Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy: Book Review

It’s October and the peak of thriller season! I was looking for a new thriller and had read some great reviews for this book. Goodnight Beautiful was everything I hoped it would be and more.

Dr Sam Statler and his wife Dr Annie Potter are newlyweds who have recently moved from New York City to Sam’s hometown in upstate New York in order to be closer to his institutionalized mother. The move was easier for Sam than it was Annie who was well established in her own career as a professor on the path to tenure. Sam, a psychotherapist, was ready for a change in his career and had recently opened a private practice in his downstairs office. He was quite content with his new practice but completely unaware that his conversations with patients could be heard through a vent elsewhere in the house. While several patient’s issues are overheard, the favourite of the listener is Charlie, a young french girl full of flirtation. One late afternoon as a storm approaches, Sam is requested to meet with her outside of normal business hours which he agrees to. When he doesn’t return home as expected, he becomes a missing person’s case leaving Annie desperate to find him.

There are several twists and surprises in this story and I thoroughly enjoyed each one. As is the case in many psychological thrillers, a traumatic childhood and unresolved issues come into play. Reminiscent of Stephen King’s book Misery, the story is captivating and engaging. The character development intensifies and is cleverly used within the story. I was satisfied with the climax and ending of the book.

I listened to the audiobook edition of Goodnight Beautiful which I thoroughly enjoyed. Val Toomey, George Newburn, Marin Ireland and Joel Fromkin were well cast as the narrators of this book, each providing a very entertaining performance. I listened to the audiobook at 1.3x speed (my normal) and found this to be the perfect pacing. I’d recommend the audiobook for those who appreciate books in this format.

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5.

Thanks to libro.fm and Harper Audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.