Liz Nugent

“An extraordinary novel. Lying in Wait crackles and snaps like a bonfire on a winter’s night; you shudder even as you draw closer to it. Spellbinding.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window From the international bestselling author of Unraveling Oliver, an “unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that lingers long after turning the final page” (The Irish Times) about a Dublin family whose dark secrets and twisted relationships are suddenly revealed. My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it. On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons has the perfect life—wife of a respected, successful judge, mother to a beloved son, mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin. That beautiful house, however, holds a secret. And when Lydia’s son, Laurence, discovers its secret, wheels are set in motion that lead to an increasingly claustrophobic and devastatingly dark climax. For fans of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn, this novel is a “seductively sinister story. The twists come together in a superbly scary denouement, which delivers a final sting in the tail. Brilliantly macabre” (Sunday Mirror).

A Novel

Lying in Wait

Strange Sally Diamond

Originally published: Ireland: Penguin Ireland, 2014.

Unraveling Oliver

Hailed by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell as “a force to be reckoned with,” Liz Nugent is back with a powerful and unsettling new novel that will invite comparison to the bitter relationships in HBO’s blockbuster series Succession, as it follows three brothers, bound by blood but split by fate, and delves into the many ways families can wreak emotional havoc across generations. All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral. But only one of them was in the coffin. William, Brian, and Luke: three boys, born a year apart, trained from birth by their wily mother to compete for her attention. They play games, as brothers do…yet even after the Drumms escape into the world beyond their windows, those games—those little cruelties—grow more sinister, more merciless, and more dangerous. And with their lives entwined like the strands of a noose, only two of the brothers will survive. Crisply written and quickly paced, perfect for fans of breathtaking suspense, Little Cruelties gazes unflinchingly into the darkness: the darkness collecting in the corners of childhood homes, hiding beneath marriage beds, clasped in the palms of two brothers shaking hands. And it confirms Liz Nugent—whose work has invited comparisons to Patricia Highsmith and Barbara Vine and has been celebrated as "captivating" (People) and "highly entertaining" (The Washington Post)—as one of the most exciting, perceptive voices in contemporary fiction.

Little Cruelties

The internationally bestselling author of the “dark, captivating psychological thriller” (People) Lying in Wait returns with a wickedly dark, twisted, and brilliantly observed new novel about an enigmatic woman confronting her unknown past. Reclusive Sally Diamond causes outrage by trying to incinerate her dead father. Now she’s the center of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she does not remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her early childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, 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 he call her Mary? And why does her new neighbor seem to be obsessed with her? Sally’s trust issues are about to be severely challenged…

The deliciously sinister new novel from the No 1 bestselling author of Richard and Judy Book Club pick, Lying in Wait '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 'The finest psychological thriller writer currently at work - no one gets under the skin of monstrous characters like she does' Tammy Cohen 'A wonderful feat of imagination, totally gripping, with a fascinating character at its heart' Sabine Durrant 'Dark, brutal and brilliant' Colette McBeth 'A triumph, from first page to last!' Sarah Hilary 'Monumentally good. Liz Nugent is a beautiful writer and among the very best storytellers in the world' Donal Ryan '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' Marian Keyes 'Dazzling ... chilling, mesmerising and, ultimately, devastating. Pure storytelling genius' Mark Edwards 'Her darkest book yet - a compelling one-sitting read' Sinéad Crowley 'Utterly gripping, fast paced, and featuring my favourite sociopathic female character since Lady Macbeth' Louise O'Neill 'Incredibly dark, twisting and utterly mesmerising - you will not be able to put this down' Sinéad Moriarty 'Pitch dark and thrillingly original' Jane Casey 'Bloody hell, what a story! Brilliant, high octane stuff' Kit de Waal

Skin Deep

'I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.' Oliver Ryan is a handsome and charismatic success story. He lives a life of enviable privilege and ease with his wife, Alice. Enviable until, one evening after dinner, Oliver attacks Alice so viciously that he beats her into a coma. Oliver is stunned by his own actions. In the aftermath, as everyone tries to make sense of this astonishing act of savagery, he tells his story. So do those whose paths he has crossed over five decades. What unfolds is both tragic and monstrous - a story of shame, envy, breath-taking deception and masterful manipulation. Only Oliver knows what he had to do to get the life he craved, and to which he felt entitled. But even he is in for a shock when the past finally catches up with him. Unravelling Oliver is an extraordinary story of psychological suspense and an enthralling portrait of a thoroughly modern monster. 'A magnificent debut, compulsively readable. Unravelling Oliver delivers all it dares to deliver - a stunning, shocking and superb novel.' Frank McGuinness

