This was on my Summer Beach Reads list in 2020 and I just got around to reading it in January. I was looking for a book that took a little chill out of the winter air and made me fee like summer again. This was perfect for that. There was a little suspense, sunshine, the beach, and small town drama.

One of my favorite authors for a summer read! Meg Mitchell Moore never disappoints - I always love relaxing on the beach with one of her books in hand!

Typical gossipy, dramatic, secret filled summer read, perfect to pack for a day on the beach. New to Meg Mitchell Moore. Cute cover.

I tried to get into this and I could not. I eventually got a physical copy as well and still couldn’t finish it. I think I may try again another time.

I picked this up hoping for a beachy, summery read. Unfortunately, I could never quite manage to care enough about the spoiled rich people who populate this story, or the woman and her daughter running from their past. I basically forgot everything about it as soon as I finished it.

From Meg Mitchell Moore comes TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, a scintillating, dishy and dark novel perfect for those who enjoyed NEVER HAVE I EVER and BIG LITTLE LIES.

The idyllic beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, is full of mom-and-pop fish joints, decadent buttered lobster, glitzy jewelry stores and the Mom Squad. The latter is a group of fit, attractive moms who are as good at downing three glasses of white wine at lunch as they are at planning out every playdate, summer barbecue and boating party they attend and throw with their husbands and children. But lately, they have been suffering from a bit of a rift: their unofficial leader, Rebecca, has lost her husband, Peter, to an aneurysm. As Moore writes, the Mom Squad understands her grief, of course, and when it happened they were happy to take over carpooling and preparing casseroles. But now, 18 months later, they have largely moved on, and Rebecca’s grief no longer has a place in their tight group.

Enter Sherri Griffin and her daughter, Katie. Sherri has just moved to Newburyport following a divorce, and though she seems nice enough and it is understandable she doesn’t have their routine quite down yet, everyone in the Mom Squad agrees that there is something off about her. Her bags are designer knockoffs, her daughter is a bit too guarded, and, of course, there is Rebecca’s sudden interest in her and willingness to include her in the group’s previously closed-off activities and parties. So what exactly is going on in Newburyport?

Writing in multiple perspectives, Moore introduces readers to the Mom Squad --- a group that speaks in the royal “we,” to this reader’s utter delight --- Rebecca, her teenage daughter Alexa, and Sherri. As outcasts of the group, Rebecca and Sherri bond quickly, finding comfort in their lack of shared history and their seclusion from the prying, judgmental eyes of the Mom Squad. Even better, their 11-year-old daughters, Katie and Morgan, become fast friends, each a little tender from recent hurts and desperate for a pal not forced upon them by a group of hot moms in Spandex. It soon becomes clear just how mean the Mom Squad really is, and how easily their lies twist and bend until the alliances and betrayals reach sky-high levels.

True to the book’s title, no one is completely honest --- or completely lying --- here. For Sherri, this means that some white lies about her past and her “complicated divorce” ultimately don’t align with her daughter’s fear of being alone. In flashbacks to Sherri’s past, we learn that she is hiding something very dark that could threaten not only her and her daughter’s lives, but also the lives of their new friends in Newburyport. Simultaneously, Rebecca’s lies about her busyness and feelings toward the Squad don’t quite add up when paired against her latest love interest, a man with a surprising connection to the group. Even Alexa is hiding a secret personality as a semi-famous YouTuber who dreams of moving away to Los Angeles to escape her town’s judgments and lack of privacy.

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE unfolds quickly, with Moore pairing the dishy drama with the idyllic summer setting perfectly, so that the surprising juxtaposition makes each element more powerful and affecting. The women, particularly Sherri and Rebecca, undergo serious character growth. Moore balances their personal journeys with the greater plot splendidly, creating two separate stories that could stand entirely on their own with no plot holes, but are so much stronger when tied together.

And then there’s the Mom Squad. Oh, how I loved this Greek chorus of bitchy ladies, so self-absorbed and simultaneously so obsessed with the women around them. In one laugh-out-loud moment, one of the Moms reveals a secret about another’s daughter, but swears she never told a soul --- and yet every single member of the Squad (not to mention the reader) knows exactly who she is talking about and what happened. This is the delightful punchiness of the book on full display, equal parts hilarious and cringeworthy in all the best ways.

I’ll admit that I had a particular soft spot for Rebecca. Though she was once the erstwhile leader of the Mom Squad, her new-ish grief was handled beautifully by Moore, and I loved watching how she slowly returned to herself --- all while remembering and demonstrating that grief is a process with no timeline. Moore’s ability to combine a heavy, heartfelt plotline like Rebecca’s with the otherwise witty and drama-filled narrative demonstrates serious control, and I marveled at her talent for laying major moments against the mundane.

A pitch-perfect summer read with all the beauty of a Massachusetts beach, the crispness of a glass of Zinfandel, and the heart of a writer who “gets it,” TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE is a delightful trek into the lives of Power Moms and their squads, with plenty of bended truths for thrills. Those who loved NEVER HAVE I EVER, or any and all of Liane Moriarty’s books, will not want to miss this one.

