Almost exactly two years ago, I read and quite enjoyed Nugent's earlier novel, Lying In Wait. Needless to say, I have since been keeping an eye out for her books, so I was really excited to dip right into this one! The book centers around the Drumm family - moving across decades in the lives of three brothers, William, Brian and Luke - all close in age and with odd relationships with not only one another, but with fame, competition and women -their mother in particular. It opens at the funeral of one of the brothers - the identity of which serves as a sort of mystery that helps propel the rest of the story as each brother reveals their damaged minds and often terrible behaviors. Because of the shifting perspectives and timelines, it's easy to sort of feel as fractured about continuing as the cracks within the family are revealed with each one darker and deeper than the next.

While the ending is certainly unexpected, it takes a while to get there and frankly spends too much time reveling in the reprehensible behavior of the brothers (particularly two). And though one brother is more sympathetic than the rest, his own afflictions and addictions make him hard to identify with. Really, it's impossible to really root for any of these characters. And while they may not be particularly sympathetic in their various vile ways, they do certainly feel well-developed. The overlap of some of the moments bring told from each brother's perspective slows down the pacing - though it definitely adds to their development. This is certainly a character-driven novel, but I guess I just wanted to see things get better rather than worse and worse. And while some aspects don't seem particularly realistic, it does have an unsettling air to it throughout the whole book. It's not my favorite of her books, but I am still looking forward to seeing what she will write next!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Ya’ll this book was nuts. It was like this family was a train wreck and sometimes I wanted to avert my eyes and yet I couldn’t. Because I had to see what twisted and deplorable thing they did next to one another.

If you thought your family was dysfunctional, meet the Drumm family. They are DYSFUNCTIONAL.

What I liked:

I can’t say I was overly wowed by the cover- but it fits in with the whole book, so it’s good.

I have to say that I like books with a prologue or a first chapter that hints at what will happen later in the book- and this one starts off with a funeral- but we don’t know who has died. I kept a running tally of which brother I thought it was and evidence to support my claim- but I didn’t really completely guess till the writing was almost on the damn wall.

Sometimes I did get a bit weary of reading basically the same events- just from different viewpoints- BUT you really gotta do it to understand the total dysfunction of the Drumm family.



Bottom line: You like your characters with a tall order of dysfunction and some personality issues that you might need to consult with a therapist to get to the bottom of? Then Little Cruelties is for you.

The Drumms sounded like characters from a Greek tragedy or the shoddiest soap opera there ever was.

I loooooooooooooooooooove some fucked up family drama – especially during this time of Covid when you have to isolate from any real-life action that might occur within your own jacked up family tree.

This one starts off with Nugent’s signature “you had me at hello” whammo of an opening line . . . .

All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral, although one of us was in a coffin.

You’re then provided narratives from each of the siblings with timehops that bounce all over the place until you come to a “Liane Moriarity” type of ending when the dead person’s identity is finally revealed. The same, monumental moments in the brothers’ lives are told from their unique perspectives and they are all garbage humans. Oh talk about my idea of a good time! I haven’t met people this despicable since I ran into Maurice last year.

Bottom line? I would read Liz Nugent’s grocery list . . . .

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

As if launched like an Estella from the pages of a Dickensian novel, the Drumm brothers, fueled by the warped life scripts imprinted by their Havisham-like mother, wreak havoc in the lives of all who they encounter.

Although all three brothers successfully break free from the clutches of their childhoods, they cannot escape from the toxic effect of the repetitive emotional beatings each received during their upbringings. Ingrained deeply in the character of each of the brothers are penchants for cruelty and self-centered recklessness which negatively impact the lives of all those whose paths intersect with their own. The novel is not so much one that is plot driven, rather it presents the reader with fascinating vignettes of how 'the sins of the father", or the mother in this case, are visited upon successive generations.

