An insightful story of dysfunctional and destructive family relationships. It starts with two brothers attending the funeral of a third brother. The reader is taken on journey through their chaotic lives bath and forth through past and present and from each brother’s perspective. The one thing the brother have in common is their desperation but the torment they put each other through to achieve this provides an interesting read.

There isn’t a single likeable character in this novel, however the writing style more than makes up for this and grips your attention. This book is not a thriller, so if this is what you are looking for. It is more of a family drama with some mystery thrown in and is quite a slow burner.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a drama of a dysfunctional family. It's a trope I like a lot. I enjoyed it very much. It was well written. It had interesting characters and relationship dynamics.
If this is your gem, it's a good one.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

The characters in this story have no respect for each other. The story unfolds in a non chronological order and slowly unravels the lives,events,grudges and difficulties of three brothers and their dodgy parents. It’s realistic, tragi-comic and quite depressing. Well written and strangely compelling.

A drama about a dysfunctional family, three very different brothers and their fading actress mother. I had to give up on this one, disposable characters and confusing timelines. Previous novels by this author I have enjoyed so this one was a disppointment.

A gripping and fascinating mix of family drama and thriller that kept me hooked till the end.
The author does a great job in keeping you hooked even if the characters are unlikable and it more their story than a mystery.
It's a good read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This story is about the Drumm brothers Will, Brian & Luke. It starts off at one of the brothers funeral but we don’t know which. We then go back and forth between the past and present. As we follow the 3 brothers as both children and adults. It is about their relationship with each other and them competing for their mother’s attention.

For some reason I was expecting this to be a thriller. It is definitely not a thriller. It is more of a family drama with a tiny amount of mystery thrown in. I found this book quite slow. I really didn’t care about any of the characters and just wanted to get to the end. I did really like the writing style and that is what kept me reading.

This book is absolutely superb! the whole premise of the story keeps you gripped until the very end, The characters are not very likeable but the writing style keeps you as the reader drawn in to their stories

A story that starts with 3 brothers at a funeral, the funeral being for 1 of them!!
You are then taken on a history of the 3, their lives, often chaotic, rarely not interesting and how and why we are at this funeral
Other family members play a part and the Mother is hideous ( but fascinating ) a narcissist extraordinaire
None of the characters are likeable but there is something alluring about the book and even though reading has been the last thing on mine ( and prob everyones ) mind this last week it did, when did read, keep me interested
A real domestic noir book, well written and character rich

8/10
4 Stars

A sobering story of destructive relationships within a family. Sporadically distancing themselves from each other, three brothers repeatedly come back to torment and betray each other. None of the characters is particularly likeable but, despite that, there is a compelling need to root for them with no giveaways to how the family's issues will finally, if ever, be resolved.

I really enjoyed this book and liked how it was written covering the same events from each of the brother's perspectives.
I found none of the characters to be particularly likeable but they had some redeeming points.
I liked how the book was paced and found I couldn't put it down until I found out how it ended, and then it broke my heart.
It's not something I normally would have picked, but I'm glad I did.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my advanced digital copy in return for my review.

Liz has done it again.

Liz is fantastic at writing appalling characters you cannot get out of your mind. The Drumm brothers are just that. In fact, I'd put that title on the entire family.

I spent the whole book trying to figure out which was the worst brother, which was the DEAD brother, who killed him. . . I was hooked on trying to figure out this book. The twists here are incredible.

One of Ireland's premiere thriller writers.

Psychological thriller about a dysfunctional family.
The Drumm family are not a family or if they are they are the most dysfunctional one I've come across.
Starting the book with a funeral draws the reader in immediately. Her use of humour throughout was good and added to the story.
Liz Nugent is skilled at writing from multiple points of view with the story being told by the three Drumm brothers.
I struggled at times to keep up with all the twists and turns and also whether I really cared about any of the characters. I did leave the book several times before finishing it but really enjoyed the ending..

Superb!

Once again Liz Nugent has surpassed my expectations.
No spoilers here!
Opening chapter - 3 brothers - one of them is in the coffin but which one?
You won't find out until the very end and Liz has you devouring the pages to see can you guess along the way.

I loved hearing the story from the perspective of the three brothers.
While reading one you are thinking the other two are so wrong and then you read it from their viewpoint and your whole take on the situation changes.
I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Really enjoyed this book and could not see which way it was going to go right to the very end! This book will keep you hooked and working out who is the worst brother....

What a fantastic read. Thoroughly recommend to those interested in suspense, family drama and books that are thought provoking. The story centres around a family with 3 sons whose lives are intertwined and impact greatly on one another and not for the better. The story is told from each of their perspectives and each provide different twists and turns that make you not want to put the book down. Five stars

I enjoyed this book - didn't love it and found the way it was written a little frustrating after a while. Essentially thought a good story if a little far fetched - I mean really 3 such successful brothers (in monetary terms) from such a strange upbringing.
As I was reading it I could not help but think it was written with a TV show in mind - it also reminded me of Jerffrey Archer type books which is no bad thing.
I found it all a little depressing in the end as no one comes out of it in a good light and no matter how the eventual death is dressed up as a mercy for that individual it was all rather nasty the way it played out.