Interesting book! Starts off a bit slow but then really kept going. I really enjoyed the character development in the book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Sherri and her daughter Katie leave their old lives and start from scratch in a new town. Rebecca’s husband passes away and she also has to come to the realization that she can find love again and its ok, Katie her own daughter is going through it, she’s a huge influencer, has these amazing dreams of making it big, and also there is this Mom Squad that gives me Big Little Lies, and The Real Housewives of every damn franchise out there. It’s a little too catty, and the mystery of Sherri and Katie popping up in their town fell a little short, I thought for a second, I was going to get some mystery and something intense, but it fell flat for me. Other than that, I am loving the new romances, the self-discoveries and acceptance when it comes to the characters.

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and the writer Meg Mitchell Moore for giving me the opportunity to read this book

Very enjoyable beach bead! I really liked Meg Mitchell Moore's last book so I wanted to give this one a try. I start it and just couldn't stop reading! The beginning really grabs you and makes you want to read it. I thought the ending was a tad anticlimactic because I felt like it really built up to something...and then nothing. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed it and would read this author again!

I love Meg Mitchell Moore and will read anything she writes. Catty, gossipy, deceitful moms? Sign me UP.

This book kept you guessing from the beginning. The mom squad were characters you loved to hate, and wanted them to get what was coming to them for being non inclusive. I felt myself holding my breath wondering if they would be "found out" Sad, but happy ending

Another fun if slightly wicked book to read this summer. There’s some mystery, a perfect setting and interesting characters. And those moms---I wanted to slap them. They are mean catty and judgmental. Lots of secrets come out in this book, and like many summer books, it had a predictable but enjoyable ending.

I had never read anything by this author before, but I loved this book! A typical poolside page turner is always my go-to in the summertime!

I found this book pretty underwhelming, even though I live in the town where it's set. It was enjoyable reading about all the places I know and love, but none of the secrets were that shocking, and there was little payoff in the mystery set up in the first few pages. Sadly it just fell flat for me.

Favorite Quotes:

The woman was Sherri “with an i” (that was how she introduced herself, as though the i were of particular value, a bonus).

It was summer, obviously. But in a funny way it felt like it was Christmas morning and Cameron Hartwell was a present Alexa hadn’t yet unwrapped.

Outside the door stood a shriveled specimen of a woman. She was holding a small dog with giant ears. The woman made Alexa think of what would happen if somebody took a walnut and glued it on top of an old rag doll. She was looking at Alexa sternly.

The zinc she had applied to her face was uneven, making her look like a clown who’d partied too hard after last night’s circus.



My Review:

I am enamored with Meg Mitchell Moore’s smooth writing style and well-crafted story. I fell right into this seamlessly plotted, shrewdly paced, and absorbing tale of women’s fiction. Her storylines were well textured and expertly nuanced with generous servings of family drama, personal grief, coming of age issues, wry humor, romance, small-town living, and suspense. While selfishly resenting any interruption to my perusal I may have accidentally on purpose let all calls go to voicemail.

The complex characters were multi-layered, cunningly drawn, cleverly depicted, and realistically flawed. Each had a distinct voice and arresting aspects to their inner musings, painful insights, and observations. The most amusing threads involved the devilish petty members of the Mom Squad, which was a tight-knit clique of the ostensibly in-group of uber moms found in every small-town, who guarded and groomed their daughters’ social standing with as much self-aggrandizing importance as they did their own, and did so with judgmental eyes and sharply wagging tongues.

This was my first exposure to the agility of Ms. Moore’s pen and brain-tickling storytelling. I consider her found treasure and covet her entire listing while planning to follow her future endeavors like a bloodhound on the trail of an escaped convict.

Sherri Griffin and her daughter Katie have moved to a small beach town in Massachusetts and hoping to quickly get integrated into this town and grow quick roots. They have many secrets that they must keep for their safety, but being surrounded by crazy women who both love and love to hate, it will be hard for them to keep everything under wraps. Rebecca Coleman and her daughter Alexa have lived in this town for a long time, but with the recent death of their husband/father, they are feeling as though they don't fit in well anymore and big changes in this small town are right around the corner.

The characters made this book. The mother daughter relationship with a magnifying glass on it made for such a great read. Each mother daughter pair were interesting as each has their own quirks! There was plot in this book, but the true star were the characters.

I loved the changing perspective. From the mothers to the daughters to a group narrating, it was so fun to see the story bounce back and forth. I especially loved when "the squad" narrated as that felt so different from anything else I had read. To see group think realized in a book - so good!

I absolutely loved this book. It was perfect for a summer weekend. There was a large cast of characters but with a sticky note and pairing up moms and daughters it became easy to remember who was who and what drama they had! I tore through this book and it reinvigorated my love of good meaty beach reads that are easy to get into and stay in!

The mom squad is an exclusive group that is not usually acceptive of newcomers. So, when a newcomer invades their group and has secrets of her own things get turned upside down.

This is a story of family, friends, secrets, and lies. I read this one nonstop once I started. This is the perfect beach read! I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good summer read!

I'm a big fan of Meg Mitchell's Moore's writing, The Islanders was one of my favorite books in 2019. With Two Truths and A Lie, Mitchell tries her hand at domestic suspense and pulls it off. The main story involves the PTA politics of a small, seaside town in Massachusetts and how the social order is upended, thanks to the unlikely introduction of a mother and daughter in the Witness Protection Program. Moore is at her best when she focuses on relationships and character interactions and she has a wonderful knacks for writing teen girls. A satisfying summer read.

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!