This review is written with thanks to Penguin for my copy of The Truth About Ruby Cooper via Netgalley.

Blurb:

If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.

Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.

Not that Ruby wants to think about the past.

But it can’t stay a secret forever.

Review:

I’ve read and enjoyed a few novels by Liz Nugent now, and I’ve heard so many amazing things about The Truth About Ruby Cooper so I was really looking forward to reading it. It’s difficult to describe without spoilers but Liz Nugent wastes no time in immersing us headlong in a story which is raw and relevant. 

Each chapter in The Truth About Ruby Cooper is narrated by a central character, usually Ruby or her sister, Erin. This really helped me to get to know each one and learn about the tension between them. It also plants the seed of the idea that the characters may not be completely reliable. I was never sure who was telling the truth and this kept me intrigued and compelled me to keep reading. 

Ruby Cooper is one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever read; she’s manipulative and devious and most of her decisions made me want to throw my Kindle at the wall. It’s quite rare for me to have a reaction like this so it is clear that Liz Nugent is brilliant at developing her characters. 

The plot of The Truth About Ruby Cooper is quite fast paced; in fact, at times, I felt it was a little too fast and this means that some details are not always elaborated as much as I would have liked. Despite this, the plot is actually quite slow burning and there were not the fireworks or plot twists I would have expected.

I should mention that Liz Nugent writes about some issues in The Truth About Ruby Cooper that are prevalent in society. She handles this so well and her writing often made me feel emotional as I reflected on such important themes. 

The Truth About Ruby Cooper is available from Amazon.