Member Reviews

None of This Is True. Was very interesting. I do feel there may be a trigger warning for some (pedophilia). I enjoyed Alix's character and it was interesting to see the development of the other characters and to learn bout their past.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a classic Lisa Jewell book and I absolutely devoured it. The writing was incredible. Giving little snippets of the Netflix show hinting that something went terribly wrong during the podcast. The way the characters were developed and how disturbing Josie was. The multiple twists and turns were incredible. This book was amazing. One of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time.

Was this review helpful?

OMG this might be my favorite book from Lisa Jewell. I am a big Lisa Jewell fan so when I seen this on netgalley I had to read it and thank you netgalley I truely love it.
When two women meet by chance they find out they are what they call birthday twins born on the same day they then form a friendship which turns in to a great story full of mystery. This book takes you on a unexceptional ride that you just can’t stop reading about. I highly recommend reading this twisty turbie story. Thank you Lisa Jewell for another great story.

Was this review helpful?

None of This is True was SUCH a good book! It's the story of a podcaster, Alix, and a destress, Josie. Josie is out to dinner on her birthday with her much older husband, Walter. And Alix is out at the same restaurant on her birthday with her husband, Nathan. Josie meets Alix in the ladies room and declares them birthday twins. And then, very soon after Josie shows up at Alix's children's school and invites her for a coffee. Alix has just finished a series on strong women who have made a difference. Josie proposes that she do a series on her coming into her own. And the saga begins.

They do the recordings in Alix's studio which is in her back yard. Josie idolizes Alix and starts stealing things from her. Josie's thinking is that she wants to have a bit of Alix. In the recordings, Josie portrays herself as a woman who was taken advantage of by a much older man. He started dating her when she was 16 and he was 42. He was married but left his wife for her. They married when she was 18. They had two daughters: the oldest was Erin who was a recluse and a world class gamer, and Roxy who was a bit of a problem child and ran away from home at age 16. She doesn't have a good relationship with either daughter. And she feels she would be much better off without Walter.

As Josie is telling her story, Alix decides she wants to interview Walter. Although Josie doesn't think it's a good idea, they decide Alix will host them for dinner. Nathan has a habit of going out drinking with his friends and staying out all night. On the day of the dinner party, Alix asks him to please be home by 7:30 pm, but he doesn't make it. Josie capitalizes on his absence and starts bad mouthing him. Clearly, she doesn't like him one bit. She feels Alix would be better off without him.

Josie and Walter go home and end up having a fight, after which she ends up at Alix's front door at 3:30 am with a battered face. She tells her that Walter beat her up and asks to stay with Alix. While Alix doesn't think it's a good idea, she acquiesces and allows her to stay for a week. At the close of the week Josie thinks she's going to stay longer but Alix tells her that her sisters are coming and there's no room for her. Josie leaves saying she's going to her mother's, which she doesn't.

Before Josie leaves she overhears Alix and Nathan talking. Although her sisters are going to be there she asks Nathan to be home by 7:30. He agrees wholeheartedly and goes out drinking with his mates. While Nathan is out, Josie hires a woman, Katelyn, to show up at the pub and have drinks with Nathan and his friends and to ultimately lure him to a hotel room. Of course he's totally tanked and Katelyn tells him that Alix is going to meet him at the hotel. Once there, Katelyn destroys the room and sends him downstairs to meet Alix, who isn't there, but Josie is. Nathan doesn't like her at all, but she must have told him that she was taking him to Alix because he gets into the car with her. Nathan ends up missing.

In the meantime, Alix has been searching for Josie unsuccessfully. She finally makes an anonymous call to the police for them to do a welfare check at Josie's house where they find Walter dead and Erin strapped to a chair near dead. She's rushed to the hospital.

Eventually Alix meets Roxy and Erin. As a part of Josie's podcast she interviews both girls and learns the truth about Josie. In that learning it is revealed that Walter did not beat up Josie. They had a fight and Josie attacked Walter to a point of him collapsing to the floor having an apparent heart attack. Erin runs out of her room to her father's side. She's furious with Josie because she has witnessed everything. She grabs the remote control and jumps on her mother and beats her upside the head and face.

Alix puts two and two together and comes to realize that Josie had to have something to do with Nathan's disappearance. Thanks to an APB for Josie, she's spotted at a lodging facility on the lake. When the police get there they find blood and decide to drag the lake in search of a body. Unfortunately they find Nathan in the lake, dead. And the search for Josie continues.

After Nathan's funeral Alix decides to make a stellar podcast about the truth about Josie. She includes many interviews including those with Erin and Roxy. She receives an offer to turn it into a documentary

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were extremely well developed; the plot was easy to follow and was well thought out. I use the word "well" twice only because I couldn't think of a better way to say what I mean. When all has been said and done, this book gets five stars.

