When it comes to characters, Sally ranks among the most brilliantly unique I've ever met. She is quirky, steadfast in her ways but also very lovable – her vulnerability really comes across and despite all the unusual events in the story, you just want to hug her. I enjoyed seeing Sally make new acquaintances and adapt to a lifestyle that was different from her previous one and appreciated the refreshingly honest portrayal of Sally's thoughts and worldview. Seeing her interact with the people in the town, and learn how to live in a world that is structured to throw hurdles in her way at every point was interesting and heartbreaking. A book that'll have you laughing out loud in parts and gasping in horror and dismay in others.

Strange Sally Diamond is a very darkly written book that I loved from start to finish, very original and very quirky.
Sally’s dad to,d her that when he died he wanted to be put out with the trash so when he dies that’s what Sally does, drags him into the barn in a bag and hauls him into the incinerator. She didn’t know he wasn’t telling her the truth and now she’s in trouble. Sally has spent the vast majority of her life with her father, alone. She is incapable of holding a conversation with anyone and hasn’t mixed with anyone her age. She is good at playing the piano but not with mixing with people, she doesn’t like being touched and she can’t remember any of her life before being seven years old.
This was a really good read that I enjoyed, liz Nugent has managed to being a character like no other I’ve read about before to life and have another story running alongside it and making everything fit together beautifully. The horrors of Sally’s early life is truly horrific and is a very dark read in places, I liked how you can watch sally’s journey without her father and the lengths she goes to, to make her life better.

In Strange Sally Diamond, Liz Nugent has created a complex and totally original character and one to love. Sally is an Irish woman in her forties who suffered a very traumatic early childhood, one that she now has no memory of. After the death of her mother and the disappearance of her father, she was adopted by the psychologist and his wife, a doctor, who were both responsible for her treatment.

Sally’s adoptive father decided she should not be told of her previous life and, because she was so traumatised, should be brought up quietly through home schooling in a small isolated rural village. She has never gone to college or had a job and, although she leaves the house to shop in the village, she never speaks to anyone and although not autistic appears to suffer from an acquired neurodiverse condition, finding small talk puzzling, especially when people don’t actually mean what they say.

Since Sally’s adoptive mother died, she has lived alone quietly with her adoptive father, but now after a misunderstanding about what she should do with his body after he died at home, the police are on her doorstep and she is suddenly national news, especially once the media finds out who she is.

This psychological drama is often gripping and quite dark in places, but leavened by gentle humour and empathy in Sally’s gradual discovery of the world outside her home. She is as naïve as a newborn, bravely venturing out into the world, with her socially unconscious proclamations causing shock and mirth in equal measure as she forges a path through gatherings of people without a filter of any sort. It’s both moving and poignant to watch her awkwardly navigating social situations for the first time. And just as she is coming to grips with her new life, she starts receiving messages from someone who knows about her past, threatening to disturb her hard won security.

Woven through Sally’s story is another voice, that of a young man on the other side of the world, who has also grown up in isolation due to a disease he was told could be fatal if he came into contact with other people. He has also never been to school or been able to have friends. His story of growing up with his monster of a father is also a dark one and may contain triggers for some people. As he grows older, he begins to question what he knows of his early childhood and the way his father treated his mother before they left Ireland. Although he has also grown up flawed and damaged by his upbringing, it is easy to feel compassion for him, even as he goes on to make horrific decisions based on what he has been taught.

This is a dark and twisted drama with carefully crafted and believable characters. Tense and suspenseful and often creepy, Liz Nugent has delivered a haunting and poignant tale, one that won’t be easy to forget any time soon.

This is a tricky one to leave feedback for without dropping a lot of spoilers so this will be a short review.

It definitely wasn’t what I expected but I did enjoy it. A little disappointed with the ending.

This was my first book by this author but will definitely look out for more.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. #StrangeSallyDiamond

It wasn't an easy book as I volunteered with abused children and people who spent most of their life in asylums.
I found a lot of these people in Sally, was moved to tears, smiled at times.
Twisty, dark, disturbing. It's an excellent book but it also request to be a little detached from the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This is an excellent read with very unexpected twists and turns. At first I thought it was going to be like the rash of books which followed Eleanor Oliphant. It's so much more. It tells the story of the aftermath of children being kidnapped and kept captive for years from two different perspectives with conflicting emotions. So often escape seems like the end of the story - in this case it is the start. It was gripping, moving and thought provoking. So many books are forgotten shortly after the last page. I think this one will stay with me for a long time.. Unreservedly 5 stars.

