Why am I passionate about this?
I am a writer of psychological thrillers. I have a keen interest in psychology and how events and experiences in our childhood shape who we become. When I work on a new book, I always build a detailed profile of my characters’ childhoods – and as I write thrillers, these are often challenging ones with issues like narcissistic parents or siblings, coping with grief, mental illness, or bullying. My plot will always be at least partly driven by the secrets my characters form in their childhood or early life, and so I also really value this depth in the psychological thrillers I read.
Sarah's book list on psychological thrillers with secrets from the past
Why did Sarah love this book?
This is a story about three brothers. It starts with the funeral of one of them (you don’t know which) and goes back over their lives to unravel the mystery. They are all very different and none of them are likeable, and yet I found myself invested in all of them, trying my hardest to like them despite what they did – to each other and more widely. The book explores some serious issues around mental health and addiction, and I felt Nugent did this incredibly well – with both sympathy and clearly lots of research. The story is also told very skillfully. It uses multiple characters and jumps between timelines but reads very smoothly.
1 author picked Our Little Cruelties as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
'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
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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?
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'Dark, beautiful, devastating - pure…