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.
Beautiful Ugly is a gripping psychological thriller that intertwines themes of revenge, marriage, and grief. The story follows Grady Green, a writer grieving his wife Abby’s mysterious disappearance a year earlier. Following the advice of his literary agent, Kitty, Grady retreats to a secluded Scottish island to overcome his writer’s block and finish his latest novel. Once on the island, he discovers that the islanders are a strange bunch who seem to be keeping secrets. His solitude then becomes completely disturbed when he encounters a woman who eerily resembles Abby, triggering a series of events that force Grady to question his entire reality and mental state. The storytelling is atmospheric, slow-burn suspense, with captivating scenes that keep readers engaged.
The characters in this book are flawed, multi-dimensional, and mysterious. Protagonist Grady is the perfect unreliable narrator. He first comes across as a loving husband whose life is shattered when his wife disappears. As the story unfolds, his inner monologues reveal that his intentions are not always pure and that grief has warped his perceptions. Through Grady’s unreliable POV, Feeney twists the narrative and toys with readers, making them question not only Grady’s reality but also their own grasp of the plot. Grady is also very insightful and intuitive. He first finds the islanders to be welcoming but aloof, which he chalks up to them living on an isolated island without any direct connection to the outside world. But just days into his retreat, he recognizes that something is amiss and becomes suspicious of the women.
The remote Scottish island, the Isle of Amberley, is the perfect backdrop for an atmospheric slow-burn thriller. Feeney’s descriptive prose properly captures its beauty and eeriness—the towering redwoods, the fog-drenched hills, isolated roads, and Grady’s remote cabin (on the edge of a cliff) all create a sense of dread that creeps into every scene. Once arrived on the island, Grady is presented with many red flags that he brushes aside—the only way off the island is by ferry, which runs infrequently, and there is no internet or phone service—most people would immediately jump ship or become wary. As the days pass, Grady also learns of a dark tragedy that occurred on the island and tales of the island being haunted. All of this plays into the suspense and unsettling mystery that later unfolds.
The only critique in this story is that some of the twists feel telegraphed and predictable, more so than Feeney’s usual jaw-dropping reveals. Fortunately, the emotional intensity of the story, along with its explosive conclusion, more than makes up for some of the predictability. Fans of Feeney’s previous books will still appreciate the mind-bending storytelling and the engrossing slow-burn suspense!
Overall, Beautiful Ugly is a compelling and atmospheric thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy intricate mysteries with unreliable narrators. It may not be Feeney’s strongest work, but it delivers a lot of suspense and surprises to make it very entertaining. If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers that are as emotionally resonant as they are twisty, definitely add this book to your immediate reading list!
