Two Truths and a Lie is Meg Mitchell Moore’s sixth novel. Set in her own hometown of Newburyport, Massachusetts, this tells the story of one summer and two women who are contemporaries, and the 17 year old daughter of one of them. Sherri Griffin and her 11 year old daughter Katie have recently moved to town, telling everyone that she is on the backside of a very bad divorce and has resettled to the area for a fresh start. Rebecca Coleman, widowed two years earlier, has been a leader in the “mom squad”, a group of local women with girls the same age, all of which are beginning middle school in the fall. But she is not feeling the pettiness and exclusivity of the group and has some issues with the unkindness of a few of them. Rebecca is distancing herself from the group while bringing newcomer Sherri under her wing. Rebecca’s daughter Alexa has just graduated from high school and is a bit at odds herself. She has been accepted to her mother’s Alma mater in the fall, but has a few secrets of her own.

As Alexa works for Sherri staying with Katie when she needs to work at night, she discovers secrets even darker than her own. These secrets lead a young Alexa to bring in another because it is too heavy for her to handle, thus setting up a series of twisted and unexpected events.

This is a very well plotted story with several important themes, including friendship, grief, new beginnings, and, of course, secrets and lies. This book became a real page turner. I did very much enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

Last year I loved The Islanders and I have to say, I liked this one even more. I never want to give away too many plot details but the story alternates between Rebecca, a widow still grappling with her grief, her 17 year old daughter Alexis who has many secrets, Sherri, who has just moved to Newburyport, MA with her young daughter under some very interesting circumstances and “the squad,” the very catty, gossipy group of local moms whose perspective is from a time after all the drama has occurred. And believe me, there is much drama to be had and I was here for all of it! In my opinion, the structure of the story is one thing that really made me love it, I was invested in each perspective and they all tied together beautifully. If I had to pick a favorite I’d say The Squad....the author nailed catty, gossipy White Claw day drinking women who, no I didn’t like, but yes I really liked reading about them.

There is something special about the way this author writes dialogue and sets scenes that led to me flying through this in less than 2 days. That being said, this isn’t a perfect story, there were parts I had to suspend disbelief but I’m ok with that. In my opinion, THIS is one of the very best summer reads I’ve come across so far and I’m confused as to why we aren’t hearing more about this author and her books as must read beach/summer picks.

Sherri and her daughter Katie move to Newburyport after Sherri's nasty divorce.... Truth or lie?
Alexa can't wait to get out of the town and start over in LA with her successful YouTube channel.... Truth or lie?
Rebecca is a somewhat recent widow that starts to date someone but wants to keep him a secret.... Truth or lie?
The "Mom Squad" are very welcoming to new people in town.... Truth or lie?


I was so glad we didn't get a lot of the Mom Squad in the book. They are just annoying, petty women. I really liked Rebecca and how she befriends and helps Sherri. This was a beachy read with some mystery thrown in.

Great Story! This book will keep your attention till the very end. If you are wanting a great beach read, look no further. I would highly recommend this book!

This book has a lot going for it...a fun beachy setting, a mystery, a group of wealthy unlikable mothers, and angsty teenagers. I enjoyed the atmospheric quality to the book and also liked the mystery surrounding some of the characters. My main issue is that this book almost mirrored Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty in a way that it felt too similar. Big Little Lies remains as one of my all time favorite books and this one paled in comparison for me. The story dragged at times and I began to lose interest around the halfway mark. Overall, it was not the page-turner that I was hoping for.

I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a delicious, slightly wicked summer read this one was! It was like a mash up of Liane Moriarty and Elin Hilderbrand and that combination worked really well for me. It had the secretive, light style mystery of LM and the ensemble cast and idyllic setting of EH, everything I look for in a summer read for sure!

This is told via several viewpoints, Rebecca, her daughter Alexa and new to town Sherrie are the main ones and then there are a few random chapters from other characters thrown in but the best ones were from the collective Mom Squad. These women were BRUTAL,they were catty, judgmental and wicked and I loved how juicy and dramatic their chapters were. The whole book was slightly scandalous as almost every single character was keeping some sort of secret and it felt really gossipy and just ideal for a summer read. Some of it was a little predictable in the end but other aspects were surprising, overall I enjoyed it a lot and definitely recommend it!

Part mystery about the past, part starting over story, I really enjoyed Two Truths and a Lie. It was a pretty quick read, and even had a shocking little twist near the end that made me tear up. Sherri and her daughter, Katie, have recently moved to a new town. Sherri becomes friends with the previous leader of the "Mom Squad," Rebecca. Rebecca is on the outs with the rest of the "Mom Squad," as she doesn't think they understand her need to mourn the loss of the her husband more than a year later. Alexa, who is Rebecca's step daughter has her own issues and secrets to deal with, but gets wrapped up in Sherri's life when she starts babysitting Katie, and Katie becomes best friends with Alexa's sister. As all of their lives become entwined, we learn that everybody has two truths and a lie that they are willing to tell to keep their secrets safe.

