Little Cruelties delves into the dark underbelly of the Drumm family, a collection of individuals driven by ambition, resentment, and deep-seated emotional wounds. While exploring familial dysfunction provides raw and thought-provoking moments, the novel struggles to fully captivate as a thriller due to its slow pace, predictable plot, and unlikable characters.
The strength of the book lies in its unflinching portrayal of a family marred by mental health issues, substance abuse, and a twisted sibling rivalry. Each brother narrates, offering conflicting perspectives and illuminating the complexities of their relationship. However, the multiple first-person points of view are repetitive, creating a lack of flow that hinders the reading experience.
Themes of sibling rivalry, parental neglect, and the lasting impact of childhood trauma are woven throughout the narrative. Nugent's prose is sharp and insightful, allowing readers to glimpse into the characters' fractured psyches. However, the slow pace and predictable trajectory might leave some readers yearning for more suspense and edge-of-the-seat thrills.
Ultimately, Little Cruelties is a character study disguised as a thriller. While lacking traditional genre elements and unlikeable characters might deter some readers, those seeking a raw and unflinching exploration of familial dysfunction will find plenty to ponder, if unsatisfactorily.

So sorry. but this one wasn't for me. While I didn't expect to like the characters, I also didn't expect to be bored by them. They were too...precious. Your mileage may vary. DNF.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a little different than the other books I had read by the same author. The characters were incredibly unlikeable people. You had to keep reading to see just how much damage they would do to each other. It switched back and forth between narrators and timelines, but the author made it easy to follow.

I usually don't love slower paced thrillers, but the interplay of the 3 brothers lives, their feelings, the times they almost decided to set things aside, as a total package it really worked for me.

Liz Nugent was a new-to-me author and I really enjoyed this book! I was hooked from beginning to end! It's a great family drama-filled book with all the complexities of family relationships.

Liz Nugent is an intoxicating writer who put me under her spell in the best way possible. I found the family dynamics fascinating and was definitely gripped

LITTLE CRUELTIES is a dark family drama filled with complexities of relationships as well as consequences in the actions taken by the characters in this novel.

very well written story about a family. The good old family drama comes alive in this very good story. I enjoyed it very much!

Little Cruelties opens at the funeral for one of the three Drumm brothers, but author Liz Nugent cleverly withholds critical information, immediately pulling readers into the suspense and dysfunctional family drama. Which brother is deceased? And how did he die?

Nugent employs three first-person narratives to relate the story from the perspectives of William, a film producer; Luke, a successful singer; and Brian, initially a teacher, who becomes Luke's manager. Melissa, their mother, was a showband singer and actress who was away performing most evenings, so their quiet, unassuming, much-older father cared for them. He referred to Melissa as his "orphan girl" and likely knew she cheated on him. He died of prostate cancer when William was seventeen years old. Their mother died in 2014.

The brothers relate events and details about their relationships with each other from various time periods in their life, beginning when they were children in the 1970's. It's a storytelling technique that requires great skill and Nugent is up to the task. Despite the nonlinear manner in which she crafts the tale, it is a cohesive and compelling narrative that shows, over time, how the brothers compete with and resent each other, frequently for good reason. They pursue their career goals, often with the support, encouragement, assistance, and interference of each other, as well as their mother. They come to each other's rescue, often begrudgingly, and betray each other in spectacular fashion. At one point, two of them question the third brother's sexuality, not to mention the lengths to which he will go to earn money after being driven from his career. Their relationships with women are as messy as their interactions with each other, and complicated by their siblings' role in them.

Each brother is fully formed and intricately crafted -- simultaneously sympathetic and despicable in his own way. William finds success, marriage, and fatherhood. The closest to their mother, he is duplicitous, calculating, and treats women abominably. Will sees himself as his brother's long-suffering caretaker . . . for how long and at what price? Luke struggles with excesses -- religion, followed by fame, money, women, drugs. He is talented, charming, and lovable, but irresponsible, unpredictable, and exasperating as a result of mental illness. Is he capable of getting himself sorted out and creating a meaningful life for himself? Luke is the son with whom Melissa shared a terrible secret when he was just thirteen years old. Brian is a quintessential middle child who expresses the ways in which he was treated unfairly by his parents. Their mother favored Will, and Luke and their father were close. Brian felt left out, and grew increasingly resentful, although he attempts to outwardly take on the role of peacemaker in the family. Frugal to the point of obsession, but extremely selfish, his actions are always designed to get what he thinks he deserves, but his brothers do not. He harbors feelings for Will's wife, Susan.