I'm a big fan of Nugent's previous books so I was wondering what her fourth novel would hold. It's quite a different, quirky novel about three brothers, sibling rivalry and long held secrets. There is of course sociopathy in this, and some very bad behaviour, but no one comes out of this well.
In all honesty I didn't find the plot of this novel as engaging as previous - I felt it was a bit looser and, at time, more predictable - but Nugent had a wider cast of characters to control. As ever she is brilliant at portraying social mores and how her characters interact always fascinating. I think perhaps this book fell down a little because the cast was too big and I didnt really engage with any one character enough. This is not about likeability - I'm not fussed about a character being likeable - but I didn't care enough about any one character to really lose myself in this novel - which is a shame.

Nevetheless, Liz Nugent's writing is still head and shoulders above other psychological thriller writers out there and I sense a move into a more literary style of novel for her perhaps. Either way I did enjoy this and would read more by her.

The story of three brothers interwoven lives and ‘little cruelties’, told from the perspective of all three. Only two are alive by the end, but we don’t find out which has died and why until the last chapters when they’ve all had their say. Each of their voices is sharply and intelligently written and keeps you engaged until the final page.

3.5★s

Okay – picture this. Mother, Melissa Craig is a self-obsessed fan of herself; a jaded singer who thinks more of her faded career and doesn’t have a clue how to parent her three sons. The eldest, Will is a film producer with barely a decent bone in his body, while the middle boy, Brian can only be described as a mean and cruel bully and the youngest, Luke is a bewildered, fragile boy who tries in the pop industry only to get caught up in the toxicity of the drug culture as his mental health issues worsen. The three Drumm boys had no respect for their father – my goodness, Brian!! So, when he passed away, the family imploded in more ways than one.

So, what do we have? A dysfunctional family, perhaps the worst you’ll ever read about – and while you do read about them, you’ll be shuddering, cringing in disgust, as each brother narrates from childhood into the current day. And we know one of those brothers dies but until the very end, we don’t know which brother died or how they died. Is it worth you finding out? You betcha!

Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent is a psychological thriller with NO likeable characters whatsoever! But the author has written them in such a way as to make us all dislike them intensely. That takes courage! The darkness in this novel is combined with little cruelties (on a daily basis almost), addiction, betrayal, loss, murder and the bitter rivalries between three boys and their narcissistic mother. Read it if you dare 😉 Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Liz Nugent does it again in her latest offering, Our Little Cruelties, the story of the three brothers , who along with their parents make up the rather dysfunctional Drumm family.
The book opens with the funeral of one of the brothers, without revealing which of the three it is, a clever hook that immediately lets us know that there is more to this family than we might at first think. The rest of the book is told in varying timelines from each of the brother's perspectives , a clever device which allows the reader to see how each of them remember specific events , often very differently, allowing us to judge for ourselves which version seems the most likely given what we know about the family as a whole.
There are dysfunctional families and then there are the Drumms. Mother Melissa is something of a washed up showbiz star, a former showband singer who is still reliving her glory days, while her husband fades into the background. Oldest son Will is self centred and self obsessed , and despite being married and the father of a daughter , has no problem with using his position as a successful film producer to pressure women into sex. He has always been his mother's favourite, and lives his life as the golden child. Middle son Brian is notoriously obsessed with money, a man with short arms and deep pockets as they say, and is not above using his family to cash in , seizing every advantage that comes his way without empathy or remorse. Less successful than either of his siblings , he is resentful and jealous , though not always without cause. The youngest son Luke, is a cautionary tale of success. Neurotic and highly religious as a boy, he found unlikely fame as a pop singer, but as is so often the way with those who get too much too soon, he soon crashes into a nightmare of addiction, exacerbated by mental health issues and his turbulent relationship with his mother who was always so cold and distant towards him. Over the course of the first three quarters of the book we see the boys grow up , and how the complex relationships between them constantly ebb and flow , always in danger of fracturing beyond repair. In the final section of the book, that fracture happens, and all the little cruelties that the brothers have perpetuated come home to roost with tragic consequences that take us back to the beginning.
I loved the structure of the book, it really allowed the author to develop each of the brother's characters so well. All of them are deeply flawed, but over the course of the book we see how their family dynamics play into those flaws. Even when they are being unlikable or doing despicable things , it is still possible to feel sympathy for them because we understand why they are the way they are.
Although there is an element of suspense or mystery to the story given that we do not know which of the brothers ends up dead, the most interesting aspect of the book for me were the characters, the three brothers who were so different felt so very real to me that I found myself unable to put down the book until their story had concluded.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.