Liz Nugent (1) (1967–)

Unputdownable! I finished this book in record time for me, because I had to keep reading. The chilling details, the terror and the thrilling drama just kept ramping up and never slowed down once. In many ways this book is our worst nightmares unraveling in front of us and is sometimes nearly unbearable in its all too realistic depictions of true evil; of a sadistic pedophile and the trail of destruction of lives his actions lead to; the ripples that radiate out until the very last page of show more the book.

Strange Sally Diamond is an amazing character portrayal; nothing short of masterful. She has suffered the most unimaginable trauma and years of isolation. She is mentally unable to socialize or tolerate loud noises and leads a very singular, eccentric and remotely isolated life. When her adopted father dies, this world of her unravels and she must face the actual world for the first time. A macabre misunderstanding at the very start of the book plunges her head first into this world she has never known.

Sally finds out that people rarely say what they mean. Slowly she gains some friends and some shaky trust in a few people. Then pieces of information about her childhood ordeal start to come out and mysterious and terrifying items arrive in the mail. Has the man who destroyed her mother and traumatized her life found her now and is he coming after her? And who exactly should she trust? Slowly Sally makes great progress, learning to socialize and interact; but always underneath is a rage that scares even herself. She knows she must learn to control that rage.

Sally is also unraveling pieces of the puzzle that is her life and it is far from a smooth road she has to travel. This story held me in its spell from beginning to end. Highly recommended! show less

Liz Nugent is skilled at crafting complex characters, and her latest thriller is no exception. The novel is a masterclass in character development, as she skillfully creates enigmatic characters that are sure to captivate readers.

From the very first chapter, I found myself completely engrossed in the story. Sally is a fascinating and endearing character who quickly becomes the center of attention after she tries to incinerate her deceased father, who died of natural causes. This event is our show more initial glimpse into Sally's peculiarities, and as the story unfolds, we are led deeper into her strange and twisted world.

The novel is a rollercoaster of emotions, filled with disturbing and bizarre twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. This is not a story for the faint of heart, as it deals with some trigger subjects that some readers may find unsettling. However, for those who are brave enough to delve into this unique and mesmerizing story, I highly recommend it.

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Reclusive Sally Diamond is thrust into the media spotlight when she tries to incinerate her dead father, causing widespread outrage. Now she’s the center of attention.
It all started with her father's words. He may, or may not, have known that Sally would take him completely at his word..."'Put me out with the bins", he said, "When I die, put me out with the bins. I'll be dead, so I won't know any different."

I expected a completely different type of story and quite frankly I expected Sally show more to be a completely different type of character...and I didn't expect to like her. I was all set for a dark type of horror story, so I was surprised at how absolutely funny Sally’s thoughts were...and she was very open with allowing the reader to hear them. The lightness that this brought to a very otherwise dark book was also unexpected.

Because Sally had survived such a traumatic childhood, many parts of her memory and social development were just simply not there...completely lost, so what goes through her brain, usually just comes out of her mouth. Her inner thoughts would have brought most other people to shame, but Sally doesn’t seem to have that emotion in any way what-so-ever. I believe that these added, sometimes funny respites, helped to take away from the horror-element of the story.

We are let in on more secrets half-way through the book. More suspense is built when the possibilities of some kind of punishment may or may not be in the future. The characters... the good, the bad, and the in-between ones are all humanized. All having distinct personalities. We are given glimpses and some explanations of why some characters turned out the way they did. We learn that no one is entirely blameless, but very few people can shoulder the entire blame. The only person who is depicted as ignorant and entirely at fault is a racist shopkeeper that’s been run out of this small town. Strangely this woman pops up later in the plot to do some more racist ranting.

I came to the conclusion that in the end, what the story was simply reminding us, is that we are all are composed of differences, and don't all experience the world in the same way. Overall... it’s a great thriller that mystery and light-horror fans probably will really enjoy. show less

If psychopathic tendencies and outright violence is an issue for you then this may not be the book for you. If you want to read one of the easiest most compelling and chilling books to be released this Fall then oh wow yes pick this up!

When you have this in hand turn off your phone, shut down the computer, tell everyone you are going to be unavailable for a while and have your snacks/drinks at the ready because to get the full scope and emotional gut punch that is this book it MUST be read show more in one sitting with as few distractions as possible. It’s relatively short so don’t freak out too bad at that idea.

You do have the alternating POV which I know can be a sore subject for some readers but this book not only requires that style it sets the very definition for how to use it properly to get the maximum benefit out of the story that needs to be told in the fullest context possible. I felt like I was watching a documentary with different people being interviewed because of how seamlessly the author strung the voices together and because the intrinsic diversity that is felt between characters so there is a very palpable shift.

This book relies on its characters more than exposition, scene set-ups, location details, etc. The people are what make the story and the psychological ruminations therein made me feel like I was back in Abnormal Psych listening to my prof.

The first chapter can feel emotionally jarring, a little rough at best, but she’s not telling a tale about rainbows and unicorns so just push through and get ready for the good stuff…….. show less