Alice Feeney delivers yet another spellbinding psychological thriller with Good Bad Girl, a story packed with complicated and dysfunctional women, tangled motives, and more than a few deliciously disorienting twists.
At the center of the novel is Frankie, a woman who has learned to survive the life she was born into by sheer determination. She calls herself a “good bad girl”. A woman doing the best she can despite the circumstances and the internal battles she fights daily. Her OCD shapes almost every decision she makes, creating a constant push and pull between what she wants and what her mind will allow.
Then there’s Clio, whose strained relationship with her mother, Edith, adds an emotional layer that simmers throughout the book. Edith resents being placed in a nursing home, a decision she blames entirely on Clio. But once there, she forms an unexpected bond with a staff member named Patience, yet another character whose role unfolds with increasing intrigue.
As I am definitely an Alice Feeney fan, I love how she delivers each and every one of her books. This book is a perfect example of what we can expect from her. The beauty of Feeney’s storytelling lies in how she makes us question everyone. Frankie, Clio, Patience. Are any of them truly reliable? The shifting truths and subtle misdirections keep you guessing from start to finish.
Feeney has earned her reputation as the “Queen of Twists,” and Good, Bad Girl is a prime example of why. The title itself is an oxymoron, and that contradiction sets the tone for a novel filled with a high level of suspense and as well as being full of twists.
Smartly written and impossible to predict, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves psychological suspense served with heart, depth, and Feeney’s signature flair for surprise. The bonus for me was the dual narration given to the voice of each of the characters.
