I am going to put this simply.

This book will rock your world.

You need to read it.

If you don't you're going to get extreme FOMO because everyone will be reading Lisa Jewell's latest.

This will be in my top five of the year for thriller novels. It expertly depicts a podcast and documentary in a book. You will never guess the ending of the book. Guaranteed will blow your mind. I had to read the ending twice that's how shocking of a moment the last five percent of the book was.

I will be throwing this at all my friends and families heads so that they read it.

Thank you Atria Books for the arc of this book! I am bowing down for to the overlords for granting me this early to now stalk everyone's reviews when they finish.

Hot tip: Go to your Spotify and listen to "Hi! I'm Your Birthday Twin! A True Crime Podcast" along with the podcast chapters. It will only heighten your reading experience!

Oh, buckle up for this birthday bash! It’s Alix Summer’s 45th, and the universe plays matchmaker as she bumps into a woman celebrating her 45th too – talk about a cosmic connection! So, what do they do? They team up to create a podcast featuring the fabulous Josie and her journey to shake things up in her life. But, whoa, hold the mic! As Alix spends hours interviewing Josie, she uncovers a twist that leaves her utterly gobsmacked.

This book? Oh, it had me totally wrapped around its little finger! I was hooked from the first word till the last, desperately trying to unravel the truth behind this intriguing tale. Now, don’t get me wrong – I ain’t a massive fan of the many f-bombs, but hey, that’s just me and my delicate ears.

And let me tell you, the “my truth” phrase Josie kept dropping like confetti? Well, that’s like a breadcrumb trail leading to the jaw-dropping reality. Now, I ain’t Sherlock Holmes, but I gotta say, it’s one heck of an interesting addition the author cooked up.

But wait, hold up! The plot thickens with a Netflix series thrown into the mix – a stroke of brilliance! It gives this whole adventure an extra punch, keeping you on the edge of your seat and screaming, “Just one more episode!”

In a nutshell, this book is a total party for your brain, and it won’t let you go until it’s danced its way into your heart! Get ready for a wild ride, and trust me, you won’t regret it!

This was one heck of a twisty, dark thriller. I read it very quickly because I wanted to find out how the friendship of these two 45 year old women who do not know each other until Josie Farr, 45 years old, is in a restaurant and realizes that at a table near her is Alix Summers, a beautiful 45 year old and well known podcaster was born the same day and year and in the same hospital as her. Josie, an unhappy person, makes it her mission to ingratiate herself into Alix's life and wants to become a star in one of Alix's podcasts. Josie's traumatic experiences rope Alix in until everything gets out of control.

This story keeps the reader guessing up until the very end and even after the story is finished.

Great story!

Thank you Net galley for an ARC of this book.

On the night of their 45th birthday, Alix and Josie meet at a restaurant and joke about being birthday twins. When the two run in to each other days later, they spark conversation which ends up changing both their lives. Alix hosts a popular podcast, but has run out of material. When Josie suggests they do a birthday twin segment and Josie can detail her own life and traumas, Alix is intrigued. But as the story begins to unfold, it becomes less and less obvious how much of Josie's recollection is true. And when Alix's own family gets caught in the danger of it all, Alix starts to unravel the truth about Josie.

Once again, Lisa Jewell does not disappoint! I could not put this book down. While some pieces felt a little predictable, everything unfolded in the best way, with so many surprises all the way. I absolutely loved the pacing of the story and how the chapters were short in alternating POVs, broken up with excerpts from the podcast interviews and Netflix documentary.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My best advice: go into this one blind. Don't read any reviews (including this one), don't read the jacket, just dive in and enjoy the ride! Because while I really enjoyed this book, I feel like others reviews put expectations on it that weren't quite met.

And because that is my suggestion, I'm going to make this review short and sweet:
Trust No One. Trust Nothing.

rating: 4 STARS
genre: thriller/mystery

Read if you like:
Unreliable narrators
Non-linear timelines
Mixed media text
Devilish Houseguests
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

I wasn't sure what to think of this one by the end.

It definitely kept me reading, but I felt like some sensitive topics were mishandled and written about in a strange way. I think most people will find this read compelling and suspenseful, but it made me uncomfortable for the most part. I liked the format and the premise, but like I wrote above, I didn't like the handling of some issues.

