Beautiful Bad : A Novel
Author(s): Annie Ward
In the most explosive and twisted psychological thriller since The Woman in the Window, a perfect love story leads to the perfect crime
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, 16 years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 9-1-1 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime.
But what in this beautiful home has gone so terribly bad?
Previously published under the title Beautiful Bad
Review(s):
“Utterly gripping and thrillingly original—I loved the unique settings. Cannot recommend this book highly enough.”
“You won’t be able to tear yourself away from the page. With fascinating characters that chill and horrify, the ending will leave you staggered.”
“Filled with unexpected twists, Beautiful Bad is a riveting read.”
“Beautiful Bad is beautifully written, beautifully twisty – and beautifully twisted. A dark thriller with real psychological depth.”
“[A] harrowing psychological thriller. . . .Evocative descriptions and strong senses of time and place complement the intricate, intelligent plot, which shocks and chills while thoughtfully examining trauma’s toll on people and their relationships.”
ISBN: 9781443458894