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This was so much more than anticipated. Not my typical genre, so I was hesitant. But, the depth and range of emotions that the author both explores in her characters and elicited in me as a reader kept me hooked almost from page 1. It's part thriller, part mystery, part psychological drama, part family story, part horror...and part humor. Sally is a complex character, and the story of her parentage becomes more & more horrific as it is revealed.

A disturbing topic but a fantastically written book, half listened on audio which again was wonderfully narrated by two people reading Sally and peters stories , they were so so good it was like listening to a play. Half read the physical book. So glad we choose this for our bookclub as so much to talk about & the ending !! Omg ! Has put other books Iv read recently to shame for being so badly written- iron flame comes to mind !

Wow 🤩 this book on audio is stunning 🤩 2 narrators reading as Sally & Peter. I‘m also reading alittle and listening a lot I‘m not a huge audio book lover but when life takes over & you‘ve no time to read a physical book it‘s wonderful to listen & especially when it‘s as blinking fantastic as this. It‘s like listening to a play or tv show. After a few disappointing reads this month this one is a clear HUGE winner 🏆

Holy moly! Sally is born to a young girl who was kidnapped and kept hidden. They escape captivity and Sally has to learn how to compensate living in a world that views her as strange. Strange until we meet her brother and then I believe Sally may not be that weird! A scary true story. 😳

I‘d heard good things about this but didn‘t actually know what it was about and went in blind. Ooof, it was NOT what I thought it would be. I got a really great, intriguing, interesting (yet unpleasant and unsettling) story with another layer unfolding just as I thought I‘d got the better of the plot line. I‘m going to say I thought some elements of Sally were perhaps a little heavy handed, however niggles aside this was a great read.

That book was hella dark! Glad Toby got a good ending too!

This is simply one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. This book has twisted characters and a complex crime story, but author Liz Nugent injects much-needed dashes of humor and humanity throughout. It gave me "Jane Eyre" feels, plenty of gasp-out-loud moments, and a plot unlike anything I have ever read. This is the perfect book to kick off your fall thriller reading.

I always love a character who is a bit off. Sally had good reason to be different, and I found her to be endearingly strange and refreshingly honest. The book had well fleshed out characters and a very interesting plot.

Now Available! 🥳🎉📚🙌
Strange Sally Diamond-
Liz Nugent

Book Review- https://www.boleybooks.com//strange-sally-diamond/

#boleybooks #strangesallydiamond #liznugent #bookbeast #netgalley #bookbuds #Litsy

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Just starting this one on loan from a friend

Today‘s reading. Been in Georgia with my mom, who has dementia and broke her hip, so it‘s been nice to be back in Tampa today and just relaxing.

A mix of family drama and thriller, when a middle age woman‘s adopted father passes away it begins a series of events that unlocks her very dark childhood. I enjoyed this, though I would have preferred to stay in Sally‘s POV throughout. There is a second POV which answers many questions and it was well written, I just wanted more of Sally‘s journey. 4⭐️

Local café is shut for Bank Holiday so I'm recreating the experience in the back garden.

I've heard Strange Sally Diamond described as "like a dark Eleanor Oliphant". Fits #pop24 prompt for 42 year old character.

Continuing The Fire Next Time.

@Megabooks @jenniferw88 @BarbaraBB @KarenUK @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @MissHel @AshleyHoss820 @Ruthiella @OriginalCyn620 @BookBelle84 @graciouswarriorprincess @WJCintron @Branwen @BarkingMadRead

I absolutely loved this! It was truly tragic and pretty horrific much of the time, but Sally was an amazing character. Seeing the complicated world through her eyes was illuminating and did take some of the sting out of the harder portions. But the truly awful parts were from someone else‘s POV but I don‘t want to say who and spoil it! I definitely recommend this but I‘d also recommend checking trigger warnings if you do that. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was SO good. Super dark, triggers abound, but I really rooted for Sally ♥️ Definitely a bit of a dark Eleanor Oliphant! @AmyG thanks for sending me Unraveling Oliver as I wouldn‘t have picked this one up if you hadn‘t! 😘 #readyourkindle

February was a win! 📚🫶🩷

Nonstop back and forth storylines between Sally/her mom and Peter/Stevie. As the story unfolds you and Sally discover the horrors she & her mom went through & what Peter, as his father‘s favorite, denied. Great story. Terribly bleak. Psychological thriller. Crime! Ireland/NZ locations.

There are a few triggers. It‘s a quick read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4

What a great read! I had already written “compelling” for this review when I noticed Ruth Ware used the same word on the cover. I won‘t say much about plot or characters, as I think it‘s best to go in knowing little. But I will say this is for fans of Room, The Quiet Tennant, and Elinor Oliphant. I loved it!

1. I have set a goal of reading 50 books in 2024. I plan to read more of the books I already own - a lofty goal since I keep getting TBR recommendations from podcasts.

2. I haven't signed up for any litsy challenges yet, but I'm looking forward to joining some.

@thespineview
#two4tuesday

Goodness! It's been MONTHS since I have been able to log into Litsy! I have missed you!

I heard of this book on the Currently Reading podcast and added it to my TBR. It's very good so far, but there are a lot of triggers so please research it before you start it.

The anxiety is real while reading this book.

