Reviewed by Emma Crowley
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 police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don't always mean what they say.
But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbour seem to be obsessed with her? Sally's trust issues are about to be severely challenged . . .
Liz Nugent is an extraordinary author who always lives up to the hype surrounding the publication of each of her books. She deserves every word of praise heaped upon her and the only fault I can find is that she doesn’t write books quick enough to keep up with my insatiable appetite to read more of her astounding work. Just when you think, oh she couldn’t possibly better her last book or that’s it I’ve found my favourite book by her then she just goes and outdoes herself once again and she has done that here with Strange Sally Diamond.
It’s a tour de force of a read which you will greedily inhale in one sitting and then be left bereft that you did so because you know an indeterminable amount of time is ahead of you as you wait for more stories from this incredibly talented author who is at the top of her game and just gets better and better with each book. I read Strange Sally Diamond long before publication day because I just couldn’t bare to leave it lingering on my Kindle and without doubt, I know come the end of 2023 it will be one of my books of the year. It’s a mightily impressive story that should come with a warning that you will not get any work done because once you pick up this book Sally gets a grip on you and you can’t bare to be away from the character for any length of time.
Every Liz Nugent book always begins with a killer opening line and this one is no different. ’Put me out with the bins’, he said regularly. ‘When I die put me out with the bins. I’ll be dead so, I won’t know any different’. Well those few words certainly had me sitting up and paying attention as that’s literally what Sally did upon the death of her father Thomas Diamond. By doing so she sets in motion a whole chain of remarkable, horrific at times and compelling events which have you gripped from beginning to end. Sally lives in rural Ireland in a remote area and it was just herself and her Dad ever since her mother passed away. From the outset it’s evident that she is a little bit different from everybody else but you love her all the more for this.
The further the story develops and we uncover her history and Sally starts to adapt to life without her father and to welcome in the outside world, the more you understand her social deficiencies and why she literally says and does what she thinks instead of always taking other people’s feelings or opinions into account. Sally craves routine and regularity. At school she was viewed as a weirdo and now when she has to venture to the village for supplies she pretends to be deaf so as not to have to interact with people. But all that is about to change as Sally is now on her own. Yes she does have the help of the local doctor Angela and her partner who become friends and in a way almost surrogate parents to her but Sally has to forge her own path now that she has lost her anchor. Will that be for the best or for the worst?
Sally gets anxious if too may people are around her and things are too noisy or if too many questions are being asked that she does not know the answers to. Her mind works perfectly but she is emotionally disconnected from people, so she finds this new stage in her life packed full of apprehension and fear and navigating her way through it is proving challenging to say the least. It’s never actually said that there is something specifically wrong with Sally or that she has a certain illness. It’s easy enough for the reader to read between the lines and I appreciated that no specific label was assigned to her. Sally’s actions regarding her father’s body at the beginning of the book inspire newspaper headlines around the country and it soon comes to light that Sally once made headlines before and for all the wrong reasons. To go into any detail regarding this would spew forth endless spoilers so I will say no more. Suffice to say this is where the story really gets going and its becomes so dark, depraved, cruel and twisted that just when you think you can’t be shocked again you start a new chapter and a whole new set of revelations and secrets come to the fore that leave you open mouthed in equal amounts of shock, horror, disgust and revulsion.
As Sally learns more of her family history and of certain circumstances, the reader is taken back to the past and from that point the story seamlessly flits between the past and the present and we hear from a new character's perspective which in turns shifts the readers perspective too. I was constantly guessing as to certain things and yes I guessed who was behind sending Sally an item in the post but as for the meaning and the entire story behind it well quite frankly it was simply mind blowing. The whole thing was so twisted and convoluted but in the best possible way that you feel like stopping reading and just applauding the sheer brilliance of Liz’s writing. You wonder how on earth does she come up with such scintillating plots and themes which are so disturbing yet you can’t help but want to read on. The mind boggles at how she does it but constructing brilliantly drawn characters and dealing with such raw, powerful and potent emotions is what Liz does best and this story was no different. Sally is creating a new life for herself and developing friendships and experiencing fun and happiness for the first time but when she learns the truth is this all about to come crashing down? Given the gnarled, hideous and nasty truths and secrets that come to the fore and Sally’s fragile emotional state anyway you’d wonder can she battle through?
I really can’t praise Strange Sally Diamond enough. Yes, you may think when you first read the blurb that this will be really dark and difficult to read and one wouldn’t blame you for thinking so. Yes there are innumerable dark moments, shocking scenes, horrific imagery, abject cruelty and unscrupulous twists and turns and revelations but thanks to the sublime writing of Liz Nugent she has you feeling empathy with ‘some’ of the characters and there are moments of hope and happiness amidst the appalling and ghastly main plot. There is so much light and shade intertwined in moving moments as Sally’s past comes back to haunt her and as the layers are unfolded and the truth comes to light the reader becomes engrossed in a story that will linger long with you once you have reached the final page.
This is a disturbing yet riveting read packed full of fear, trauma, manipulation, damage and mistreatment with a central character who will affect you in so many ways. As for that ending, wow is all I can say, the twists keep coming right until the finale and you are left stunned and almost numb upon completion. As soon as I finished this outstanding read I wanted to get on social media and make sure everyone would read it but as it was several months before publication day that wasn’t possible but now that time has come and I urge you get your hands on a copy of Strange Sally Diamond as soon as you can. You won’t regret it one bit. It’s masterful storytelling which deserves endless awards.
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