If you don't like to be dragged down by the emotional undertow into a world of suffocation and suffering, this novel may not be for you. On the other hand if you don't mind gasping for air as the brothers' rampages deplete their lives and the reader of precious oxygen, you may not be able to put this book down. Whatever your preference, at the novel's conclusion you will feel its effects and many times the goal of a "good read" is just that.

One of the things Liz Nugent is absolutely brilliant at is creating these highly unlikeable, irreedeemable characters that should put her readers off immediately-and yet, it's impossible to stop turning pages.

She did this in Unraveling Oliver, and she does it again here, this time with three brothers who treat each other and everyone else around them terribly. No one comes out unscatched, but what readers do know from the start is that one of the brothers ends up dead. We don't know which one, and Nugent is excellent at making it seem that at any point it could be any one of them.

Do not be turned off by how much you will detest every character in the book. That is the point. Nugent is not afraid to show how a legacy of selfishness and hatred can be passed from parent to child, shared from brother to brother, continuing through generations. This is a true psychological thriller, because you really don't know which character was pushed that last final inch over the line, and how and why it happened. It could be any combination of characters, because Nugent has shown that every single one of them has that ability inside of them.

I definitely recommend this book, and when you're done, grab a copy of Unraveling Oliver. You will fly through both of them.

This multigenerational family drama is a completely engrossing read. I couldn't put the book down as I tried to find out what would happen next to the Drumm brothers.
This book is dark and twisted, the Drumms are anything but a happy family, and their continual betrayals and cruelties to each other are awful yet in families things are often more complex than they appear.
Read this if you like reading about dysfunctional families or enjoyed Ask Again, Yes.
Many thanks to Scout Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Little Cruelties.... hmm where do I start with this one?

I have read some pretty awesome thrillers but I seem to be getting pickier and pickier.

I feel like this was definitely quite the dysfunctional family that we have on our hands. But, I don't even feel like it was a thriller. This is a family of 4 brothers and you follow the mess of a. train wreck with the brothers and who did one another wrong and why etc etc.

I was pretty bored and I just completely lost interest in this one unfortunately.


Thank you so much to Gallery and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 11/10/20
Published to GR: 12/15/20

This was a psychological thriller Lydia is quite an interesting character. She’s part victim and Gillian she makes you fell pity, anger, and absolute terror This is quite a chilling tale

Unfortunately, this was one of those books where I kept reading on hoping that something would happen to make it worth the read but nothing really happened. It is the story of three brothers in Ireland who grew up in a disfunction home and grew up to be dysfunctional adults. What made the book drag was that the stories were repeated from the different brothers point of views. The mom is a washed up singer who doesn't show much affection to her children and has psychological issues, some resulting from being raped. The youngest brother is a manic, drug addicted musician. The middle brother "manages" him and takes a bunch of his money. The oldest brother is a film producer who can't keep it in his pants. They seem to sleep around with the same women too. Not much substance to the book, just stories of how dysfunctional a family is repeated through the view points of the brother

William, Brian, and Luke Drumm--three boys each born a year apart. William becomes a successful movie producer. Luke, a famous singer. And Brian, the steady middle brother, watches over careers, money, and their mother. But none of the brothers are as successful and happy as they appear--scarred by their traumatic childhood and their constant attempts to gain the attention of their mother. Now, the brothers are gathered together again: but only two are alive.

"All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral. But only one of them was in the coffin."

I made a lot of mistakes with this book. First, I thought I loved Liz Nugent, but then I realized I had her confused with another writer, and that I've never read any of her books. Next, I thought this would be more of a true, suspenseful mystery. It is not.

I feel bad, but this book was not for me. It started out slowly and just never got better. The plot drags on and on. While it is somewhat a mystery about a dead brother (which Drumm has died?), it's mostly a character-driven tale about three awful brothers. Because these three men are terrible and despicable, and I found it nearly impossible to become interested in them or their stories.

The book is told in chunks--from the perspective of each brother. Within their parts, their stories go back and forth in time. It's hard to keep track of the passing of time, especially as the book progresses.