It’s Alix Summer’s 45th birthday! She happens to meet a woman at the pub where she’s having dinner and it just happens to be this woman’s 45th birthday too. Soon the two start working together, making a podcast about Josie, the other woman, and how she’s going to change the rest of her life. But during the many hours interviewing Josie, Alix realized that Josie isn’t who she seems.

This was a great book! It kept me engaged the whole time! I was so intrigued to find out who was telling the truth. I wasn’t a huge fan of the many f bombs but that’s just my personal opinion. I also thought it was very interesting that Josie kept using the phrase “my truth” and then the real truth stumbles out. Not sure if that was the authors intent but it was an interesting addition. I loved the netflix series addition into the story. Added a different element and helped to keep it engaging.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Have you read any books by Lisa Jewell?

Let me tell you, I have been reading her books for over 20 years. She started out as a chick lit author and wrote some of my favorite books about 20 somethings in London. I still have my copy of Ralph’s Party from way back when. Then she moved into thrillers like 10 years ago and is now the best as the creepy, twisted and brilliant thrillers. None Of This Is True is her newest and is the story of two women, Alix and Josie, who meet while celebrating their birthdays, only to discover they are birthday twins. Afterwards, Alix invites Josie to be a guest on her podcast about birthday twins, only to discover that Josie is hiding very dark secrets and isn’t who she professes to me. Full blown creep factor in this book of unreliable narrators, red herrings, conflicting stories and really no idea who to trust or what is going to happen. It was so clever and gripping and I had no idea how it would all turn out. It was all complete madness in the best possible mindblowing way, with the best ending.

I gave myself four days to read None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, but only needed a little over twenty-four hours to finish it! To say I devoured it is an understatement, and I may or may not have ignored my life (and those in it) until I finished!

I've never understood "unputdownable" until starting this thriller. The tempo and pacing is just on point, and it was why I found myself so truly engrossed in this book. Everything was so deliberate; there are short chapters to build the momentum and rhythm, and then longer chapters come along right when you need them and add to the WTF-am-I-reading feeling. This is the first book I've read that felt like there was a drum beat keeping pace and adding to the books pulse.

This is now my fifth book by Jewell, and it was exactly what I want and look for from her books, while also being extremely fresh and just different enough. Her characters, her plot, and her development of both are so well thought out, formed, and structured. She writes female characters that completely draw me in; they are strong, they are independent, they are fierce, they have a mind of their own, they are full bodied, they are diabolical - and whoa! do we ever have two of these women in spades. In SPADES!

Jewell can write such big plots and make them twisty in all the right ways, full of jaw-dropping moments, but a twisty that makes sense and, more importantly, is fully and properly explained! She leaves no confusion, and it's like she lays out a map for the reader to follow perfectly.

As a bonus, there are so many quotes in this story that could be taken out and applied to this book, which was very tongue in cheek, and really well done! This was also a really nice juxtaposition against the heavier plot.

Towards the end of the book, I closed my Kindle and said "OMG this book is a f-ing masterpiece!" then opened my Kindle and resumed reading once again.

August long weekend will now forever be known as Lisa Jewell's weekend! Last year, I read both The Family Upstairs and The Family Remains, and this year, I simply devoured this new thriller of hers.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I can see why this one is already getting so much hype! I adore Lisa Jewell and think she is a genuine mastermind.

I loved the podcast/Netflix documentary format. This element was executed so well and not used simply as an information dump.

I read a lot of dark and disturbing books but the majority are procedural/crime novels and None of This Is True is much more of a domestic suspense. As a result, sometimes I felt pretty gross reading it. I think it felt more realistic? I can’t think of a good way to describe my thoughts (what’s new!).

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll tread lightly here. I absolutely hated one of the MCs and think she was an absolutely awful person but I also didn’t like that she was distinctly told not to call herself a victim. I also didn’t enjoy the fact that the dirty old man’s crimes were kind of glossed over? I don’t care one bit if he’s a “good father”.

Finally, I recognize that the title implies some lies will be told here but I kind of hate feeling bamboozled once I get to the end of a story.

All that to say, this book was very good but a few details just really didn’t work for me personally and they took me out of what was otherwise a fun and twisty story. Most readers are LOVING this and I hope you are one of them!! Just check TW !

