Beautiful Ugly" by Alice Feeney follows Grady Green, a once-successful author whose wife, Abby, mysteriously vanishes. A year later, Grady retreats to a secluded Scottish island, where he meets a woman who looks strikingly like Abby, plunging him into a complex web of mystery and self-doubt.

I was super excited to read this because I love me some Alice Feeney thrillers, but...this one wasn’t really it for me. I enjoyed the audiobook, but the story was so drawn out that I got bored. I loved the twists, and including one close to the end was great, but I was unfortunately bored through most of it.

Think of it like getting ready for a fireworks show—your excitement builds as you wait for the big, brilliant displays, but when the fireworks finally start, they seem few and far between. Those moments of brilliance were undeniably there, but getting through the quieter, drawn-out stretches made it feel more like a marathon than a sprint. Feeney still delivers on the twists, but this one might test your patience a bit more than usual. If you're a fan of her work, you might still appreciate the effort—just be prepared for a slower burn.