This Much Is True

by Katherine A. Sherbrooke

A mother faces an impossible dilemma as her daughter’s future hangs in the balance

On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon feels blessed—with a fulfilling veterinary career, a wonderful marriage and three grown children, her youngest newly engaged and celebrating her first solo art show that very night. But when Veronica meets her daughter’s future in-laws, Ted and Belinda, who’ve flown across the country for the show, she is shocked to recognize Ted from an incident during high school that changed the trajectory of her life. Having never told a soul about that night, Veronica’s past reemerges like a live grenade.

Over the course of a pre-arranged weekend at the Harmon’s home intended to better acquaint the two families, Veronica unearths troubling memories, questions her own recollections and grapples with the impossible. If she quietly welcomes this man as a permanent part of her family she will be forced to live with a devastating lie, but if she reveals their shared history, she will expose her private shame and destroy her daughter’s future. Just when she thinks there is no viable solution, she has an epiphany that flips the script on what it means to be a survivor and the choices that are hers to make.

Genres: Fiction

278 pages, Paperback

Published September 18, 2026

About the author

Katherine Sherbrooke is the award-winning author of Leaving Coy's Hill , a New York Times notable book which was short-listed for the MA Book Awards, Fill the Sky, a finalist for the Mary Sarton Award and the winner of an Indies book of the year award, The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly, and a family memoir, Finding Home (2011). Her fourth novel, This Much is True, is forthcoming in September 2026. An alumna of Dartmouth College and Stanford Business School, she wanted to be an author from the time she opened her first book, and lived on books like food and water for a long time. Somewhere along the line, though, she caught the start-up bug and co-founded a Boston based company called Circles. After that wonderful 15 year+ entrepreneurial adventure, she "remembered" her original dream and finally sat down to write. She lives outside Boston with her family.

Reviews

[ari✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review (copy provided by NetGalley):

I genuinely don’t even know how to put my feelings about this book into words. This Much Is True is a story that primarily deals with SA, trauma, and the aftermath of surviving something so deeply painful. It explores what it means to carry something like that as a secret for years and then to unexpectedly have the past come back into your life. Because of that, this is definitely not an easy book to read. There were so many moments that genuinely hurt, and by the last few chapters, I was an absolute mess. I was crying so much. And yet, I couldn’t put it down.

The writing is so incredibly fluid and immersive. The story just pulls you in and you constantly find yourself wanting to know what happens next. I had so many theories throughout the book about where the story was going and how everything would eventually end. I had my own idea of what the ending would look like but the actual ending completely caught me off guard (in the best possible way). It was so much more beautiful and meaningful than I expected. I honestly loved how everything came together and I think the ending made the entire story even more impactful.

What stayed with me the most was the way the author managed to communicate such heavy emotions in a way that felt incredibly natural, and that made the story hit so much harder.

I also feel like I happened to read this book at exactly the right time. Sometimes you come across a story that somehow finds you when you’re ready for it and I really feel like this was one of those books for me. I’m genuinely grateful that I picked it up.
Thank you to the author for writing something so beautiful, heartbreaking, and deeply human. 🫂❤️‍🩹

Definitely a 5⭐️ read and honestly one of my favorite reads of the year. I went into this book not really knowing what to expect and I ended up being so incredibly surprised by how deeply it affected me. I already know this is going to be one of those books I keep thinking about long after finishing it.

[Janet Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and inhaled it overnight. I will be thinking about this story for a long time. Kathy Sherbrooke really captures how women were silenced in the 1980’s by shaming and how men got away with it (and how we all colluded). Powerful mother-daughter story with real characters you will be rooting for. The main character, Veronica, is in an impossible situation not of her own making - I just had to keep going to see how Sherbrooke would give her (and us) a resolution. And how satisfying it was.

[hhhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞,” 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝. “𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?” 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝. “𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

Reading this with the current events playing out in the news right now felt like the most unfortunate form of kismet.

Knowing Veronica’s storyline took place in the 80s definitely made me envision Jack and Ted as the bad guys in every John Hughes movie. (Just in case you needed another reason to be horrified by a rewatch of Sixteen Candles.)

My gripe is that the ending, starting around the 75% mark, felt incredibly rushed, even tho it was arguably the more important part of the story??? I felt disappointed that Mara’s ‘big’ conversation with her mother literally took up all of two pages (on my Kindle, mind you).

