When a book opens with a character putting her dad's body out with the bins you kinda can’t help but be pulled in.

Though the locals in the small Irish town of Carricksheedy think Sally is a bit odd (particularly after she puts her dad out with the bins) they don’t know her real story and neither does Sally. Raised by adoptive parents she only learns the truth after her father dies. Sally's biological mother was kidnapped by a paedophile and kept for years in his home. Repeatedly raped by her captor, Sally was the result and she was kept with her mother until the age of 6.

Marked down as strange or neurodivergent, Sally never knew about her history but it has understandably left its mark. Now in her 40s Sally has to adjust to the truth and life on her own. I loved how strong and resilient Sally is. I certainly thought her unique way of viewing the world was an asset in helping her to recalibrate . However just as she is getting on her feet and making new friends and a life for herself more secrets and trauma surface. Will she ever be able to escape her past and have a ‘normal’ life?

I couldn’t get enough of this one and read it in just a couple of sittings. Liz Nugent is a new author for me and I’ll now need to seek out her other works. The writing was so skillful allowing us to really get to know Sally and empathise with her strange situation. There is a great cast of supporting characters too - some you’ll love, some you’ll hate.

It is evidently quite a dark story but it also has its moments of humour not least from Sally herself with her brutal honesty and blunt questions. Tense, psychological and wonderfully observed you’ll be cheering Sally on the whole way.

Thanks to Penguin & Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy - I’ll be shouting long and loud about this one!

The story of the daughter of a kidnapped girl - her life, her family and friends, and a kind of ‘coming of age’ scenario as her past meets the present.
Reminiscent of ‘Room’ - but with more layers, and spanning several generations.
An absolutely compelling read - I finished it within 24 hours

A story spanning decades of abuse. A very upsetting and disturbing story, but at the same time, very readable.
Thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Wow wow wow! This is the third book by this author that I have read and like the others I have loved it. Her books are dark and unsettling and just so engaging that it’s easy to read them in one sitting as you don’t want to put them down.
This one deals with abduction, rape, isolation, mind manipulation and so much more. If this isn’t to your liking don’t read it as it has all that in spades.
So, Sally Diamond is indeed strange. Her mother was taken from her front garden when she was 11 years old and kept a captive and sex slave by the man who would become her father. Unbeknownst to Sally (then Mary) she has a brother who is living in the next room to them., given birth to by her mother not long after she had been taken, so just 11 years old. Her brother Peter, was taken off their mother not long after his birth and her mother is so fearful the same will happen to Mary/Sally that she never lets her go. When they are eventually discovered (father and brother have taken off) Sally’s mother is beyond help and eventually kills herself. Sally goes to live with the husband and wife Dr team that were in charge of looking after her.
It’s really hard to not too give too much away as it is a story with many threads. At the start of the book we see Sally incinerating her (adoptive) father after he died because he always said to her “when I die just put me out with the rubbish” This is a great way to start as it lets the reader see how Sally’s mind operates.
The books sounds depressing and the subject matter will be horrific to some, but I loved it!

#StrangeSallyDiamond. #NetGalley

Strange Sally Diamond. Wow what a story. When I first began reading, I felt as though I was back in the world of Eleanor Oliphant, but Sally's story is far more twisted and disturbing.

When we first meet Sally, she is dealing with the death of her father. From the outset we know that something is amiss with this woman. Liz Nugent's characters are usually terrible people who it's impossible to have empathy for. Sally is a different kettle of fish altogether. She lives with her elderly father and it's clear that she is socially awkward and isolated. You can't help but feel sorry for Sally from the first chapter. Your empathy for her will only grow throughout the harrowing, dark tale of her early life. Strange Sally Diamond is remarkably well-adjusted given her life experience.

This book kept awake far past my bedtime. A proper honest-to-god page turner.

Thanks to @netgalley for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

Through the awkward, and at times uncomfortably comedic, Eleanor-Oliphant-esq voice of her protagonist, Liz Nugent explores the grim realities, traumas and outcomes of abduction and its aftermath. A thought-provoking approach to the captivity novel. With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

My favourite read of 2022 so far, “Strange Sally Diamond” is an absolute triumph.

Read it if: you loved “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”.

Don’t read it if: you’re avoiding child abuse and sexual assault triggers.

“Strange Sally Diamond” is quite a traumatic story, but its very humorous too. We follow Sally’s journey navigating the world as a 40-something neurodivergent woman in rural Ireland, finding her living suddenly alone after the death of her father. As she navigates life without the guiding force of her parents, we learn about Sally’s past lives, uncover secrets about her parents intentions and get to know the local villagers as they step in to provide support.

Most of the novel is from Sally’s point of view, and the first person narration is really glorious. As someone who grew up with an autistic family member, I could really resonate with some of Sally’s habits. She is straightforward, unknowingly witty and painfully honest, and it’s easy to completely fall in love with her as a character

My only criticism is the ending. For me, it has some lovely symbolism and neatness about it, but I wanted more justice for those who deserved it.

With thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Marvellous read…not just another story about abduction but more about survival and what comes after… I loved it!

Put me out with the bins, There she is Liz Nugent, the Queen of opening lines. By the end of the first paragraph I was in, hook line and sinker.
There is about 3 authors who can write the type of characters that I love, and Liz is one of them. Sally is so incredibly well written that I felt what she felt, I was there with her through it all, totally absorbed.
I didn't want this book to end, one of my favourites this year.

