Irish authors reading list

Reading lists

10 must-read books by Irish authors

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Complex heroines you can’t help but root for

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Extracts

Extract: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Unravelling Oliver

WINNER - IBA Crime Fiction Book of the Year 
 
By the author of the No. 1 Bestselling Strange Sally Diamond 
 
'Truly excellent . . . strongly recommended' Sophie Hannah 
__________ 
 
'I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.' 
 
Oliver Ryan is a handsome and charismatic success story. 
 
He lives in the suburbs with his wife, Alice, who illustrates his award-winning children's books and gives him her unstinting devotion. Their life together is one of enviable privilege and ease &ndash; enviable until, one evening after supper, Oliver attacks Alice, leaving her fighting for her life. 
 
Everyone around Oliver quickly realises that they didn't know him at all. Only he knows the lengths to which he has gone to get the life he so desired. But even he is in for a shock when the past catches up with him. 
 
A gripping page-turner, Unravelling Oliver is perfect for fans of Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door. 
__________ 
 
'Incredibly brilliant' Marian Keyes 
 
'Compelling, clever and dark . . . you'll gobble it up in one go' Heat Magazine 
 
'An ambitiously structured and compelling &quot;whydunnit&quot;' Daily Mail 
 
'The compulsion to continue reading never wanes . . . a persistently satisfying read' Sunday Times

The compulsion to continue reading never wanes and most impressively the ending doesn't buckle under the weight of expectation ... a persistently satisfying read

A great cracking read ... I couldn't put it down

An ambitiously structured and compelling &quot;whydunnit&quot;

Compelling, clever and dark ... you'll gobble it up in one go

A page-turning, one-sitting read from a brand new master of psychological suspense

We read this in one sitting ... satisfyingly unnerving

All I know is I stayed awake until 3am to finish it, which I haven't done with a new novel for longer than I can remember

Her writing is stylish, the characters are vivid ... Can't recommend it highly enough

Magnificent ... compulsively readable ... stunning, shock and superb

&quot;I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her&quot; ... The No 1 bestselling story of the making of a sociopath that has been compared to Gone Girl

Compelling, clever and dark, unlike any other psychological thriller you will have read before ... you'll gobble it up in one go

The compulsion to continue reading never wanes ... a persistently satisfying read.

Truly excellent, beautifully written ... strongly recommended

Before becoming a full-time writer, Liz Nugent worked in film, theatre and television. Her five novels - Unravelling Oliver, Lying in Wait, Skin Deep, Our Little Cruelties and Strange Sally Diamond - have each been Number One bestsellers and she has won four Irish Book Awards, as well as the James Joyce Medal for Literature. She lives in Dublin.

She knew everything about him - but the truth. 
 
Alice and Oliver Ryan seem blessed, both in their happy marriage and their successful working partnership. Their shared life is one of enviable privilege and ease. Enviable until, one evening after supper, Oliver attacks Alice and puts her into a coma. 
 
Afterwards, as everyone tries to make sense of his astonishing act of savagery, Oliver tells his story. So do those whose paths he has crossed over five decades. 
 
It turns out that there is more to Oliver than Alice ever saw. But only he knows what he has done to get the life to which he felt entitled. And even he is in for a shock when his past catches up with him.

Lying in Wait

The No. 1 Bestseller 
 
'It twists, it turns, its characters are utterly despicable, and it is a compulsive triumph' Stylist 
 
'My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.' 
 
____________ 
 
Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. 
 
There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must - because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants . . . 
 
____________ 
 
'What an extraordinary novel ... crackles and snaps like a bonfire on a winter's night; you shudder even as you draw closer to it. Spellbinding.' A J Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window 
 
'A stunningly talented writer' Sophie Hannah 
 
'Devastating ... exquisitely uncomfortable, utterly captivating' Publishers Weekly 
 
'The intricate plotting and jolting suspense hold you in a vice till the last page' Sunday Times 
 
'Gone Girl fans will love Liz Nugent's Lying in Wait . . . it twists, it turns, its characters are utterly despicable, and it is a compulsive triumph' Stylist 
 