Although, I guess one could argue that that’s exactly how mother/daughter relationships are. Years of unspoken feelings and words left unsaid, reconciled as quickly as you can read 6pt font.

[Julie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[KBeansbook · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS IS AN ADVANCED READING COPY BY NETGALLEY:
This Much Is True, is the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading by Katherine A. Sherbrooke. It’s no secret this author knows how to get inside the hard truths of life, to create structured, complex and dynamic characters who share interpersonal relationships that can either ensure their bond remains close and secure or destroy their trust, their sense of autonomy and forever scar their futures.
When Mara, introduces her parents Veronica and David to her soon to be in laws, Belinda and Ted at her art gallery show that Belinda had helped her by introducing her to the gallery’s owner, her mother Veronica is shocked back to the worse time of her life as the man who was her high school boyfriend, whom she’d loved and believed she’d ruined their relationship with poor decisions from too much alcohol and waking in the morning with a kid two years her junior reminded by snippets of the assault he’d forced upon her and she was ostracized at school and eventually ran all the way to California to find refuge in her eldest brothers company. Because of that moment, she has been irrevocably broken and changed and never finished high school making college a lost dream of hers.
When she apologized to Jack at the gallery for ending things the way she had, she asked how he was there. He gave her the worst most horrific response she’d couldn’t ever be prepared for. Ted, was her predator. The young unknown kid in the back of that car who’d raped her and then gladly ruined her reputation by making it known that she’d been the one to put them together that night and had intentionally done so to hurt Jack. Ted was going to be her daughter’s father in law. His wife Belinda worked tirelessly on college campuses to bring sexual assaults to the forefront and to make others aware that they had the power to intervene to protect and to stop what they believed was a predatory act in taking advantage of a women under the influence and who was not in control of her faculties at the time of being led into something she wasn’t giving consent to. She had started a non profit called IT’S ON US or IOU for short.
I was so immersed in the emotions and the pain that Veronica was still dealing with acutely and her trauma was as devastating nearly 4 decades later as it had been when it had happened. This was a distinct and incredibly brilliant way to portray the lifelong struggle and suffering and the loneliness that survivors experience for their entire lives.
I admire the author for choosing such a broken and prevalent issue that is so deeply rooted in the society that we live in and the horrible consequences that females face regularly when they’ve been victimized and don’t report because the statistics don’t lie yet they aren’t given the support needed in or outside the court of law.
Incredible book that will have you thinking and remembering the story and how brutally the impact of her assault was all those decades later and how much worse it is knowing there were no consequences or repercussions for the men who robbed her of the life she’d previously been working towards.
Thank you so very much to #Netgalley for this ARC, to the brilliant and brave #KatherineASherbrooke and the remarkable and unforgettable book #ThisMuchIsTrue and to the publisher #SibyllinePress

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a unique storyline that I looked forward to playing out. Unfortunately, it lacked the emotional depth that I was hoping for and ended up being just fine. It felt a little too flat to me for such a deep subject.

[Alexis Broderick Kress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for gifting me an Advanced Reader Copy of This Much Is True by Katherine Sherbrooke. I was immediately drawn into Ro’s story and the beautifully rendered Cape Cod setting, which gave the novel an atmosphere that felt both intimate and nostalgic. Told across timelines and perspectives, the story gradually reveals a painful secret from Ro’s adolescence and the profound ways it has shaped her relationships, identity, and choices decades later. I also couldn’t help but notice echoes of Molly Ringwald’s "Sixteen Candles" character as I read, and I was delighted to discover in the author’s acknowledgments that the connection was intentional.

The novel tackles deeply difficult subject matter, particularly sexual assault, with thoughtfulness and intention rather than sensationalism. I appreciated the way Sherbrooke explores the complicated aftermath of trauma—not simply the event itself, but the shame, silence, fear, and impossible burden placed on women to consider everyone else’s lives and feelings before deciding whether they are finally allowed to tell the truth. Ro’s protectiveness toward her family and her struggle to reconcile the girl she once was with the woman she has become felt especially compelling, even when I found myself wishing she would open up sooner to the people who loved and supported her. Her eventual movement toward reclaiming her voice and agency was one of the most satisfying elements of the story.

