None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell Published by Simon and Schuster on August 8, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense, Fiction / Women
Pages: 384
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.
But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.
Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
My Review
I typically do not read many thrillers, but I am glad I read this one. I received None Of This Is True in my Book Of The Month box a while ago but had not gotten around to picking it up until recently. I have a physical copy of this book but I decided to check the audio version out from my library and could not be more happy with that choice. The audio performance for this book was nothing like anything I have experienced before and mind you I listen to a lot of audiobooks. Multiple people were narrating the story along with music and sound to set the scene. The story was also told in multiple ways such as through the character’s POV, a podcast, and a documentary-style narration. As I said it was an audiobook like I have never experienced before.
Reader, you are probably wondering what this book is about and so far I haven’t given you much to go on and I am hesitant to say too much because I think that the less you know the better. This book in my opinion is a psychological thriller through and through. We are following Alex and Josie who meet one night in a hip restaurant on their birthdays. Josie is there with her husband Walter who happens to be in his early seventies while she is only turning forty-five. They are having a quiet meal together when a group of people come in with balloons and settle at a table in the same area as Josie and Walter. The woman carrying the balloons is Alix and she is also celebrating her birthday. She is with her husband Nathan, her sisters and their husbands, and also some friends. Walter points out to Josie that she must be celebrating her birthday as well and from then on Josie kept an eye on Alix’s table. Eventually, Alix heads to the ladies’ room and Josie tells Walter she is going to use the bathroom so she leaves the table. Once in the bathroom she introduces herself to Alix and claims to be her Birthday Twin. The story begins from there and what a ride it was.
We discover early on that Josie is not a happy woman and she appears to live a very boring life, especially in comparison to Alix a well-known podcaster. Josie is a mum of two adult girls. The younger one lives at home with Josie and Walter and the older daughter left home at the age of sixteen. They have not heard from her nor have they seen her for years. Alix on the other hand is a mum of one boy and one girl. Both of her children are young. I think the girl is around ten years old while her son is around six or seven. Alix also seems to be happily married, social, and well-liked, unlike Josie. I will say that both of these ladies’ lives are not what they seem at first glance.
One day not long after meeting in the restaurant Josie runs into Alix on the street and asks to be one of the ladies that Alix interviews for her podcast. She assured Alix that her story was worth hearing which perked Alix’s interest. The journalist in her just could not walk away even though she had an uncomfortable feeling about Josie. As the story progresses and Josie makes her way into Alix’s life it is easy to see why Josie puts Alix at unease. Honestly, I would be too.
Okay Reader I am not going to say anything more than that because I think it is best to just experience the book for yourself without too much knowledge of it. With that being said if you can get your hands on an audio version of the book I do not think you will be disappointed in the experience. I found it to be very immersive and I loved every second of it. However, if audio is unavailable to you then by all means read the physical or digital version of the book because I am sure it will be wonderful. I will definitely be picking up another Lisa Jewell sooner rather than later. Does anyone have any recommendations on which books of hers would be good to read next? Thank you for taking the time to read my review I do hope it finds you well. Until next time Reader happy reading.