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

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 brilliant stars!

I couldn’t put this book down - lots of great characters and a fascinating back story. Chapters are told from different points of view and they are all really interesting as equally engaging.

The main character Sally was written in such a wonderful way, you really get a sense of her personality and you are rooting for her all the way through.

The only downside was that I didn’t want this book to end! I want to know what happens next for Sally, with Peter, Amanda - let’s have a follow up please!

Not out till March 2023 so I recommend you pre-order it!

I must admit up front, I am a HUGE fan of Ms. Nugent and read everything she writes. She’s one of those rare authors who releases a book and I just buy it, never mind the blurb or the cover. So, the truth is, I am biased.

And I just loved Sally Diamond! When I started reading it, I had no idea what it was about (didn’t read the blurb) so initially I thought this was a dark, psychological comedy with an awkward protagonist. I quickly realised this was not the case. In fact, the themes are uncomfortable and sometimes difficult to read about, but the writing is beautiful, and Sally’s story is about sadness, love, perseverance, acceptance and forgiveness.

Ms. Nugent is skilled at turning ‘people on a page’ into real-life characters that you love, cheer for, and commiserate with.

Read it! And if you haven’t read her other works yet, get them all. You’ll be pleased you did!

#netgalley #liznugent #strangesallydiamond #penguin

This took me some time to get to .i love this authour but mainly cause of her dark charcaters and the depths she travels when drawing them so wasn’t sure how I wd feel about an empathetic one
Who cdnt love sally diamond hey
Wonderfull character who works so hard at being sociable amicable and discovering the past that has a dark shadows running through it
There’s a sense of fear for sally and suspicion of who may be back to challenge this brave woman and suspense is fully there at each event
I also was very involved in the boys story and his discovery of his fathers dark and twisted frightening ways
Will he become like his dad what will happen to him and where does he end up ? Maybe there’s a sequel there as I was as wrapped up in Peter as Sally
I do prefer her earlier works as was more involved and have a bias for the unlikable ones but I did get caught up in this novel of courage and being accepted against all odds
Ty Liz as always I will always read your novels you write them so well

Strange Sally Diamond is heartbreaking and unsettling but incredibly compelling. I had previously only read ‘Our Little Cruelties’ by Liz Nugent and this is very different in tone and subject but, similar in that, I could not stop reading. Sally Diamond is a unique character who unbeknownst to her has suffered great trauma in her life - this is only revealed her after her sole remaining parent dies. There is fantastic warmth in the book as Sally builds a trusted circle of people in her community but there are also very dark aspects in the story. This perfect if you want a compelling story but I think you need to be in the right state of mind for it.

Strange Sally Diamond is a very strange book that will leave you unsettled
If you are looking for a story with a neat, happy ending, this is not it

However, the writing is excellent and you will really get drawn into this book!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I hadn't read any books by this author previously but I will certainly be reading them in the future. I really enjoyed this book, although some parts of the story were quite harrowing to read, the main character Sally was so different and I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

I literally couldn’t put this book down - to the extent that I was cooking and pottering around the house with my kindle in my hand for a whole day because I was so engaged with Sally’s story; that’s how skilful Liz Nugent’s hold is on her reader.

Strange Sally Diamond is no cosy tale of a middle aged oddball in a quirky rural community, so be prepared for the uncomfortable truth hitting you in the face right up to (and especially at) the end. I believed every word of it. Many of the narratives remained unresolved, but that’s real life I suppose. Liz Nugent isn’t one to sugar coat her stories and the experience is all the better for that in my opinion.

Many thanks to all concerned for letting me read and review this terrific novel.

Oh Sally, I found myself cheering you on,
being frustrated with you and giving out to any character that dared upset you! Reading 'Strange Sally Diamond' has been tumultuous from an emotional perspective and I mean that in a positive manner. Liz Nugent creates the most brilliantly complex, intricate characters and as always, I found myself completely absorbed in the storyline and had to continue reading until I finished the book. I had to know what happened to Sally, Mark, Peter.
Another epic novel from a one of tye best writers around. Do yourself a favour and add to your reading list for 2023 NOW!

Sally Diamond has been raised in a rural farmhouse with overprotective parents and little socialisation. With no real understanding of social cues, and an inability to read people or take whatever is said as anything other than completely literal, Sally does what her terminally ill father jokes about when he passes away: she puts him out with the bins,

To Sally, she is simply carrying out her late father's wishes; to the shocked rural community where she lives, Sally - strange, peculiar Sally - has committed a monstrous crime.

Yet as Sally begins to deal with the fallout from her actions, she finally begins to connect with others. But then strange notes start to arrive, and a ragged teddybear she instinctively knows is hers. And Sally's world, which is already shifting, will tip on its axis as she discovers the truth about who she really is...

Strange Sally Diamond is one of my favourite books this year - disturbing, compelling, redemptive, sad, and ebullient all at once. The writing is skilful, with characters so realistically drawn that you feel like you know them, and a plot that is beautifully paced and manged. I loved the alternating narrators as the book progressed, and was fascinated by the gradual revelations.

Masterful, haunting, and complex - I will be thinking about Sally for a long, long time. A must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for granting me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't get enough of this book. It begins with Sally trying to burn her deceased father in their incinerator as he had said that when he died to put him out with the bins. She is a loner, emotionally detached and can't understand the jokes and thoughts of others as everything is black and white to her. She knows that she is adopted but is unaware of anything to do with her background. Liz has done a fantastic job of delving into Sally's past and seeing how understanding this can help her move forward with her life. My favourite Liz Nugent book yet!
Thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy in order for my honest review.

