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Josie Fair is a wife and mother living in a small flat with her much older husband, Walter, who has grudgingly brought her out for a birthday meal. WARNING ⚠️ There IS an “ICK” factor to this book, and some of the subjects in the podcast include pedophiles, child abuse, and incest. With heavy themes and creepy personalities of certain characters, None of This is True is a page-turner that made my head spin trying to outsmart Ms. Without getting into spoilers, this story has two possible scenarios that are left open for the readers' interpretation on what the truth is (if you don't like open ended endings then you won't like this book).
One thing leads to another, and Josie convinces Alix they should make a podcast about Josie’s life, sharing her truth and making some big changes. Peeling apart the layers of her backstory, discovering her childhood, her role as a mother, and the lies she has told, was pure heart-pounding fun! It also really stretches believability when Alix notices her obvious psychotic tendencies, manipulation and lies and then leaves her alone in her house multiple times, sometimes even with her kids. This started very slow for me, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but once Alix’s podcast about Josie got underway, things started to get juicy! It's a testament to the author's skill in creating a narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
One of them is Alix Summers; famous podcaster promoting aspiring women who take their second changes for life to achieve bigger things.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and Lisa Jewell for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Not only is this not the first time Jewell has done this sort of thing, but it took what was SUCH a disturbing and powerful narrative to a sort of icky place. I also enjoy more analysis when taking on difficult subjects and wanted a better ending for Roxy and Erin. Shortly after, they bump into each other again outside of the school that Alix's children currently attend, and Josie's attended years ago.The podcast only comes alive as a script when it’s used as part of the Netflix documentary and it was that documentary that really formed the structure of the book, not the podcast itself. As breathtaking story is revealed within story, readers peel back the layers to find revenge, a meditation on the damage done by the past, and characters who could walk into the room and sit on your sofa. I’m speechless after reading this bone chilling, dark, twisty, mind bending thriller which is one of the best works of Lisa Jewel. None of This is True is a psychological thriller about two women who, through a chance encounter, learn they are birthday twins. There are a few aspects that I had to overlook up until this point, behaviors and lack of affirmative action in the characters that I don’t think would play out the way it did in the book in real life, but understandably needed to be done to progress this particular story.
Overall, it’s one of the stories that stay with you for years, still giving you goosebumps at each time you remember the characters and main events. The Netflix extracts are particularly powerful as they pile intrigue on intrigue, to say nothing of the building suspense.Josie lets Alix into her life and history through the podcast and Alix, in turn, gradually lets Josie into her life too. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
Biography: Lisa Jewell's first novel, Ralph's Party, was published in 1999 and was the best-selling debut novel of the year. We were both flabbergasted when we made the discovery, it seemed extraordinary to us that we’d both come into the world on the same day and ended up doing the same job in the same very small orbit. My recommendation is to just go into the reading of this book with an open mind and without any preconceived notions as to what you think is going on, because that will probably change many times throughout. First, if you handed me the first three chapters of a story in a binder, with no title and asked me to guess the author-I could identify her distinctive writing by her often QUIRKY and always well developed characters. Alix Summer has a successful podcast that features women who have overcome extreme difficulties and hardship, to lead happy and successful lives.
Josie and Alix couldn’t be more different; they come from different lifestyles and circumstances, and yet… Could they be more similar than originally meets the eye? Sometimes, when they have a high-energy babysitter, the children will still be up when they get home, restless and annoyingly awake. It means she’s wrong, that everything, literally everything, about her is wrong and that she’s running out of time to make herself right.
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