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A review by veeleen13
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

4.0

A surprisingly strong mystery all the way through. I’m usually disappointed halfway through these kinds of thrillers, but this was a book I finished super quickly. Jewell writes dialogue very well, which I personally find to be the most unforgiving part of fiction writing. The audiobook cast was phenomenal and the story had me hooked. The ending doesn’t tie everything up super nicely, but I kind of enjoy that. There’s still questions, but not enough to feel like a plot hole or cop out, imo. I found it interesting how Jewell painted each character—flawed, and often very dysfunctional yet on the surface restrained. My main gripe is that I wish there was more discussion of how predatory and disgusting Walter was. The fact that Jewell paints him as a good father seems to negate the fact that he pursued a literal teenager when he was 40, and even if that teenager was mentally ill (re: sociopathic), it still is predatory. I just wish Jewell had set that tone very clearly but seemed to skirt around it a bit in the end. Josie’s actions can be so clearly tied to trauma, so it’s hard to see her as the villain when Walter and her mother are really the villains of the story. Josie isn’t at all off the hook for her behaviors, but why would we not look at the root causes of those behaviors rather than glorifying an abusive predator? Some unrealistic parts for sure, but it’s a story. The birthday twin thing wasn’t necessary in my opinion but I do get why that’s how it started. Overall very good plot and characters with some flawed approaches to themes.