While the opening chapters were immersive and immediately pulled me in, the middle began to drag for me, with some sentiments feeling repetitive and several story elements seeming more like filler than meaningful additions. There were also characters who felt somewhat glazed over, and I found myself wishing they had been omitted altogether so the central storyline could have remained more focused or expanded. I was invested enough to keep reading, but I ultimately wanted more exploration of the emotional and relational consequences of Ted’s admission rather than some of the detours that occupied the middle of the novel. I think a more substantial look at the fallout would have given the story the depth and resolution I was craving.

Overall, "This Much Is True" is a thoughtful and emotionally resonant exploration of trauma, memory, motherhood, marriage, and the complicated cost of speaking a truth that has been buried for decades. I admired the care with which Sherbrooke approached such a difficult subject and genuinely enjoyed Ro and Belinda, as well as the sense of place that made Cape Cod feel almost like another character. Although the pacing faltered and I wanted a clearer, more fully developed conclusion surrounding the aftermath of Ted’s admission, there was enough emotional substance here to leave me thinking about the story and its questions after finishing.
**3.75 stars.**

[Patty · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

ARC Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher/author for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This has not influenced my review, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Some truths are too painful to keep buried, but what happens when telling them could change everything?

Veronica Harmon has spent four decades keeping a painful secret buried, building a life she can finally be content with. At fifty-eight, she's a veterinarian, a wife, and a mother of three grown children. Everything seems to be in its right place until she meets her youngest daughter's future father-in-law and recognizes him as the man who sexually assaulted her when she was in high school. Suddenly, a family celebration becomes something much more complicated. Does she remain silent to protect the life she's built and her daughter's happiness, or finally speak the truth and risk turning everyone's world upside down?

What I appreciated most about this book is how it portrays Veronica as more than the trauma she's carried for decades. She's a woman with a life, a family, and so much to lose, which makes her dilemma all the more heartbreaking. I can't imagine how terrifying it must be to come face-to-face with someone who hurt you years ago, especially when that person has become part of your family's future. And honestly, how do you even begin to navigate something like that? Sherbrooke does a wonderful job exploring the complicated relationship between memory, silence, and survival without reducing Veronica's experience to a single defining moment.

I also really liked how the story unfolds over one tense family weekend. There's something particularly unsettling about how an ordinary gathering can become a place where years of buried pain begin to surface. The contrast between the family's seemingly happy occasion and Veronica's internal struggle kept the tension alive, while the flashbacks added more depth to her character. More than anything, the novel explores the difficult choices survivors face and the way trauma can echo through relationships, even decades later. I especially appreciated its exploration of solidarity among women and how sharing painful experiences can become a source of strength. It's a heavy subject, and while some parts were difficult to sit with, I believe the story handles them with compassion and emotional honesty.

Overall, This Much Is True was a powerful and emotionally resonant read. It isn't necessarily an easy book to get through, but I think that's part of what makes it meaningful. It reminds us that surviving something doesn't mean we stop carrying it, and that finding the courage to speak about the past can be a complicated, deeply personal process. I finished this book appreciating its message about reclaiming one's voice and the possibility of healing, even after decades of silence.

[Lorraine Devon Wilke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s amazing how much suspense can exist in everyday life, amongst everyday people, often simmering just beneath the surface of those lives and people in ways that color everything ... yet remains unspoken, sometimes even unacknowledged.

THIS MUCH IS TRUE grapples with that exact conundrum in story that brings us into a family where all seems well, all feels cohesive and understood, yet one family member—in this case, Veronica, the mother, the wife—has a secret, one that broke her as a teenager and now roars up to potentially destroy everything she holds dear.

It’s during a joyous family gathering, one celebrating the upcoming nuptials of Vernonica’s beloved daughter, that this dormant secret is jarringly brought home when she meets Ted, her soon-to-be son-in-law’s father, and Ted’s friend, Jack, who’s now offering that son-in-law a lucrative job. In a stunning moment of clarity, she recognizes both men as former “friends” from high school, both of whom were party to a soul-crushing event that literally changed her life ... and now appears to threaten the same again.

Exploring themes of personal survival, dogged reinvention, and the tentacled danger of secrets, even those long-held, Katherine A. Sherbrooke masterly weaves her story through various viewpoints and shifting emotions, pulling readers into very real questions of “when is truth required?” Is it essential even when it can literally blow two families apart, damage relationships, and change the course of lives? Or is it worth the sacrifice of the secret-holder’s well-being to stuff it down in deference others?