4.5 rounded up. This was a great thriller! Alix and Josie cross paths one night and discover they are birthday twins! Alix is a podcaster so she decides she wants to interview her birthday twin for her podcast, which leads to some unexpected events.

I liked the story telling approach of including the podcast, the Netflix series, as well as multiple POVs. I enjoyed the twists and the ending and I'm proud of myself that I sort of predicted what was happening at the end! Lisa Jewell is definitely a great thriller writer and I always look forward to the next book she writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Lisa Jewell’s latest mystery, None of This is True, will remind you why our parents were so adamant about ‘stranger danger’.

Josie and her husband Walter are celebrating her birthday at a trendy new restaurant when they spot another birthday girl just a few tables away, having a bigger, grander celebration. Josie is enthralled by the beautiful woman who shares her special day, and when she sees that lady go into the restroom, she follows her and strikes up a conversation. It turns out that Alix was not just born on the same day but in the same year and in the same hospital as Josie. The coincidence inspires Josie to internet search her “birthday twin” and discover Alix is a moderate celebrity with a seemingly glamorous life. Josie can’t help but wonder why fate is so kind to some and so harsh towards others.

It should end there but Josie’s interest quickly turns to full-blown obsession, and she rapidly works to arrange another random encounter with Alix. When they meet, she compliments Alix on her work as a podcast host and asks to be a guest. Josie assures Alix she has a story well worth telling, and Alix, adrift as to where to take her show next, agrees. At this point, I was immediately reminded of another idiom, this one from P.T. Barnum: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Josie tells a complex and fascinating tale: Of being groomed by a pedophile, of being neglected by her mother, of the hardship of raising two daughters with special needs. Alix becomes enmeshed in Josie’s history and feels empathy for this woman who has seemingly been through so much. That sympathy is all it takes for Josie to quickly inveigle her way into Alix’s life, pushing the boundary between interviewer and interviewee into a reluctant (on Alix’s part) friendship. But when Alix begins to expand her podcast and contact the other players in Josie’s narrative, she discovers there are two very different sides to the yarn Josie has been spinning. Slowly, Alix comes to believe that she has let a very dangerous person into her life and into her home. The question is, will the danger come from Josie – or from someone else in this macabre chronicle?

Jewell’s writing is like catnip for me. She has a knack for creating relatable, likable characters and having their kindness and decency catch them up in bizarre, dangerous situations. She also has a gift for writing subtle mysteries that explore how our perceptions of the world affect how we view different situations and how societal standards play into that. Life in this author’s novels is inevitably complicated – with good never being perfect and bad never being entirely depraved. She explores the complexity of being human and how doing that in relationships, whether it’s marriage, family, friends, or community – multiplies the intricacies and difficulties of that experience. All of that gives her work a subtly gothic, atmospheric sense of pending danger that makes for an enthralling reading experience.

That said, this particular novel is not Jewell at her strongest. It’s pretty clear from almost the beginning, just which of our two characters is the problematic one and the only thing to be discovered as we progress in the story is just how huge their problem is and what the cost of that is going to be to the rest of the ensemble. There is also no real twist in the tale. I kept expecting to be blown away by a revelation that a different character was actually manipulating the whole situation, and that never happened. This is a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of story.

Another quibble I had was that the book is, in part, driven by some rather questionable decisions by Alix. I understand that she is a kind, caring, loving, warm and helpful individual, but I wondered how she had reached forty-five and climbed to where she was in her profession without being a tad savvier. She seemed very gullible and naive, given her age and occupation.

None of This is True has the potential to be highly controversial because of the questions the author raises regarding adolescent pedophilia. I’ve watched numerous news programs that covered the subject matter of a teenager falling in love with and eventually marrying a much older man, which is what happens in this book, and it’s a difficult issue. If the couple waits till she is eighteen to out themselves, there is nothing that can be legally done. In this story, an adolescent Josie pursues a friendship with a forty-plus man whom she marries when she is eighteen. As she talks to Alix, she claims she later realized she was being groomed and accuses her husband of being a pedophile. I agree with her. Regardless of how sexually provocative Josie may have been or how aggressive in pursuing the relationship she might have appeared, she was a child. A troubled one perhaps, but still, he was old enough to know better and should have been wise enough to speak to her mother (whom he knew) and get Josie help. The fact that he didn’t points to his own salient interest in a teenage girl and a lack of ethics and morality in his character. The text agrees with me, although there is a certain amount of blame cast back upon Josie because of her difficult, rather twisted personality. I appreciate the author trying to explore all the facets here but that struck a discordant note for me.

