None of This Is True
Page turning
Thrilling
Intense

None of This Is True A Novel

Lisa Jewell2023
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 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?
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Reviews

Photo of Emilee Keawe Oldroyd
Emilee Keawe Oldroyd@emileenewton
4 stars
Apr 13, 2025

Was getting super annoyed at the Gone Girl, “trying to be subversive but stumbling into misogynistic cliches” vibes but wow was I wrong. Super unpredictable and unreliable, felt like it really challenged all the preconceptions I have with who these characters seem to be. Not a single innocent person, to varying degrees. So interesting!

This review contains a spoiler
+6
Photo of soph
soph @sbruno25
5 stars
Jan 28, 2025

This was wild … this is gonna be one of those books i always think about and i will be recommending this to everyone

+6
Photo of Lili
Lili@lilibs
3.5 stars
Jan 26, 2025

an entertaining read, but like The Night She Disappeared, it just didn‘t catch me as much as other thrillers did

+3
Photo of Allysen
Allysen@allysennn
4 stars
Jan 26, 2025

SO GOOD!!! One of the best psycho-thrillers imo, but I think the production of the audio is what really made it so great

Photo of Jessica Kovalick
Jessica Kovalick@jessicakovalick
4.5 stars
Jan 7, 2025

This audiobook was soooo well produced.

+2
Photo of lily
lily@aceroselily
4.5 stars
Dec 30, 2024

Listening to this book was honestly a trip. It was honestly disturbing to hear the gradual obsession Josie got with Alex. I’m not sure what to believe was the truth or more so how much of each persons story was the truth.

Photo of Jacqui Spears
Jacqui Spears@jcspears
3 stars
Dec 18, 2024

Super cheesy but such a page turner. Kept you guessing until the end (and after…) to the point where you didn’t know who to believe. Perfect pool book.

+3
Photo of Michelle Hruby
Michelle Hruby@mabluby
3.5 stars
Dec 14, 2024

I wish the ending had more pop, but I was gripped all the way though.

Photo of Lacee Foutch
Lacee Foutch @lfoutch
5 stars
Nov 26, 2024

100% recommend listening as an audio book over reading paperback! Since the premises includes a podcast, the audio book version was captivating and exciting and had voices for each character. I could barely put It down! Such a crazy story and would definitely recommend!

+3
Photo of Ian Brakspear
Ian Brakspear@ibrakspear
3 stars
Nov 11, 2024

This was the Perfect Buddy Read book – The twists and turns and having someone to discuss theories this with was the perfect way to digest this book while working out what was going on and trying to identify the Twists and turns before the happened – I Did not!!

 

This is a psychological thriller about two women who, through a chance encounter, learn they are birthday twins. Their unlikely meeting turns into a podcast in which shared confidences become the motive for murder. We meet Josie Fair, a 45-year-old part-time seamstress. Married to a man significantly older, she has decided to change the course of her life in her 45th year. Alix comes into her life at just the right time--a podcast host, she is the perfect woman to help Josie share her intriguing story. Alix and Josie’s lives become intertwined in more ways than one, culminating in a chilling crime.

 

As we navigate the book sections are told through alternate viewpoints from Josie and Alix with some questionable narration which leave the reader thinking about who the most reliable character is. Alongside the dual narration are interviews that have been filmed for the Netflix Show called “The Birthday Twin.” These interviews add another layer to the story, but they don’t show everything they are like breadcrumbs.

 

Overall, the Wrapping up of the book was a little anti-climactic as most of the ending you could see coming or at least had hunches as to what was going to come next. But this was an intense reading experience that was just the perfect Buddy Read book!


+1
Photo of Kathy gerrard
Kathy gerrard@kgkathyhg
5 stars
Oct 27, 2024

Great story really gripping Lisa jewell is a very creative Wrighter

+7
Photo of Paige Woodie
Paige Woodie@plwoodie
4.5 stars
Oct 11, 2024

Woah! This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. One of those books you can’t put down because it’s all happening so fast - yet you really want to scream at the protagonist to wake up and use some senses. Multiple times I thought, why the heck are you inviting strangers into your home so easily? She explains her possible reasonings for this oversight towards the end of the book when she realizes it’s too late but my girl, stranger danger…


The pace of this book is fast and when you reach the end you’ll really question a few lies/truths. Thrilling, creepy, and reminds you the cardinal rule…stranger, danger.

This review contains a spoiler
Photo of Joanna Tweedale
Joanna Tweedale@jotwe
4.5 stars
Sep 8, 2024

Hooked. Several middle of the night sessions to race through it!

+3
Photo of Madilyn Taylor
Madilyn Taylor@mtaylor
4.5 stars
Aug 31, 2024

Wowowow, so captivating and so many twists

Photo of Brittany Peterson
Brittany Peterson@lardib
3.5 stars
Aug 14, 2024

3.5 from me!!

The ending was soooooo jumbled it confused me! I loved this format with the full cast, podcast excerpts, etc but the ending was so confusing for me!

A lot of useless scenes had to many details while important stuff was sped through

Photo of Molly Bridge
Molly Bridge@mollyb
4 stars
Jun 29, 2024

I was hooked!

+3
Photo of Hannah Colbert
Hannah Colbert@hcolbert
3 stars
Jun 29, 2024

This book had so much potential but the ending fell flat. While it kept me hooked, I felt like it was rather predictable. It is still a well-written book that will keep you turning the pages, I was just disappointed by the end.

+1
Photo of Kaitlyn Wendler
Kaitlyn Wendler@kaitlynwendler
5 stars
Jun 25, 2024

Don’t think I’ve ever read a book this fast! Kept me guessing from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down.

Photo of Paige Paul
Paige Paul@ppaul13
3.5 stars
Jun 19, 2024

Started off strong but quickly unraveled into kind of a messy, unanswered true crime doc. Not a super satisfying ending. I did like the audiobook narration and the method of the story (i.e. the podcast clips, Netflix interviews, etc.)

+2
Photo of Cate
Cate@catesbooks
5 stars
Jun 16, 2024

omg

+1
Photo of Jennifer Palmer
Jennifer Palmer@mompalm
4 stars
Jun 13, 2024

What actually happened in this story is… a mystery still I guess. The title is the Truest Thing You Take Away from this book. Ha! Good easy read though.

Photo of Carmen Malca
Carmen Malca@cramen
5 stars
Jun 5, 2024

omg

+4
Photo of Joe Herrington
Joe Herrington@joeherringtoniv
4 stars
May 28, 2024

Well-written, great characterization though stilted toward protagonist and her issues; quite the page turner!

Photo of Alba Ramos
Alba Ramos@albusdumb
4 stars
May 25, 2024

that was fun, shouldve been studying tho

Highlights

Photo of Melanie Harvie
Melanie Harvie@ladybrock

My life had actually begun. Or at least that's what I told myself. That's what I believed. It's only now that I can see how wrong I was. That I was just handing myself from the hands of one controlling person to another

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