Beautiful Ugly
A Novel
-
-
3.8 • 1K Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER from the author of His & Hers, now a #1 Netflix show, and the hit bestseller My Husband's Wife!
“Her best book yet.” —Harlan Coben
The million-copy bestselling Queen of Twists Alice Feeney returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . .
. . . and revenge.
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.
Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
“Magnetic and jaw-dropping.” —Mary Kubica, bestselling author
"Unforgettable." —Chris Whitaker, bestselling author
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Nothing is as it seems in this atmospheric thriller from author Alice Feeney. It’s been a year since the disappearance of author Grady Green’s wife, and he’s since fallen victim to depression, destitution…and writer’s block. So when his agent offers him the chance to stay at her former client’s writing lodge on a remote Scottish island, he goes for it. But the small, isolated island offers more than he expected, like breathtaking scenery, a community of eccentric villagers—and quite possibly answers about the mystery of his lost wife. Feeney once again proves why she is called the Queen of Twists. We were floored by her complex plot involving a missing journalist, a hidden manuscript, and a desperate author who’s left questioning his sanity. Somehow, she ties it all together with an ending that left us speechless. Beautiful Ugly is a psychological thriller you simply must experience.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Feeney (Good Bad Girl) stumbles with this hackneyed tale of a grieving mystery author who seeks solace on a remote Scottish island. A year after bestseller Grady Green's wife, Abby, disappears, his life hits the skids—he hardly sleeps, he's late on delivering his new novel, and his financial troubles force him to move into "the worst hotel in London." Salvation comes via Grady's agent, Kitty, who offers him the use of her deceased client's cabin on the secluded Isle of Amberley. On the ferry over, Grady thinks he sees Abby; soon, his hallucinations worsen, and he grows wary of the frosty locals. With zero cell service, no car, and a variety of macabre surprises waiting in his cabin, it takes Grady a while to notice Amberley's conspicuous absence of birds—and men. Feeney assembles her plot from familiar parts: elements of The Wicker Man, Gone Girl, and Shutter Island jostle for space among flat descriptions ("The house... is enormous, by far the biggest I've seen on the island. It should have been called the Big House on the Hill") and flatter characters. Worse, her trademark twists are more far-fetched than ever. It's a letdown. Agents: Kari Stuart, CAA, and Johnny Gellar, Curtis Brown U.K.
Customer Reviews
…ending?
This book was amazing until it wasn’t. I love an unreliable narrator but I find myself disappointed when I’m left w/o an ending. The last few chapters felt like they had to be wrapped up quickly and the book doesn’t really end or I’m not clear on the ending … it is quite possible I just don’t get it but it is odd to be staying up late and enjoying every detail and character build and running out of hours in the day only to return the next to find yourself feeling like the writing style was rushed and hardly resembles the rest of the book.
Frustrating read
Like the main character in the book, it feels like Feeney is really struggling to write here. I bought this book because I truly enjoyed ”my husband’s wife” by her. But this is just not of the same caliber.
Although the resolution in the last few chapters is mildly interesting, it’s a VERY frustrating journey getting to that ending.
This book is bad enough that it makes me not want to risk reading any of her other books.
Made Me Gasp
Loved this book and the writing. Lots of unexpected twists and turns that will keep you interested. I even audibly gasped at parts of the book. Can’t wait to read more of her books.