I love this authors books and was very excited to receive this arc. This is well plotted and written. It is set in a small village in Cork which I have been to many a times so it really got my attention as I know what the author is describing. I enjoyed the plot and the build up of suspence through out and is an excellent mystery. Not my favourite of the authors books but definitely worth a read. Thanks to hachette and to netgalley for this arc.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not read anything by this author before but really enjoyed this. Lots of intrigue and interesting characters.

Unfortunately there were lots of formatting issues which made it difficult to read and detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

This book does a great job of creating the tension of what might happen in a smaller town, if a girl looking for her father ends up mysteriously dead and how it all blows up when the mother comes and then accuses a man of murdering the girl because he is the father or so she claims. Dani is a mother who lost her child. A tragedy and I feel for how she wants justice for Jessie though it makes for twisty emotions because as the reader I was not sure how much of her story was true, especially when you add in Tadhg's side of the story (also suspicious) and how the town reacts to this. There is so much tension and even if this is a slow burn with Dani trying to get her story told and believed. You get people who want to help but also others that just want to create as much chaos as possible. And there are many suspicious actions being done by others being affected by it, and the little glimpses in the past rack up the tension that had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what actually happened, both present day and way back 22 years ago with the first meetings of Dani and Tadhg and what were the lies or truths that got stretched.

This book does a good job with the story and also shows how past actions affect way more than just the original people which can break relationships, and ruin lives though it is possible to heal, if you have the right people willing to give you a safe space. I liked it! There is a bit of happiness after Jessie's death and you do find out what happened (though I did not expect that!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me a chance to travel to Blarney and experience this story!

Michelle McDonagh's third book 'Some Of This Is True' is a gripping character-driven mystery set in the town of Blarney, Co Cork.
A young American girl who was in Ireland looking for her father is found dead at the bottom of the Wishing Steps in Blarney Castle on a cold January day. The police declares it an accident but her mother is not convinced and travels to Ireland from the States to find the truth. As a consequence the close-knit community is being disturbed with false allegations and long kept secrets are being revealed.

I very much enjoyed this cleverly plotted mystery. It kept me engaged throughout with beautiful writing and unexpected twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Ireland for the opportunity to read and review the ARC.

what we know is all true is that this was a brilliant and clever book. it drew me in to the characters, the plot, and the just what is going on premise. i loved wondering what had happened and who to trust. there is lots of secrets going on here. lots of people not being honest. peeping out from behind curtains isnt going to help matters.
the book gives us a woman who is now dead. she came to this place looking for her father after not getting any answer from her mother. but now she is dead. not good. not good at all. this doesnt get any better when her mother arrive from the USA because she is convinced this is not an accident or tragedy. this was murder in her eyes. and she isnt keeping quiet of the fact she believes this which doesnt go down well. because the person she is accusing is the person this village hold with very high respects.
this book held you with its deeper than most emotional core. it was deep. it was hard. it was thorough in getting to know the characters and helping you really become invested.
so youve got the brilliance of the story which is made by the brilliance of the telling of our characters.
the telling and setting of Ireland only added more depth and weight to the places and scenes we were imagining.
i also liked how it was never simple. not when you have memories or different people views or experiences of certain event in places in times. we were led to think and then question. you especially get that unjust feeling at points that things were only being told through the filter of small town beliefs or keeping certain people as Teflon characters because of how they were positioned in a community such as this. and this only led to you questioning and being tense along side the building of the plot.
this was just such a smart and addictive read that built and built for me all the way through at exactly the right moments.
i felt so much for our mother. and thought wow this woman is a mother. they keep going. they keep fighting no matter what when it comes for their children.
this book is way more and better than the usual thrillers. great stuff.

Hugely enjoyable third book from Michelle McDonagh. It had me gripped from the opening pages. Great cast of small town characters and being from Cork myself, it was filled with locations that I could easily picture.

This is the third book I have read by Michelle McDonough and she is one the most gifted writers I have come across from Ireland - which is saying a lot, given the rich Irish literary traditions she and her contemporaries are taking forward.

When a young American girl arrives in a small Irish village in search of her unknown biological father - Michael Murphy is hardly an uncommon name, mind you, so who knows if she will ever find the right one! - everyone is charmed by Jessie's determination to find her father, and her pride in her heritage.

So, when she is subsequently found dead in what appears to be an accidental fall at the nearby castle heritage site, all the locals mourn the loss.

Or do they? Because when the girl's mother Dani arrives from America and (to her own shock) identifies Jessie's father as a respectable local married man, she becomes convinced that the death of her daughter was no accident. And all hell breaks loose...

This is a beautiful book, cleverly plotted and intricately written. I cannot recommend it too highly.

An excellent book that had me at thd edge of my seat. I really enjoyed this book and the twists and turns were surprising and well written. A brilliant and thrilling book that is not to be missed.

I don't know if it's the book itself or the formatting of the ARC but I had to DNF this book as it was basically unreadable with text all over the place. A shame as the premise sounds great!

