Reviews tagging 'Torture'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

58 reviews

julialandis727's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't usually go for thrillers, but I'm a fan of true crime podcasts, so it makes sense that I'd enjoy this novel. The audiobook is incredibly produced; the added music and sound effects to the Netflix documentary transcripts and had different voice actors read those parts to make it sound like a real show. Enjoyed the feel of being thoroughly creeped out by Josie and her family, and while I predicted the murders correctly (as in who was getting murdered), I didn't expect the twist in Erin's epilogue at the very end. Makes me wonder if there will be a sequel, though the open-endedness of the ending is quite fitting for the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

jmdressel's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

some pretty heavy trigger warnings in this book! it was a good slow burn read with twists and turns everywhere. some parts were very dark and difficult to get through, but overall it was worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Physical abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Incest, Torture, and Pregnancy

123itsmeemily's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

lestatbp's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

A terrible book. I felt like I read the notes and outlines for five different books. 

The first part is nice and slow and mysterious. About halfway through it all goes to hell with messy plots, characters who all of a sudden act differently or disappear from the story, characters that appear from nowhere and have nothing to do with the plot, and and hundreds of red herrings that are just there for no reason (not ever referenced again, just filler to confuse your mind).

It's a real shame because it could have been a great story. It almost feels like it was written by AI because it has huge gaping holes or things said about characters that make no sense to a human mind. 

I read 150 books a year and, honestly, it is the worst book I have read in five years. Don't waste your time. I assume the rest of her books are as bad, so I wouldn't bother with trying another one by the "author." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Just a terrible book that seemed to stuff in as many "triggering" topics as possible whether they pertain to the story or not. It was a really bizarre experience reading this.

meowserly's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

If you need an ending with all loose ends tied up, this book is not for you. If you're used to true-crime podcasts that can't tie up the loose ends, you'll be OK. in fact, this book plays on the true crime podcast trend and adds an interesting perspective on what "truth" really means when someone is trying to create a narrative for a true crime podcast. It is called "None of This Is True," after all. Because the truth is...presented differently by different characters, trigger warnings are abundant. 

i do not generally listen to true crime podcasts and still found this book interesting enough to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, and Kidnapping

nyantastic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A wild, intense, ride where nothing is quite what is seems so you can't know what is true. One of the fastest I've ever finished a book because I was so thoroughly invested in the story. It left me with a complicated mix of emotions about the Fair family! I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version.  It is perfect for the podcast/TV show theme the book has and it is narrated with a full cast which makes it really feel like you're listening to a real podcast.

⚠️ Definitely read the content warnings for this book if you have any triggers, there's a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy

maybe_shelby's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

throughout the beginning of the story, you feel the main character to be plain and boring. on her birthday night, she runs into her birthday twin- a podcaster who was born on the same day in the same place. She agrees to interview her for her podcast about someone in the process of changing her life. From the title, you know that someone isn't telling the truth, and strongly don't like her. Eventually, the perspective flips between the two women. Some chapters are excerpts from the recordings [the audio narration enhances this]. These increase in frequency throughout the book, and also begin to come from an unknown source. She begins to spin wild and vivid tales of an unfortunate upbringing, and trauma-filled day-to-day life. She also begins to steal things from her interviewer, and mildly stalk her. By the end of the book, which you keep feeling has ended and then another story is revealed, you really aren't sure what is true. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

opalandrews17's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

You never know what was the truth- even at the end!! Kept me listening! Def a b good book for audio w the “podcast clips.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Death of parent, and Alcohol

bisexualchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love a good psychological mystery where you don’t know what questions to ask! Minus a quarter point for occasional show-not-telling, especially with appearances, though I think the author did the best she could & I haven’t found a way that I really like character’s appearances being described in any novel, really. Another quarter point for the idea that

someone who is the victim of grooming can also be the abuser

. I know it’s fiction, and I know that’s part of the point of the book to focus on that relationship, but I think people could take away the wrong idea from it. Women don’t really need to be told that

they aren’t victims in that scenario

, even if that isn’t really what the book is trying to say. (I hope that makes sense, lol).
Besides the minor deductions, this was a really enjoyable read. I always wanted to know what would happen next & I kept being surprised up until the very end. Unreliable narrator is done very, very well & we already know from the beginning that “None of This is True”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cursing, Pedophilia, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, Stalking, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

juliamarievincent's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail