None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 30th July 2023
Published: 20th July 2023
★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
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 Summers 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 realise 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 THOUGHTS:
Her lies could kill you...
Man, what did I just read? Where do I even begin to start a review for this book? I love Lisa Jewell and I'm always excited when she has a new release coming out. I had heard such good things about this book and yet once I was in there I found myself drowning and unable to get out.
First of all, I loved the format Jewell undertook with this one. Excerpts of a podcast and upcoming Netflix documentary drama. You just know with these interspersed throughout that something big is coming.
"Hi! I'm your birthday twin!"
That's how Josie Fair quite literally stumbles her way into Alix Summer's glamorous Instagram life. Watching her from across the same gastropub both women celebrating their forty-fifth birthdays, Josie can't help but want just a little of what Alix has. And so when she sees the other woman head to the ladies she orchestrates a chance meeting. But a few words exchanged in the ladies wasn't enough...Josie wanted more. And so later that night, after Walter had left their bed, she googled Alix Summer and stalked her social media wanting to find out more about her "birthday twin".
What comes next is not by pure chance. It is all carefully curated and orchestrated by Josie in which she swoops in and offers Alix the chance of a lifetime. A podcast about a woman embarking on a new direction in life, following Josie step by step as she undertakes these changes, from the boring caterpillar that she is and emerging as a beautiful butterfly breaking free.
Of course, Alix has no idea of the avalanche that is about to become her life. The podcast reveals some very disturbing facts and too late Alix realises she might have made a very big mistake. And as Josie slowly inveigles her way into Alix's life, into her home, she is about to discover that her new friend isn't all she claims to be.
This is such a difficult book to review. There is so much that could be said that really can't without giving anything away. Plus I found it very heavy going. Although I managed to plough through it in a day it was somewhat exhausting! I can only imagine what writing it would be like! As it is very character driven there isn't a lot of dialogue throughout which I really prefer, but having said that, this is still a very clever story. But it's not my favourite of hers.
The story itself is somewhat disturbing, if you were to believe half of what was said because the clue is in the title...which is kind of a spoiler in itself. The entire thing is a tale shrouded in ambiguity and Jewell keeps you guessing the whole way through.
While it wasn't one of my favourites, I still found it addictive and couldn't put it down until the very end. Josie is very much a train wreck of a character. You will love to hate her. And while her initial relationship and then marriage to her husband Walter were certainly not age appropriate, I do believe that Josie knew exactly what she was doing. She was a psychopath with no remorse, no empathy and no regard for others. She was controlling and narcissistic and a very disturbing individual. There was no victim blaming. Josie was a product of first her environment and then of her own making.
Overall, I found this to be a heavy read. It is chilling and somewhat disturbing in parts. But it is also very cleverly done.
I would like to thank #LisaJewell, #Netgalley and #RandomHouseCenturyBooks for an ARC of #NoneOfThisIsTrue in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.
She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.
She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and three pets. She claims to love the dog best.
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