What a book ! Fabulous and addictive from the very start ,storylines were amazing and in the day of celebrity so relevant . Relationships were fascinating between this very dysfunctional family.

When I read a Liz Nugent book I am always amazed and troubled in equal measures. She writes these wicked, dark, utterly horrible characters, with little if any redeeming characteristics, and you would think this would make the stories unreadable. But the opposite happens. The reader is compelled to keep turning the pages, to find out what happens to these characters we love to hate, in this case, Will, Brian and Luke. Our Little Cruelties is a clever twist on the whodunnit, in this case, not knowing which of the three brothers, Will, Brian or Luke is dead. A compelling analysis of betrayal, sibling rivalry and unequal love. Another cracker from Liz Nugent.

I thought my family was dysfunctional until I read this

I liked the format of it being told from each brothers perspective
Intrigued how the three of the interpreted the things that happened differently
I think this is a well written book with intriguing characters
that make you want to continue reading just to see what happens.

Thank you netgalley, Liz Nugent and Penguin books for allowing me to read and this book.

Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent is a brilliantly crafted novel about dysfunctional family relationships. It’s a psychological drama of epic proportions!

There are three brothers with three points of view, some before and some after the murder of one of them. These characters are so beautifully developed through their stories, from childhood through adulthood, that it’s easy to understand why they act the way they do. They are complex and flawed and so very human.

The themes are many: competition for love and acceptance, the influence of social media on our lives and relationships, the desire for fame and fortune – and they all suffer from these maladies.

The story is intricate. It’s like a labyrinth that turns this way and that, until you reach the centre and the shocking truth awaits. And that ending! Perfect!

This is the first book by Ms. Nugent that I have read. I loved it so much I just bought her other three books too.

#netgalley #ourlittlecruelties #liznugent #penguinbooks

Good story line about an Irish family that is rather dysfunctional. The story is about three brothers and their interactions with each other and their nearest and dearest. Told from each brothers perspective it is an engaging read but my interest dipped slightly in the middle only to be fully engaged again for the final third.

The Drumm family are dysfunctional, disturbed and deceptive to the core. William, Brian and Luke
all have their own secrets and these mysteries and lies snake through the family, creating this wickedly dark tale. Three brothers, three points of view and a plot which weaves back and forth through their respective lives in order to bring us to the tense and unexpected conclusion.
Liz Nugent just gets better and better. She has established herself early on as a master storyteller; her psychological thrillers keep the reader hooked from the beginning and this one is no exception.
In fact, I can easily say this is the best one yet, and that is high praise.
The characters are strong, not necessarily likeable but definitely enthralling - you get caught up in one storyline and don't want it to end only to move on to the next brother and be instantly drawn in to his version. The staggered story line works really well: it's a testament to Nugent's ability to write that she can jump decades in a matter of paragraphs and not confuse the reader. It adds to the drama as we are drip fed the story and learn about it in pieces, which we then have to put together to try and guess the bigger picture. When you think you have figured out what's going on, *boom* another revelation. Clever, sharp and deservedly Five stars.

Liz has the ability to write engaging books about characters who have no redeeming qualities. This one starts at a funeral of one of the 3 Drumm brothers and then delves into their individual pasts before revealing at the end which of them has actually died. At times I would start to feel sympathetic towards the characters and then bam! I would be given another reason to dislike them. I am a fan of Liz's previous work and was excited to read this. For me this is her best book yet.

I have read Liz Nugent before and find her highly entertaining and the storyline compulsive reading. ‘’Our Little Cruelties’ was no different and it was enjoyable and engaging if a little sad at times.

This is the story of three brothers, Will, Brian and Luke, and their relationships with their parents and girlfriends/wife. It is addictive reading and is told by each brother with timelines jumping around. Having said that it is easy to follow and adds to the intrigue.

I wasn’t keen on any of the characters but could see how the interrelationships left each of the characters hurt and angry with each other. the novel begins with a funeral where one brother is dead but, at that stage, it is not clear which brother or how it happened.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Books UK, Penguin Ireland, and Liz Nugent for my ARC of Our Little Cruelties in return for my honest review.

Brilliant. Highly recommended.

Liz Nugent. This is the third book I’ve read by her and they never cease to be interesting and slyly seductive. They are subtle beasts that woo you without you even knowing it.

Our Little Cruelties is the story of three brothers Will, Brian and Luke, their relationship with their showbiz mother, and to a lesser extent their father.

The book opens with the three brothers at a funeral, only one of them is in the coffin, killed by the hands of his brother. We don’t know which brother is dead and obviously which brother committed the crime.

The book is then told in an unusual way. It is told from each of the three brothers perspectives with around a third of the book at a time given to each brother. The timeline jumps back and forward to various stages of their lives which sounds confusing but isn’t at all and works really well.

So from the spiel you would think this is straight forward whodunnit mystery. It’s not. Well at the end of the day it is but that’s just a footnote to the real story. The story of these three men, their relationship with each other and the relationship with their mother.

I will say this straight away. Not everyone will like this. All the characters here are fairly unlikeable. The mother is a narcissist, a “typical” image of a showbiz mum. (This being set in Ireland and me being Irish I immediately thought of one or two “celebs” who this character was based on. She may be purely in the authors imagination but that didn’t stop me visualising these famous women of a by gone era here).
The three brothers are also very unlikeable. Again with narcissistic traits, self absorbed, mean throughout their lives, emotionally devoid and devious. They insult each other, back stab each other, treat people around them like dirt etc. Ironically the one I had some empathy for was a drug addict alcoholic who suffered severely with mental illness.

