Unusually for me, I am going to compare this book with Liz Nugent's Lying in Wait. Not least because Lying in Wait was in my top 3 books of 2016 (and I read almost 80 books that year!) but because once again this book started with an outstanding first sentence, had me sat firmly at the edge of my seat throughout, had a flawed, damaged and heartless sociopath as its protagonist and narrator and had a superb but completely unexpected ending. Expertly crafted storyline and characterisation, this book really packs a punch. An utterly exceptional read and straight into my top books so far of this year once again.

Thank you Ms. Nugent, you have written another corker.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

One word, gripping! From the very first page I was hooked, just couldn't put it down, disturbing and unsettling with twists and turns, a cleverly written book whose main character is basically a psychopath and how her choice's negatively affect the lives of those close to her, absolutely brilliant book

Liz Nugent has done it again! After reading Liz' previous two novels I was excited to read her newest book and I wasn't disappointed.
The book starts with a murder Delia, the central character, has committed in Nice and draws you in from the very first line "I wondered when rigor mortis would set in, or if it already had." What makes the story even more absorbing is that Delia is a sociopath, who basically has no redeeming qualities. She is completely self obsessed and uses the people around her, and then casts them aside when they are no longer of benefit to her without any feelings of remorse. Yet, Liz has written her character so well that you become completely absorbed in finding out who and what has made her the way she is. As a fan of psychological thrillers I can usually spot the twist in the tale before it happens, but I must admit Liz got me on this occasion. I thought I had it all figured out, but the final twist was definitely a surprise!
A well written and rivetting read....I will be recommending this at my next bookclub as I am dying to talk about it with others!!

This book had a really dark, disturbing, sinister plot. I have read all of Liz Nugents books and in my opinion this is the best one yet. The characters in the book were very well described and very believable. The twists the book took we’re unforeseen. The ending was a shock but a suitable ending for such a storyline. Highly recommended. Five stars

Many thanks to Netgalley and Liz Nugent for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I’ve never read any books by Liz Nugent so when I started this one I was not sure what to expect.
However after a few pages I realised I was in for a real treat as this was such an unusual and provocative read.
Usually I need to empathise with the main character in a novel in order to enjoy it but Delia was so awful I couldn’t feel anything for her other than dislike. She was completely self obsessed, had no feeling for other people and merely used them in order to survive. She was obviously damaged, whether it was her unusual childhood or whether it was her natural state it was difficult to say.
The novel opens with Delia murdering a man in her flat in Southern France and the rest of the book is her first person account of her life and how she ended up in this situation. This is interspersed by scary folk tales that had been told to her by her father and accounts about Delia herself from people whose lives she has affected.
Delia grows up on a small island of the coast of Ireland with a violent father who worships her and treats her like a princess. He has no feeling for his wife or three sons and when Delia plays him off against his best friend Tom, claiming Tom kissed her mother, he takes Delia to the mainland and she never sees him again.
There are so many twists and turns in this story that I could not put this book down. Delia’s flawed personality and strange logic were incredibly compelling. Although I liked nothing about her I was driven to keep reading to find out more and eventually discover whom she had killed.
Liz Nugent is a great writer; she really described Delia so well. Delia’s ability to transform herself into someone else in order to extricate herself from a difficult situation was so cleverly written. She is amoral, unpleasant, self obsessed and lacks any empathy but she is so interesting to read about.
She reminded me of Sebastian Faulk’s character Engelby who has the same narcissistic
personality.
This is a great read and so different from other psychological thrillers that I have recently read. The author’s skill is that she hooks the reader into Delia’s story even though Delia herself is not a character that arouses any sympathy in those reading her story.
I also loved the descriptions of Delia’s island home, the village where she lives on the mainland and the South Of France. I could have been in any of those places so well were they described.
Definitely worth buying when it is published in April and now I will be looking out for Liz’s other books.Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this review copy. I'm a huge fan of Liz Nugent and love her ability to write such excellent thrillers. This book hooked me in right from the first page and I couldn't put it down. It's not often I find myself so attached to a character that I dislike, and Delia had very few redeeming features, but I couldn't get enough of her and her harrowing story. Well done Liz! Another cracker.

Skin Deep starts with a death (no spoilers here, it’s literally the first page), and the reader soon becomes aware that there is something slightly off about Delia O’Flaherty, the female character narrating the story. And it’s not just the fact that she is leaving a body behind in her flat in Nice as she goes out trying to clear her head and come up with a plan of how to best dispose of it. It was all very, very intriguing, and I soon felt myself getting sucked into the story. Who can resist a mysterious character embroiled in a violent death at the start of a mystery? Well, lovers of crime fiction will surely know what I mean!

