Truth and Other Lies promised to deliver a sharp new novel about working in the political world and boy did it deliver!

Megan is a reporter who has recently had to move back in with her mother due to losing her job. Megan and her mother could not be more different and they are at complete opposite ends of the political spectrum. This causes tension among the two as Megan’s mother is running for Congress and Megan is looking to be the fiery reporter that brings politicians like her mother down. When Megan lands a job with a famous journalist, Jocelyn, Megan is overjoyed with the opportunity and what this could mean for her career. Megan’s mother is not so enthused with Megan’s new boss and job. This causes tensions among the two to rise to an all time high.

I really enjoyed this book because the family with different political beliefs really resonated with me and I feel like the author was really able to capture the feelings of frustration well. I look forward to reading more from this author!

4.5 rounded off to 5.

A perfect book to come out into the world on Women’s Day!

Synopsis –

The book follows three women – Megan Barnes, a young reporter, who’s just lost her job and boyfriend and moved back home to Chicago; Megan’s mother Helena Watkins, upcoming politician running for the US Congress; Jocelyn Jones a renowned journalist of 40 years with an impeccable reputation.

Megan gets a chance to work with Jocelyn on her PR team, while at the same time, her disputes begin with her mother both at home and professional lives. When an anonymous tweet threatens to turn Jocelyn’s life upside down, Megan has to find a way to contain the damage.

Review –

Megan’s first-person narrative drew me right into the story. I loved the author’s character choices and pairings. Bringing the lowest career point of Megan together with the high flying eminence of Jocelyn, Smith explores both women’s personalities.

The partnership between Megan and Jocelyn’s followed a natural course. I especially enjoyed Megan’s inner voice that seemed to pop in with the precise advice she needs at any situation.

The mother daughter relationship dynamics between Megan and Helena also felt realistic. Although Helena appears as an over protective and nosy mother, I was really moved to find out the reason behind it . The addition of Megan’s romantic life was a great idea and it lightened up the tense circumstances that stressed her out.

The author brings several controversial tropics to the table here – abortion, nepotism, plagiarism, misogyny and morality. As friendships and loyalties are tested, a game of truth and lies begins to play out fuelled by the social media frenzy and the press.

I admired Megan’s conviction and her ability to persist. Even though making some difficult choices in the end, come back to bite her, I rooted for her as she stood up for herself and dealt with it all with integrity.

The ending was slightly anti-climactic, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. With a refreshingly unique and entertaining plot, this is definitely a strong debut.

Thanks NetGalley and Ten16 Press for the ARC!

Fantastic book! A very engaging story about a 20 something year old reporter who departs her NYC life with her personal and professional life in shambles. She returns home to Chicago to live with her mother. What unfolds is an unputdownable story about strong women and their professional lives. The story does not shy away from controversial topics such as abortion, sexual harassment and the price of ambition. I especially enjoyed the mother daughter relationship.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

A meaty debut with something for everyone - under the exciting backdrop of a celebrity and a mystery to unfold, this book takes on a lot of important topics (abortion, family relationships, being a woman in a corporation trying to succeed) and shines a light on complexities therein. I appreciated the discussion points within the story including personal integrity in the face of money and fame. As I finished the book, my first thought was the author tried to do too much as I wish the novel would have focused a bit more deeply on a few hot topics instead of peppering so many into the story. This would be a good book club discussion choice - lots to think about and share with others. Heartfelt thanks to Ten16 Press for the advanced copy.

Pub date: 3/8/22
Genre: women's fiction
In one sentence: Young journalist Megan has lost everything, and she's relying on Pulitzer Prize-winning Jocelyn Jones to rescue her career - but Jocelyn's secrets could bring them both down.

I love stories about journalists - their investigations are fun to follow and of course there are tons of juicy secrets for the author to spill! Megan was a compelling character, and Smith tested her in this novel. Is Megan as loyal an employee or as devoted to the truth as she'd like to think she is? The answer ends up being no (as it probably would be for most of us), and seeing Megan examine her ethics, her ambition, and her actions was eye-opening. Jocelyn was an excellent foil to the naive Megan - she's learned to do whatever it takes, and she's not going to apologize for it. Megan's mother Helen, a conservative political candidate, rounded out the trio of women well.