Nugent illustrates the role that the boys' upbringing and, more specifically, Melissa's narcissism and emotional abuse of her children plays in forming their personalities and establishing their worldviews. Instead of drawing together as a result of their shared childhood experiences, the brothers strike out against and visit myriad little cruelties upon each other. Their relationships and interactions are toxic, invoking strong emotional reactions.

The story is riveting, particularly for fans of tales focused on sibling relationships, and the underlying mystery propels it forward at a steady pace as curiosity about how the life of one of the brothers ends mounts. It is an unflinchingly dark story but unceasingly entertaining story, punctuated by surprising plot twists and an ending that is breathtakingly horrifying . . . in more than one respect.

Little Cruelties is masterfully crafted and engrossing.

Three brothers went to a funeral, although only two of them were alive. William, Brian, and Luke were often pitted against each other by their mother, with often dangerous consequences. Their dysfunctional family dynamic was the main source of conflict, though money and power did rear their ugly heads.

The story is told in each individual perspective, traveling across time to give the reader a true picture into the lives of the three. The biggest issue that I had with the book was that none of the characters were likable. The second problem was that the story was so disjointed, as the author traveled the path through time depending on which perspective was at the forefront. With three unreliable narrators, as each brother had their own perspective that was skewed to their own viewpoint, the novel itself was hard to read. I found it difficult to muster sympathy for any of the characters, except for the brother who paid the ultimate price. For this reason, I would be hesitant to recommend Little Cruelties to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Little Cruelties by NetGalley and the publisher, Gallery/Scout Press. The decision to review this book was entirely my own.

*4.5 stars rounded up. 'All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral. But one of them was in the coffin.' Wait! Did one of them do away with his brother? Talk about a messed up family!

The Drumm family of Dublin, Ireland: the three boys, William, Brian, and Luke, were each born a year apart but they have never been close because they have been in such fierce competition for their mother's love. She is a famous singer who is often away from home as they are growing up, leaving the rather mild and meek dad to be the house husband--something the boys find to be so embarrassing.

Their mother is the very definition of a narcissist, never really thinking of anyone but herself and her career. Of her children, William has the inside ring for her affection, being the first born, and seemingly can do no wrong; Brian, the middle child, is often ignored or ridiculed for his slightly misshapen nose; and Luke, the baby, has always felt he has to earn his mother's love but never seems to quite be able to. Just how damaging were the family dynamics? Would it lead one to kill another?

The story is broken up into sections in which each son shares his childhood memories from his own perspective and of course, their recollections don't always agree. The timeline bounces around and, at first, I found that a bit off-putting until I realized I didn't have to keep the timeline straight in my mind to enjoy their stories. It's like when someone shares their memories with you and the stories bounce from childhood to teen years and back again but are still enjoyable.

The brothers are all pretty smart and talented, like their mother, but devils dog all three--in their careers, personal lives and relationships. None of them are trust-worthy. And isn't that sad when you can't trust your own family, those who supposedly know and love you best? Quite the story of a dysfunctional family but just wait till you reach the conclusion! Whoa! Superb writing! These characters are really something else--Liz Nugent at her best.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I apologize for the delay in getting this read and reviewed. As I've said many times of late, I found reading difficult during the pandemic and fell way behind. It was definitely my loss as this is one terrific novel.

To talk about this book would lead to giving too much away, but this story of three competitive brothers is a winner. It starts at a funeral, but you don't know WHOSE funeral you're at. Slowly the story weaves the path to the funeral and I was on board for the whole ride. I had a hard time putting this one down! I actually ended up downloading the audio so I could listen while driving.


I received an advance copy; all thoughts are my own.

This one was such an interesting read! I loved the combination of family drama mixed in with a psychological thriller. The characters were great! I mean they were terrible people but they were great in that I loved to hate them. Really enjoyed the twists and the drama sprinkled all throughout the story. Really loved the ending!

Not a single likeable person can be found. If 2020 was a book, this would be the one. A trainwreck of a family that will make you feel great about your own life. Awful, just awful people doing terrible things and causing irreversible damage wherever they go. Great and fast read. Loved/hated every minute of it.

