Goodnight Beautiful: A Novel
Goodnight Beautiful: A Novel book cover

Goodnight Beautiful: A Novel

Paperback – Large Print, October 13, 2020

Price
$5.91
Format
Paperback
Pages
384
Publisher
Harper Large Print
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0063000148
Dimensions
6 x 0.86 x 9 inches
Weight
12.8 ounces

Description

“Constructed with house-of-cards precision, this cunning story surges forward as though powered by outboard motor. But Molloy proves equally skilled in the elusive arts of character and dialogue: Goodnight Beautiful isn’t only the most suspenseful novel you’ll read this year; it’s likely to be the funniest, too. I wish that every book, in every genre, were as deeply imagined and fully inhabited as this one.” — AJ Finn, author of The Woman in the Window “Deliciously twisty. . . .xa0 The author has fun toying with the conventions of gender in pop culture, and the assumptions we make. It adds up to a book you’ll read late into the night, trying to figure out where the next twist will take you.” — Associated Press “Aimee Molloy is a magician. With Goodnight Beautiful , she will artfully deceive you while holding you firmly in her grasp. . . . What begins as a sexy, smart domestic thriller turns out to be so much more. If you think you've figured this one out, think again: Molloy will be three steps ahead of you all the way through.” — Cristina Alger, author of Girls Like Us “A tense read that expertly employs misdirection and multiple points of view to create some truly surprising twists à la Gone Girl . The first of these twists is shocking enough to make you question everything you just read. At the same time, Goodnight Beautiful subverts gender norms and flips the trope of the unreliable female narrator on its head.” — Buzzfeed "This is a psychological thriller you’ll think you have all figured out—but I promise you, you don’t." — Parade “Molloy employs some of the most believable and jaw-dropping narrative twists since Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl in this smart, single-sitting read. Readers will be flipping back to see just how she performed the sleight of hand right in front of their eyes. Along with a rip-roaring suspense plot, Molloy adds depth with critiques of gender conventions that causes readers to investigate the assumptions they bring to the text. She breathes new life into the unreliable narrator thriller genre in a book everyone will be talking about.” — Library Journal “Thriller fans love ‘twists’ that make them think ‘wow, didn’t see that coming.’… Molloy sends readers on a whiplashing mystery ride that turns that whole convention inside out… What distinguishes Goodnight Beautiful is Molloy’s spectacular feat of misdirection and uncanny success in unfolding revelations that are surprising yet believable from the early pages until the very last.” — New York Journal of Books “[A] crafty page-turner…. Psychological thriller fans won’t want to miss this one.” — Publishers Weekly “A domestic thriller with bite.” — Popsugar "A remarkable and groundbreaking thriller. Molloy grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the final mind-bending, utterly astounding twist.” — Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs. Parrish "When I tell you I couldn’t predict the ending of this one, that should say something. This novel had at least three twists that caught me completely off-guard…. Just when you think you’ve got this book figured out, it will throw another curveball at you, and even the most avid thriller readers won’t predict these surprises." — Betches “Aimee Molloy is a master of deception and Goodnight Beautiful is a thrill-ride packed with twists. Enthralling, sharp, and clever, this book will keep you guessing.” — Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife Aimee Molloy’s debut novel, The Perfect Mother , was a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her family.

Features & Highlights

  • A Most Anticipated Book by:
  • Crime Reads, Buzzfeed, Popsugar,
  • Bustle, New York Post
  • From “master of clever misdirection” (
  • Kirkus Reviews
  • ) Aimee Molloy, author of the
  • New York Times
  • bestseller
  • The Perfect Mother
  • , comes an irresistible psychological thriller featuring a newly married woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband goes missing.
  • A handsome psychotherapist. His lonely wife. And in his home office ceiling, a vent …
  • You’d listen too, wouldn’t you? (You know you would.)
  • Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York City and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown upstate. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele. Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie's happily ever after.
  • Showcasing Molloy’s deft ability to subvert norms and culminating in the kind of stunning twist that is becoming her trademark,
  • Goodnight Beautiful
  • is a thrilling tale of domestic suspense that not only questions assumptions but defies expectations.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(1.2K)
★★★★
25%
(1K)
★★★
15%
(603)
★★
7%
(282)
23%
(925)

Most Helpful Reviews

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HAPPILY EVER AFTER

After twenty years away, Sam returns to his sleepy hometown to care for his mother who has dementia. She's a resident in a long-term elder care facility. He actually never steps foot inside to visit her. He sits in his car, drinks beer & listens to minor league baseball in the parking lot. He pretends to be the charming son who moved back home to take care of his beloved & ailing mother.

