Title: Beautiful Bad
Author: Annie Ward
Publication: March 5, 2019
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological
Pages: 368
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
In the most explosive and twisted psychological thriller since The Woman in the Window, a beautiful marriage turns beautifully bad.
Things that make me scared: When Charlie cries. Hospitals and lakes. When Ian drinks vodka in the basement. ISIS. When Ian gets angry… That something is really, really wrong with me.
Maddie and Ian’s romance began with a chance encounter at a party overseas; he was serving in the British army and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend, Jo. Now almost two decades later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America. But when a camping accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending writing therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian’s PTSD; her concerns for the safety of their young son, Charlie; and the couple’s tangled and tumultuous past with Jo.
From the Balkans to England, Iraq to Manhattan, and finally to an ordinary family home in Kansas, sixteen years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward held a lot of promise to be a new, twisty take on marital problems that turn deadly.
The story follows Ian and Maddie who have a very weird relationship. They’ve been together a long time and through a lot of different scenarios. It all leads up to this shocking crime. I have to admit fairly quick that I did not finish this book. It’s not necessarily that it was bad, because the plot has a lot of potential. The writing was a bit too choppy for me and jumped around in the timeline, which confused me right from the start. I also feel that mystery thriller novels like this should have a punch to the gut right at the beginning to hook the reader, and this story didn’t do that for me.
I do like the idea behind this book, but the execution was definitely what was off for me. I also feel like sometimes there was a lot going on to the point where it was overkill. Too many details, too much information, can be a bad thing in some stories. I want to have my imagination be able to do a bit of the work.
While I may not have enjoyed this book, I always encourage other people to check it out because while something might not strike me, it may be just what someone else will love. Unfortunately for me, this one just didn’t strike the right cords and I wasn’t able to finish it. I’ll be checking out Ward’s next novel hoping for something I will love.
STAR RATING: 1/5
Pick up your copy of Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or a book store near you. Also make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. Also make sure to check out more from author Annie Ward on her website HERE.
