What We Are Reading Today: "Beautiful Ugly"

Arab News

03-04-2025

Author: Alice Feeney
'Beautiful Ugly,' released in January, is a novel by British author Alice Feeney.
The story concerns Grady Green, an author, who is on the phone to his wife while she is driving home. During their conversation, he hears the screech of brakes as she spots an object on the road ahead.
Green's tries to prevent his wife from leaving the car to investigate the object, before she mysteriously disappears.
To cope with his depression and grief, Green travels to an island in search of solace and perhaps a way to restore his life, particularly after losing sleep and his appetite for writing.
On the island, he is shocked to encounter a woman who resembles his missing wife, and the story takes another dramatic turn.
Although the novel has been rated by more than 87,000 users on Goodreads with an average of 3.6 out of 5 stars, some readers found the pace a bit slow.
'It's a bit of a slow-burn mystery, which I feel is difficult to pull off since it doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time,' one of the reviewers commented.
Despite being a work of fiction, another reader found the narrative unreliable and unrealistic, making it difficult to connect the events. Nevertheless, most readers appreciated the author's writing style and imagination.
'All in all, I don't hate the book, but there is too much melodrama and theatrical antics for a thriller. Since this is my favorite genre, I tend to be quite particular about how I like these novels to be constructed,' another reader said.
Alice Feeney is a New York Times bestselling author. In addition to 'Beautiful Ugly,' she has also published 'Rock Paper Scissors,' 'Sometimes I Lie,' and 'His & Hers.'