Liz Nugent writes psychological suspense about people whose actions leave damage behind them. Fans come for the unsettling characters as well as the mystery: a person can become the question at the heart of the book. Her festival conversations bring her into company with other novelists working on dark stories.
Quick facts
Best known for
Strange Sally Diamond and psychological suspense novels
Genre or subject
Crime fiction, psychological suspense and character-led mysteries
Nugent is an Irish novelist with a professional background in radio, television and animation. Her broadcast work began in 2003 and included being a story associate on Fair City. She has written radio and television drama, led broadcast-writing workshops and interviewed other writers. Those forms sit behind a career in telling stories through voice, character and what people conceal.
Strange Sally Diamond won the crime novel category at the Irish Book Awards in 2023. The publishers describe her novels as psychological suspense, placing the focus on people and their motives. A reader can follow that interest through the books without a recurring police team or a numbered reading sequence.
Sandycove published her sixth novel, The Truth About Ruby Cooper, in the UK and Ireland in March 2026. Sisters Ruby and Erin are at the centre of its starting point, with an incident whose effects spread beyond the immediate moment. It gives fans another unsettling relationship to follow while leaving the later turns of the story to discover in the novel.
Where to start with their books
Unravelling Oliver
An attack by successful writer Oliver Ryan on his wife opens the story, with the life behind that violence coming under scrutiny. Begin here if you want a suspense novel that starts with an act and asks you to look into the person responsible, without being told where the examination will lead.
Lying in Wait
A judge and his wife kill a woman and bury her in their garden, while their son becomes drawn towards the dead woman’s family. Choose this for a household whose social standing and private secrets pull against each other; the opening gives you the crime, leaving its consequences to unfold.
Strange Sally Diamond
Sally’s response to her father’s death makes her the centre of attention and brings a past she cannot remember closer. It is a starting point for readers interested in an isolated character trying to enter the world, with new friendships and troubling attention arriving together.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
Liz Nugent was part of Bath Literature Festival’s 2026 programme.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
Go with someone who has read the same novel if you would enjoy talking through its turns afterwards. Agree in advance whether spoilers are welcome: a friend who is still reading can enjoy the outing without having the ending discussed over lunch.
For a shared crime event, choose one question about character or suspense that could open out across the writers’ work. Leave some space in the day for browsing or a conversation after the session, and ask about signing plans before taking several books with you. The guides below cover a base for each destination.
The 2026 programmes featured Liz Nugent at Bath Literature Festival, Bloody Scotland, Hay Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Do I have to read her novels in order?
The books below offer separate starting points, with different people and relationships at their centre. Choose the story that draws you in. You can approach a festival conversation through one favourite without preparing a complete bibliography.
How much should I read before seeing her?
Use the festival links on Liz Nugent’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
How do I book a Nugent festival conversation?
Use the festival’s official box office for the individual event. If you are travelling with a fellow crime reader, choose the session together, then check access, ticket terms and any signing plans before arranging the rest of the trip.
