This was a gripping story with lots of twists and turns and a thoroughly dislikeable central character with very few redeeming features. Another good book from this author.

An enjoyable novel, during the first third of the book, I thought the author hadn't got into the story as I felt she spent so much time building up the characters. However, I thought this worked as I was then quickly invested in the characters' lives, so throughout the rest of the novel, I found myself caring for these characters and it resulted in me being sucked into the story.

I'm usually not a big fan of thrillers but I thought Nugent handled the plotline in an enjoyable way for me, I would love to more by this author as I thought the whole book was well written and it left me wanting more.

A little difficult to get into but completely worth preservation. An intriguing family saga that will haunt you

This is a difficult one to describe.
A very readable book with a very unlikeable main character, although throughout the first part of the story I felt somewhat sorry for her.
It had some very unpleasant parts but no particular great shocking twist.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is the first book that I have read by this author and makes me wonder what I have been missing. I was immediately hooked from the start to finish but actually did not like the main character at all. Good read

This for me, was probably one of the books I've 'seen' the most this year, with so many excited to get their hands on it, after the legendary 'Unravelling Oliver,' which contains, for me, one of the best characters I've ever read, and also Lying in Wait, which I really really enjoyed too (review here) .

We meet our lead, Cordelia, wandering about the French Riviera, and get a shock as we realise that she's wandering about to avoid the corpse that's back in her flat. Okay. So the blurb is an ickle bit misleading (just a smidgen!) It could tell you that this book is less about what happens in the current time, and more of a trip back to Ireland, where we are told the story of someone who has had just the most tragic circumstances befall them, not always to their knowledge. We hear of a mum and dad and their tug of war, we experience one sidedness on it's greatest level, which gives way to heartbreak and cynicism and anger and all kinds of betrayal (you'll guess that I don't really care about the blurb thing, I'm just warning you really!!), bundled together in an amazing way with many tales of folklore told by a father to his daughter leading to lessons and morals, on an Irish island that's as far removed from civilisation as you can guess.

In general I read with a morbid fascination ( although I do have to admit at some times the pacing waned a little for me) unable to believe that such cruelty and manipulation could go on, both by the family and people of the island, and of course our lead. Liz Nugent's stories are great at making me a better mum, because geney mac I totally believe ALL of her lead characters would have had a different path in life had they not had parents who they believed (and in most cases who had), wronged them/given up on them (oh lord, I'm reading this out loud in my Carrie from SATC voice again!).

The arrival to the epic (epic epic, in the proper sense of the word, not the way it's thrown about nowadays!) conclusion is exemplary, shocking and fantastic, with pieces slotting into place seconds before the events happen (for people not as slow as me, perhaps it's before this;)), and the ending is simply shocking, and one that'll stay with you.

Rating: 4.5/5

I gave this two stars only because I was compelled to read to the end to find out why there was a dead body in Delia's room. However, I found the book probably one of the worst I've read. I've only started reading psychological thrillers since last year, and have been lucky to read a few that have been compelling for all the right reasons. I've never read Nugent before but after rave reviews for her previous novels, I assumed this would be excellent. I found it unbelievable, there was no suspension of disbelief, the characters were quite shallow outside of Delia, and the story and structure were put together in an amateur fashion. I felt no connection or empathy for the main character, and if one cannot connect, there is little purpose to the book.

A well written book but I felt a lack of tension which maybe because I didn’t engage at all with the main character. I enjoyed reading about island life in what was obviously great poverty and felt those parts of the book were very informative. I guess I really didn’t care about Delia enough to make this book a page turner.

This is my first book by Liz Nugent and on the strength of this will not be my last. The story follows the main character Cordelia (Delia) Russell who is desperate and down on her luck living alone in a grotty flat - which unfortunately is also inhabited by a rapidly decomposing corpse!
The story then goes back to Delia's past covering her isolated childhood in Ireland to the present situation she finds herself in. The character of Delia is of a cruel, ruthless and frankly hideous woman but she is extremely well-written as is the entire story. I would happily recommend this book and author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ah, what to say about Liz Nugents new novel? Well, "Skin Deep" is a memorable read. Nugent has created a character that you love to hate in Cordelia. That said, I actually felt sympathy for her at certain points though it evaporated rather quickly each time. Nugent has developed a complex personality which isn't exactly a breeze. I know some people stopped reading as they could not connect with her, if you prefer a likeable cast this may not be for you. I was drawn in from the first pages and didn't stop until I had reached the finale.

A very unsettling novel that is unique in terms of the premise and plot. I haven't read a book as chilling as this in a while.

Many thanks to Penguin Books (UK) for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Could not put it down ! the character of Cordelia or Delia is so horrid I was fixated by her, she does nothing to recommend herself to you and yet still you read on. the tragedy that follows her that defines her life is based on the skin deep beauty of her youth, the almost pathological mindset is what ? nature ? nurture at the hands of her father ? difficult to tell.

Poor James, my heart broke when I read his letter towards the end of the book, the poor child is physically broken and yet has an empathy for a mother who never cared for him. The difference between Cordelia and Jimmy's characters are stark. I can completely understand why some reviewers did not like the book Cordelia/Delia is a difficult, revolting, unsympathetic, narcissist and at times it is really not an easy read.

The settings are breathtakingly described, Ireland, London, Monaco, Nice all spring to life on the page with some genuinely brilliant writing by Liz Nugent. I have been in all of these places and I could practically be there the writing is so strong.

