Skin Deep by Liz Nugent

This book wasn't what I was expecting from either the blurb or the opening stanzas; it was far, far better than that.  I am not so sure I would call it a thriller though, for me this was more of an expose of a damaged woman's inner emotion and her descent in to sociopathy (at best).  Delia is very, very damaged and how much is just her nature and how much is due to the nurture of her father is up for debate and there is a lot here to endlessly debate.

Delia is eminently unlikeable, she is only interested in herself and she expects everyone to treat her with the Queenly deference that her father has brought her up to believe is her due.  Somehow though, she is completely self aware and this made her eminently likeable.  Delia has no compunction in describing her manipulations and her lack of love, or even interest, in her only child and this, somehow, got me on her side.

The infrequent asides from the people in her life describing what just occurred from their point of view give a much more rounded portrait of the events and suck you further in to the various worlds from Inishcrann to London to Nice to Monaco.  Couple these with her Father's bedtime stories (which are Grimm Fairytales for grown ups) based on his love of their little Irish Island and you begin to see why Delia is the way she is.  Ultimately all she wants is the adoration her father told her was her due and she will do anything to get it.

The story telling here is very good and Liz Nugent sucks you right in to the fictional world's she has created.  Fictional worlds with just enough of reality to make you believe in the characters wholeheartedly and to eagerly turn the pages to find out just what will happen to them next.  The ghosting of previous acquaintances when they no longer serve a purpose for Delia rang very true and others ghosting of her when she is unmasked felt just as valid.

So, why not 5 Stars?  I did feel the ending was a little bit of a cop out and that it was slightly rushed towards.  Whether this was an editorial decision or the looming of a deadline I don't know but after the care taken to describe all the major events in Delia's life it just felt somehow sloppy.  I was also unconvinced by the surgery she had but you have to allow some artictic license in these things.

If you like your characters dark and twisted then this is definitely a book for you.  Certainly not a standard thriller but absorbing and well crafted with a good understanding, by the author, of certain psychological traits.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE