Beautiful Ugly: A Novel Hardcover – January 14, 2025

Alice Feeney has written another twisty story with unreliable characters and a very cool set-up, and although it’s not my favorite of her books, it was a lot of fun.We follow writer Grady Green, who, when the story opens, is waiting anxiously by the phone for a call from his agent to hear if his latest book has become a New York Times bestseller. Grady’s wife Abby is on her way home, and Grady is a little peeved that she isn’t standing by his side. He wants her to be there when the call about his book comes in. He calls Abby to find out where she is, only to hear her slam on the brakes while they’re talking. Abby says there’s a woman lying in the road and she’s going to stop to help.But that’s the last that Grady hears from his wife, because after she gets out of the car, he never sees her again. What happened to Abby? A year later, Grady is still mourning her loss and asking questions.Depressed and unable to write or sleep, Grady’s agent Kitty suggests he take a break and stay in a small cabin she owns in Scotland, located on a remote island called the Isle of Amberly. With no cell service and very limited access to the mainland, it might be just the thing he needs to jump start his next book.But when he arrives, he notices things are a bit…strange. Only twenty-five people live on the island, and tourists are only allowed to visit a few months a year. There’s no cell service or even land lines, and all the locals carry walkie-talkies around with them. When Grady moves into the cabin, he has the feeling that someone is watching him, and he’s certain that someone has been inside the cabin and moved things around. The ferry that services the island is the only way on and off, and it’s schedule is spotty at best. And when he thinks he sees his missing wife Abby, he realizes that something odd is going on.Feeney sets up some intriguing mysteries right off the bat. First, there’s the mystery of what happened to Abby. Did she leave Grady and stage a dramatic disappearance? Was she kidnapped or murdered? No one found a body, so her fate is unknown. Then there’s the mystery of the Isle of Amberly. Even though Kitty has paved the way for him, and even though the locals seem to be friendly, Grady does not really feel welcome. At first he enjoys the quiet and change of pace, but little by little Amberly takes on a sinister air. Is he just paranoid, or is something going on behind the scenes? Feeney does a great job of hooking the reader with lots of little events that all add up to a whole lot of weirdness, and I flew through the pages to find out what was really going on. There’s almost a Twilight Zone vibe to the scenes that take place on the island, which I loved.While most of the story is told from Grady’s first person point of view, we also get chapters from Abby, which fill in some blanks and also give the story a “he said, she said” dynamic. Abby’s narrative turns everything Grady has told us on its head, and instead of explaining the mystery, it only makes things more confusing. I have to say that Abby comes across as much more sympathetic than Grady, who comes across as a whiny, entitled author who gets expects to get everything he wants.Feeney is known for her epic twists, and she doesn’t disappoint here—although the twists this time were the reason the story didn’t completely work for me. Instead of blowing me away with their revelations, I was mostly confused. Of course I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but going back over the details of the story only created more questions for me. One twist in particular involving what happened to Abby make NO sense and left me puzzled rather than shocked.Still, there’s a lot of entertainment value here, which is why I’m giving Beautiful Ugly four stars, despite some of the unsatisfying twists. This is one of those stories that makes you want to reread it to spot the clues you missed the first time.

The fast pace, the idyllic setting, the charming characters, the stories within the story, the numerous plot twists, loved everything about this book! It even has a dog to keep you company throughout the book & for dog lovers don’t worry, the dog is okay. 😊

Enjoyed the story in Beautiful Ugly except for the seemingly constant reminders by the author to the reader that Grady, our main protagonist, suffers with insomnia -- reiterating over and over the miseries, both physical and mental, an insomniac endures. He also drinks too much (which doesn't help insomnia!) and is insecure, sees himself as a failed writer, etc., etc. Sigh. There are a lot of twists in this tale that surprised me. Said aloud more than once: 'Well, I didn't see THAT coming' which made the book endurable for this reader. The writing became even more repetitious; it was as if the author couldn't figure out how to end the story. In the end things seemed rushed. A good read all told but could have been better. ADDENDUM: Now that I've read the book's ending I have to add this note. The ending makes no sense. I re-read the last 2 or 3 chapters thinking I missed something but still do not get the ending of the tale. I see, too, that others agree. What in the world happened to Grady? It is a mystery to me. If anyone figures it out, please let the rest of us know. This is the first and last Alice Feeney book for me!

I really enjoyed listening to and reading Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney. I say both because I like to read along with the audiobook, and this experience was especially immersive thanks to the excellent narration. The voice actors brought the story to life in a way that made it easy to stay engaged from beginning to end. I particularly appreciated that the male narrator didn’t resort to an exaggerated or high-pitched tone when voicing the female characters, a detail that often pulls me out of the story in other audiobooks. Instead, the delivery was smooth and respectful of the character dynamics, which added to the overall quality.As for the plot, I thought it moved at a strong and steady pace. It kept me intrigued without dragging or feeling rushed. There were plenty of moments that made me pause and reconsider what I thought was happening. At one point, I was pretty confident I had figured out the twist, but as it turned out, I was only partially right. The actual reveal caught me off guard in the best way and made me appreciate the layers Feeney weaves into her storytelling. The ending was both unexpected and satisfying, making the journey all the more worthwhile.Overall, Beautiful Ugly was a compelling read that I’ll definitely be recommending to others. Whether you prefer physical books, e-books, or audiobooks, this one is worth the time. It’s well-written, well-performed, and full of surprises.

The story of Grady and Abby...just when you think your life is good. In a second things change, but the more we read, the more we find out life was not so good...at least for one of them. I loved this book and was surprised (love surprises) how things turned out. Definitely not what I expected. The author kept me in the dark for most of the book, feeling sorry for Grady....while I can say I didnt like all her books, this one grabbed me and would not let go.Go to your nearest book store and get it, you wont be disappointed. Loved it!

I gave it three stars because she’s a decent writer. However, the story was too bizarre for me. I was initially engrossed in the story but lost interest midway through and just wanted to see how it ended. And the ending just didn’t make sense. Everything we were initially told about Grady and his missing Abby was a lie. That the whole island was in on this big scheme was ridiculous. I don’t even know what genre this book fits into. Psychological thriller? Ghost story? Magical realism? Or just a poorly conceived, convoluted plot. Now that I’m thinking about it, three stars was too generous.