Beautiful Ugly. By Alice Feeney. Audiobook

Emma Smith

This book was my final read of 2024, and what a perfect, chilling crescendo to end the year. Atmospheric and deeply unsettling, it hooked me from the very first page and held me captive all the way to its masterfully twisted conclusion. I was completely swept up in the suspense, the pacing, and the haunting character study at its core.

The story follows author Grady Green, whose world shatters when his wife, Abby, vanishes in the middle of a phone call. The search for her - and the truth - becomes a labyrinth where nothing is as it seems. I can't believe this was my first Alice Feeney novel, but it absolutely won't be my last.

For me, an island setting is a gift to a thriller - it naturally builds that claustrophobic tension and isolating dread. Amberly, off the coast of Scotland, is the ultimate remote escape. No mobile reception, no internet, just 25 residents and an imposing landscape of sea, sky, and ancient redwoods. It's the perfect place to vanish, or to confront a nightmare. The setting itself becomes a character, pulsating with a quiet, creeping menace that had me reading late into the night.

Feeney crafts her characters with a brilliant, painful precision. Grady is a man utterly lost, grieving a wife who is only missing, with no closure in sight. That profound, chaotic grief resonates through every chapter, building a powerful empathy. The narrative shifts between his present, Abby's perspective, and haunting glimpses of their past. Each new point of view meticulously dismantles my assumptions, building a picture far more sinister and complex than I ever anticipated.

The minimal cast - only 25 souls on the entire island - amplifies the suspense. Every interaction feels charged, every resident a potential key to the mystery. In a place cut off from the constant noise of modern life, who are these people, really? What secrets does this isolated community hold?

This is a story laden with twists. Feeney is a masterful manipulator of perspective, planting clues in plain sight while expertly diverting attention. Just when I thought I had a handle on the truth, the narrative would pivot, turning everything I believed on its head. It's a brilliant, unsettling dance that keeps you guessing until the final, breathtaking pages.

The ending is nothing short of spectacular - a chilling, perfectly orchestrated finale that left me reeling. It's the kind of conclusion that makes you immediately want to revisit the story with new eyes.

If you love a suspense-filled mystery that plays with perception and delivers shocking, satisfying twists, this book is an absolute must. It's a compelling, immersive treat. I highly recommend picking up a copy or listening to the audiobook - the narration brilliantly captures the story's growing dread and haunting atmosphere. You won't be able to put it down.

About the Author: Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and optioned for major screen adaptations, including Rock Paper Scissors, which is being developed into a TV series by the producer of The Crown. A former BBC journalist for fifteen years, she now lives in Devon with her family. Good Bad Girl is her sixth novel.