None of This is True is one of those stories I hate to grade. There are problems, such as the above, plus other little foibles that keep it from being the kind of stellar work that really allows for the exploration of some of the issues it brings up. Regardless of the grade that appears on the review, know that I struggled between choosing a B for what it gets right and a lower grade for those few but important things it gets wrong. It is up to the reader to decide which they think is the right choice.

Note: This book deals with pedophilia and just what the definition of that is, child abuse, child neglect, and domestic violence.

I feel like, based on the title, you can tell that there will be a character in the book that is less than forthcoming. I have read several of Jewell's previous books, and I always enjoy her writing style. I could not stand Josie's character, but it didn't impact my enjoyment of the book. Alix's character is very naïve, which becomes incredibly frustrating as the book progresses. I liked the chapters that featured clips from the "netflix series".

If this book didn’t victim blame a thirteen-year-old girl, it would have been a five-star read. It seems that Walter's crimes were seemingly excusable because he was a "good dad".

Trigger warnings: Alluding to rape, incest, and pedophilia

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC!

WOW, this book delivered! This is a type of thriller that you cannot put down. My FAV by Lisa Jewell for sure. I was obsessed with the podcast/documentary aspect of the book. All the characters in the book were so different and interesting. So many twists and turns and still for the life of me CANNOT figure out what is true and what is false. Everyone needs to read this! SO FREAKING GOOD!!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOWWW what a thriller. Started off a little slower but I was hooked shortly after!!! Super unsettling and just an all-around great story. She is the queen of the thriller!

This book was wild! Unreliable narrators and no idea who or what to believe throughout the book kept me on the edge of my seat.

We meet Alix Summers, a podcaster, and Josie Fair, a housewife, as they are both celebrating their 45th birthday at the same restaurant. They meet up in the ladies room and realize they are birthday twins. They have a few other chance encounters, and Josie lays out a plan for Alix to do an interview with her and the story captures Alix and she can't say no. Once they get started, Alix realizes there is so much more than Josie is telling her.

I was immediately pulled into this book. The odd an interesting characters that just get more strange as the book goes along. I had several what is happening here moments! Could not put it down!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy Lisa Jewell books and this one was no different! I loved the concept of this one. It was a bit outside the box and it worked!

The twists and turns were amazing and I loved how it incorporated the popularity of podcast and true crime podcast! I definitely did not see some of the twists coming but really enjoyed this one! It was a quick read once I started and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good unputdownable thriller!

WHAT JUST HAPPENED! Wow this book really sucked me in from the start. I wasn’t sure what was happening pretty much the whole time but I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommend this twisty psychological thriller.

Wow, this was a wild ride! While I guessed what was going on early in the book, the way Lisa Jewell laid out the story kept me intrigued to the very end. I LOVED the snippets from the Netflix show and the podcast. I felt that was a beautiful addition to the story and added so much more to it. The hardest part of the book for me was that the ending felt a bit rushed so the twist at the end didn't have as much oomph for me. I usually like books that tie everything up but I was pleasantly happy that this book left things open! If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller, this is the one for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK CornerstoneCentury for an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Holy hot dang smokes. This book was WILD! If you enjoy books about podcasters and women psychologically bonded friendship then this is for you. I was so thrown off and all over the place wondering wtf was going on, why it was going on and what was going to happen next.

Josie’s kids are just — baby food jars?!?! I was like 🫠wtf? This book kept throwing bits and pieces of the story at you that kept you wanting—no needing, to know what it meant and what was going to happen next. Lisa has a way of doing this and this is why she’s an auto read author for me and thousands of others! She absolutely excels at making the weirdest, creepiest characters that makes the reader hope we never encounter.

Josie is also just so-strange. I keep wanting to tell myself I’m thinking up things and what she’s doing in the story isn’t strange but all tracks lead back to strange station.

However the ending just wasn’t it for me, I was looking to feel more satisfied — just something else. The ending wasn’t bad but I felt it was lacking in comparison to the extreme ride the book throws you on in the beginning.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @atriabooks for #gifting me this ARC to read and review!