These are complex questions being tackled by a complex set of characters in a narrative that keeps us riveted and absorbed. You won’t be able to put it down.

This smart, well-told story comes with a high recommend.

[Hillary Bravo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers who enjoy a slowly developing story, complex relationships, and characters shaped by the choices and wounds of their past will enjoy This Much Is True.

The story is told from the perspective of Ro, a 58-year-old woman who is forced to confront a painful secret from her high school years when she unexpectedly runs into former classmates at her daughter’s art gallery premiere. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Ro’s teenage years and the experiences that have quietly influenced her sense of self, her relationships, and many of the decisions she has made throughout her life.

I especially enjoyed Ro’s perspective in the present-day storyline. She is deeply protective of her family and genuinely wants to see her daughter happy and successful. At times, though, I found myself frustrated with Ro because I wanted her to speak up more and be more open about what she was carrying, especially with her caring and supportive husband. It was difficult watching her continue to hold so much inside.

That said, I appreciated Ro’s journey throughout the novel. By the end, she begins to reclaim some of the power and agency that had been taken from her so many years before, and I found that aspect of her character development especially satisfying.

The first few chapters immediately captivated me and drew me into Ro’s story. The middle slowed down for me, and there were moments when I felt the story could have moved along a little faster. Thankfully, the pacing picked back up toward the end, and the final chapters brought the story together in an empowering and meaningful way.

Thank you Netgalley and Sibylline Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! ♡

This Much Is True made me think a lot about how often women are expected to think about the consequences of telling the truth before anyone considers the consequences of what was done to them. It hit a verrry personal spot in me.

Veronica has spent decades living around a trauma she never spoke about, only for the man responsible to suddenly reappear as the father of her daughter’s fiancé. From there, the book becomes less about uncovering what happened and more about the unbearable arithmetic of disclosure: who will be hurt, whose life will change, and why Veronica still feels responsible for managing all of it.

That was easily the strongest part for me. I appreciated that the novel allows her to be frightened, uncertain and even contradictory rather than turning survival into a neat story of empowerment. Silence kept her safe once. Years later, it has become its own kind of confinement.
I did think some of the plotting relied a liiiiittle heavily on coincidence, and there were places where I wanted the book to dig deeper rather than explain its point quite so clearly. But Veronica’s dilemma felt painfully believable, and I found myself genuinely invested in what she would choose.

A thoughtful, uncomfortable novel. Hits the parts of shame, memory, motherhood felt in these situations and the enormous burden placed on women to decide when the truth is finally allowed to matter.

[Annie Silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of an advanced copy received from NetGalley.

I really felt for the main character, Veronica. She'd been through so much as a kid and young adult and it was truly heartbreaking. What happened to her in high school was unconscionable. However, I had a problem with how she dealt with her shame much later on. Not telling her husband what had happened to her years before was wrong, but I understood that. She was afraid he wouldn't see her in the same light. Honestly, I can't imagine taking the blame for something she never set in motion. That she was willing to stuff it down and never tell a soul just didn't ring true for me, but then again, I'm a different person and I've had different experiences. I've never had kids, certainly not grown ones. Veronica felt that it was worth it to throw herself on the fire to save her daughter by not telling her own truth, and it was eating her up alive. I know the telling of this storyline had to follow a certain path in order to end up the way it did, but why didn't she ever seek therapy? At least then, she might have found a solution that didn't destroy families. I grew up with a lot of girls who never put themselves first and when I read the book, that hit a nerve. I made sure I didn't turn out that way. and I've never understood how they did. Weren't they worth more than that? It was a good read ,but not stellar in my opinion. Personally, I would have written it quite differently.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tackles very serious subjects -- primarily, the shame, pain, fear, and decision to keep secret a terrible sexual assault that happened years ago. Just read the national news -- so many alleged male sexual predators and assailants are living free and successful lives, while their victims are dealing with lifelong trauma.

