Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward starts in a small town in Kansas with a call to 911 by a woman with a desperate plea for help. When the police arrive they find a very bloody scene, one dead body and evidence that there is a child in the home. From there the story goes back and forth between the police at the crime scene, a few weeks previously, and many years previously. Through these timelines we come to know Maddie, her friendship with Joanna, and her relationship with Ian. We travel mostly between Kansas and Eastern Europe, though there are stops in Iraq and New York. This is a psychological thriller so I think it is best not to say much more than that. 

I enjoyed the parts that took place in Bulgaria. Maybe not so much for the story as there was a lot of partying and drinking and behavior that felt like high school, I wanted the characters to act more like adults. I did though enjoy reading the descriptions of  Bulgaria and what it was like there. The writing was such that I could easily picture Bulgaria. 

Except for Bulgaria, Beautiful Bad felt like a story I have read before. It pretty much felt like lots of psychological thrillers that are out there and I didn’t feel like it brought anything new. Things are revealed in the end that I think were suppose to be a surprise but they weren’t. The story pretty much kept me engaged, it just wasn’t a shocking thriller. 

My copy of Beautiful Bad was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!