'Clear your diary if you pick up this seductively sinister story. The twists come together in a superbly scary denouncement which delivers a final sting in the tail. Brilliantly macabre' Sunday Mirror 
 
'Brilliant plotting ratchets up the tension in this chilling tale of obsessive love, madness and motherhood' Woman &amp; Home 
 
'The wit is sharp and the plot full of punishing twists' The Times Crime Club 
 
'An unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that lingers long after turning the final page' Irish Times 
 
'Lydia is a Gothic villain for the ages ... a page-turner chock full of lies and betrayals' Kirkus Reviews 
 
'An excellent example of &quot;Domestic Noir&quot; ... excitement and curiosity mount until you realise you can't put the book down. Highly recommended' Literary Review 
 
'A tense, taut, almost gothic thriller where the tension tightens to near unbearable proportions ... impossible to stop reading. A brilliantly written, stand-out novel' Marian Keyes 
 
'Deliciously twisted . . . truly chilling' Sarah Hilary 
 
'Liz Nugent's characters are as unforgettably monstrous as they are believable. A superbly crafted novel and an absorbing portrait of the purest kind of evil' Jane Casey 
 
'It spoils nothing to tell you now that Lydia and Andrew Fitzsimons have murdered a young prostitute. Read this dark, captivating psychological thriller to find out why' People Magazine 
 
'I thought it impossible to match the brilliant Unravelling Oliver, but this Liz has done. Not only is her style beautiful, but she keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from page one until the completely unexpected ending. I read Lying in Wait in one sitting. I just couldn't bear the suspense. I absolutely loved it' Amanda Redman 
 
'She writes compellingly, creates posh sociopaths like no-one else and doesn't flinch when the end demands what it demands. Lying In Wait is a story you genuinely should not miss' Rick O'Shea, RTÉ

What an extraordinary novel ... Spellbinding

Devastating ... utterly captivating

Gone Girl fans will love Liz Nugent's Lying in Wait ... it twists, it turns, its characters are utterly despicable and it is a compulsive triumph

The intricate plotting and jolting suspense hold you in a vice till the last page

[A] seductively sinister story. The twists come together in a superbly scary denouncement which delivers a final sting in the tail. Brilliantly macabre

Deliciously twisted ... truly chilling

A tense, taut, almost gothic thriller ... impossible to stop reading. A brilliantly written, stand-out novel

The wit is sharp and the plot full of punishing twists

An unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that lingers long after turning the final page

A page-turner chock full of lies and betrayals

Liz Nugent's characters are as unforgettably monstrous as they are believable. A superbly crafted novel and an absorbing portrait of the purest kind of evil

Excellent ... You can't put the book down. Highly recommended

&quot;My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.&quot; ... Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder . . .

Gone Girl fans will love Liz Nugent's Lying in Wait ... it twists, it turns, its characters are utterly despicable and it is a compulsive triumph

A tense, taut, almost gothic thriller where the tension tightens to near unbearable proportions. I devoured it in one sitting because it was impossible to stop reading. A brilliantly written, stand-out novel

Deliciously twisted, shot through with dark and acid humour and the denouement is truly chilling

A gradual descent from ordinary, straightforward murder to the very heart of darkness. Liz Nugent's characters are as unforgettably monstrous as they are believable ... superbly crafted

She keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from page one until the completely unexpected ending. I read Lying in Wait in one sitting. I just couldn't bear the suspense. I absolutely loved it

'My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.' 
 
Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must - because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants . . . 
 
This is a dark, twisty and utterly gripping domestic noir that you won't be able to put down from the author hailed as Ireland's answer to Gillian Flynn.

Skin Deep

'Pure genius. Absolutely brilliant' Shari Lapena 
 
'A twisted thriller, reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith' Ian Rankin 
 
IBA Crime Fiction Book of the Year Winner 2018 
 
___________ 
 
WINNER of the Dead Good Books Award for the Book That You Can't Put Down! 
 
 
She's not who you think she is . . . 
 
'I could probably have been an actress. 
It is not difficult to pretend to be somebody else. 
Isn't that what I've been doing for most of my life?' 
 
