There has been a killing. We know that because one of the time/perspectives is of the police officer responding to a 911 call. We also get Maddie's perspective starting from several weeks before the killing, and also from the early 2000s, when she lived in Bulgaria and often visited her friend Jo in Macedonia. On one of these trips, she meets Ian, a British bodyguard. Eventually, we get some of Ian's perspective too.
We know that Ian and Maddie end up married. They have a son, Charlie. But the road to how they got together and how "The day of the Killing" turned out, well, that's quite the story. Ward does a masterful job telling it, as we weave through all these time periods.
It becomes very obvious that Ian has issues -- PTSD being one of them. But...Maddie is pretty messed up herself. Along with being married to a man with PTSD, she has also been physically damaged by a couple of earlier accidents that I won't go into.
That's really about all I want to say. It is interesting that you don't even know who the victim is until the last part of Beautiful Bad. And even after you know that...well, you still don't know everything.
Beautiful Bad is well written, well-paced, and the characters are such that you really don't know who to root for. The ending is sooo twisted, and I really can't imagining anyone realizing what is going on until they read it. If you figure it out...well, you are as twisted as Annie Ward!
I loved Beautiful Bad. Read it.
Published by Park Row, March 5, 2019
eARC obtained from NetGalley and Edelweiss
368 pages
Rating: 5/5
I am about half way through this book and am really enjoying it. I agree that it feels twisted and I have no idea how it is going to end.
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of this one; thanks for sharing you thought. I hope to read it.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure if you liked the book until the end of your review. I don't usually choose psychological thrillers but this one does sound good.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to extend an invitation for you to join me in my new reading challenge. Check it out: 'My Own Books' Reading Challenge