Review By Gabrielle
The Truth About Ruby Cooper is a gripping family drama from Liz Nugent.
Favourite Quote:
“Mom was Irish – I mean properly Irish, born in Ireland. That’s where Erin got her name; it means Ireland. Mom’s name was Maureen. Dad got to name me, thank God, and he said I was like a precious jewel, so I was Ruby. I got a better name than Erin. That was the only perk I got from my parents.”
Book Synopsis:
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 was so incredibly excited to dive into The Truth About Ruby Cooper after reading and absolutely loving Liz Nugent’s Strange Sally Diamond in 2023.
While it is advertised as a thriller, I found there really isn’t much of a mystery to solve, which made the pacing a bit slower and less gripping than I originally anticipated. Instead, the plot functions much more as a deep dive into a fractured family drama, exploring how a massive, decades-old secret can slowly tear a household apart. Even though the traditional thriller suspense was missing for me, Nugent delivers a massive, well-timed twist that completely shifts the story’s direction and keeps you turning the pages to see how the fallout lands.
The character development is where Nugent shines, even if the people themselves are tough to root for. The story is told through alternating perspectives, starting with Ruby and Erin, and later introducing Ruby’s daughter’s perspective. Most of the characters are not particularly likeable, especially Ruby. We do get to learn a lot of her backstory, but for me, it did not move me to a point of excusing her bad behaviour. On the other hand, Erin is much more likeable, and I found myself genuinely wanting good things for her as she deals with the ongoing aftermath of her sister’s actions. The setting also plays a huge role in the atmosphere, beautifully contrasting a rigid, close-knit Boston community with Ireland, highlighting the heavy weight of their adult lives separated by the Atlantic.
Overall, The Truth About Ruby Cooper wasn’t for me, but it is beautifully written, and folks who enjoy character-driven stories or “people behaving badly” type family dramas will absolutely love it.
Thank you, Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