Cordelia Russell has been living on the French Riviera for twenty-five years, passing herself off as an English socialite. But her luck, and the kindness of strangers, have run out. 
 
The arrival of a visitor from her distant past shocks Cordelia. She reacts violently to the intrusion and flees her flat to spend a drunken night at a glittering party. As dawn breaks she stumbles home through the back streets. Even before she opens her door she can hear the flies buzzing. She did not expect the corpse inside to start decomposing quite so quickly . . . 
 
___________ 
 
 
'Bloody brilliant!' Denise Mina 
 
'Extraordinary' A.J. Finn 
 
'The finest psychological thriller writer currently at work' Tammy Cohen 
 
'Dark, brutal and brilliant' Colette McBeth 
 
'Absorbing, beautifully written' The Times, Crime Books of the Year 
 
'Every bit as amazing as her first two [novels]' Lisa Jewell 
 
'Dazzling . . . chilling, mesmerising and, ultimately, devastating. Pure storytelling genius' Mark Edwards

What takes a woman from an island childhood in Ireland to murder and ruin in Nice? - another dark twisted story from No 1 bestseller Liz Nugent.

A twisted thriller, reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith. A scarred woman brings chaos to those around her, but Nemesis is coming

The finest psychological thriller writer currently at work - no one gets under the skin of monstrous characters like she does

A tour de force ... a genuinely memorable, at times terrifying central character ... will appeal to readers who enjoy an exciting, fast-paced journey of psychological extremes, which delivers a shocking final twist

Crime Club, Killer Women Book of the Month

A wonderful feat of imagination, totally gripping, with a fascinating character at its heart

As one woman's singular story unspools with many an unexpected shock, Nugent skewers her targets with skill. Sly humour and dazzling originality deliver a gutsy feminist message.

Monumentally good. Liz Nugent is a beautiful writer and among the very best storytellers in the world

I loved, loved, loved Skin Deep - the compassion of it, the beauty of the language, how glamour and horror intersect, how the tension twists tighter and tighter and is brilliantly done

Dazzling ... chilling, mesmerising and, ultimately, devastating. Pure storytelling genius

Utterly compelling ... a storyteller at the height of her powers

Her darkest book yet - a compelling one-sitting read

Utterly gripping, fast paced, and featuring my favourite sociopathic female character since Lady Macbeth

Incredibly dark, twisting and utterly mesmerising - you will not be able to put this down

It took me two sittings to gobble it up - a page turner. You'll just snap it up and you'll love it. A cracking read

It's a blast ... Liz Nugent has done it again

'I could probably have been an actress. 
It is not difficult to pretend to be somebody else. 
Isn't that what I've been doing for most of my life?' 
 
Cordelia Russell has been living on the French Riviera for twenty-five years, passing herself off as an English socialite. But her luck, and the kindness of strangers, have run out. 
 
The arrival of a visitor from her distant past shocks Cordelia. She reacts violently to the intrusion and flees her flat to spend a drunken night at a glittering party. As dawn breaks she stumbles home through the back streets. Even before she opens her door she can hear the flies buzzing. She did not expect the corpse inside to start decomposing quite so quickly . . .

Our Little Cruelties

'Liz Nugent is a force to be reckoned with' Lisa Jewell 
 
'Brilliantly observed family life and a plot that is part rollercoaster, part maze. Loved it!' Graham Norton 
 
'MAGNIFICENT. Her best yet, and that's really saying something' Marian Keyes 
 
______________ 
 
 
Three brothers are at the funeral. One lies in the coffin. 
 
Will, Brian and Luke grow up competing for their mother's unequal love. As men, the competition continues - for status, money, fame, women . . . 
 
They each betray each other, over and over, until one of them is dead. 
 
But which brother killed him? 
 
