Beautiful Ugly

How it reads

Beautiful Ugly is thriller (psychological thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in the wilderness or at sea, in the present day, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are secrets, loss and grief and identity. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is left open, for you to argue about. At 306 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.