Truth and Other Lies is an impressive debut. Author Maggie Smith juggles two genres (coming-of-age and mystery), three nuanced female characters, and multiple difficult topics.
The youngest of the three women, Megan Barnes, returns to Chicago after losing her job and her boyfriend in one day. She becomes a stereotypical boomerang child by moving back in with her mother. On arriving home, she learns that her mother, who leans as far to the political right as Megan does to the left, is running for Congress on a staunch anti-abortion platform.
Because of her mother’s political aspirations, Megan finds it hard to find a new job in journalism due to potential conflicts of interest. Taking advantage of a chance encounter, Megan ends up on the staff of Jocelyn Jones, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Megan hopes this will lead to the job in investigative reporting she desires. However, things aren’t as easy as she hopes.
Smith delves into such hot topics as abortion and provides a sensitive look at both sides of that issue. There are also the underlying generational and political divides, sexual harassment, morality, and ethics, all handled equally sensitively.
*********************
Truth and Other Lies is available through:
*********************
This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small amount from qualifying purchases.