Was this review helpful?

Josie Fair and Alix Summer find each other in a restaurant one night in London- both out celebrating their 45th birthdays. It turns out they are birthday twins- both born on the same day at the same hospital. The two women couldn't be more different. Alix is a beautiful, happily married podcaster who seems to have it all- loving husband, adorable children, fabulous friends, amazing home. Josie Fair is a quiet, mousy mother to 2 adult daughters, both with serious issues. Her marriage is anything but loving. But Josie is drawn to Alix, and manages to meet her again "by chance" and surprises Alix with a strange idea- a podcast about her! Against her gut feeling that something is off, Alix embarks on a project to uncover the truth about Josie Fair and her life story. What follows is a twisted psychological thriller told from varying perspectives. What is the truth? Does anyone even know?

Was this review helpful?

WOW! Let me start off by saying I have never read a book with this style before and at first it was a little strange but as I kept reading I kept looking forward to the “interviews”. I have told all my friends to pre-order so they can read it! It was such a great read. Lisa surely has an incredible way with words and knows how to draw you in and make you envision what you’re reading!

Was this review helpful?

This is true: I was hooked after reading the title.

"None of This is True" is the brilliant latest offering from one of my favourite authors of twisty psychological suspense thrillers, Lisa Jewell. The title is perfect, for so many reasons, and that’s all I can say about that. Just read it, and you’ll understand.

In this plot, we have two women who meet by chance, when both happen to be celebrating their forty-fifth birthdays at the same pub. Aside from their shared birthdays and married-with-children status, the women, and the lives they lead, are very different. They are brought together on a regular basis, however, when one, Alix, a successful feminist podcaster looking to hit ‘refresh’ on her subject matter, enthusiastically agrees to a series of interviews with the other, Josie, who has just as enthusiastically offered to reveal her compelling life story. And what a compelling story it is. Much more than Alix had ever anticipated.

Obsession seems to take hold with both women, who very much share the spotlight as the main characters in this tale. Just like Alix, I found I couldn't help but want to know more and more about the unusual Josie - particularly the whys behind some of her questionable life choices - despite how unsettled her story was making me feel. In the meantime, Josie can’t seem to resist learning more about Alix. Gradually, Alix begins questioning her own choice in allowing Josie into her life.

True to Jewell’s style, the plot unfolds in eerily delicious layers. Distinct from Jewell's others novels, is the Netflix series layer, whose fictitious "episodes" tease the reader along: All we know, is that something happened, at some point, that turned Alix's podcast into a worthy true crime documentary.

I’ve always enjoyed Jewell’s deftness at making me feel just a tad uncomfortable as I read her novels; she writes the kind of things that make the voice inside my head muse, “Something isn’t quite right here,” or “Okay, that was odd….”. And before I can take another sip of my soothing bedtime tea, that chill starts creeping its way up my spine, and I start distrusting characters I previously thought trustworthy.

As the story delves into the lives and minds of the two female protagonists, we are introduced to a host of other characters, along with unsolved disappearances, and of course, many secrets. There are the husbands - again, like Alix and Josie - who are very different from one another; there are the children, two of whom I found particularly intriguing, for the nuance that surrounds them. And there are a host of other characters that drop clues along the way, sometimes revealing hidden truths, other times muddling the truth.

This is true: "None of This is True" has become one of my favourite Lisa Jewell novels. It’s very much a mystery-within-a-mystery and then some. My only complaint is that I wish it lasted longer, because once I started reading it, I could not put it down until it was finished. If you like psychological thrillers that make you question the sanity of certain characters and the safety of others, then you will very likely enjoy this book. If you are already a fan of Lisa Jewell’s, this novel might just become your new favourite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, Inc. for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Special thank you to Atria Books, Lisa Jewell & NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This book was extremely dark & fast paced. I was sucked into the stories of both Alix & Josie. It was a book I honestly couldn't put down because I was waiting for that big jaw dropping twist but it just never came? It was pretty easy to determine how the book was going to end up so it just fell really flat for me in that aspect.

Was this review helpful?

As a huge fan of Lisa Jewell, this book did not disappoint! I could not put it down from start to finish. So many twists and turns. I did not want it to end!

Was this review helpful?

This was a top notch psychological thriller! Lisa Jewell knows how to write a story that will keep you engaged the whole way through. You are going to want to read this one!