After the first chapter, the story jumps back in time to Delia’s childhood on a remote island off the West coast of Ireland renowned for inbreeding and madness. And Delia’s upbringing certainly isn’t normal. As her father’s favourite, she has learned at an early age to use her beauty to scheme and plot in order to get her way, without caring about the consequences of her behaviour on others. Every life she touches, however briefly, will be irrevocably altered – unfortunately never for the better!

Liz Nugent certainly knows how to create a sociopathic character that burns through the pages like a fireball of destruction (an apt comparison, which you will find out if you read the book). I initially found myself intrigued, then disturbed, and at one point in the book so disgusted by her actions that any empathy I may have felt for this character vanished in a puff of smoke. There was a definite turning point in the story for me, from a kind of morbid fascination to one of outright horror. To say that it disturbed and depressed me is an understatement – some of its images haunted me in my worst nightmares. Perhaps the graphic images in my mind come from a background of seeing such tragedy in real life in my job, which created visuals I did not want to follow me into my sleep. Or perhaps it is parenthood that altered me to the point where I could not get over this one particular event in the book without feeling sickened to the very pit of my stomach. Whatever the reason, I admit that I would have gladly abandoned the book at this point if I had not invested so much time in it already. Delia was not the only dislikeable character in this somewhat bleak tale, but certainly the one who created the most destruction in her wake. All in all, the images created in my mind were bleak, depressing and disturbing. Kudos to the author for evoking such a visceral reaction, but sadly it marred any pleasure I may have gained from reading the rest of the story.

Skin Deep is a powerful, sinister and disturbing character study of a narcissistic, sociopathic protagonist that will appeal to readers who don’t mind their characters dark and unlikeable. Nugent’s writing is engaging and soon manages to draw you into the action. There is an unexpected twist at the end that should please mystery lovers, even though its circumstances just add to the overall tragedy of the story. Personally, I found some of the themes too disturbing for my liking and concede that I am obviously not the right audience for this book.

I was dying to read this book as am a huge fan of Liz Nugent so thank you for the advance copy.. Well without giving too much away the main character of the book is... interesting. Was so sorry to reach the end of the book as it was as enjoyable as the previous books. I cannot wait for the next book

I would like to thank netgalley for my copy of this book. I was really looking forward to starting this book after it being on my wish list for some time and after reading great reviews on good reads. I started the book yesterday and enjoyed the opening pages but after the first chapter unfortunately I just couldn't engage in the story line, which is ashame as I was really looking forward to reading this book, the style of writing is engaging the character being the first person and the story being told from Cordelia, I think for me it was just a bad time for me to start a book when my mind was else where, although the book seemed engaging I just wasn't drawn in unfortunately.

Absolutely superb. The writing is excellent and I couldn't put it down!

Liz Nugent did it again. As her other books this again was “unputdownable”. Nail biting psychological story!
It wouldn’t be a Liz Nugent book without a murder at the beginning and building up her deep story of the character from there. Her main character was devilish and calculated, placed situation to her advantage. She is manipulative, selfish and careless. I disliked her actions so much and still was drawn to her. She manipulated me while reading as I couldn’t put the book down.

An amazing story and for me a “must read”!

I hugely enjoyed Liz Nugent's devious two novels, in particular Unravelling Oliver. She has yet again displayed her talent for capturing the darkest parts of human nature and weaving them into a riveting and compelling story.
This story focuses mostly on Delia, the child of an island off the west of Ireland, and includes themes of brutality, violence, the superficiality of beauty, the ugliness of secrets and the deep ties of family and community.
I loved this book, I devoured it in one sitting. It is perfectly paced and flowed beautifully.
Existing fans will be thrilled and it is sure to gain new ones.

If you thought Lydia in Lying In Wait was wicked, meet Delia. From an island off the west coast of Ireland to the Côte d'Azur, her journey is marked by one thing only - a sociopathic refusal to adhere to any norm of human behaviour. Liz Nugent masterfully creates a world in which every person touched by Delia pays a price, and the ending took my breath away in its remorseless bleakness. Astonishing.

The opening paragraph of “Skin Deep” mentions a corpse lying in Cordelia’s apartment but offers no explanation. As the book progresses we learn the story of her life. It is a dark and disturbing tale. The protagonist is a true narcissist, devoid of any real emotional depth. But her story is gripping.

