Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - None of This Is True

Josie and podcaster Alix, meet by chance celebrating their 45th birthday. Josie, feeling that destiny is at play, reaches back out to Alix and proposes a new podcast project about ‘her truth,’ which is dark and gets darker. As they continue to unravel Josie’s story, the line between observer and participant blurs, and the point of no return is crossed.

This was a very chilling and dark read - despite all the cues that told me to turn back, I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook. The pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but it artfully traps you in the plot’s web before it reaches a fever pitch and culminates into a perfect ending.

I loved almost everything about this, despite not being a strong reader of the genre. I loved the plot twists, which left me guessing and gasping until the end, and the disturbing themes were just tolerable. I am giving it 4 stars because I wasn’t utterly in love and was not a fan of the themes covered and how they were portrayed and resolved. However, I did recommend it to someone immediately after reading, so I'd give 4.5 stars if I was in the habit of doing that.

Please check content warnings, as the content definitely may not be for everyone. Includes themes such as paedophilia, abuse and many more.

Content Warnings

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Bloody hell, this was a wild ride! I absolutely love Lisa Jewell’s thrillers.

While celebrating their 45th birthdays, two women from different worlds meet. Alix, a popular podcaster, and Josie, a seamstress, have nothing in common, except that they are birthday twins. When Josie approaches Alix with an intriguing idea for a new podcast, the pair team up, but Alix soon learns that Josie isn’t the person she seems to be.

This book is insane, and I think I’ve said that about most of Lisa Jewell’s books that I’ve read. In terms of the storyline, Jewell always manages to keep me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the very last.

The characters in this book were very interesting, and definitely problematic and untrustworthy in their own ways. By the end of this book, I didn’t really know who to trust. Between Josie, Walter, Ann, Roxy, Erin and Nathan, there were lots of lies and accusations, and lots of not knowing who is telling the truth, even on the very last page.

I would have liked there to have been a little more accountability of Walter in the final podcast/documentary. Whether Walter was a good or bad father, whether he was abusive or not, whether Josie manipulated him into a relationship, he was still a grown forty-something year old man getting into a relationship with a minor.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to read my next Lisa Jewell book!

Content Warnings