Strange Sally Diamond is the kind of book you will want to talk about after you've finished.
Initially, I thought Sally would be one of those fashionable characters like Eleanor Oliphant or Molly Grey; quirky and likely on the spectrum. We are told from the outset that Sally is autistic and that little slice of dark humour which brings the world's attention to her is enough to pull you into the story. However, it quickly emerged into a very dark and uncomfortable read as we learned about Sally's background and her biological family. Sally was definitely not the strangest person in her world.
A secondary character became more important to me than Sally and I was on tenterhooks to find out how he would turn out. But with a Liz Nugent book, you cannot take anything for granted and there were twists I didn't see coming.
This book was darker than my usual fare but as much as I was uncomfortable I was compelled to keep reading to the end.

The less you know the better heading into this one I think! I was completely captivated by this story. It was extremely clever, mysterious, dark but also wholesome. By the end I honestly loved Sally yet starting out I wasn't too sure what to make of her. The small town setting suited this book perfectly and also spoke to me as I am also from a small Irish town. Everyone knows everyone, no one's business is their own, everyone has an opinion. As well as the Irish setting, I thought the introduction of a storyline in New Zealand was a great parallel and a useful tool in getting to know more characters. This was my first Nugent novel but it will definitely not be my last as I adored it!

* Please research any trigger warnings before reading *

Sally was adopted and doesn’t remember anything of her early life. After her father dies, her mother having died previously, she starts to learn about what had happened to her. He had always kept her isolated and protected her from everyone so she finds it difficult to socialise and make friends.

I felt as though I really knew all these characters, although not what they would be likely to do.
A compulsive read

Sally Diamond's father always told her that when he died, he should put her out with the bins. So when one day, he doesn't wake up, that's exactly what she does. This eventually leads to trouble for Sally and brings the guards and media to her doorstep where she finds out some hidden secrets about her childhood and her family.

Another fantastic, character-focused book from Liz Nugent. I really enjoyed this story that follows Sally as she discovers the truth of who she really is, and starts making steps to improve her life before it's too late. There were some really endearing moments in this as Sally starts to try and become a part of the community she had hidden herself away from for so long, and her struggle to make true friends. There were also some funny moments as well as Sally's 'social deficiency' comes to play now and again, and she says something wrong. However, typical for Liz Nugent, there was a dark current swimming under every bit of this story and now and again it would peak its head up with a flash of Sally's uncontrollable anger or a creepy teddy bear in the post.

The flash back scenes with another character were also riveting and creeping in another way - two stories that shadowed each other in different ways, were very similar but also different.

This was fast-paced and hooked me well and truly. Liz Nugent has a way of writing characters that is so unique, she really peels them back and as a reader we get to see all these dark and terrible bits of them as well as any of the good.

When Sally's father dies, she takes his instruction to "put him out with the rubbish" quite literally, much to the dismay of her local community. She then learns the awful truth about her childhood and begins to make her way in the world after previously living a somewhat sheltered life. However it soon becomes clear that there is someone out there who was involved in her past and she finds that not everyone can be trusted.

A thoroughly emotional story like nothing you have read before.

Sally is one of the most brilliantly original characters I have ever come across. I loved following Sally's journey as she made new friends and started to lead a different life to the one she was used to. I found that there was a real insight into Sally's opinions and how she viewed the world, which is something that you don't often see in books. There was a whole cast of characters from the local town introduced as Sally got to know them and they all brought something different to her life. They were well-written and I got the sense that they genuinely cared for Sally which was really heart-warming.

Throughout the story you see what is happening in the present day and also what took place in the past, some of which was incredibly harrowing to read. It made for a very powerful plot that really got under my skin. It made me stop and realise that there is always more to everyone than first meets the eye.

A book that will both make you laugh out loud and gasp in horror, definitely not one to miss.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Holy cannoli! What a book! We are lulled into a false sense of security with Eleanor Oliphant and Molly The Maid vibes. Swiftly sucker punched to the gut when a very dark and twisted story emerges - one that will wrench and shatter your heart into a zillion pieces.

Meet Sally Diamond, 42 years-old-and lives with her father in a small village in Ireland. She is a loner and socially inept, preferring to play the piano and often pretending to be deaf to avoid conversation. As her fathers health declines he often tells her to “put me out with the bins when I die.” Sally does just this when he sadly passes away. Sally not realising it’s a crime, and turning her orderly life upside down.

With insurmountable scrutiny and her life thrown into chaos, Sally is forced to “speak”. Attempt to fix the mess she has found herself in, deal with her grief in her own quirky way and face demons left in the way of three letters, left to her from her deceased father, a stranger and a very troubling past.