Alix and Josie are birthday twins! They happen to cross paths while out celebrating their 45th birthdays, then meet up again at Alix's kids school. Josie coaxes Alix into interviewing her on her podcast, and then finagles her way into Alix's life. Told through alternate POVs. As it progresses, you get a very unsettling feeling about Josie and what her intentions are. By the end, things are off the rails and Alix's life and her family's is being targeted. I don't want to say much more, but this one has some unexpected twists and kept me on the edge of my seat. There are mentions of alcoholism, pedophilia and abuse, just so your aware.

Out August 8.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads, and Amazon once it publishes.

Was this review helpful?

I loved None of This Is True. It was smart, suspenseful, and fun. Alix and Josie were (at least initially) characters to whom you could relate. The pacing of the book was great. Revelations kept coming but nothing felt forced. This was a true page turner and I will be recommending this widely. It would make an awesome Netflix series, for sure.

Was this review helpful?

Lisa Jewell is one of my thriller Queens and this book was SO GOOD! I think it may be my favorite of hers and trust me when I say READ THIS BOOK! Truly unputdownable and I just love the way Jewell writes her characters. I honestly did not want to stop reading it when I had to sleep but I finished this one as fast as I could. Total binge worthy and this will probably be a top book of 2023 for me! Can't wait to see what Lisa writes next. Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of this book!

Was this review helpful?

EASILY BEST BOOK OF 2023 SO FAR! I have always been obsessed with Lisa Jewels thriller novels, but dare I say it, her newest novel None of This is True might be her best one yet!
Alix Summers is a podcaster looking to change her podcast theme and style. She is celebrating her 45th birthday with her husband and friends when she crosses paths with Josie Fair, who is also turning 45 the same day and so they call themselves “birthday twins”. Not too long later, Alix bumps into Josie and they strike up a conversation. Josie tells Alix that her life is about to change and that she may be a perfect topic for her next podcast interview. Alix takes a chance and starts to interview Josie about her childhood trauma, family disfunction, and what is to come next. Alix did not realize the turn her interviews would take. It went from a podcast about a strange woman to a true crime podcast...
I literally binged this in a weekend. I was HOOKED to the very last word. The entire time reading I had no idea where this creepy, suspenseful novel was going to go, but I knew it would end in a bang. When I tell you I literally gasped aloud at the ending, my boyfriend came running down the stairs thinking I was hurt. This is a different style than Lisa Jewells typical novels, but I will definitely be thinking about this book for days after. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell is out this summer and it will definitely be a contender for best book of the year.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for the chance to read this gripping thriller by Lisa Jewell, None of This is True.

This is my 2nd Jewell read, and she has easily made her way into my top thriller authors to read.
Wow! What a ride this book is!
Josie and Alix are "Birthday Twins" leading two different lives with some striking similarities. After Josie weasels her way into Alix's life following their 45th birthday, Alix begins interviewing Josie for her podcast series. What happens next is a series of twisted events, leading the readers to question where the truth lies. It's apparent pretty early on who the lead antagonist is. But it isn't clear until the final pages, every character's role in perpetuating the lies.
I loved this thriller and couldn't put it down!

Was this review helpful?

2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️💫

Out celebrating their 45th birthdays, “birthday twins” Alix and Josie randomly meet each other at a local pub. Alix is a popular podcaster with a series featuring accomplished women, and Josie is a bored wife and mom. Josie approaches Alix about her podcast, promising that she’s going to flip the script on her life and that Alix will want to record the journey. But before long, the innocent podcast turns into a true crime documentary with both Josie and Alix at the center.

Fast paced and an interesting idea. Throughout the book you are wondering what is true and what isn’t. However, it just wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t like any of the characters, and some of the subjects in the book were dark.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This novel started out a bit slow, but then it got really interesting. The characters were well written. The ending blew me away. I did not expect that twist. I enjoyed the wY the story was told through the podcast . Overall, a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Was this review helpful?

Lisa Jewell has outdone herself with her latest novel. It begins with a strange meeting between two very different women celebrating their birthday; they are birthday twins. Alix is a strikingly beautiful, successful true crime podcaster; Josie is a plain woman who works as a seamstress. Without giving anything away, the tension as it builds in this novel is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Each revelation will have you turning the pages to see what happens next. Who is telling the truth?

Was this review helpful?

Fast paced, well written, intriguing psychological thriller. This book will drawn you in and keep you guessing. Written in different perspectives rounds out the story well.

Was this review helpful?

Gripping from the very beginning! And the ending! Wow! Lisa Jewell does it again! What a fantastic read!

Was this review helpful?

Lisa Jewel knows how to do a great thriller. This one was quite bone chilling and you didn’t know who to believe till the very end. Some good twists and the main gal Josie is very creepy , to the point where you almost want to put the book down. Overall I enjoyed it and found it entertaining!

Was this review helpful?