Book Review: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Rating: 3.75⭐

Sally Diamond, an Irish woman in her forties makes the news when puts her deceased father, a retired psychiatrist out in the bins – based on statements he made in jest when he was alive. Sally is “socially deficient”, unable to understand social cues and would rather pretend to deaf to avoid interacting with others. She's had a sheltered upbringing and her mother has passed on. After the death of her father she is completely alone and doing the best she can to take care of herself.

The unwanted attention she garners from the episode with her father results in the unraveling of deep and dark secrets from Sally’s early childhood - a past of which Sally has no memories and has been kept from her by the parents who raised her and is only now being revealed to her through a series of letters left to her by her deceased father - triggering a series of events that has Sally grappling with her truth, questioning everything she has been brought up to believe about herself and trying to emerge from the shadows of her painful past. It won’t be easy because, with the secrets, there are people from her past complicating things further and possibly threatening her physical and mental well-being.

I won’t say anything more because it's best you experience this book without too much prior information!

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.

I paired my reading with the incredible audio narration by Jessica Regan, Stephen Hogan and Jessica Lyman which truly enhanced my experience. This is my first time reading Liz Nugent and I’ll definitely be exploring her backlist!

I should mention that the story revolves around themes of abuse, violence, pedophilia and rape with some graphic scenes that might be triggering for some.