If you're looking for a book that will make you think but also entertain you, this is a great choice! I enjoyed spending time with these flawed, well-drawn women, and I think you will too!

Thank you to Ten16 Press for my NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5!

Maggie Smith promises truth and lies, and she delivers! This story is not only about three women of different generations chasing their careers, and the diversity of their work ethics, but also about feminism, motherhood, and the world of media in which words have more power than they've ever had before. This story is tense, wise, and expresses the complexity of women's careers in different fields in great detail, without sparing the reader the ugly sides of climbing the success ladder.

Megan Barnes is a 25-year-old investigative journalist whose life's course took an unexpected, downward angle. She is determined to learn from her mistakes, nevertheless, she is forced to move back in with her mother, Helen, who has recently decided to run for US Congress, which jeopardizes Megan's career. Until she meets Jocelyn, a Pulitzer-price-winning journalist from the boomer generation, and a series of odd events and rush decisions results in Megan working in a field she has neither expertise nor experience in. Each of these women faces obstacles and is determined to overcome them to become successful. Until one anonymous tweet challenges the truth and demands the lies to be unraveled.

This story is tense, bold, wise, and gripping! I could see Maggie's journalistic expertise on every single page and it made my reading experience much more interesting. As a person who has neither experience nor education in journalism or any similar field, it was truly amazing to follow the dynamics of the industry from within and to realize that just like any other, it has its fair share of secrets.

I specifically admired the generational gap theme and how I believe Maggie Smith managed to wrap up the main characteristics of each generation's morals into these three women, interwind their stories, show their different colors for the reader to see clearly - that the times we live in, the issues world faces, the experiences we all have, they all greatly impact our view on life.

This story is much more than what I've mentioned! I definitely recommend you to go for it!

Read if you like:
- feminism
- women chasing career
- generational gap
- journalism from within
- women in politics
- confrontation of beliefs
- the power of media

Thank you, Maggie, @ten16press, and NetGalley.com for a chance to read it pre-release. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This debut novel is a messy triangle of power and female relationships. Take a young female journalist hungry to further her career, add in an older seasoned female star journalist she greatly admire and is a mentor, and finally throw in the young woman's mother who has decided to enter politics (but who is on the opposite political spectrum as her daughter). This was a page turner and brought up so many interesting ethical questions, especially for bookclubs to discuss, about secrets, loyalties, and what is a person willing to do for success?

The plot-driven novel is riddled with secrets, lies, ruthless ambitions and ethical dilemmas. It weaves in many relevant topics, like the influence of social media on personal and professional lives and issues related to the “Me Too” movement. Interesting and engaging read.

Dejected after losing her job as an investigative reporter at a local New York City newspaper and a bad break-up, twenty-five year old Megan Barnes heads back to Chicago to start again. With no job and little savings, she moves in with her mother Helen, who shocks her that she is running for U.S. Congress. Megan does not share any of Helen’s conservative core values and needs to find a job and her own place. Luckily, Megan meets her idol, journalist and Pulitzer winner Jocelyn Jones, who is about to publish her memoir. With no job prospects in sight, she takes a PR position to assist Jocelyn, who offers to recommend her to the Chicago Tribune if she does a good job on her book launch. It soon appears that Jocelyn’s past may have a dark secret as someone is posting incriminating tweets which could derail the legendary journalist’s career. Megan needs to figure out the truth about her hero. Her moral compass and loyalties are tested.

In an impressive debut, author Maggie Smith tackles some important issues including ethics and the political divide. Smith delves into the complexities of female relationships - family, friends, mentors, lovers and co-workers. I particularly enjoyed the evolving relationship between Megan and her mother Helen. An interesting cast of supporting characters, including best friend Becca and co-worker Nick, added a nice dimension to this engaging story which addresses the decisions people make in their lives and its ramifications. I enjoyed Smith’s storytelling writing style and will be on the lookout for her next book.