When Jessie DeMarco is found dead at the foot of the Wishing Steps at Blarney Castle it is assumed that she fell by accident. Her mother Dani does not believe that her death was accidental. She comes over to Cork from America to undercover the truth. Jessie had travelled to Ireland to find the father that she had never known and Dani accuses a local man, a pillar of the community.
I loved the portrayal of a local community with secrets, lies and reputations to uphold.
An enthralling read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Some of This Is True starts with a bang—literally—at the Wishing Steps in Blarney Castle, and from there, you’re drawn into a story full of quiet tension, half-truths, and questions no one seems eager to answer.

On the surface, it’s straightforward: a young American, Jessie, is found dead, and the Guards call it a tragic accident. But her mamma Dani, arriving from Boston, is convinced it was murder, and she’s not afraid to say so, even if it means accusing someone the village holds in high regard.

What follows isn’t your usual twist-a-minute thriller. It’s more of a slow burn—character-driven and emotionally layered. I really appreciated the grounded suspense and the way the story unfolded with steady, simmering tension.

McDonagh nails the setting, small-town Ireland with all its charm, unspoken rules, and the claustrophobia that comes when peace is disturbed. Having visited Blarney, I could picture every step and stone, which gave the story extra weight.

The story unfolds through multiple perspectives, including some flashbacks, which I always appreciate, especially in stories like this, where truth and memory are up for debate. It shows how complex stories can become when filtered through personal experience and how, in a small village, the truth is often shaped more by loyalty and perception than by fact. The different voices are well handled, and even though not everything lined up perfectly, that only added to the tension. You’re constantly second-guessing who to believe, if anyone at all.

Dani was the emotional core for me. Sure, she’s grieving, but she’s also angry, sharp, and driven. She’s not always easy to like, but I admired her persistence. She refuses to be dismissed or silenced, even as the community closes ranks around her. Her pain feels real on the page, and her determination to uncover the truth—even if it hurts—carries the whole narrative forward.

The death is the spark, but the real story is in the fallout—the ripple effects, the tested loyalties, and the silence that speaks volumes. McDonagh captures how quickly a community can close ranks and how some truths are buried for a reason.

Overall, Some of This Is True is a cleverly written, emotionally resonant novel that delivers more than just a mystery. It’s about grief, belonging, reputation, and the cost of digging up things meant to stay buried. There were a few turns I saw coming, but the emotional depth and well-drawn characters more than made up for that. It’s more suspense than thriller, more emotional than procedural, and it's all the better for it.

Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review, as always.

Some of This Is True is smart, atmospheric, and emotionally gripping. McDonagh weaves themes of motherhood, secrecy, and community into a compelling mystery that kept me turning pages late into the night. It’s not just a whodunit—it’s a why-did-they-do-it and how-far-will-they-go-to-hide-it.

📚 ARC Review. Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Books!
🗓️ Release Date: June 5, 2025
📖 Genre: Mystery / Domestic Noir / Irish Fiction

Summary:
In the quiet village of Blarney, County Cork, a young American tourist, Jessie DeMarco, is found dead at the foot of the Wishing Steps. Her grieving mother, Dani, arrives determined to uncover the truth—and claims that Jessie’s father is a respected local man who may be hiding more than anyone realizes. As suspicions grow and secrets begin to unravel, the community is forced to choose sides in a story where not everything is as it seems.

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Review:
Michelle McDonagh crafts a compelling, slow-burning mystery steeped in atmosphere and tension. I really enjoyed the narrative structure and the way the story was written—it felt immersive and kept me engaged from the first page. I truly enjoy having different voices and not just one point of view, specially in a book like this.

Having visited Blarney myself, it was easy to picture the setting and immerse myself in it —the steps, the village, the quiet intensity of a place with stories buried beneath its surface. That familiarity added an extra layer of realism and emotion to the reading experience.

Dani’s character especially stood out—her pain, persistence, and unraveling sense of trust were portrayed so powerfully. The story raises questions about truth, perception, and who gets to control the narrative in small, tight-knit communities.
For moments, the death seemed not relevant anymore, or even the who, while the WHY became the center of attention.

While I didn’t find every twist shocking, the pacing and character development more than made up for it. McDonagh’s writing has a strong, clear voice that lingers after the final page.

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⭐ Rating: 4/5 stars

Recommended for: Fans of domestic thrillers, Irish settings, and authors like Liz Nugent or Andrea Mara.

Some Of This Is True is a clever and well written novel. More suspense than thriller, it is character driven and, as the title suggests, involves a fair amount of duplicity in its plot.

The novel begins with the discovery of a body in the grounds of Blarney Castle. A young woman has apparently fallen to her death on a stone staircase. She is identified as an American visiting Cork to search for the father she has never known.

Things get heated when her bereaved mother arrives from Boston. She makes accusations about a local head teacher, and is convinced that her daughter was murdered. This sets tongues wagging in the small town. Much of the novel covers the aftermath of the revelations and their effects on the main characters and their families.

The plot develops slowly, told well from multiple points of view. The characters are realistic and the reader gets to know them - although the competing narratives don't match and can't all be true. The direction marks this novel as different from the more common police procedural, concentrating on the why rather than the who. And the ending does eventually provide a resolution.

I was properly pulled into this one, the main bit for me being, who was lying. The dead body at start of book almost didn't matter.
It shows every side of being a human, the worry, the doubt, the cruelty....
I myself didn't know who to believe, because as the title imies, it might not all be a lie.
Cracking read.