If you can take the difficulties you will be rewarded with an unusual and interesting book where beauty is really just skin deep.

This is a good book

The only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars is the most unlikeable character I have ever come across

Delia/Cordelia you will learn to absolutely despite her she made me so angry and frustrated I just wanted to shake her

Apart from that it’s a really good story and I would recommend

Interestingly creepy and compulsive reading. Intriguing that the story starts when she is middle aged - makes for a far more intriguing narrative than if we met her at under 40. Lame ending but otherwise rather good

I have read other books by Liz Nugent and I was looking forward to reading this one. The main character Delia/Cordelia is a very unpleasant and selfish character with no redeeming characteristics. Her whole life is all about what is in her best interests and no-one else’s. not her mother, brothers, husband, son, friends and lovers.
It is only at the end that justice is metered out to the narcissistic woman. A thoroughly unpleasant character.

Having been a huge fan of Liz Nugent’s last two books, I’m not quite sure why this one has sat on my TBR for so long! And now I’ve read it, I wish it was back on there! Not because I didn’t like it, but because I would love to be reading it once again for the first time! What a wonderfully dark and harrowing story Liz Nugent weaves around one of the most hideous and monstrous characters she has ever created…proving that beauty truly is only skin deep.

When we first meet Cordelia she is the only daughter of a family with four children living in a small island community with her parents. The relationships between them all are pretty dysfunctional but I have to say that even I was shocked when I eventually realised just how messed up this family was. I’m a big believer in nurture over nature and Cordelia was certainly a product of her upringing but as her life story develops, I did start to wonder why her luck never seemed to change and why. There were some very shocking moments for me here and, as a mother, I found myself utterly repulsed by some of the decisions taken by Cordelia and the total lack of personal responsibility she took. Any sympathies I felt started to ebb away as I decided to step back and just watch her “car crash” of a life head towards its ultimate fight for survival.

Liz Nugent writes such involving, character lead psychological thrillers that I have to read them in one tension filled session. She has a real talent for developing despicable and unlikable characters and Cordelia is one of her most fascinating. Her beauty seemed at the heart of many of her problems but how much blame could be laid at the door of those who exacerbated her problems? How much do the actions of others towards us affect our self worth?

This is a fantastic book that I couldn’t put down and want to shout about to anyone who will listen! And as I have a captive audience here then that means you lot!! THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT!! Needless to say, it’s highly recommended by me!

Cordelia has lived in the South of France for many years, passing herself off as an English socialite, but time is taking a toll on her beauty and she is descending into poverty and desperation. When a figure from her past reappears Cordelia acts rashly and her life catches up with her. Delia O'Flaherty was born on a small sparsely inhabited island off the west coast of Ireland, an island rumoured to be the site of madness, her father called her the Queen of the Island and Delia grew up spoilt and self-obsessed. Her life was ruled by her looks until fate caught up and Delia O'Flaherty became Cordelia.

I loved everything about this book except the last few chapters. Delia is a monstrous character and the reader is kept wondering whether she is the results of inherited madness or her upbringing. The descriptions of the tragedies that follow Delia around are handled exceptionally well, no lurid details, just a consideration of the aftermath. Nugent has developed her writing hugely since her first novel and I am pleased to see that however there is still the tendency to go overboard with plot twists and that mars the final section of the book. Having said that the ending is brilliant as Delia returns to the island and her fate is sealed.

‘I wondered when rigor mortis would set in, or if it already had. Once I had cleared away the broken glass and washed the blood off the floor, I needed to get out’

The first two sentences in this absolutely
fantastic new novel by Liz Nugent . Like her previous book I’ve read ‘Lying in wait’ she sets the tone from the first two sentences

Wow ! Wow ! What can I say about this book to do it justice . It was absolutely brilliant . A deep, dark and very twisted psychological thriller . I was totally hooked from the first page . The main protagonist Cordelia (Delia) Russell has to be one of the most heinous characters I have ever come across in a book. She is a sick and depraved person who you couldn’t possibly have any sympathy for . Liz Nugent has an amazing knack of describing her characters and one of the many reasons I love her books . A massive well deserved five star read from me .

This novel begins with Cordelia Russell who has killed someone and fled the scene. We don't know why or who they are. The story then takes us back to the beginning where we learn how Cordelia (Delia) grew up, the nightmare of her childhood and early adolescence and her subsequent nightmare of an adulthood.
I can't help but feel that she has a personality disorder- nurtured under her father's obsessive parenting and then matured under her own accord.
Nothing sits well with me about this character. She is cold, calculating, uncaring, narcissistic and selfish.
The book follows her as she makes unwise decisions based wholly upon personal gain. What happens to her own child really disturbed me and I definitely feel she got her just desserts in the end. I would love another chapter though to see how she gets on in her final chapter of life.
This is a great book- one to read over a whole weekend if you have the time!. .

Sorry, just could not get into this one. I didn't like the main character so it just didn't hook me in frim the start - I have tried to get into it but no.

This was a wonderful and tragic story about a family In Ireland, there hard life and the tragedy that happened to them. I felt sorry for Delia she was a selfish, cruel woman, but no one is made that way. Her father adored her above her brothers and her mother, and she grew up thinking she was something special. A tragedy happened to her family, delia was adopted, she was never really happy she got married had a son, then tragedy struck again.
This was a very good story and glad I had the opportunity to read it.