I would rate this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.

I have wanted to read something by Liz Nugent for a long time so I was excited when I got my hands on an e-ARC of this book. Liz Nugent did not disappoint.

Liz Nugent has a way of writing such in-depth, interesting and yet, despicable, characters that are just fascinating to read about. The character relationships are very complex and laid out for the reader slowly throughout the story.

If you are looking for a traditional, fast paced thriller then this is not for you. However, if you are looking for an in-depth character study with twisted characters and complex relationships, then definitely check this out.

Did you ever read a book that was so long and tons of things happen but really nothing happens? And you don’t care about any of the characters because they are all miserable awful people? This is that book.
I have really liked Nugent’s books in the past and hope I will like the next one but I struggled with this one.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I really enjoyed the story and it was a quick paced thriller. I would have enjoyed a bit more character development. I will be recommending it to family and friends snd will be looking for more from this author in the future. Thanks again for the opportunity to read this book.

I did not like this one. While the concept of three brothers clearly having issues with the hook of the synopsis being "all three drums brothers were at the fineral. one was in the casket." ... clearly they've got issues.

This book is set up where you follow each of the brothers' perspectives on their lives both in childhood and then in adulthood. and for the most part... there aren't really any characters you're really rooting for by the end. Everyone shows that they have a fucked up world view in some way or another. And that is the point. All three of these brothers are awful enough that you can see how each one might be the killer and might have some version of reasoning behind murdering one of their brothers.

I just ... I was disappointed the most in the way that mental health played a role in this book. Both within one of our brother's stories and within the last section which I won't reveal due to spoilers. There was no vindication of listening to these terrible men with their terrible world views... there didn't feel like there was any real justice or revenge in a way. I think the ending was trying to get that point across, but it fell flat to me.

Content Warnings:
blatant sexism, sexual coercion, etc
rape
alcohol/drug abuse
manipulation
suicidal ideation
mental health issues such as psychotic break, hallucinations, self-medication, med refusal... etc
ED behavior
death of loved ones (various)
HIV/AIDS diagnosis & keeping it secret from sexual partners
cheating
other chronic illness diagnoses

i'm sure this is NOT a comprehensive list. this book was a lot

Little Cruelties is my very first Liz Nugent novel and it won't be my last, but man was this a weird book. There was a little bit of mystery, but it felt like a family saga/drama to me since it just focuses on the three brothers - William, Brian, and Luke. This family is a hot mess, and I can't say I liked any of these characters even a little bit, but it was hard to look away from what was happening. William was probably my least favorite of the three, but they all had their issues and Nugent decided to delve into some pretty dark and contentious topics. I love that she started the book out with a bang, and I was hooked from the very first page, but the rest of the novel is a slow sizzle that had me wondering what the point would end up being (besides finding out who was dead and why of course).

I listened to the audiobook and was pretty happy with the narration. There are a few different people voicing this one - Sam O'Mahony, Stephen Hogan, Paul Hickey, Dermot Crowley & Mary-Lou McCarthy, and I did love that there were so many of them. I think this book really needed those different voices, and for that I think the audiobook was really well done. I also liked the emotion the men put into their narration, and when things get heated, you feel it in their voices. At times it was hard for me to understand what they were saying, but I think this has to do with their accents and not necessarily how the audio was recorded. Overall, I would recommend this route though.

I didn't love the nonlinear timeline or the fact that some parts get repeated, even if they did show how differently each brother viewed them, but this was a relatively minor issue for me. Little Cruelties is very well written and I have to hand it to Nugent for creating something that you just can't tear yourself away from. I ended up being shocked by the ending and my mouth dropped open, but I'm sure it won't surprise everyone. I'm glad it ended up being a shock for me and that's part of the reason I'm not rating this book any lower. If you are looking for a dark family drama, I would definitely check out Little Cruelties.

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I have trouble calling this an enjoyable read because all of the characters were all so horribly dysfunctional but it was well written,, kept my attention and surprised me a the end. A character driven novel told from multiple perspectives, it was like a train wreck that you couldn't look away from. I found myself getting really angry at some of the characters which, to me, raising that level of emotion in the reader is a sign of a well written book. It is dark and troubling, but will keep you engrossed from the first sentence. Highly recommended.