It creeped me out (in a good way). Think Room and The Collector but add a dazzling/unique main character and encroaching dread. Terrific Ian Rankin Absolutely compelling, gripping reading that had me crying more than once. Only a few authors can write deeply involving psychological drama of this very highest quality. When I read the promotional blurb for Strange Sally Diamond, the most recent release from Irish crime novelist Liz Nugent, I was expecting something similar to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine or The Maid — both of which feature neurodivergent main characters. This “ haunting and poignant tale, one that won’t be easy to forget any time soon” ( Mystery and Suspense Magazine), follows an enigmatic woman confronting her unknown past—from internationally bestselling author Liz Nugent.

Book Review: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent Book Review: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

As always with Liz Nugent, there are many possible triggers including but not limited to Captivity, Pedophelia, Rape, Mental and Physical Abuse. No animals are harmed.STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND is a riveting story about a very unique woman. Sally sees the world and processes things differently that most people, perhaps due in part to her traumatic childhood, or not. When her dad jokingly told her to throw him out with the garbage when he dies, she did just that. However, burning her dead father's body in an incinerator brought the wrong attention to her doorstep, including some ghosts from her horrific past. Liz Nugent has written a haunting and poignant tale with a full palette of emotions, one that won’t be easy to forget any time soon. A skilled author, she has certainly done her homework and her storytelling is powerful and captivating.

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Overall, I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about the psychological effects of trauma and abuse. Sally is an unforgettable character! The blurb doesn't tell you much more, so I won't spoil the plot, but Sally is pulled into a deep and dark journey of discovery into her past and the family secrets that have been kept hidden. In all, uniquely plotted, psychologically disturbing, 'strangely' addictive, but brilliantly executed, with an adorable but vulnerable central character. Although strange you will not regret meeting Sally Diamond. Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent is complex, dark, and compelling with deft characterization and skillful storytelling. Sally's story is heartbreaking and not easy to read. The narrative is shared between Sally and another character whose past is connected to Sally’s, their stories converging toward the end. I was completely engrossed in the narrative but was somewhat underwhelmed with the ending, which I felt was rushed and less than impactful after such a suspenseful build-up. Irish News ‘You could have stopped this’ – Joe Brolly says President Joe Biden should be ‘ashamed’ by position on Israel 15:14This is the story of two people: Sally and Peter. We first come to know Sally in her 40s when her father dies. Sally is socially stunted to the point where she pretends to be deaf when in town so she doesn't have to interact with anyone. Sally's father had made an off the cuff remark to her that she should just "put him out with the trash" when he passes away, and she took him literally and burns his body with the rest of the trash. This sets forth a cascade of events where Sally learns the secrets of her past and has to learn to move forward with this news. Peter is a mysterious character that we meet in the early 1970s when he is a young boy. He too learns some secrets his father has been keeping from him. Dark and mesmerising . . . one of the most compelling character-led novels I've ever read. [It] blew me away Fiona Cummins

Strange Sally Diamond: A BBC Between the Covers Book Club Strange Sally Diamond: A BBC Between the Covers Book Club

This was an absolute five-star read for me! Until the bottom dropped out at about 80%. I’m not sure what happened. It was almost as if a different author took over at that point. Everything became rushed, the storyline becoming so convoluted that by the time I reached the end I was hopelessly lost. Sally lives a mile outside a small village in Ireland’s sparsely populated County Roscommon. Alone with her father since her mother died several years earlier, Sally is in her early 40s and has become her father’s caretaker. She’s not at all social, but with his illness, she’s had to go into the village to do errands and buy groceries, and she minimises her interactions with people by pretending to be deaf. Isolation presses on her from many sides. She is definitely a bit of an Eleanor Oliphant kind of character. She finds social situations very difficult and doesn't always react emotionally like people think she should, but being inside her head is often entertaining. Neurotypical human socialization through her eyes seems absolutely ludicrous a lot of the time. Nugent fashions an unforgettable protagonist in Sally, and never loses sight of her characters’ fundamental humanity, even as she piles on twists and steers the narrative into exceptional darkness. Inventive, addictive, and bold, this deserves a wide audience.”I've loved all of Liz Nugent's novels and this was no exception. Strange Sally Diamond is clever, compelling, chilling, disturbing and soooooo dark! Diane Jeffrey Liz Nugent presents a novel so seeped in the evils of humans' ways, and yet, so softened by the core of goodness that resides in the best of us. Nugent took her time with these characters and crafted them in beaming light and then carved many of them sifting through the darkest portals of souls with ill intent. Prepare yourself for some hardcore realities here. Reclusive Sally Diamond follows her father’s instructions to “put him out with the rubbish” upon his death by incinerating his body on her property. This sparks an investigation into Sally’s strange and unlawful behavior from the police and media. It is soon determined that Sally will not be prosecuted, as her disability prevents her from understanding right from wrong. However, Sally’s unusual behavior sparks new questions about her past, leading to discoveries about her horrific childhood. She must learn to come out of isolation and rejoin society. When she receives cryptic messages from someone in her past, the truth about her identity will be revealed to the world, forcing new questions to surface that threaten her safety, mental health, and anonymity. I screamed with excitement when I received this book from the publisher. This is a very dark thriller.

Strange Sally Diamond Emily May (The United Kingdom)’s review of Strange Sally Diamond

I think this book will be huge and it will be a wonderful choice for book clubs. Well done to Liz Nugent, I think this book cements her position as one of Ireland's current finest authors. There's something very special about all of Liz Nugent's novels. Character-driven stories that are real and wild at the same time. This one blew me away. Unflinching, unpredictable and unputdownable. A dark masterpiece Will Dean It creeped me out (in a good way). Think Room and The Collector but add a dazzling/unique main character and encroaching dread. Terrific' IAN RANKIN It’s compassionate and challenging, letting us imagine the lives that are forgotten when the news cycle moves on . . . a very special book’ VAL MCDERMIDSince her 2013 debut Unraveling Oliver she has confronted human behaviour at its most venal, most selfish. All her novels are constructed with extreme care. She is adept at withholding crucial information until she believes revelation to be dramatically necessary.