______________ 
 
 
'Dark, beautiful, devastating &ndash; pure genius' Lucy Foley 
 
'A sizzling thriller' Heat 
 
'A dark jewel of a novel - finely observed, swift and exciting' AJ Finn 
 
'[An] incredible achievement . . . Genius' Sebastian Barry 
 
'Liz Nugent has a gift for filling us with a terrible fascination for truly horrible people' Val McDermid 
 
'Her best book yet' Irish Times 
 
'Creepy, compelling and totally addictive' Erin Kelly 
 
'An uncanny ability to get under the skin of characters . . . nobody is a mere cliché in Nugent's clear, propulsive writing' Sunday Times 
 
'A whodunit and a Greek tragedy all in one . . . absolutely riveting' Irish Independent

Three brothers are at the funeral. One lies in the coffin. 
 
 
Will, Brian and Luke grow up competing for their mother's unequal love. As men, the competition continues - for status, money, fame, women . . . 
 
 
They each betray each other, over and over, until one of them is dead. 
 
 
But which brother killed him?

Liz Nugent

Magnificent . . .. Liz Nugent is a treasure

Surprising, moving and shockingly original

Strikingly well-observed and consistently surprising

Liz Nugent has outdone herself. Twisted and twisty, dark and gripping, no one is going to forget Sally Diamond in a hurry!

In Sally Diamond, Nugent has given us an astounding creation with a singular voice . . . an absorbing, twisty, compulsive psychological thriller with surprising humour and pathos

Strange indeed . . . and smart, too! Shocking, disturbing and utterly original, Strange Sally Diamond will grip you from first page to last

If Liz Nugent was a clockmaker she'd be Galileo . . . She is as excellent a writer as anyone living I can think of

Liz Nugent dares to go where many won't. What a compelling storyteller she is. Always challenging. I laughed out loud only to recoil from my laughter as the story unfolded. For this is wickedly dark territory. 
And yet amidst the darkness, she allows a light to glimmer - that of a diamond'

Irresistibly compelling, this dark story is shocking yet endearing. A brilliant read that will suck you in

Twisted, shocking, and very, very, dark, Liz Nugent has created a character for the ages in Strange Sally Diamond

It creeped me out (in a good way). Think Room and The Collector but add a dazzling/unique main character and encroaching dread. Terrific

So, so good! Sally gets under your skin and worms her way into your heart. I didn't want it to end

Such a terrific read . . . [Sally is] an amazing character

Be prepared for a roller coaster ride - Sally Diamond is going to get under your skin

Genius . . . held me from beginning to end in one weekend

I absolutely devoured this book. Sally Diamond is the most fantastic character. Liz Nugent has created a dark, twisted, gripping, intriguing, heart-stopping tale full of characters who, despite the horrors they inflict, are victims in their own right

Achingly beautiful with a cast of characters that'll remain with you long after the final page is turned. Already one of the must-read books of 2023

An extraordinary book. Compulsive reading, with one of the most complex, intriguing and moving characters I've ever encountered in fiction

Vivid, pacy, taut but so very moving . . . This novel feels *different* . . . it defies categorisation

It's compassionate and challenging, letting us imagine the lives that are forgotten when the news cycle moves on . . . a very special book

Dark and mesmerising . . . one of the most compelling character-led novels I've ever read. [It] blew me away

Totally and utterly gripped by Liz Nugent's latest. If this isn't made into a major Netflix series, I'll eat my own knicker elastic. An absolute wow of a read

I did not want this book to end! What a brilliant character and a wonderfully woven story. So very dark and clever and it completely broke my heart

I'm struggling to find words to describe how wonderful this book is. All at once it's dark, funny, compelling, shocking and heart-breaking with perfect characters and unrelenting tension. The best book I've read in years. Just incredible

Strange Sally Diamond peels your heart with a paring knife in one continuous paper-thin coil. Dark, disturbing, utterly compelling

A brilliant, brilliant book. I don't have the skill to give this novel the kind of praise it deserves. It's devastating. It's beautiful. It's mesmerising. Clever. Surprising. Completely immersive. In total awe

I LOVED IT! Strange Sally strides onto the page, fully formed and funny as hell (this is Liz, we're talking dark funny). I was hooked from the first paragraph and then Liz toyed with me, I held my breath, gasped, laughed and cried. This is twisty, original and pitch-black. I'll go anywhere with Liz but only in daylight

One of the most original, and spine-tingling books I've read in ages, Draws you in to the close, claustrophobic world of rural Ireland and the life of an emotionally withdrawn woman whose dark, hidden past is coming back to haunt her. Crackling with tension, this book with have you turning the pages late into the night. An absolute triumph.

