Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent: Book Club Discussion Questions
- Anita
- Feb 26
- 3 min read
In Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent, a single, shocking act thrusts socially isolated Sally Diamond into the glare of public scrutiny. Having lived a carefully controlled life under her father’s rigid instructions, Sally is unprepared for the media storm and police attention that follow his death. As fragments of her buried childhood begin to surface, she is forced to confront disturbing truths about her past while cautiously stepping into a world she barely understands. But as she begins to form new connections, it becomes clear that someone is watching her, and that not everyone around her can be trusted.
Below, you’ll find our book club discussion questions, created by our group of passionate book lovers and readers at Chapter 25. These prompts are designed to spark thoughtful conversation, whether you’re reading with a thriller-focused group or simply gathering with friends to
unpack the novel’s themes of trauma, identity, trust and belonging.
If you’d like to watch our Q&A with Liz Nugent, you can find it here.
Book Club Discussion Questions:
There was lots of talk about Sally being autistic at the start of the book but as
we read more about her, her behaviours could be interpreted as being due to her experiences. Do you think she was autistic or were her traumatic experiences causing her social and sensory issues?
Sally reads about her father having cancer in his letter. Why do you think he didn’t tell Sally sooner?
Why do you think Sally’s adoptive father was reluctant to put a label on her behaviour?
The character development in the book for both Sally and Peter was very complex. Whose development did you find most interesting and why?
Do you think Sally’s literal way of thinking helped her cope with finding out about everything that had happened to her and her biological mother?
What do you think would have happened if Sally was able to stay with her biological mother and her adoptive mother/father hadn’t taken her away for the night?
Thinking about Peter’s story, how do you feel about how his feelings were towards his dad, Conor? Even when he became suspicious of his actions, he still kept his secrets. Why do you think this is?
Why do you think Peter grew friendly with Rangi even though his dad didn’t approve? He had always listened to his dad’s opinion before. Why was this different?
Was Sally’s Aunt Christine right to tell Sally the truth about her adopted parent’s relationship when she was in such a vulnerable state after telling her everything about Peter?
Do you agree with Sally’s adoptive father’s decision to keep her secluded? Was his love for her genuine, or did he perceive her merely as an experimental subject?
Throughout the book we go through Peter’s life seeing him as a little boy, to realising what his father had done, to disliking his father and feeling guilty for his victims, to then ending up planning to kidnap somebody else. How does this journey make you feel about the “like parent, like child” theory?
Sally in particular had such a huge character development throughout the book, from moving house, finding a job to making lots of friends. Were you happy for how she managed to turn things around?
Sally ended up having quite a lot of money to her name! She didn’t seem phased by this at all and was happy to give half of the money from her biological father’s house sale to Peter. Why do you think this was?
Sally made a number of friends throughout the story, which friendship(s) do you feel had the biggest impact on her character development? Who helped and supported her the most?
How did you find the writing style of the book? Did you find it easy to read? Did you want to keep going or could you put it down?
What were your thoughts on the ending of the story?
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