Unravelling Oliver

From the Number 1 bestselling author of Our Little Cruelties and Skin Deep 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 . . . ***** 'I loved every damn second of it' Lisa Jewell 'Liz Nugent has outdone herself. Twisted and twisty, dark and gripping, no one is going to forget Sally Diamond in a hurry!' Graham Norton 'Terrific' Ian Rankin 'So, so good! Sally gets under your skin and worms her way into your heart. I didn't want it to end' Jane Fallon 'I'm lost in admiration for Liz and her writing . . . vivid, pacy, taut but so very moving' Marian Keyes

“Shocking, disturbing, and utterly original.” —Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author This “haunting and poignant tale, one that won’t be easy to forget any time soon” (Mystery and Suspense Magazine), follows an enigmatic woman confronting her unknown past—from internationally bestselling author Liz Nugent. Reclusive Sally Diamond is thrust into the media spotlight when she tries to incinerate her dead father, causing widespread outrage. 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. As she begins to discover the repressed memories of her horrific early childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, 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 he call her Mary? And why does her new neighbor seem to be obsessed with her? Sally’s trust issues are about to be severely challenged in this “truly incredible reading experience” (Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

A estranha Sally Diamond é um suspense eletrizante sobre uma mulher einigmática obrigada a confrotar um passado do qual ela não tem nenhuma memória, mas cujas consequências são devastadoras. Liz Nuget apresenta um quebra-cabeça de atrocidades para contar uma história brutal e doentia e, ao mesmo tempo, hipnotizante. Sally Diamond é uma mulher de poucas palavras e de poucos amigos. Ela mora numa casa isolada num vilarejo na Irlanda com o pai adotivo e não gosta muito de socializar. Segundo ele, a filha é "desconectada emocionalmente". A mente de Sally, apesar de funcionar perfeitamente bem, segue uma lógica muito particular. Ela não tem muitas recordações de quando era criança e leva à risca tudo o que escuta. E é por isso que não consegue entender por que o que fez com o corpo do pai, depois de encontrá-lo morto certa manhã, foi errado. "Quando eu morrer, pode me jogar no lixo", foi o que ele pediu. Agora Sally não só é o assunto do momento no vilarejo, como o centro das atenções da imprensa e da polícia. Como se não bastasse toda essa confusão, ela encontra, no escritório do pai, três cartas escritas por ele contando a verdadeira história dela. E o que ela descobre é uma realidade extremamente cruel e violenta, capaz de causar danos irreparáveis em qualquer pessoa. Porém, com a ajuda de novos amigos, Sally vai, aos poucos, entendendo que sua personalidade foi moldada nos horrores de sua infância. Até o dia em que recebe uma caixa pelo correio, vinda da Nova Zelândia. Dentro dela, há um ursinho de pelúcia, velho, sujo e esfarrapado, que ela reconhece imediatamente. Toby. Aquele brinquedo tinha nome. E era dela. Mas como Sally sabe disso? Quem está acompanhando seus passos do outro lado do mundo? Será que ela pode confiar em todos à sua volta? Por que o novo morador do vilarejo está tão obcecado por ela? Em A estranha Sally Diamond, Liz Nugent explora os traumas, os conflitos e a idiossincrasias dos personagens para compor a personalidade singular de cada um deles, construindo assim uma narrativa dramática, permeada de suspense e mistério, na qual as revelações são feitas em momentos cruciais da trama. Uma história doentia e imprevisível, cujo quebra-cabeça de atrocidades é muito mais complexo do que se pode imaginar. "Totalmente original. Prende o leitor da primeira à última página" – Paula Hawkins "Incrível. Adorei cada segundo." – Lisa Jewel "Esse livro é o melhor da autora até agora: o mal perpetuando o mal em uma história de partir o coração, porém humana, sobre pessoas cujos traumas são irreparávei." – The Guardian "Leitura espetacular, Liz. Que personagem incrível você criou." - Anthony Horowitz " A estranha Sally Diamond é um romance magnífico, escrito por uma autora de grande talento. Liz Nugent é um tesouro." - Shari Lapena "Imprevisível, inesquecível, único e fascinante. Uma criação surpreendente com uma voz singular." - The Sunday Independent "Mais um livro de Liz Nugent de tirar o fôlego que me fez ficar acordado até de madrugada para terminar. Liz é uma das autoras de thriller mais inteligentes, originais e ardilosas na ativa." - Adrian McKinty

