Ohhh Delia O’Flaherty, you are a devilishly, despicable, devious, dreadfully wicked character and I loved every single moment! Liz Nugent’s third book, Skin Deep is a definite hit and deserves high praise. Following on from Unravelling Oliver and Lying in Wait, I was apprehensive that a third book may not live up to the first two fantastic books…..but I was totally wrong. Skin Deep is equally as excellent as the two previous novels.

The story follows Delia O’Flaherty from a young age as she leaves her Irish island home to Westport, London, Côte d'Azur and Monaco. It is a dark tale full of twists and turns. Just as we think Delia simply cannot become any more deceitful and scheming………she can and does! I loved the stories of the old islanders interspersed throughout the book and the unexpected dark ending just wrapped this all up perfectly!

This is a very well written page turner with an excellent story and many surprises along the way. Skin Deep is going to be a hit in 2018 for sure. All of the stars for this one!

My thanks to Penguin Ireland and NetGalley.

Skin Deep is genuinely amazing. A truly memorable psychological character study.

It is a difficult one to review if I’m honest – the basis of the tale is simply the story of one woman and those whose lives she enters and leaves, but it’s impact on you is subtle, immeasurable and difficult to describe. Beauty may indeed only be “Skin Deep” but what lies beneath the surface is fascinating, absorbing and taken apart by the author in amazingly clever and intelligent ways.

The writing is beautiful, full of thought provoking prose and is also descriptively stunning – the settings are alive, Cordelia herself provides the light and dark and the story unwinds in a hugely addictive fashion, taking us from small islands to vibrant cities as she lives a life less than ordinary.

The whole novel is completely and utterly brilliant but the final resolution is stunning. Days later I’m still worrying away at it, my mind goes back there at odd moments, not only to the ending but to the entirety of the story. It is dark yes, it is a twisty tale indeed, in character and event, but is entirely believable and utterly authentic.

Liz Nugent wastes not one word – every part of Skin Deep is plotted to perfection, designed for emotional impact and hits the mark every single time. I will never forget Cordelia or those whose lives she affects, her story is ingrained on my soul. Without doubt this is the author’s best novel to date.

Hauntingly beautiful, achingly sad.

Highly HIGHLY recommended.

Cordelia Russell is certainly the mistress of reinvention. She has used her creative skills many times before with a degree of success. In her present incarnation she is a poshly spoken, aging English woman who is down on her luck. She lives in the Côte d’Azur in an airless, run down flat. It is truly horrible and a massive step down from her luxurious home that she had in her heyday. She is hungry and desperate. How her life has changed from the times she was beautiful, popular and running with the in crowd, partying hard, out of her mind on champagne and worse, living with her family in partyland posh London. Tonight she’s on a mission to run into old friends to cadge drinks and food, hoping it will lead to a revival of her good fortune. She waits alone, but previous good friends change direction when they see her waiting, even pretending they have not heard her calls. But her luck is in soon after when she meets a rich American in the strangest of circumstances. He invites her to a party not far away, where there is both free food and drink and also lots of rich, young partygoers. Surely she will hit lucky this time.
But soon Cordelia must face the realities of her empty life. She has to accept the responsibilities she has shirked all of her life. She makes the momentous decision to go back to Ireland and more specifically to the island where she grew up. She needs to find out the identity of a visitor to her flat. It’s time to stand tall, and set things right because there is literally no escape for her. She has been forced into taking her decision, haunted by ghosts of her past. She must face the consequences of her actions, although not willingly.
‘Skin Deep’ by Liz Nugent is Cordelia’s story, from her birth to the present day. It follows her pathway through life; her triumphs and tragedies, her highs and lows. She is not a likeable character by far. Although she denies it, she is a narcissist: self serving, selfish, uncaring, manipulative and fickle. She is a loner because she is unable to feel empathy, love or loyalty. She has no friends. She is a user but never a giver. She is not the only character I didn’t like in this dark psychological thriller either. This story is a study in depravation, determination and deception. The images created by this talented author are bleak and depressing. I found the first three quarters of this novel quite challenging because I had a constant feeling of unease and tension, but the last quarter was breathtaking, especially with the massive and unexpected twist at the very end.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Penguin Ireland for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. I enjoyed reading it but it is not my favourite novel written by this author. It’s a 7/10 from me