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Liz Nugent’s novels are best described as domestic noir or stories of psychological suspense, always showing the point of view of the criminal and examining the consequences for the victims.

In early 2014, her first novel, Unravelling Oliver, was published.  It went straight to the top of the bestsellers list and also won the Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.

Her second novel, Lying in Wait, was published in July 2016 and also went straight to number 1. It won the Ryan Tubridy Listener’s Choice prize at the Irish Book Awards and was shortlisted for Crime Novel of the Year.

On its UK release in January 2017, Lying in Wait went straight into the UK bestseller list and was chosen for the hugely popular Richard & Judy Book Club Spring 2017 list and won the Reader’s Choice award for that season.

In Oct 2017, Liz won the Irish Woman of the Year Award for Literature.

Liz’s third novel, Skin Deep, was published in Ireland in April 2018, hit the number 1 spot and spent five months in the top ten bestsellers list. It won two awards at the Irish Book Awards that year and in 2019 won a Dead Good Award at the Harrogate Old Peculier International Crime Festival.

Liz’s fourth novel, [Our] Little Cruelties, released in March 2020, went to the top of the bestsellers list in Ireland, remained there for ten weeks and stayed in the top ten for five months. It was also nominated for Irish Crime Novel of the Year.

In February 2021, Liz was awarded the James Joyce medal by the Literary & Historical Society of UCD. Also in 2021, Liz was nominated for Author of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.

In 2023 Liz’s “wickedly dark, twisted and brilliantly observed” fifth novel, Strange Sally Diamond went straight to number one in Ireland, won Crime Novel of the Year at the ‘An Post’ Irish Book Awards and was the second bestselling book of 2023 in Ireland, after Booker winning ‘Prophet Song’ by Paul Lynch.

It was shortlisted for the UK’s premier crime writing prize, the Theakston’s Old Peculier ‘Crime Novel of the Year’ in 2024.

Also in 2023, Liz was awarded ‘Writer of the Year’ at the Goss.ie Women of the Year awards.

In 2024, Strange Sally Diamond was named ‘Book of the Moment’ by WH Smiths in the UK and ‘Thriller of the Month’ by Waterstones.

Liz’s books have been translated into 30 languages and Unravelling Oliver and Lying in Wait have both been optioned for the screen.

Liz is also an adept interviewer and has interviewed Marian Keyes, Val McDermid, Graham Norton, Jane Casey, AJ Finn, Sinéad Crowley, Jane Harper, Ian Rankin and Joseph O’Connor among others.

She also leads workshops in creative writing for plot and is sometimes available for library and school visits. She has appeared at festivals in New Zealand, USA, France, Canada, Scotland, England, Iceland, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and all over her beloved home, Ireland.