So how come I’m giving this five stars then? Well, despite the cast of utterly unlikeable characters, who I had little or no empathy with whatsoever, I felt myself engrossed in this novel. Not in the usual way where I’m rooting for a character etc. Here you are seduced without even knowing it. You are reading from the outside looking in a bit. No empathy with the characters, no one really to root for, another shake of the head as someone does something horrible and yet you can’t take your eyes off it. You’ve bought into it without realizing it. You want to know what happens. You want to find out more about these horrible characters. You want to know about their childhood, their relationship with their parents and with each other.

I found it quite a cynical piece. I hope the author never reads this review but I did wonder was she in a bit of a bad place when she wrote this and poured it into all of her characters, such was the venom and vitriol( I mean that lightheartedly..... I think!!) Having said that there are some moments of humour that add some light to the dark.

Look this is just a brilliant bloody read. The characters, while not likeable are interesting. There’s a kind of desperation to them. The story is interesting. The subtle questions of nurture vs nature are interesting. It’s just a bloody great read.
The unusual format makes the book read shorter than it is and is part of the charm and subtle seductiveness of the book. A very risky technique to undertake and balance but the author has done it brilliantly here.

I haven’t read a Liz Nugent book I haven’t loved. I loved Our Little Cruelties. Get a copy. Dislike all the characters and have a great time doing it.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Books and Liz Nugent for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What intriguing characters we have in this story. All the plot lines (covering many years) are written from their own personal point of view. But what awful people they are! I was drawn into the story from the start. A funeral for a brother ....but which one.

Absolutely loved this one.
Was a huge fan of Skin Deep and so thrilled to discover this was another dark family thriller. The timelines were all over the place but it didn't seem to matter what year we were in - everything hung together brilliantly.
I loved reading each brother's story separately and then became desperate to read what the other brother's take was on each situation/relationship because of course they all saw everything differently.
And the intricate description of the family dynamics was great - what a dreadful group!
I knew we were leading up to a death because it was signposted but that became strangely less important as the tale went on, it was all about the complicated family story for me. The ending however was apt and I was glad there wasn't 'a killer' as such, rather the correct end to the story.
I would have liked there to have been more tonal changes between the brother's different narratives, the writing and use of language was the same for all of them and thought maybe more quirks could have been introduced through their individual use of vocab/vernacular.
And I didn't really like Daisy, so didn't really grasp everyone's need to love and protect her, so the ending would have felt more emotional for me if I had a connection with her, and did feel that her own 'imaginary baby' at the end was a little tagged on for a supernatural thrill.
But - even though the ending a tiny bit unnecessary the journey to get there made it all worth it!

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

I love Liz Nugent. It takes talent to write people this shitty. Her psychological thrillers have gotten me through some dark times and this tragi-comedic family saga was a hoot, snorting on the train funny. I want to read more from her in this direction

Liz Nugent has an amazing ability to make a book full of intensely unlikable characters compelling. Everytime you think you've sussed out the plot the next development proves you wrong. Somehow despite finding the plot deeply depressing I really enjoyed reading this book.

Liz Nugent latest book “Our Little Cruelties” continues in the same vein as her previous books; less than likeable characters, great plot and immensely readable! This was a joy from start to finish. The book is written from the perspective of each of the 3 main characters, each version of events slightly differs depending on who is telling the story. The tension in the books builds slowly until the shocking conclusion. A great read!

My second Nugent book, but definitely not my last. While I wouldn’t call this a thriller, like her others, I still found myself completely hooked by her words and hardly able to put it down! I felt it was more of a domestic drama/suspense book! Well written, original, with an amazing cast of well developed characters that made me keep going to find out more! Highly recommend to all the Liz Nugent fans out there!
Will make sure I buzz this up on all the different platforms!

#OurLittleCruelties
A good read.
This was my third book by the author and i was sure that the characters were great like in previous ones. And I'm glad I'm not disappointed. However the plot was just ok but characters were good. My favourite characters were Daisy and Will.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for giving me an advanced copy of this book.
#NetGalley

I love Liz Nugent’s writing and this lates book doesn’t disappoint. We follow a disfunctional family of three brothers as they grow up. The book weaves back and forth through time and is told from the point of view of each of the brothers separately. Despite this it is still easy to follow and very readable. We see them go through mental health problems, addictions, grief and abuse. None of the brothers are particularly likeable characters but their stories are all the more compelling for this

I would like to thank Liz Nugent, Penguin Books and NetGalley for the ARC of Our Little Cruelties.

This powerful story of three brothers is an excellent read. It is affecting, thought provoking and highlights the consequences of exploitation and abuse. The story is told through the perspective of each brother during various periods of their lives. Excellent.

I love reading about people and their interactions and this book is one of the best I’ve read.

The characters are complex and real which makes them simultaneously relatable and unlikeable.

I really enjoyed this compelling story and would recommend.

Liz Nugent excels in writing about unpleasant characters and Our Little Cruelties is no exception. But, unlike Skin Deep, my personal favourite which has some underlying dark humour, I found no redeeming qualities in any of the three brothers, Will, Brian or Luke, who dominate her latest novel.

The story begins at the funeral of one of the brothers but we don't find out which brother until the end of the book. It was fun trying to guess who it was and the circumstances of his death, and also good drama as we learn their stories from each brother's point of view. Issues such as mental health and alcoholism are dealt with realistically but the skipping between timelines might prove difficult for some readers. The antics of a hugely dysfunctional family make up for this and Liz Nugent's fans will not be disappointed. Many thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Books UK for the opportunity to read and review Our Little Cruelties.