Thriller
Beautiful Ugly
3peat author
Alice Feeney is officially a 3-time author at BOTM, which is a pretty big deal!
Early Release
This is an early release that's only available to our members—the rest of the world has to wait to read it.
by Alice Feeney
Quick take
Prepare to spin sideways in this twisty island thriller about a missing wife and a man who can’t trust his own mind.
Good to know
Multiple viewpoints
Nonlinear timeline
Marriage issues
Writer’s life
Synopsis
Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
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.
Content warning
This book contains scenes that depict sexual assault and mentions of the death of a child.
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of Beautiful Ugly.
Why I love it
Rachael Burlette
BOTM Editorial Team
The only time I like the winter is when I’m curled up underneath a blanket, there are no plans in sight, and I have a book that will keep me entertained for hours on end. Alice Feeney’s latest novel is the perfect book to combat those cold, dreary winter days. It has everything you could ask for in a good thriller: a remote and eerie island, an unreliable narrator, and unexpected twists.
Author Grady Green’s life is turned upside down in the span of a single phone call. While Grady is in the middle of sharing some good news with his wife, he suddenly hears her slam on the brakes, and then nothing… Not too long after, he finds her car at the edge of a cliff. His wife is nowhere to be seen. Flash forward a year later: Grady is still reeling from his wife’s disappearance. He’s struggling to write and decides to go to a remote Scottish island, hoping for some inspiration. But upon his arrival, he notices things are not quite what they seem. What is happening on this small island? And who is the woman who looks like his missing wife?
Reading Beautiful Ugly had me in a bind: I couldn’t decide whether to flip through the pages quickly to get the answers I desperately needed, or slow down and enjoy the mystery as it unfolded before my eyes. I can say one thing for sure, though—whichever way you choose to read it, you’re in for a thrilling ride.