Truth and Other Lies is a very impressive debut from Maggie Smith. Clever, modern and compelling it certainly kept me turning the pages, and I read the book in a single day.
Megan Barnes never intended to move back in with her mother in Chicago , but having lost her journalism job and her boyfriend in one fell swoop her options are somewhat limited. She and her mother have never seen eye to eye on a lot of issues, so it does not look like living together will be smooth sailing, especially when she discovers her mother's political ambitions to run for Congress, and the platforms that she will be campaigning on. To further complicate matters no paper will hire Megan until after the election, so she needs to find another job and fast so she can find a place of her own. A chance encounter with a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, one of her long time heroines turns out to be an opportunity she can't afford to turn down, and soon Megan is part of a PR team prepping for the launch of the journalist's memoir.
When an anonymous tweet appears to accuse the journalist of being less than honest and ethical , the PR team must go into overdrive to shut it down before it becomes a bigger story and Megan goes back to her investigative journalist roots but the story she uncovers is both shocking and potentially devastating, not just to her new boss but to her mother too.
This is a real page turner of a book, particularly in the latter half , and I was completely gripped by the masterful storytelling. The issues of social media and harassment feel very current and are cleverly incorporated into the story. While not all of the female characters at the core of this book are likeable, they are certainly believable. The dynamics between Megan and her mother, and Megan and Jocelyn, her boss, are so understandable in the context of each other, with Jocelyn giving Megan the approval and encouragement that she longed for from her mother. I loved Megan's strength of character, determination and integrity which really came to the fore in the later sections of the book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This book hit me personally in a few different ways. As a former journalist, it got straight to my heart. Megan and her search for the truth was EVERYTHING. Also, I’ve always been deeply fascinated in the adult realization that one’s parents are indeed, human after all. This seems to happen differently for everyone, but it happens for everyone. Megan takes that journey in this book as well. Finally, as an aspiring author I loved the publishing storylines in this one as well (there is talk of bookstagrammers, people).

I enjoyed that Megan wasn’t a perfect MC. As passionate as she was about seeking the truth, she struggled with confirmation bias both at work, and in her personal life. And she sometimes had a hard time balancing work and her personal relationships. I enjoyed reading as she navigated her way through those obstacles. One thing that was weird for me was her friend’s guilt trip when Megan was busy with her new job. Even though Becca was having her own crisis, I feel like true best friends would have handled that a little differently.

I loved the political arc in this book too. Megan’s mother is running for office, and they are on different ends of the spectrum. But I respected her mother’s desire for civilized debate, for her willingness to listen and most importantly her recognition that the true key to getting anything done is compromise. All things politicians seem to have lost a grip on in recent years.

I have to admit the writing left me wanting at times, but overall the story kept me engaged and intrigued. The character development was strong and I loved the ending. Overall, it was a strong debut by @maggiesmithwrites and I’d definitely check out whatever she comes up with next!

3.5 star read for me.

Megan is 25 and her life seems to have fallen apart around her. She loses her job as an investigative reporter in NYC at the same time she finds her older, live-in boyfriend cheating on her. Her first instinct was to return home to Chicago to live with her divorced mother, even though their relationship is strained.
The first half of the book went very slowly and a number of things didn't make sense. For instance, Megan wants to look at job postings at her alma mater so she and her BFF, Becca, detour to the school on their way to lunch. But the book is set in the recent past and job postings would be on line. Maggie also seems young too young to me to have worked as an investigative reporter in a big media market. However, sometimes her instincts fit entirely with a 25 year old (with all due respect to 25 year olds).
The story does pick up in the second half and while a number of the plot twists/turns were predictable, they did make for a more fast-paced and interesting story. Ms. Smith seemed to want to include many of today's hot topics - sexual assault, journalistic ethics, abortion rights, and even the Me Too movement. The storylines weren't all fully developed. I haven't read many books that tackle political differences within families and Truth and Other Lies did do this effectively.
All told - a pretty impressive debut novel. Thanks to Netgalley and Ten 16 Press for the opportunity to read Truth and Other Lies in exchange for an honest review.

A good read if you’re interested in politics and journalism. This was relatable in the way our judgement can be clouded when we’re around someone we admire and are starstruck by.

A little fluffier than I thought, and less plausible, but I was sucked in enough to see it through.

*ARC provided via NetGalley

This book blends the themes of a young adult boomerang situation with what it's really like when we meet our heroes with both a good political and journalism narrative. This might sound like there is a lot going on here, but it comes together nicely with a particularly seamless finish. Recent current events will also make Megan's hero Jocelyn's career as a war-time reporter particularly relevant. As someone who is similar in age to the main character, Megan, and actively follows politics the story interested me, but I never could have guessed everything that ended up happening. The book's final twists really bring the aforementioned themes together in a way that leads the reader to ponder. This is a strong debut by a writer who champions debut authors and I think many readers will enjoy it as well.