This novel's plot may rely a bit too much on coincidence -- the parents of two families meet to celebrate the impending marriage of their children; the mother of the bride is shocked to discover that the father of her future son-in-law raped her when she was in high school, and he, along with the father's best friend, lied about it, blamed the victim, eventually forcing her to move to another state to avoid humiliation and public shaming. Despite the implausible plot point that the victim would discover her attacker in this way, I gave the book four stars overall because the author does a good job highlighting the inexcusable fact that victimized women have a difficult time proving their cases, and more needs to be done to protect and defend them in these situations. But enough grandstanding -- this is a well-written novel and worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Sibbylline Press for the eARC and the opportunity to read this novel All opinions are my own.

[Karen Axnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veronica Harmon has kept a secret deeply buried for over four decades…that is until her daughter’s future in-laws arrive for a long weekend and threaten not only her peace of mind, but also her daughter’s future. The story unfolds in agonizing detail the emotional turmoil Veronica finds herself in as she struggles to find justice for herself while protecting her beloved daughter. Amid her own personal dilemma, she also finds that her fulfilling career is about to implode, and the family’s legacy business may be up for sale.

This well-crafted novel with strong character development may be triggering for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, namely rape. The novel explores, with compassion and sensitivity, the immediate and long-term consequences of such violation for women who must chose to either remain silent in their rage and internal shame or to speak up and face possible ridicule and external shaming without a guarantee that their brave stand may make any difference. While the book was entertaining, it was also thought-provoking and not an easy read.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica is content with her life in her fifties. She has the career she wanted rescuing and saving animals, was married to a great husband, and had two adult children. But flashbacks take us to her past where trauma changed her. She meets her daughter Mara's future inlaws, Ted and Belinda, and is horrified to recognize Ted from years before. She is torn. Does she tell the truth about Ted at the risk of damaging her relationship with her daughter? Would she be believed? An added layer is that Mara’s fiancé Nix comes from wealth but as an artist, Mara is determined to make her own way financially. So much going on here, yet not at all over the top. The beautiful writing highlights carrying the weight of trauma, truth and consequences.

Veronica moved around so often as a child she named towns after her one friend from each of them. Then she moved on. That aspect really intrigued me. Being privy to her thoughts gave me great insight into her impossible dilemma. Books about moral or ethical choices are my wheelhouse and this one fit.

The story is moving and the character building fantastic. I like that this book is just a little bit different, something I really gravitated toward. It made me focus and think which I appreciate.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down.

The premise alone creates tension, but then Katherine A. Sherbrooke does something even better: she puts these two families under the same roof for the weekend.

Veronica is trying to get through meals, conversations, and all the ordinary moments that come with hosting houseguests while carrying something enormous that no one else in the room understands. Her family can tell something is wrong and begins questioning why she isn’t making more of an effort with her daughter’s future in-laws. Not even Veronica’s husband knows what she’s carrying.

And as the reader, you know.

That is where so much of the tension comes from. You understand why Veronica is uncomfortable and behaving differently while watching the people closest to her misinterpret nearly everything. At times, I wanted to step into the story and explain it for her.

But what should she do? That question carried me through most of the book. I kept thinking, How is she possibly going to get through this weekend? Is she going to say something? And what happens to her daughter if she does?

And then I found myself wondering: What would I do? What would my husband do? What would I want for my child?

There is no simple answer, and I appreciated that the book doesn’t pretend there is one.

This isn’t simply a novel about whether Veronica will reveal something from her past. It explores memory and the stories we tell ourselves about experiences we’ve carried for years. It asks questions about shame, family, loyalty, responsibility, and what we owe the people we love—especially when our truth may have consequences for them, too.

And then Sherbrooke keeps adding layers.

This is where I’m going to stop talking about the plot. There were several moments when I thought I understood where the story was going, only to have something shift. Even though the publisher’s overview gives you the setup, I recommend knowing as little as possible beyond that. Part of what made this book so compelling for me was discovering those layers as they unfolded.

4.5 stars for me. Compelling, uncomfortable at times, thought-provoking, and incredibly hard to put down. This would also make a terrific book club pick—there is so much to talk about after you finish.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica Harmon's daughter is getting married. At her daughter's art show in Boston, she meets her future son-in-law's parents, Ted and Belinda, and is shocked to realize that she knows him from high school. The reconnection brings back painful, anxiety-inducing memories, and threaten to ruin the planned gathering and her daughter's upcoming marriage. The book chronicles Veronica's choices to protect her family, yet still be true to herself and her painful past.

