Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, a book review

I was take in by the hype around Beautiful Ugly and I knew I would read another Alice Feeney book after reading Rock, Paper Scissors last year. I did say I would need some time to recover after reading that book and I feel the same about Beautiful Ugly.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

The Blurb

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a 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.

My Review of Beautiful Ugly

Alice Feeny has a great way of writing, she keeps you guessing even when you know what’s going to happen. I’ve a feeling this book wouldn’t be for everyone but it had the feels of a Black Mirror (Netflix Series of short stories) In other words, it was really strange, but also compelling.

The main character, Grady Green, found himself waiting for his wife to come home while waiting to see if his new book had become a success. A strange call from his wife occurs and then she disappears, and he doesn’t find her.

His agent suggests he goes to a remote Island in Scotland where a former writer lived. He needs time to sort out the loss of his wife and the peace to get writing again. He agrees and sets off.

The Island appears to be idyllic it’s beautiful and small and every some seems friendly. But there is also a creepy feel about it and I was half expecting the residents to start quoting ‘for the greater good.’ (Hot Fuzz movie reference)

Strange things keep happening and Grady keeps thinking he sees his wife. It’s not all bad though, he gets a dinner invitation and meets a lot of the residents. He finds a manuscript from the previous writer which looks good but he knows he can make it better. He writes and walk his faithful dog and even gets gifted an old range rover to get around, even though the Island is small.

But, you kind of realise that this idyllic Island is anything but idyllic, it is in fact beautiful ugly.

Their are many twists and sometimes you think that it’s not only Grady that’s going crazy. The ending is expected but still surprising, there are still some twists that I hadn’t guessed would happen.

I love that the book has the same title as the one Grady writes and at the end he mentions a clue he’s left in the book. Of course I had to go through it again to find it and it is indeed there. A nice little touch.

I will definitely read some more of Alice Feeny’s books. When I get over this one 🙂

Have you read any of Alice Feeney’s books?

• Sometimes I Lie
• I know Who You Are
• His and Hers
• Rock Paper Scissors
• Daisy Darker
• Good Bad Girl
• My Husband’s Wife