I literally couldn’t drive home after work last night until I knew how it ended. I sat in my car for 30 minutes devouring it, as the car park emptied, before I could face the hour long journey home. I now have a huge book “hangover”!

This was not only a 5 star read, but it is my favourite Liz Nugent book.

Right so I gotta put it out there that I don’t think I’ve EVER hated a lead character anymore than I totally hated this one!!!...however sweet Jesus it didn’t stop me devouring this book at lightening speed in fact it made me want to read it even quicker!!!

What a book!!! A totally unique plot I thought that had me hooked from page one, I actually wanted to strangle Delia on numerous occasions and seriously wanted her to come to harm in the book, I prayed throughout she got her just desserts!

She’s just vile, there’s no other word for her, totally self obsessed and just horrid!

The book itself was amaaaaaaazing and I totally ate it up not loving from the sofa unless totally necessary!

The book begins as we see Delia leaving her flat (and a corpse in there) and off she goes with no plan to begin a new life, her whole backstory is played out in the book, childhood and marriages etc and to be honest she did have a crappy time but even so I had no sympathy with her just due to how she was as a person!

But I digress. You must read this book, I’ve not stopped talking about it to anyone who will listen haha! I love Liz Nugent have read all of her books and this one was the best I think, I cannot wait for her to do her next one, hurry up Liz!!!!

This is my third book written by Liz Nugent and I think that I preferred the other too a little more than this one with Lying in Wait being my absolute favourite. That being said, the story of Delia O'Flaherty / Cordelia Russell unravels with pace and packs a punch throughout. Brought up as a little girl on a remote Irish island your gain an insight in to some of the difficulties living in such a remote and wild place can bring. The story swiftly moves on and Delia reinvents herself time and time again.

I did not find Delia a likeable character and as the story progresses, I found it difficult to sym/ empathise with her. As the book progresses the reader is left trying to work out whether or not she is simply evil or simply trying to survive in the only way she knows how.

Liz Nugent is a great story teller, skilled in her craft and whilst this was not my favourite book of hers, it was an engaging read with enough twists and turns which weren't too obvious to the reader!! Nothing worse than a predictable storyline... Skin Deep is not predictable! An enjoyable read and I would recommend it, although readers should be aware that there are strands to the storyline which some readers may find uncomfortable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books UK, Penguin Ireland, and Liz Nugent for my ARC of Skin Deep in exchange for an honest review. The book was much appreciated.

This book started with such promise, then turned into a nightmare for me. I was hooked to the story nearly half of the book and then it started getting really weird and uncomfortable.

I finished it just to finish and get over with it, very tempted to DNF as I was absolutely upset and disgusted. I honestly think some books should have been flagged as upsetting, like the movies have ratings of content violence, abuse etc.

I have read Liz Nugent before and I liked her other book (Lying in Wait) better than this one. I cannot say I am a fan of this book. Way too upsetting and sad for me. I guess this also proves the good quality of character portrayal and writing but the theme is just not for me... I wish the book blurb was mentioning the mother-son relationship (!) between Delia and James, which broke my heart - I wouldn't have picked up the book if I knew these events was in it. It was an incredibly depressing read which I normally try to avoid...

Thanks for NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An engaging tragic tale of lies, love, family and desire.
The main character Delia is instantly dislikable, but Nugent draws the reader in with ease.
Yet another absorbing and enticing read from Liz Nugent.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Books UK, Penguin Ireland, and Liz Nugent for my ARC of Skin Deep

This is the first novel I have read by this Liz Nugent but it will not be the last as I was gripped from the beginning to the end. It was compelling reading, carefully plotted and totally engaging.

The narrative is told mainly by the outwardly beautiful, and inwardly evil, Delia O’Flaherty with a few narratives by others who encountered her giving a different perspective on events.

The novel opens with Delia murdering a man she believes has come to harm her but instead of dealing with the situation she goes out to a fancy party where she behaves appallingly. We then return to her childhood and follow her journey to how the current situation has evolved.

During that journey we get to know that she has always been evil and always believed she is superior to others. We get to understand why that has happened. However, she has burnt all her bridges and there is nobody left to help her.

Brilliant. Highly recommended.

Oh wow I loved this book it had me gripped right from the start and did not let me go.

This book follows Delia from a young age, and as she grows up you think that she could not get any more deceitful and scheming. Oh boy she does.

This book is a dark tale and its full of twists and turns that will keep you up until long in to the night to finish it.