He opens a private practice in an old historic home. He's a psychologist helping others understand the trauma of their childhoods. His days are filling up with the problems of the rich.

He's been told by his mother that he'll be getting two million dollars from his estranged father. He spends it, before he gets his hands on the money & he accrues a pile of debt, only to find out from the bank there is no money. His mother made it up.

Dr. Sam Statler, a local therapist, went to work & never came home. His wife reports him missing. For a few weeks now he's been distracted, sleeping poorly. She figured he'd tell her what was troubling him, when he was ready. As the police try to piece together what may have happened to the missing psychologist, residents conduct a community-wide search. Unfortunately, not one clue is uncovered.

Meanwhile, bills arrive in the mail & past due notices. This is how his wife learns his credit cards are maxed to the limit. The debt is a surprise to his wife. He's been lying to her. Law enforcement is considering the possibility that his disappearance is not accidental. Perhaps, he does not want to be found.??????
5 people found this helpful
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Unexpected Page Turner

This book has unexpected twists and a great ending. Many emotions felt when reading this book. Excellent storyline!
1 people found this helpful
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Boring, unoriginal, confusing, disappointing

I remember reading The Perfect Mother, also by Molloy years ago and loving it. I had such high expectations from that novel and none of them were met. This is one of the poorest written thrillers I’ve read in a long time, and a huge disappointment. I have no idea why this book has so many 4 and 5 star reviews, because it does not deserve it.

Sam is a therapist that likes to lie to his wife and spend 2 million dollars they don’t have. Sam goes missing and said wife stumbles around trying to find him. The novel is from different perspectives, none of which are interesting or cohesive. I hated every character in this book. When Sam went missing, I did not care. When main characters’s lives were in danger I did not care. The characterization and writing were so mediocre in this, I had to make myself sit down and read it. It was a struggle.

Along with the subpar characters and writing, is the atrocious plot and confusing plot twists. In The Perfect Mother, every twist was well thought out and explained. In Goodnight Beautiful, every twist was confusing, stupid, and a cheap shot at being shocking. There is also so much problematic dialogue from every single character. With the very thinly veiled misogyny, classism, and ignorance in this book I was shocked to see it was published as recently as 2020.

The plot in this book is a mix of Gone Girl and Misery. It felt like the author chose her favorite books and just decided to rewrite them with the lamest, most unrealistic ending she could think of. I’m not sure what happened between her debut novel and this release, but it ain’t for me! This thriller came off as a Lifetime Drama where nothing really makes any sense or is any good, but it has all the tropes. If you love Lifetime made for tv moves this could be for you but even if you like those movies, there’s better book versions with the same vibes. Reading this felt like Molloy had a very loose concept and no idea how to make it work so instead of trying she just retold Misery and couldn’t figure out how to end it so she just ended it abruptly. Thinking about this book just makes me angry.
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Couldn’t put it down

Great book with unexpected twists! Ready to read it again!
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Hell No!!

I have read so many psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators that it was almost becoming a bit of a bore. Until I read this novel. OH. MY. WORD. I was fooled not once, not twice, not even three times.

The twists were SO unexpected that I questioned what I had read and actually had to turn pages back a few times…and each time I experienced that “Hell no!” moment of clarification.

Nothing can be explained or examined without creating spoilers. Just read this book. You will be glad you did!

#goodnightbeautiful #aimeemolloy #netgalley #hodder&stoughton
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WOW!

This is the best book I've read in a very long time, and, I read a lot. Just when you think you've solved the mystery, you find out you're wrong. Nothing is as it appears. I loved this book!
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Good, but not great

I read it for pleasure. It just didn't have the depth or suspense I expected. I would rate it a B+
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Decent thriller

Psychological thriller about a Psychologist who goes missing and his new wife who refuses to give up on him. The author borrows some themes from other thrillers and weaves them into this one to create an entertaining, twisty (twisted) novel.