Another bloody scorcher from Liz Nugent that kept me up to the wee hours to finish. Liz is one of the most intelligent, original, twisty crime writers working in the genre today

Just like Sally herself, this book is absolutely unique. Dark, gripping, unsettling - it pulls off that rarest of feats, combining characters you truly care for with gasp-inducing twists and turns. Loved it!

I marvel at the imagination . . . labyrinthine . . . fiendish . . . a great piece of work

One of the best crime novels I've read in years. Sally is a character who will initially shock you, perplex you and then win your heart. Dark, intriguing, heartbreaking and surprising, if I wasn't biting my nails, I was smiling to myself. It's absolutely brilliant

It has been six weeks since I read Strange Sally Diamond and still about twice a day a scene will flash before me and make my insides curdle

Heartbreaking and utterly gripping on every page, clear your schedule for what might be Liz Nugent's best - and darkest - book yet

The queen of Irish suspense strikes again! A book that had me compelled, wanting to read on ferociously whilst at the same time being deeply unsettled as the prospect of what might befall some of the characters next. Her best yet!

Utterly compelling. Brilliant writing and memorable characters. Genuinely unputdownable

A wonderfully twisted blend of light and dark; a book I couldn't put down, a character I won't forget. Clever, creepy, compelling, but poignant too, Strange Sally Diamond is going to be huge, and deservedly so

Dark, disturbing and compelling yet so touching, too. An amazing read

No one gets into damaged people's heads like Liz Nugent - I'd have known this was her writing even if her name had been deleted from the cover. Moving, thrilling, enraging and impossible to put down

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!

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

Utterly addictive with a truly unforgettable heroine

I absolutely loved this book. Liz Nugent does not put a foot wrong. It's tense, it's creepy, it's foreboding and unflinching . . . Deeply unsettling and deeply brilliant!

Dark, heartbreaking, funny, brilliant - Strange Sally Diamond will stay with you for well beyond the final page

Blown away by Strange Sally Diamond . . . Utterly chilling and impossible to put down. Her best yet!

What a brave, funny, disquieting, riveting book. By the end, I felt I knew Sally Diamond's mind better than I did my own

As twisted as this tale is, it's unputdownable

A compelling if harrowing read, this tragic twisted tale veers from humour to horror to heartbreak, but never fails to hold your attention until the bitter end

Dark and disturbing, you will root for Sally as she bravely steps out of her comfort zone to discover a post she can't remember

It's a cracker, you will absolutely love this and you'll want to get it today. This book is dark as hell with lovely touches of comedy . . . so engaging

Really really fantastically new . . . a brilliant book, it's just so good

Occasionally a book comes along that defies classification. Strange Sally Diamond is a page-turning cross between two recent mega-hits: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Girl A. With a wonderfully drawn central protagonist and a plot that moves between the darkest shades of human malevolence and a life affirming sense of how friendship and community can bring light into the shadows, this book has all the ingredients of a long-to-be-remembered dark classic

Captivating . . . Hypnotic and terrifying, her story seeps into the imagination and leaves behind a haunting memory

An outstanding achievement which transforms the dark psychological thriller map with both bravura and delicacy. One for the ages

Strange Sally Diamond is a story both touching and terrifying ...

Crime Novel of the Year, Irish Book Awards 2023

Sally Diamond cannot 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. 
 
Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say. 
 
But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally's life will be thrown into chaos once again . . .

Liz Nugent

Praise for Strange Sally Diamond

Magnificent . . .. Liz Nugent is a treasure

I loved every damn second of it

Surprising, moving and shockingly original

Magnificent . . .. Liz Nugent is a treasure

I loved every damn second of it

Surprising, moving and shockingly original

Magnificent . . .. Liz Nugent is a treasure

I loved every damn second of it

Surprising, moving and shockingly original

Books by Liz Nugent

Articles featuring Liz Nugent

10 must-read books by Irish authors

Complex heroines you can’t help but root for

Extract: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

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