I had not read anything by this author before, so I had no preconceived expectations going into this novel. I enjoyed the book, especially the ending and the sense of empowerment that Veronica felt once she had made her decisions regarding Ted's past. There's a scene in the final few chapters around a bonfire that really made the novel for me.

All that being said, it was a bit of a slow burn. It's about 300 pages, but felt longer. The book jumps back and forth between the present day and Veronica and Ted's high school days. The flashbacks were well done, but the present day sections less so. Things picked up in the last third of the novel and came to a nicely wound up ending - maybe a little too cliche.

Overall, 4 ⭐s. This book would be good for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Rebecca Serle, and Liane Moriarty.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for an advanced copy of this novel. It's already published so get your copy today!

[Jessica Haile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Sibylline Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This Much Is True addresses an incredibly difficult subject—sexual abuse—with care, sensitivity, and nuance.
I especially appreciated that it gives voice both to a survivor and to a repentant perpetrator, while never suggesting that accountability, forgiveness, or healing are simple. The book thoughtfully considers what it means to believe survivors brave enough to report, to hold people accountable for the consequences of their actions, and to recognize that justice is not always served in traditional ways.
It also makes room for the reality that speaking out, reporting, or even winning a case does not necessarily bring healing on its own. At the same time, it recognizes that silence can sometimes be another valid, protective choice. There is no single right path forward, and the book handles that complexity with real grace.
Beyond those themes, it is a compelling story about family politics, emotional devastation, and the difficult process of confronting a long-buried secret. A powerful, thoughtful novel that handles its subject matter very well.

[Sarah Pitcher-hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica has a desire to save people and animals, but she can't save herself from her memories. She is haunted by her high school experience and the choices that surviving it led her to make. She keeps this secret bottled up inside herself, never telling anyone, not her parents or brother when it happened, not her high school "friends," and not even, later, her husband Davis - the love of her life.

Her past sneaks up on her the weekend that her daughter's future in-laws come to stay and Veronica has a reckoning. At times, I was worried that the author would give the story a dissatisfying ending and I would be annoyed by it. But that is the hallmark of a good writer, and Sherbrooke leaves us with a solid ending. It isn't all wrapped up prettily, and we don't know all the details, but we know enough to be satisfied that Veronica finally has some justice and, through it all, is still close with her husband and daughter.

Well done, Katherine Sherbrooke, and thank you. Thanks also to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Much is True is an expertly written novel about the complexity of sexual assault, even when it is an historical event. Mara and Nix, a young couple on the cusp of a wonderful life in the arts and science, have families that come together for one weekend. Veronica and Belinda, the mothers, are the backbone of this tense story's plot.

Sexual assault is far deeper and more complex than the #MeToo stories in the press, social media, and even in films. The scourge of predators and their prey penetrates the lives of entire families involved. For a mother worried about her daughter's future, this story is prescient and demands thoughtful consideration in real life as it did in this fiction. Katherine Sherbrooke has written an important novel for our time, taking into account the histories many people keep in their secret pasts.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC. The novel will be published on September 18, 2026.

[Andrea E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking story about 58 year old Veronica (Ro) Harmon, who has successfully built a happy life with a loving husband, three grown children and a satisfying career in veterinary medicine. She is a caretaker at heart - of everyone and everything but herself. Ro has compartmentalized and buried a painful incident from high school, a sexual assault she didn't fully understand or remember at the time. Now, in an unexpected and unfortunate coincidence, the past invades her present, as she faces her daughter's future father-in-law, the successful tech bro who was the nerdy high schooler at the center of her past nightmare.

Ro's internal struggles are vividly portrayed: how can she resolve her past while not hurting those she loves most? Sherbrooke writes with heart and authenticity - the complex mother-daughter relationship, her unwillingness to share her deepest secret with her devoted husband, and her angst with understanding her own truths.

Beautiful written and thoughtfully told, Ro's story of how she decides, in the end, to confront her past and yet protect her present leads to a very satisfying outcome that keeps the reader turning pages until the very end. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Deniza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Much Is True follows Ro, whose life looks pretty settled. She has a husband she loves, grown children, and a life she’s built over many years. But when her daughter’s future in-laws come to visit, Ro comes face-to-face with someone from her past and a secret she’s been carrying for almost 40 years.

