Allegedly: A Psychological Thriller

“A tightly spun debut that wrestles with many intense ideas and ends with a knife twist that will send readers racing back to the beginning again.” —ALA Booklist (starred review)

Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myers’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting story about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home, from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson.

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?

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Published Apr 10, 2018

416 pages

Average rating: 8.01

358 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Allegedly* by Tiffany D. Jackson is a gripping, emotionally intense psychological thriller that delves into trauma, justice, and complex ...

Pages & Paws
Oct 26, 2025
8/10 stars
Was not prepared for the ending of this book at all. This book will keep you on your toes and guessing at each turn in the story. As a YA book, I would say this is more geared towards older high schoolers as it touches on some heavy topics and disturbing events.
socialbookclub
Sep 27, 2024
8/10 stars
Great read, and gurl.... Tiffany D Jackson knows how to write and spin your head around.
Sunita the reader 📖🌻🦋
Dec 31, 2025
7/10 stars
3.5⭐️ Mary, you had me. I hung on to your every word. Up until the end. I am so confused and have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start. *Ted’s storyline confused me. Like his reasons for his actions with the other women *Alyssa’s mom also confused me in how she was speaking and acting *The mother’s actions and why wasn’t she arrested for “kidnapping??” *Mary’s conflicting decisions Overall a good book and my first from Tiffany D. Jackson. Certainly won’t be the last.
JShrestha
Dec 15, 2025
9/10 stars
I really enjoyed this book as at times you feel like it's going to be predictable but then you question your perception. The author was great at making you feel so attached to the narrator and their struggle in the system. A great book to read where you will close the book a victim to your own runaway thoughts.
Miss Friend
Nov 03, 2025
One of the best plot twists I’ve ever read. Tiffany Jackson masterfully connects her characters and their storylines together in a way that feels authentic and meaningful. The story’s realism stood out, especially in how it handles Black and overall worldly issues. It all made sense and flowed together. The ending left me shocked and emotional, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days.

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