This novel could provide in-depth perspective on mental illness and the impact our parents can have on our lives, but so much of that nuance gets lost in our characters and their abject hatefulness. There is little redemption to be had here. I had twinges of sympathies for the brothers, but, at times, I wasn't sure I would care if they were dead. They are truly evil sometimes.

Overall, this book just didn't work for me. I wasn't interested in the characters, and I wanted this to be a different type of story. Many others found this much more captivating and enjoyed the character driven style, so it may work better for you. 2 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Gallery/Scout Press and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

Rivarlry, in all its subtle forms worms it’s way throughout this tale of a mother’s love doled out with a cold and infamous spoon.Three brothers spoil each other’s lives and loves only to vie for the affection of a mother. It’s a battle that finds end in a coffin for one . Actresses are a self indulgent at worst and self involved at best. Here the brothers are combatants for her affection as it is and reluctant to change their own self importance. It is a retelling of events as each takes a turn to justify events that took a deadly turn.

This was the first book that I have read by Liz Nugent, and I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. I didn't get into the novel at all and to tell the truth, from 41% in the book to the 86% mark, I did nothing but skim or skip parts because I was not only so bored but hated all the characters. Now, I do not have a problem with unlikeable characters in a book, but these three brothers: Will, Brian, and Luke were just really the worst! Talk about a dysfunctional family! Just ugh. I did feel sorry for Luke since he had mental health issues, but his brothers took glaringly and horrendous advantage of him, which I just despised. Then there was the formatting of the story, which drove me bonkers. Each brother tells their side of the story in a section, which is fine, but the timeline in each jumps around nonlinearly in a way that makes no real sense--say one chapter is 1995 and the next could be 2017 and so on. The bouncing around just made me not really care what was coming next, to be honest. However, from the 85% mark to the end, I did thoroughly enjoy the book but that's about where the timelines converged and everything really came together. I could just be being picky and am not the right reader for this book since it's obvious that so many other people loved it and gave it 4 and 5 stars. I wish that I could do the same because I hate giving a book 3 stars or lower; this was initially 2.5 stars for me, but I did round up to 3 stars because the last little bit redeemed it for me. Nugent is a really great author, of that there is no doubt, and I'm willing to read her other books to see if I enjoy them better.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

A family’s different perspectives on growing up with a narcissistic mother, and the little cruelties they all dealt to one another. The way each character and their relationships with one another are shaped throughout their lives is the central theme, and perhaps a warning to those dealing in cruelties themselves.
Poignantly written, the characters are flawed and real, the overall vibe of the family was dictated long ago and they never really broke free, even in their own lives, careers and relationships. Well done, a bit sad, but thought provoking.

I will admit that I detested a few of the characters in this book (most of the characters in this book) but I could not put it down! Yes, you can still love a book and how it was written and not like the characters.

William, Brian and Luke are three brothers growing up in Ireland, raised by the same parents, and yet treated so differently. The story begins at the funeral of one of the brothers and looks back on their lives and how they got there. It is also about mental illness and how that can be a big part of a family's genetics.

I hated William. He was an awful person. His mother doted on him and he knew it. Brian had me going back and forth between how I felt about him but once you get deeper into his psyche, didn't care much for him either. Luke was the one I felt the most for. His struggle with mental illness was so hard to read and the way his mother treated him was disgusting. (On a different note, I did not buy his aunt's reasoning for why she treated him the way she did, though again, mental illness) It was child abuse, plain and simple.

This really is an excellent read, despite how I felt about the brothers. That's the thing, I felt a lot and to me, that is always the sign of a good book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this book to review.

I read and liked "Unraveling Oliver" by this author and looked forward to another good read. Unfortunately, this book - to me - had none of the redeeming qualities of "Unraveling Oliver". I can only assume all the hype for this book is due to people like me who liked Nugent's last book and were hoping for another good one.

The characters are all horrible - - I didn't like any of them - - and the story was just dark and depressing. I'm giving the book 3 stars only because the writing is decent - - but I feel like I should give MYSELF 10 stars for slogging my way through to the end!