A estranha Sally Diamond

“One of the best books I’ve read in a long, long time.” —Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Apartment “I loved every damn second of it!” —Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Family Remains “Dark, compelling, and deeply moving.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of Zero Days and The It Girl The internationally bestselling author of the “dark, captivating psychological thriller” (People) Lying in Wait returns with a wickedly dark, twisted, and brilliantly observed new novel about an enigmatic woman confronting her unknown past. For Sally Diamond, people are confusing, unpredictable, and hard to read. She has always preferred routines to spontaneity, silence to noise, and forthright communication to small talk. Adopted at the age of seven by a psychiatrist, she cannot remember any details of her childhood before that age. Now, at forty-three years old, the truth comes into sharp focus when Sally’s past becomes headline news: she endured something unthinkable as a child, and now, the entire world knows exactly who she is…and was. Suddenly, Sally finds herself in the spotlight. People everywhere are digging into her past, ravenous for details, and Sally herself is learning things about herself and her family that she never knew before. Soon, a stranger from New Zealand sends her a familiar teddy bear in the mail, but why does he insist on addressing her as Mary? And why is her new neighbor so obsessed with her? Told from the alternating perspectives of Sally in the present-day and a boy named Peter in the past, this is a novel that confronts the trauma of family secrets and explores one woman’s brave decision to define herself and her future.

Малки жестокости

A New Psychological Suspense from the No. 1 Bestseller

Our Little Cruelties

Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller! From the author of the No 1 bestseller SKIN DEEP - out now! '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 ... Featured in the Richard and Judy Spring 2017 Book Club '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 '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 '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 '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 & 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 "Domestic Noir" ... 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, shot through with dark and acid humour and the denouement is 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

Nathan Ripley

Catherine McKenzie

Colin Harrison

K.A. Tucker

Think you’re going to finish that chapter and go to bed? Think again. The Up All Night: Simon & Schuster Canada Thriller Sampler features excerpts from some of our top-notch writers. With page-turning plots and edge-of-your-seat suspense, these reads come with an all-nighter guarantee. Tuck in with these heart-pounding, twisty reads from our Spring 2018 list. Follow along in an addictive thriller in the vein of Dexter and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Explore human behaviour and the nature of evil in a chilling and brilliantly written debut. Take in a riveting read that will make you wonder how far you’d go to hide your own secrets. Immerse yourself in a story of police corruption, family secrets, and illicit affairs. And dive into an action-packed thriller of money, power, and revenge. Still can’t get enough? Follow along with #ReadAllNight for more thrilling extras. With chapter excerpts from the following Spring 2018 new releases: Find You in the Dark, by Nathan Ripley Unraveling Oliver, by Liz Nugent The Good Liar, by Catherine McKenzie Keep Her Safe, by K.A. Tucker You Belong to Me, by Colin Harrison Sleep is for the weak. Happy Reading! The Team at Simon & Schuster Canada If you would like to learn more about any of our authors or the titles featured, please visit us at SimonandSchuster.ca, follow us on Twitter at @simonschusterCA, or like us at Facebook.com/SimonandSchusterCanada.

Simon & Schuster Canada Thriller Sampler

Up All Night

Psykologisk thriller om begäret efter det perfekta livet »Se till att göra plats i kalendern om du börjar läsa den här förföriskt ondskefulla historien. Briljant och makaber.« | Sunday Mirror »En psykologisk bladvändare med ett slut som dröjer sig kvar långt efter sista sidan.« |Irish Times Lydia Fitzsimons bor i det perfekta huset med sin make, den framgångsrike advokaten Andrew, och deras son Laurence. Det är egentligen bara en enda sak hon längtar efter för att hennes liv ska bli riktigt fulländat. Men det sista hon förväntar sig är att denna strävan ska leda till en annan kvinnas död… Familjen går in i en negativ spiral. Lydia gör allt för att skydda sin oskyldige son och deras sociala ställning, medan Andrew håller på att bryta samman. Snart visar det sig att Laurence inte är så naiv som Lydia tror och att hans intresse för den mördade Annie Doyle och hennes familj kan innebära slutet för hans egen. LIZ NUGENT är en irländsk författare som gjorde stor succé med sin debutroman Unravelling Oliver. Hon har även nominerats till det prestigefyllda irländska litteraturpriset Francis McManus Short Story Award. Tyst väntan [Lying in Wait] är hennes hyllade andra roman. »Gone Girl-fans kommer att älska Tyst väntan. Handlingen är full av vändningar, karaktärerna är avskyvärda och boken är raktigenom en triumf.« | Stylist »Utsökt vriden, genomsyrad av mörk och frätande humor och med en verkligt isande upplösning.« | Sarah Hilary, författare till Inget annat mörker »Den intrikata berättelsen och intensiva spänningen kommer inte att släppa dig ur sitt grepp.« | Sunday Times

Liz Nugent

Books

Your next favorite book is out there