Liane Moriarty is the undisputed queen at the intersection of women’s fiction and mystery, and any author who is compared to her is measured with a formidable yardstick. Amazon and reviewers are comparing international author Eithne Shortall to Moriarty based on her latest release, Three Little Truths. Luckily for readers, Shortall delivers with her tale of three very different women and the cul-de-sac where they live. With its well-plotted mystery, sympathetic characters, occasional humor and domestic setting, Three Little Truths fits nicely onto a bookshelf next to The Husband’s Secret. 

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Three Little Truths by Eithne Shortall Domestic drama set in a Dublin neighborhood involving three neighbors and a multitude of secrets.  The three women did not come across as very likeable.  The narrative was at times confusing as to whose POV was being featured.  Many characters are referred to but not fully developed or relationships explained which caused disjointed and confusing moments.  The interesting twist at the end was unexpected.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Eithne Shortall’s second novel Three Little Truths is a piece of domestic fiction that brings the reader into what seems like any other ordinary neighbourhood, one that is quiet and normal. Quickly the reader finds out that people who live on Pine Road have a lot more going on than the neighbours would like to admit. The novel features three different narrators, Martha, Eddie, and Robin, as they deal with their own secrets that they are trying to hide from everyone else while also trying to maintain the look of a perfect home and family and in the process learn that they are all connected in ways they wouldn’t have imagined. 

Martha and her family have moved to Pine Road in Dublin after going through a traumatic event that is not revealed right away in the story. As the reader makes their way through the novel, Shortall reveals more about what happened to them. When moving to Pine Road, Martha reveals to the reader that she’s happy to be closer to her older son from a previous relationship. Edie is a newlywed who has inherited a house from her Grandmother on Pine Road and this is where Edie and her husband Daniel are living. The two of them want to start a family but Daniel’s constant cold-feet is making Edie worry that her dreams of becoming a mother may never happen. Robin and her son Jack have been running away from Robin’s ex-boyfriend and Jack’s dad, Eddy, and in the process have moved in with Robin’s parents who live on Pine Road. Robin, who is not interested in joining in on the neighbourhood gossip, has developed a friendship with Edie and Martha and also has a mystery man in her life. The characters in Three Little Truths are unique and diverse, which leads to interesting dialogue between all of the characters. While the reader gets to see things unfold through three different perspectives, they learn a lot about the secondary characters as well. While this is interesting, it can also seem overwhelming with the amount of characters that are in this novel.

Shortall’s main theme is motherhood and it is shown throughout all of the characters in Three Little Truths. It features motherhood in many forms, from Edie wanting desperately to be a mother, to Robin who wasn’t necessarily ready for it. While Shortall puts emphasis on this theme, it dominates others that are brought up vaguely such as sexual assault. While motherhood is an important theme, it would’ve been nice to see others incorporated better throughout the plot.

There appears to be quite a bit of redundancy throughout Three Little Truths that ends up leaving the reader feeling like the story drags on in places when it doesn’t need to. At times, it can feel like there are two completely different stories going on instead of one that has several elements to it. At one point, the first main plot ends abruptly and then the second main plot takes over. The novel very easily could have been two different novels which would’ve made a lot more sense for how the plots were laid out. All in all, Three Little Truths is an interesting story that has more potential than it was given and because of that it is lacking overall. With a plot that can be confusing, it takes away from the twists that Shortall unveils, leaving the reader dissatisfied with the story as a whole.

Eithne Shortall has created a delightfully gossipy, suspenseful novel in Three Little Truths. Perfect for fans of Desperate Housewives or Liane Moriarty’s novels, Three Little Truths explores the many secrets that even apparently friendly neighbors may be hiding.

Three women want a fresh start in Dublin, Edie wants a baby, Robin, has fallen far from her life as the popular party girl and is living back at her parent’s home with hr toddler, and Martha, who has come to the neighborhood under somewhat mysterious circumstances is having a hard time fitting in. Three women, one neighborhood, and plenty of secrets