A disappointment

Try as I might, and with great disappointment, I could not get past the first 10% of Little Cruelties. A book that I had looked forward to and from an author that I have enjoyed in the past. Good luck to Liz Nugent and hopefully we will meet up again.

Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 !!!!!!!
Book: Little Cruelties
AVAILABLE NOW- Released November 10, 2020
Author: Liz Nugent
Genre: General Fiction/Family Drama

Sipping Synopsis: I did not think Liz Nugent could surprise me more than she did in Lying in Wait, but I was wrong. Little Cruelties was one twisted family drama that slowly increased the gas to a full throttle and didn’t let up. I was grimacing in shock and disgust at the way these family members treated each other. It was like a train wreck that not only did I not want to stop watching but I wanted to go into the wreckage to uncover more horrors!

Final sipping thoughts: This book is not for the faint of heart but for those that like shocking, unrelenting, unfathomable reveals. If prude is a word that someone would describe you as then you might want to pass on this one. But if you are a thrill-seeking reader who is searching for the next read to make you clutch your pearls-check this one out.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @GalleryBooks and @liznugentwriter for an advanced copy of @LittleCruelties.

#LizNugentWriter #LittleCruelties #GalleryBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #AmazonReads #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #thriller #mystery #suspense #bookreviewer #fiction

Nugent writes the craziest mothers I’ve ever read! She really nails the dysfunctional family in every book.

Little Cruelties starts with a funeral, 2 brothers standing over the third’s grave. Which brother is dead? How did he die?

The 3 brothers, William, Bryan, and Luke are born a year apart in 1960’s Dublin. The family is lower middle class and Catholic. Their mother Melissa Craig is the most obnoxious, fame obsessed character...ever! Maybe worse than Mommy Dearest. Ugggghhh, she obviously favors her oldest son, successful movie producer William. She’s generally indifferent to middle son Bryan, and overtly abuses her youngest son, pop star Luke. This woman is so emotionally abusive to Luke his mental health suffers and self medicating ruins his music career.

Ultimately this book is about the damage our family can inflict. The story is told in a non linear fashion alternating between each brother and their interpretation of major life events. This book was a wild ride that culminated in a shocking finale and of course, one brother’s death!

This story has murder, betrayal, cruelty, addiction, adultery, #metoo issues, and sibling rivalry that’s out of control!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars, definitely a must read if you loved Nugent’s previous books! It’s is very character driven and is more of a slow burn.

Thank you @netgalley gallerybooks and @scoutpressbooks for my advanced digital copy!

Has there ever been a more horrible family?? Oh, how I hated each one of these brothers and their mother even more. But Liz Nugent does such a good job of developing characters that I was able to know the Drumm family well enough to know I’m glad they’re fictional!! There was more than one time I really, really wanted to chuck the book across the room while reading. Or at the very least, pop one (or all) of the brothers flat on his nose. I can give the youngest Drumm’s behavior a pass because of his mental illness, but the other brothers both needed a swift kick. And that poor Daisy...
oof. I hope she got some help!!
Thank you for the opportunity to read and advance copy of Little Cruelties!!

The three Drumm brothers are from Dublin and in a catholic family. They grew up with a self-centered mother who was once a well-known singer and actress. She likes her booze and enjoys playing her sons against one another. Their father does his best to make everyone happy. The boys are a year apart.

William is a film maker married to Susan and has a daughter named Daisy. William could not remain faithful to Susan even if his life depended upon it.

Brian worked as a teacher for some years before he became a manager for Luke.

Luke is rockstar who has some mental issues that appear to be bipolar. As a child, he was very confused about religion which must have been early signs of his mental condition.

Today one of the Drumm brothers is dead. Which one is it and what happened?

What a dark and depressing book. As with the author's book “Unraveling Oliver,” I felt this book seemed to drag as the author showed over and over how cruel the boys were to one another. How does a family get so messed up? I may be in the minority on this book, but I did not find reading this downer story to be a pleasure. Not my cup of tea.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.