Didn‘t love this one, although I really liked her earlier book, Unraveling Oliver. We follow the lives of brother and sister, Sally and Peter, beginning with a pedophile father, then two kidnapped very young girls, and finally who these two have become. Mostly I found the story to be icky and never really cared about any of the characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️five big stars for this deeply dark and disturbing book they explores the psychological damage left by abuse from 2 different perspectives. I found this extremely captivating and devastating at the same time. I‘ll definitely be reading more of this author.

Ireland • Mystery • Thriller • Crime • 4.5 Stars

Reclusive Sally Diamond is thrust into the media spotlight when she tries to incinerate her dead father. Now she's the center of attention, not only from hungry reporters and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she does not remember. Soon she begins to discover the repressed memories of her horrific early childhood. Now she knows that people don't always mean what they say.

When Sally Diamond‘s father tells her to throw him out with the trash after he dies, she does exactly that. We learn that Sally was adopted after she suffered a childhood trauma, and that she has no memories before the age of seven. Her behavior and understanding of the world has been altered by this trauma. This thriller is compelling, but also substantial in its topics of trauma, grief, friendship, and forgiveness. Excellent.

This is 3🌟for me. I thought I was going to love it based on the first 50 pages, but then there was too many convenient plot twists, too much telling and although it was certainly readable, it wasn‘t the *best* book of this type that I have read. I am just sooooo picky about my thrillers.

I knew very little about this book when I started but it was praised on several book podcasts so I gave it a try. I think the less you know the better. It‘s been described as a (very) dark Eleanor Oliphant, but there more to it. I enjoyed it even though it‘s disturbing! Not for sensitive readers. Read in two days. Also apparently there‘s a different ending in the U.S. edition, which I read. That‘s wild!

One of those ‘can‘t put it down‘ sort of books - you have to find out what‘s going to happen next. I feel like it could have easily slipped into melodrama with all that goes on (it‘s a lot darker than I anticipated) but it didn‘t. It shows how deep rooted family trauma is. It‘ll definitely make my list of favourites for the year although I will say the ending knocked me 😕

Tagging @andrew61 as I know you were interested in reading this one.

The book moves between Sally's chapters,a woman on the spectrum whose adoptive father just died and has to learn to socialize and about the mystery of her origins;and Peter's chapters,a kid that lives secluded with his misogynistic father,who treats his mother like Rochester does to Bertha.The alternation between the dark and the more light-hearted chapters works,making it very easy to read.⬇️⬇️

Love starting a new book 😁

Very dark and disturbing. However, there were some light parts in Sally's uniqueness to balance things out. The kind of book that breaks your heart repeatedly then offers you a one-eyed teddy bear that you want so badly. 4.5 stars.
#Rushathon #20in4
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

I was reading The Chateau when this hold came in. Now I can‘t stop reading it.

On my way to Liverpool to see @trishb @squirrelbrain ♥️

Had me hooked from the get-go! What an opening. What a crazy and distressing ride. Dark and disturbing for sure, but there is also humor and light. I won‘t be forgetting Sally anytime soon.

I have never read a Harlan Coben but he impressed me on the Today Show - with his book recs, his fashion choices, and stating, “Read anything!”

I love this so much, it‘s like elanor oliphant with a dark twist. Really good read

I don't know how to rate this book. I want to say so-so but it did keep me obsessively listening to see what happened next so I guess it's a very soft pick. The book is extremely dark and depressing. However, it was well told and extremely believable if you are trying to get into the mind of generations of broken people... Trigger warnings out the wazoo- so proceed with caution. The synopsis didn't explain the depth of depravity within.

August intentions!

This is an extremely dark and entertaining thriller, that is still fun in parts because of the wonderful character of Sally. Her quirkiness and honesty prevent the book from being only a tragic tale and when she was the focus it gave you a break from the disturbing aspects of the story. This is the first book I have read by this author and I have to check out her others. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reading copy. 4/5 stars.

Sally Diamond can not understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died

So good but much darker than I thought it would be
4 ⭐️

A dark psychological drama set in Ireland and New Zealand . Sally Diamond is a quirky character who has lived a very isolated life. As she opens herself to the world and finds friendships and connections, she comes to terms with her dark history. This book is dark but unputdownable. It is funny, and has heart and soul despite the hard themes and many trigger warnings in this book!

Very good but very dark

The ruddy-cheeked vicar came to shake my hand....

He had asked me to visit him the night before, but I told him over the phone that I didn't like meeting strange men. He reminded me that he had met me several times when I was a young girl when I used to go to church with Mum. I told him he still qualified as a strange man, so he agreed to discuss the arrangements over the phone...

A compelling read about a woman who has deep anxieties and fears that keep her isolated , living as a recluse with her father outside a village in Ireland. The story reveals her dark history and the dark character that controlled her.
This is the best Liz Nugent I‘ve read.
@squirrelbrain I put my thoughts on the ending in the spoiler 👍🏻

I‘m really enjoying this crazy story. We read one of Liz Nugent‘s books for our Bookclub and I‘ve liked her oddness ever since. I just saw your review @squirrelbrain and here you have me pondering about an ending again ( like in the Eleanor Catton ) .. I have to say it adds to the thrill of reading it. 👍🏻♥️

I loved this book all the way through until the ending, which nearly ruined the whole book for me. 😡

Sally first presents as a neurodiverse MC, which I felt was handled really sensitively (not like The Maid which felt like it was slightly poking fun). However, as the story unfolds, we learn how her past may have influenced her behaviour - nature vs nurture, maybe.

This was MUCH darker than I expected but also warm and funny. TW in spoiler.