You know you're never going to get rainbows and unicorns with Liz Nugent (which is why I love her), and this bleak tale is no exception. The story of socially awkward Sally Diamond and the gradual revealing of her origins is harrowing at times, and covers some very dark subjects. Well written and compelling, I loved it. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, I was so pleased to receive the ARC for this, 5 stars.

Liz Nugent is an auto-buy author for me. She writes excellent dark psychological thrillers that pique your interest from the off and keep you turning the pages. Strange Sally Diamond is no exception; I read it in under two days. It isn’t published until March 2023, but go pre-order it today!

We are introduced to Sally Diamond, age 42, living in a small village near Roscommon on the day her adoptive father dies; he regularly told her to “put me out with the bins, when I die”, so when the time came, she followed his instructions, and that’s when her entire life tipped upside down.

Viewed by fellow villagers as “strange”, Sally admits to being “socially deficient”; and finds the world around her a very scary place to be.

Eccentric doesn’t even begin to cover Sally! Sally is very naive and matter-of-fact and has absolutely no filter when she does decide to talk to people - which, for the reader at least, results in some darkly comic but rather cringe-worthy or heartbreaking incidents.

But why is Sally like she is? She discovers soon after her father’s death that the reason she has no childhood memories up to the age of seven is that she suffered horrific trauma. Now she is faced with uncovering her past whilst trying to navigate a new life without her beloved father to cocoon her from any stressors.

As we learn about Sally’s background and how her mam was abducted by Conor Geary, an extremely violent misogynist, we get introduced to Peter. Peter is Sally’s half-brother, and through him, we get to see the ‘other side of the story’ too.

Reading Strange Sally Diamond gave me thoughts of Room by Emma Donoghue, the story of “Genie”, whose case we studied in Psychology class many years ago - a girl who’d suffered severe abuse, neglect, and social isolation.

This book is everything you’d expect from Liz Nugent and more. Strong characters, plenty of plot twists, and dark and disturbing events aplenty.

Compelling, dark, and disturbing this book will have you hooked from the very first sentence. Sally is seen as strange in her small rural town. After her father’s passing, her life and past is brought out into the limelight.

The plot…well I was not expecting how dark it would be. The revelations about Sally’s past are haunting and horrific, and I would caution those to look at content warnings before proceeding.

I enjoyed Sally’s character, her voice is unique and distinct throughout the book. She is completely unfiltered and speaks her mind without realising the effect it would have on others. Her openness and brutal honesty is quite refreshing. Her isolated and lonely life is at times upsetting to read about, but watching her explore aspects of life and try to open herself to the outside world is heart-warming.

I enjoyed the majority of the book, it was the ending that let it down. It was abrupt and all progress with our characters ended, almost as if we were going back to the very beginning again.

This is a novel about families. But these families are the polar opposites of ‘cereal box families’ where Mom bakes good wholesome apple pies. These families are psychotic, cruel and dysfunctional in the extreme. They are dominated by Conor Geary, an extreme misogynist, despising and loathing women. This is a deeply uncomfortable story of his actions in raping and incarcerating his family members. In case anyone thinks that all this is too far-fetched, then look up the real-life case of Josef Fritzl.
There’s an emerging sub-genre of fiction and drama (Eleanor Oliphant, Room by Emma Donoghue, The Somewhere Boy) about lonely isolated (either voluntary or compelled) people. When today we are expected to have hundreds of ‘friends’ who ‘like’ us on social media, are these stories a challenge to consider how really connected we are? Do novels such as these endeavour to balance this culture by reminding us that are other realities where people exist in extreme isolation?
In this novel, there are really two protagonists, the eponymous Sally, incarcerated and deprived of social stimuli to the point where she develops quasi-autistic traits such as discomfort at being touched, limitations to reading other intentions and following instructions literally. A second protagonist appears, much later, her brother. They do, over a long period, emerge from their traumatic upbringing. and begin to re-build in a way their lives. But it doesn’t end well. Despite a big inheritance, their relationships collapse, and truths emerge thanks to the new trope of a true crime investigative podcaster.
I wasn’t convinced by the tone of Sally’s voice. I had the feeling that the author was aiming for an impaired voice but not capturing in print the uniqueness of that voice. Sally presents as someone who understands her own psychological processes and limitations. This could be ascribed to the interventions of Tina, the psychotherapist, but I was unconvinced that someone who had experienced such profound trauma could make such a recovery. The damage would have been long-lasting and irredeemable.
But the last part of the book is a disappointment. We learn that Peter’s behaviour became similar to Sally’s (although far crueller and more transgressive). As a consequence, we learn little more than what we already know. The last part become sadly predictable through a recapitulation of Conor Geary’s psychotic actions. Nothing new happens to either inform us of these two protagonists or to provide an increase in tension and pace to build to a denouement.
The first half of the book is engaging in its dreadfulness, but the second half becomes repetitive and dull. By this time, we have become numb to these awful events.
However, a real benefit of reading this nightmare of a novel is that you become deeply thankful to see any parent and child who are loving and attached to each other.
Thanks go to NetGalley who made available a pre-release copy so that I might post an honest and unbiased review.

Another amazing read from Liz Nugent. Liz always manages to weave sensitive issues into the story seamlessly, leaving you thinking about things in a different way after you've left the book. I highly recommend this book but don't plan to do anything else while you're reading it!