I’m a big fan of Meg Mitchell Moore’s previous novels The Admissions and The Arrivals, so when I got approved for Two Truths and a Lie on Netgalley a few months ago, I was super excited to dive in. I’m a sucker for contemporary fiction that features a trendy mom group in an idyllic beach town, and the suspense element was just the icing on the cake.

The vivid summer setting had me missing the beach and lobster rolls so much, as I no longer live an hour away from the beach, and that bit of nostalgia made some parts of the book even more fun to read through. But the narration really bothered me. I didn’t mind the alternating narrator style, but I really disliked the chapters narrated by the mom group. “We” thought this and “we” did that, ugh, it just didn’t work at all for me.

I also thought the friendships and some of the characters could have used a little more development, which could have immediately been solved by having less than 12 people in the mom group. I thought that was unnecessary and brought down the book, if anything. But most of the main characters were well-rounded enough, and Sherri and Katie’s backstory was intriguing.

My favorite thing about this book was the unexpected twists that totally caught me off guard. I love when I can’t guess what’s going to happen, and Meg Mitchell Moore didn’t disappoint with that in Two Truths and a Lie!

I really enjoyed this book. Plain and simple. It almost read like a thriller at times with the characters having plenty of secrets. I can also best describe it as a New England version of Big Little Lies, but in the best way! The cattiness of the women in this small seaside town kept me wanting to know more about the two main women and the young teenager in the novel.

The final main plot points were what sat with me the most. What ended in sadness finally became a life lesson of humanity and living life to the fullest.

*thank you to author and publisher for free copy to review

Okay.  It is summer and definitely time for beach reads.  This book seems ideal for this seasonal moment as it is a juicy, escapist read.  The story follows multiple adult characters, a "mom squad," and some children.  The setting is a town that I enjoyed visiting virtually and wish that I could really see.  The pages turn...quickly.


This book should appeal to those who enjoy books by Liane Moriary and Barbara Delinsky.  Think about adding it to your summer TBR.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

Even though there were parts of this book that never would happen which normally would bother me, instead in this book, it gave me some comfort. I knew from the beginning that something bad was going to happen (the collective "squad" foreshadowed it), so when the bad thing happened, it wasn't as devestating as it could have been. It just made the story a little easier to read and enjoy. The town of Newburyport-- its restuarants and beaches added to the story--I was in a constant state of hunger and read it outside on my deck (not exactly the beach but...) and when they brought up the holiday house tour, I was thrilled as I have attended that tour, which made the book a little more personal. All in all a great read.

Two Truths and a Lie was a great beach read. While it was fairly predictable, I did enjoy a few unexpected surprises along the way. The changing points of view kept the story flowing and me invested.

For me Alexa stole the show. She is a fascinating character--equal parts expected teenager and unique individual. I loved her inner dialogue and self-reflection. The author did a great job of portraying stereotypes and fleshing them out to be real people with an added dose of mommy drama.

The title drew me in and I wasn’t disappointed.

Two Truths and a Lie is about secrets. Big secrets, small secrets, innocent secrets, and secrets with the ability to destroy lives. Meg Mitchell Moore’s fun, entertaining new novel takes place over one summer in Newburyport and revolves around what she has named “The Mom Squad”. I think most of us are familiar with the mom squad concept, but it’s a small group of moms, usually with children of similar ages, who provide overall support for each other. In other words, they’re kind of like Bookstagramers, but with kids instead of books.

In Two Truths and a Lie, Meg takes the reader inside the dynamics of her fictionalized Newburyport squad,and the result is my favorite part of the book. I loved Meg’s descriptions of the funny, realistic relationships between the mom squad members. They’re witty and engaging, and I admittedly was able to recognize the similarities in many of my own female friendships.

I also absolutely adore Meg’s writing style. This is the prologue of Two Truths: “That was the summer we all drank tequila by the gallon. Not really, of course—if that had been true we all would have ended up dead, instead of only one person. Although there was no alcohol involved. It was your garden-variety car accident, the Acura crushed against the pole on that deserted stretch of Hale Street, the driver dead on impact. Garden variety. It happened all the time. Except that it wasn’t, and it didn’t, not in our town.” How could that not draw you in?? It certainly did me, and I was hooked from there.

A summer read with a bit of a thriller edge, Two Truths and a Lie is a book that should definitely find its way into all of your beach bags to be devoured with a crisp, cold glass of your favorite summer beverage.

Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollins for this free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Okay, where to start with this one. Let me start by saying that there was A LOT going on within this book. It definitely is a book that could be read and binged through a day at the beach or poolside. I could see myself wanting to spend the day at the beach while I finished reading this because of the setting and summer fun in it. There were also some downsides to this. Drugs, alcohol, secrets, lies, 'The Mom Squad,' and so much more. This book felt very long, and in fact, it is long. Although I thought the storyline and writing itself was good, this was never a book that I dropped everything for. I didn't find myself wanting to read it over anything else or cancel plans to read it. With that being said, I am just one person. I think this book will be very popular for many others, but sadly, this was not my favorite cup of tea. I think you should read this, especially if you like beachy reads, with some dysfunctional relationships.

It's summer in Newburyport, MA. The tourists are arriving and the moms and their daughters, all friends since grade school, are settling in at the beach, ready for gossip and play. Into the mix come two mothers who just don’t fit in.

The first is Rebecca, with daughters Alexa and Morgan. Rebecca did belong to the aptly named “mom squad” but has avoided them since her husband’s sudden death. Recent divorcee Sherri Griffin and her daughter Katie are new residents. We know from the first chapters that something is off with Sherri and Katie. Rebecca and Sherri become friends and Alexa takes over babysitting duties for Morgan and Katie. It is during a night of babysitting that Alexa discovers Katie’s hidden diary and learns what Sherri is desperate to hide. Alexa has secrets of her own. She has kept her dreams and career plans hidden from her mother, who is also hiding something. As the season winds down to the final summer party, all these secrets bubble to the surface and not in the way their owners would like.

The party scene is exciting, delightful and sad. Sherri lets her true colors fly and she is amazing. The tragedy that follows after is completely unexpected. Two Truths and a Lie is more than a great beach read. It’s part mystery, part coming of age story and part thriller. I loved it and can’t wait to read more by Meg Mitchell Moore. 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Meg Mitchell Moore for this ARC.

I loved The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore, and Two Truths and a Lie is another fun beach read with a punch. The book is one with unreliable narrators, family and mom squad drama, and a fantastic location. What's not to enjoy?

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts expressed are my own.

This book is not your typical light fluffy summer read. I'm not saying it's any better or worse than those that we all look forward to every summer, it's just a little different. There's a little more serious drama (death and mourning) and a lot more mean girls disguised as moms. It starts a little slowly, there are a lot of names to take in, but very quickly the same few names keep popping up. I do not want to ruin anything, but the whole story leads up to a big end of summer event when something big is going to happen. I did not know what it was until it happened. The author did a good job of surprising me. thank you to Netgalley for the E-ARC!

I was so happy to receive this one through @netgalley as this was one I was really excited for! I really liked this one, once it got started, there were a lot of things going on in this book. I enjoyed the characters in it, and I enjoyed the mystery and the mommy drama. Some parts were sad, some were suspenseful, and I thought it wrapped up really well. This is my first by Meg Mitchell Moore and I thought the writing was outstanding. I look forward to reading more from her.

I definitely recommend this one, and I think this would make a really good beach read or pool read this summer! Get your preorders in this one is available June 16!

Meg Mitchell Moore is quickly becoming my second go-to for beach reads after the queen herself, Elin Hilderbrand. There is just something about both of their books that screams summer, sun, and makes you want to immediately travel to the place in which their novels are set. MMM's latest is no different -- how I long to to go to Newburyport and lay on the sand! This one was a fun read with an unexpected ending and twist. I could not put it down!

Two Truths and a Lie comes out soon on June 16, 2020, and you can purchase HERE. I cannot recommend this author enough if you like beach reads, and if you haven't read her first last book, The Islanders, do so now!

"I'm Rebecca Coleman," she said, meeting his own hand with hers. Then some part of her that she thought had died with Peter--the part that danced to Nirvana in high school, the part that used to like sunbathing and sex and staying out until sunrise--said, "How about we skip this whole thing, and you buy me a drink right now?"

Unfortunately, Two Truths and a Lie was a flop for me. While I appreciated the range of characters and narrators throughout the story, I didn't feel able to connect or stick with any of them. My favorite narrator was The Squad "AKA a dozen moms whose daughters are the same age". Their comical references to White Claw's and Hydroflasks brought a modern-day twist and allowed readers to visualize the catty gossip firsthand.

While readers learn early on that Sherri and Katie, the newest mother-daughter duo of Newburyport, are keeping the details of their past life to a minimum, that mystery is quickly solved less than halfway through the story. By that point, it was a struggle to understand the purpose of the remaining half of the book. Ultimately, it felt like there was a bit too much happening throughout the story and caused some disappointment for me when reading Two Truths and a Lie.