A review by jennabeck13
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

About 365 pages


TW: Domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, pedophilia, murder


Alix Summers has the life. She’s the host of a hit podcast, has two perfect kids, a beautiful home, and a seemingly great husband. Plus, she looks great for 45. This leads to jealousy from Josie Fair, another 45-year-old woman who happens to be celebrating her birthday on the same day in the same restaurant as Alix. Josie approaches Alix to comment that they are “birthday twins.” After this point, Josie becomes obsessed with Alix and convinces herself and Alix to let her tell her story on Alix’s podcast. The two develop a peculiar relationship as they question various elements of one another’s lives. Though weird, things seem to be going ok until one day Josie disappears… When searching for answers, Alix will discover the messes Jodie has left behind and that none of what she heard may be true.


Lisa Jewell is pretty much an auto-read author for me, so as soon as I saw this as a #BOTM pick, I knew what I was picking. This one fell short of many other Lisa Jewell books for me because of one reason, unreliable narrators. I’ve complained about them on #booksta before so I will save the rant, but I just am not a fan of them and that affected my ranking. BESIDES THAT, I did enjoy this book and I devoured it in about two days. The premise was solid and had me hooked from the start. I loved how Jewell told the story from multiple POVs and used “real-time” narrators, podcast clips, and Netflix clips to take us through the chaos.


If you have read it, whose story did you believe? Josie? Or Walter and the kids? I think they were all a bit crazy but lean more toward Walter and the kids.


Favorite Quote: “Both women fall silent. Then Josie sighs and says, “Men.” And there it is, the point at which it all boils down to eventually. The point where there are no words, no theories, no explanations for behaviors that baffle and infuriate and hurt. Just that. Men.”



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