One thing I love is quirky characters, Sally has this in spades. We follow her heartbreaking unveiling of past traumas, cruel criticisms and community judgments, that as a reader will garner a plethora of emotions. With Sallys sheltered and naive outlook, she begins to navigate her life, making new friends along the way. Learning to temper her unfiltered and matter of fact way in which she speaks and views the world. Learning to trust, bravely creating a new normal.

While wittily humorous at times, it’s darkly disturbing, brilliantly observed and utterly harrowing. An incredible, masterful novel and another 5 stars read.

Many thanks to @netgalley @penguinaus @penguin for a #gifted advanced reading copy.

Another excellent and dark as hell story from Liz Nugent. A multi generational story of abuse and how the affects manifest over the years through families, even if they are not aware of the origins or have any memory of the acts themselves.

The plot is harrowing and has every trigger warning under the sun, but the story is told thoughtfully and sensitivity.

Congratulations to the author!

This book is not for the faint hearted. I went in quite naively, and was really taken aback by the dark turn it quickly took.
Nugent has crafted a harrowing and heartbreaking story about loss, trauma, belonging and how our past shapes who we are. There were glimpses of a more uplifting story especially presented in the main character Sally. But ultimately the ending left me feeling very sad.

This all being said I was absolutely hooked from the first few pages, the writing, character building and weaving together of the two storylines blew me away.

This was such a captivating, dark powerful and harrowing story (in places!) I absolutely loved it! A definite 5 🌟 read.

The story is narrated by 40 plus Sally who describes herself as 'socially deficient' and sometimes pretends to be deaf so she doesn't have to talk to anyone. Sally is a social recluse and finds it hard to conform to social conventions. On the day her dad dies she decides to burn him on the incinerator beside her house. This leads her to become the centre of media attention and Sally is forced to interact with the world outside for the first time. Slowly Sally starts to uncover that there were secrets to her past and horrors from her childhood that she can no longer ignore.
This book gripped me from the first page. I loved Sally and felt so sorry with her as she attempts to be 'normal' and conform with the people around her. I loved seeing her try to build a life for herself and make new friends. Some of the parts of the story from Sally's past are horrific but the story turns into a gripping psychological thriller and I couldn't stop reading (despite some disturbing chapters.) The writing is brilliant and each of the characters are fascinating. Prepare yourself for a dark, harrowing read and an emotional rollercoaster!
This is such an original and brilliant story. I loved Sally and she will stay with me for a long time. I have ordered all of Liz Nugent's previous books as I definitely think she's going to become one of my favourite new authors. This will definitely be one of my top books of the year.

Sally Diamond may be "strange" but she's also kind and thoughtful. Nugent weaves a powerful narrative alongside a cast of characters that the reader will root for. This novel is moving, thought-provoking and heartening.

As usual, Liz Nugent has blown me away with Strange Sally Diamond. It features a difficult and unusual main character that we shouldn't like (but we do) and a compelling mystery. It's another masterpiece that I'm recommending to everyone I meet.

I am a huge Liz Nugent fan - particular Lying in Wait so I couldn't wait to get reading this one. I was hooked from the start and at around 70% in I was singing it's praises to everyone that would listen.

The storyline is great and I was coming up with all sorts of potential endings in my head - but after I got into the final quarter of the book it just seemed to fall away a little. I felt like there wasn't really a punch of an ending and that left me a little disappointed. The first 75% of the book is really engaging and saves it for me but I would have liked a more dramatic ending.

Sally is a great character - she is one I will remember for a long time. Despite there being such a huge plot in this book I feel that this book is very character driven and without Sally and her uniqueness this book wouldn't stand out as much.

Will still recommend as I did enjoy a lot about it.

This book was phenomenal. From the first chapter it hold me engaged and entertained. I wanted to see how everything will turn out for Sally Diamond.
She hasn’t had your normal childhood like everyone else or what society deems to be normal. It was a traumatic experience and left her with a string of emotions that needed to be dealt with but nobody was actually there to help her. It’s quite a chilling read when slowly we learn about what Sally went through in her early years and where everything ends in the end. From the moment she did exactly what her father told her to do , to her being an adult and going through the public spectrum of things that she thought normal as she didn’t know different.
It’s emotional and it brings up a lot of topics, it made me think of other loved characters from well known stories.
It’s disturbing on one hand but brilliantly done overall and a book that i highly recommend.

There are almost no words to describe how spellbounding this book is.

Líz is a phenomenal writer, and the way she weaves her stories is breathtaking.

I will admit to being a little confused by the ending but Sally's story, her life in (and before) Carricksheedy completely gripped me.

I'm also not sure the Covid nod towards the end was completely necessary. It didn't feel it added anything.