Review by jfo87 - Beautiful Ugly

jfo87 's review for:

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this mystery thriller. Based on reviews I didn’t hold out hope for the ending, but I was fine with it. It was a bit jarring in the last couple of pages, but if you think about it, it makes sense. It does feel rushed with a lot of exposition/talking for the big reveal(s) at the end; it all came together pretty well still. Was a bit disappointed that

the supernatural stuff was mostly all explained, except there’s still room for the weird mist and crying children part to be spooky and real. It also felt a bit cheap two characters had the same name to mislead you - I did wonder why there were plot incongruities but didn’t suspect that - however, it was a cool way to hide a twist without completely ruining the reader’s trust. I am still not sold on how Grady fooled Abby into thinking he was a woman lying in the road. Wasn’t he talking to her on the phone, and it was storming or raining really hard? I feel like she would have picked up on all the background noise if he was lying in the rain. Or maybe him being on the phone with her was just in his version of things?

Everything else all works for the story, even though it feels far fetched. It’s fiction - if we want a super realistic plot we can go watch true crime documentaries. I overall enjoyed the book & liked seeing all pieces set out then come together. I loved the setting and hope it gets optioned into a series or movie bc I just wanna see gorgeous Scotland and feel the creepy vibes. Of course it won’t be as creepy since we know what’s going on, but I totally kept picturing this as an ambient, spooky thriller show with a stunning location and mysterious soundtrack. There were also some really good one liners or philosophical thoughts throughout the book. The author does a great job exploring a complex relationship.

Content Warnings