Lisa Jewell’s latest psychological thriller is about a woman who finds herself and her family as the subject of her own true crime podcast after meeting a woman with an unsettling story to tell.
In None of This Is True, podcaster Alix Summer meets her birthday twin Josie Fair at a pub by chance as they're separately celebrating their 45th birthdays. When they strike up a working relationship to tell Josie’s complicated life story on Alix’s podcast, dark secrets begin to surface, and Alix finds herself dangerously entangled in Josie’s life.
A true page turner, None of This Is True dangles dark clues and scintillating twists at every turn.
Despite Alix’s reservations, she begins to meet with Josie in her home recording studio to peel away the layers of Josie’s life story. As Josie’s messy past is revealed, Alix begins to worry about the woman she’s invited into her home and wonders if she’s put her family in danger.
This book is wildly fast paced. It’s driven by compelling characters, each deeply interesting. Told in third person with “teasers” of scenes from a Netflix documentary about the book interwoven, None of This Is True sprinkles gripping details throughout the pages. The documentary scenes were a nice touch because they hinted at elements of the mystery before that part of the story was revealed to the reader, and it felt like a very fresh way to approach the storytelling.
I really enjoyed the unreliable characters and deeply dark twists. Lisa Jewell delivers yet another must-read thriller with complicated family dynamics and page-turning surprises.
Bonus: I had the great luck to hear Lisa Jewell discuss None of This Is True on her recent book tour!