A slow burn that holds your interest. A fiction that gives you a little mystery, whodunnit and romance!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I was first drawn to this book by its colourful cover. I've always had a weak spot for a beautiful cover.

This story contains a lot of elements. It includes the big one: SECRETS. It touches on abortion issues, ambitious women, mother/daughter angst and professional ethics.

While the premise of the book shows a lot of promise, I felt let down by the execution. Parts of the story fell flat and I didn't feel engaged. The mainly female cast of characters had strong personas but I did not form an attachment to any of them.

The ending was interesting….I was surprised when I turned the last page and there was no more. Not quite what I expected. Perhaps set up for a sequel?

I can see this story as a Hallmark TV movie. With a little bit of freedom of the layout, it has the right elements.

In conclusion, this was an ok read. I don't feel like it was time wasted. But, it didn't quite live up to what I was expecting. Maggie Smith has promise, I would read a second book written by her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy.

Megan has just moved home to Chicago after being fired from her NY newspaper job and breaking up with her boyfriend. Unsure of her next move, she moves in with her mother. She finds out her mother is running for congress. Little does she know this move by her mom will limit her ability to get a job in journalism. So when a chance meeting with famous journalist, Jocelyn Jones, turns into a job in PR promoting her new book, Megan has to take a the job and hope the networking is worth a job outside of her field. Megan finds out that most everyone around her is hiding a secret or two. How do you know what to believe and who to trust?

I really enjoyed this book! It was engaging and I was eager to pick it up to finish it. The characters were all very interesting and the story well told. The ending certainly opened up for a sequel and if that happens then I’m here for it!

Truth and Other Lies follows the young journalist Megan Barnes home to Chicago after she simultaneously loses her job (insufficient fact-checking) and her boyfriend (his infidelity). Things heat up as she temporarily moves in with her mother, who to her surprise is about to run for Congress on a conservative, pro-life platform that Megan cannot support. Meanwhile, Megan has the opportunity to work for a mother figure she deeply admires, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. However, the secrets and lies in all three women's pasts--not to mention in Megan's best friend's present life--begin to threaten the peace of mind of each. Megan's hero Jocelyn is accused of plagiarism, and Megan must learn whether the accusation is true or false, an investigation that comes with significant costs to Megan, Jocelyn, and Megan's mother. This is a fast-paced and timely novel that addresses the complexities of life in the public eye, the reasons people make choices that may verge on or enter the unethical, and the coming-of-age of an idealistic and passionate but somewhat naive young woman. My thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

This multi-layered , beautifully crafted story takes a time-honored classic conflict—daughter versus mother—and packs it with the fresh punch of today’s Millennial/Boomer mashup. The tale begins when Megan, an almost-30 journalist is scrambling to find her footing after failing at “adulting.” When a lover’s betrayal and naïve mistake gets her abruptly fired, Megan must return home to the very last person she wants to see--her overreaching, helicoptering mother, Helen. Blind to her own naivete and stiff-arming her mother’s overtures, Megan is easy prey for the polished world-renowned journalist Jocelyn Jones, who befriends Megan. When an accusation pops up on Twitter intimating that Jocelyn may have an unethical past, Megan is caught in the sticky cross-hairs of loyalty versus accusation, coverup versus truth. But, as time and again Megan returns to the ideal of journalism integrity, she ultimately uncovers many truths, including her own bias against seeing her mother as the imperfect admirable woman she is in her own right.

I loved how author Maggie Smith deftly threaded multiple forms of truth and lies—a girlfriend’s secrets, a family’s hidden tragedy, anonymous sources, a politician’s stance, journalism’s rigorous fact-checking—each adding impetus to Megan’s growth. I loved how the main characters—Helen, Jocelyn and Megan--are each women with stubborn agency, fiercely protecting identities they’ve fought hard to realize. And I loved that journalism integrity is at the heart of this story, especially in light of the battering the media has taken of late. Author Smith orchestrates all of these elements with such smooth command that as Megan takes off on her journey for truth, it’s a fun ride!