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

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 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.

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent is quite a ride.Initially I thought it was a black comedy with Sally taking her Father's jocular instructions to "just throw me out with the rubbish when I die", literally. Needless to say this causes quite a stir in the small Irish town where Sally lives then in the media and nearly gets her in a lot of trouble.
Sally's Father has left her a series of letters explaining that nothing about her is what it seems and telling her of a shocking and traumatic part of her childhood that she had no memory of. With a small but supportive group of friends Sally slowly ,and somewhat reluctantly, emerges from her reclusive existence, learning to trust and communicate with people.
As Sally makes progress towards leading a more normal life messages and a "gift" from a stranger arrive that show someone,somewhere knows more about Sally's early life than she does.

This is a book that changes its tone as it goes along, from the initial humour when Sally's unworldly antics make for some very funny moments. There are touching scenes as she learns to relate to others and finds her way in society to the outright horrific parts when............no spoilers here folks ,you'll have to read the book to find out for yourself.

An excellent read,entertaining,thought-provoking and with some excellent twists.

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!