This was a tough subject, but I thought Katherine A. Sherbrooke handled it with a lot of care. I really appreciated that the story wasn’t just about what happened to Ro, but about what happens afterward, the silence, the memories, the shame, and how something that happened so long ago can still have an impact on your life. Sometimes keeping a secret feels like the right thing to do, but there can be consequences to that too. This one definitely gave me a lot to think about. Emotional, complicated, and thoughtfully done.

[anj (acozyday) · Rating 4 out of 5]

On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon is happily married, has three children, and a fulfilling career. But when she meets her daughter’s future in-laws, she is shocked to recognize the husband from an incident in high school that changed her life.

This book is incredibly well written, and you really feel everything Veronica is carrying: protecting her daughter, reckoning with a past she has successfully buried, and realizing how difficult it may be to do both.

The writing is beautiful, the characters feel deeply human, and the story feels incredibly real. Veronica’s internal struggle is portrayed with so much honesty and nuance that I found myself completely absorbed in her story.

Thank you Sibylline Press and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can NOT stop thinking about this novel, the central question of how and when to prioritize truth when the consequences could be devastating. This is a mother and daughter story but a novel that is absolutely *begging* to be read by and discussed with men, young and old, and fathers and sons. In Sherbrooke’s very capable hands, the dilemma that Veronica faces—seeing again the man at the center of a life-changing trauma she experienced and internalized as a teenager—is handled with tenderness and power. This is a novel for every girl or woman who has been affected by sexual assault and for every single man unwilling to admit that he has been a perpetrator or silent witness. Can we please share this novel and use it as a launch pad for discussion and change? Please?

[Crystal Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Much Is True by Katherine A. Sherbrooke follows a mother, Veronica, whose youngest child is engaged and they are going to her art show for support only to find out that she went to high school with her daughter's future father-in-law and one night changed her entire life.

This was an emotional read and shows how the trauma of one event can unfold throughout your life and affect all aspects. The beginning started strong, but then it kind of got really slow for me and it was hard to hold my attention. The FMC was developed well and we could feel her pain, shame and anguish. Overall a good book - 3.5 stars

Thank you to the author, Sibylline Press and NetGalley for this eARC.

[Jesslyn Zhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dreaded the first quarter of the book because I’m too scared of the upcoming revealed truth.

But, when the news with similar case is out (and now viral in US), I finish the rest faster. This book really opens my mind and make me see from other perspective.

It is written beautifully with all sorts of thoughts of a mother wanting the best for her daughter. And that is what rears me to want to read the book, in the first place.

If you are a child who is being “protected” by your mother, you will probably empathize with your own after reading this. If you are a mother, you will certainly relate more.

Thank you to the author, Sibylline Press, and Netgalley for this arc.

[Stephanie Peterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

what started out as a slow burn eventually crescendoed into one of the more powerful SA-driven storylines i’ve read to-date. this book presents an incredible moral dilemma… would you risk outing your attacker 40 years later if it meant potentially ruining your daughter’s chance at a happy relationship with her future in-laws? the way veronica navigates this unique challenge had me hanging on every word and the reckoning at the end had me all fired up. well done!

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. this one will stay with me for awhile.

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ro Harmon has it all. Fulfilling career, loving family, a beautiful home. Her daughter, Mara, has her first art exhibition, and she is meeting Mara's fiance's parents for the first time. To her shock, she realizes that she knows Belinda's husband, Ted. They went to the same high school, and something happened that changed the course of her life. If she discloses the incident, it will ruin Mara's life. But can she really keep silent?
What a powerful book. I read it in one sitting. I really felt drawn into this story. Ro had an impossible decision to make. Highly, highly recommended.

[Michelle Lerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will be a revelation for many Gen X women (and, I hope, men). Sherbrooke's Leaving Coy's Hill is one of my favorite books ever-- I recommend it to people constantly-- so I was excited to read this. It's wildly different and yet has the same general purpose-- to make us think deeply about women's experiences and how we understand them. Even our own. What I also like about this book is that it is a meditation on a specific kind of silence-- why we engage in it, what it feels like, what its effects are, and what it takes to break it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be one of the shortest reviews I've ever written for an ARC. I liked it okay, but I was incredibly disappointed with almost the entire book. Book reviews should never be political, and I just can't review this in detail without making it that way. All I can say is the writing was good, the storyline was well-developed, and the character were decent. I simply have different opinions on the main topic than the author does.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.