An incredible and dark psychological thriller. I was hooked from the beginning. A rollercoaster of a novel, absorbing and thought provoking. Liz Nugent gets under the skin of all her characters especially the disturbed but talented Sally. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I was sooo looking forward to read Liz's next book, it had been a while :)
Sally is a completely different type of character (than what we're used to from Liz's previous books), but she's so interesting and well-developed that I absolutely adored her! Great story, very well written, that will keep you awake until the wee hours, as you won't be able to stop reading it.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

My first read of this author but will not be my last. A brilliantly written story that allows the reader to establish real connections with the characters, I just wanted to hug Sally Diamond

Strange Sally Diamond. Psychological thriller with dark content, 4.5*.

Sally Diamond is, in her own words and as she is wont to tell anyone she meets, "socially deficient". So when her father passes away at home alone with her, she takes him at his word and leaves his body out with the rubbish.

This single action sets in motion a series of events which changes her life completely, and in doing so unlocks some of the secrets of her early years which had previously remained a mystery to Sally. Her once cloistered life is suddenly filled with more people than ever before, shadowy strangers from the past and neighbours who had been deliberately kept at a distance, by both Sally and her father. Her difficulty is in how to determine who is friend and who is foe, and an incorrect decision may well put her life in danger.

This book is a very dark, disturbing read in many parts, but there is also humour and heartwarming moments, as Sally gradually learns how to take her place in the community. Sally is a vulnerable, loveable, and at times frustrating character, whose lack of filter leads to some awkward, laugh out loud conversations. If you enjoyed Liz Nugent's other novels you're sure to love this also, an amazing supporting cast of characters from the compassionate and friendly to the downright evil and terrifying. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone, it's due for release in March 2023 so go pre-order it now! In the meantime read any of Liz' other books if there are any you have missed.

Thanks to @Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

The book starts off with Sally putting her deceased father out with the bins, totally normal...

I have to sat it was definitely started like no other book I had read before and I was hooked. I had to know more about Sally, what happened in her past and how she would cope without her father. This book is full of twists and turns and I was unable to put it down, I was fully rooting for Sally by the end and was a bit emotional to turn the last page.

This is my first Liz Nugent book and I will definitely be going to check out her backlist.

I really enjoyed Strange Sally Diamond and was hooked from the first page. It’s quite a dark read but there is some humour throughout.

I loved Sally as a character she’s such a interesting character. I definitely felt for her throughout of the book as she had such a horrific childhood and I just wanted things to work out well for her. As the book progressed I loved reading her interactions with other in the small town in Ireland.

Strange Sally Diamond is told from different point of views and has a dual timeline which I do enjoy. As I said previously the book is dark as it has disturbing themes but it doesn’t go into great detail on them. If you’ve read Liz Nugent’s previous books you’ll know exactly what I mean as they can be quite dark.

I don’t want to say too much else out as I don’t want to give anything away but there is plenty of twists and turns that I did not see coming!

Having read and loved previous books by Liz Nugent, Strange Sally Diamond was most certainly high up on my list of want to read books. Once I started it, I found it very difficult to put it down. While the subject matter can be a bit tough at times, it was a well-written and engaging story. I found Sally to be divisive as a character, I veered between liking her, feeling sorry for her, and wanting her to cop on, sometimes all within the same chapter. Liz Nugent has a knack for writing characters that evoke lots of feelings in the reader, and Sally was no different. Thoroughly enjoyed Strange Sally Diamond and would absolutely recommend it!

This was fascinating and disturbing(like Nugent’s other books!). I really enjoyed the complexities of Sally Diamond as a character and empathised with her terrible vulnerability and how almost no one in her life could be trusted in one way or another. I appreciated the ending. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

**3.8 stars**
I have read a couple of Liz Nugent's books and while they are very popular, they generally aren't my cup of tea. That being said, I really enjoyed this one! We learn quickly that Sally Diamond is quite strange, and as her past life is unravelled through two different perspectives, we learn why she is so strange. This book didn't shy away from the grittiness that was needed to boost the story and as each chapter ended I just had to keep going to see what we were going to learn next! I'd definitely classify it as a page turner!
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. After getting to know Sally and what made her who she is, I thought she deserved better from the culmination of events.
Liz Nugent has a very unique style of writing which works really well for this particular story. Will definitely be well received by fans of the author and anyone who enjoys a twisty tale. Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

I can't describe Liz Nugent's books any way that does them justice except to say they're phenomenal. I'm blown away by the knack she has of getting inside the minds of the most appalling characters; this latest book is no exception, although this time the main protagonist was very likeable.

Strange Sally Diamond is a dark psychological tale. A tale of two opposites; moments of humour, warmth and hope but just as many moments that made my skin crawl and filled me with horror.

I'm not going to say anything about the plot as it will spoil the reading experience but this is a brilliant brilliant book with a story, and characters, developing bit by bit, keeping the suspense right to the end.

Overall an unsettling read that I loved every second of.

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
Earc:NetGalley
Publisher: Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business, Sandycove
Publication Date: 02 Mar 2023 | A
Genre:General Fiction Adult, Mystery and Thriller

In the tragic and psychological thriller Sally Diamond, you get a glimpse into the depths of the characters' souls.
After the passing of her adoptive father, Sally is discovering why she has no memories from before the age of seven.
She claims to be socially awkward and has spent her entire life pretending to be deaf to avoid discussion because she is perceived as "weird" by the locals.
She had traumatic and horrible childhood experiences up until the age of seven, and now she must confront her past while adjusting to a new life on her own and establishing new acquaintances.

I highly recommend this book.

#NetGalley #bookstagram#bookreview #goodreads #generalfictionadult #mysteryandthriller #strangesallydiamond


Will Public Review week of realise