It's a creepy tale with heavy topics located on a small island.

This was incredible. I loved the full cast & the sound design of the audiobook. Alice Feeney is such a talented writer. This had me hooked from the very beginning. I loved this book.

I’ve been on an Alice Feeney kick ever since reading Daisy Darker last year. I love how she is able to keep the reader guessing until the very end.

I just finished Rock Paper Scissors a couple weeks ago. So here’s my issue with Beautiful Ugly. It’s so similar to RPS that for a second I thought I had started that audiobook again. Struggling writer husband, interchanging female/male POV, unhappy marriage, reclusive location, lovable dog. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing but maybe don’t read them one after the other.

I loved the additional sound effects on the book. Especially the waves and radio static. I feel like the twists weren’t as surprising as some of her other books but I still enjoyed it.

Richard Armitage has an amazing voice. My only complaint is sometimes it’s a bit too dramatic.


Thank you to NetGalley, Alice Feeney and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read Beautiful Ugly. I have written this review voluntarily and this is my real opinion.

My mouth was agape starting around 70% of the audiobook. Please do not expect a serious thriller going into this. When this book starts ramping up, it's a one way ticket to cuckoo town. There were plenty of plot holes or convenient non-explaining / accepting of implausible situations to move the plot along, but I didn't mind; there were so many loose threads to pull, I just rolled along with it, relishing in the ridiculousness. Here are all the predictions i had while reading:

1. The husband killed the wife, but out of guilt, blocked the memory/is living with amnesia
2. The husband and wife are BOTH dead, and the island is purgatory
3. The wife is alive and is framing her husband (the seems the most obvious choice, but is it?)
4. Lesbian cult

There were some genuinely creepy scenes (the couple who ran the butcher shop?!), and the atmosphere is A+! The audiobook has great production, ie. sound effects (wind, car horns, ocean waves crashing etc.) that enhanced the Gothic setting. Considering there's only two narrators, there were a lot of distinct voices for all the different characters.

The weakest part of the book was the oscillation between "before" and "after" the Big Accident. The momentum of the mystery was curbed because it was interspersed with relationship drama/reflections, so after a dramatic, spooky reveal, it would go back to melodramatic marriage drama. Also too much exposition by the villains at the end that dragged out the ending, again killing the momentum.

Overall though, a fun, atmospheric time. I'd recommend listening to this on audiobook.

I'm not sure why I keep reading Alice Feeney's books, when they keep letting me down. I'm always sucked in at the beginning but end up feeling annoyed by a ludicrous twist, and this one might have been the worst. The author did a good job at creating an unsettling atmosphere on this strange little island, though the characters never really compelled me, but the big reveal and the whole explanation of the island's whole deal was just so stupid and unbelievable. I have got to stop picking up this author's books!

Here's one thriller that is impossible to put down! Alice Feeney has done it again.
The plot revolves around an author who's just about to make it big in the publishing world when his beloved wife disappears. The story skyrockets from there. It's quite a complicated plot but I was at the edge of my seat all throughout the story.
The narration was terrific with sound effects that strongly contributed to the trepidation of the book, A great read!