Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Length: 384 pages
First Published: 2023
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Rachael’s Review
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
On her forty-fifth birthday, Alix Summers runs into Josie Fair, who happens to be her birthday twin. Soon Alix runs into Josie again, and Josie convinces Alix that Josie’s life would be a great subject for Alix’s podcast. As Josie manipulates her way into Josie’s life Alix unexpectedly finds herself the subject of her own podcast and must uncover Josie’s dark secrets to protect her family.
Despite its decent start, None of This is True lacked the tension I normally feel in Lisa Jewell’s thrillers. Jewell does an excellent job mixing after-the-fact documentary and podcast interviews into the plotline to keep you wondering how much of Josie’s story is true. Yet, I disliked Josie’s character so much that I struggled to stay engaged. Combined with the anticlimactic ending, None of This is True just didn’t work at all for me even though it’s getting rave reviews from other readers.
Publisher’s Description
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?
About Lisa Jewell
Lisa Jewell is the bestselling author whose works include Then She Was Gone, I Found You, Watching You, The Family Upstairs, The Night She Disappeared, None of This is True, and Invisible Girl. She currently lives in London with her husband and two daughters. Visit the author’s website →
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