None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

It had been a long time since I had read a book by Lisa Jewell. So when I treated myself to a few books recently, I included None of This is True by Lisa Jewell.

The Blurb

This gripping psychological thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell follows a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

The Review

This novel starts gently, almost boringly when the reader is introduced to two women each celebrating their forty-fifth birthdays in their own ways in the same restaurant. One of them, Josie, is impressed by the more vibrant celebrations of the other woman, Alix and takes the opportunity to introduce herself in the ladies' restroom.

Alix is between podcast projects and decides on a new venture based on the fact that she and Josie were born in the same hospital on the same day.

She and Josie get closer until eventually Josie is living in Alix's house and her family are having to put up with her presence.

The story becomes increasingly dark until both families have to cope with Josie's new living arrangements and truths hidden for years come to the surface. None of This is True is an inspired novel that I found difficult to put down. I highly recommend it to all who enjoy a good psychological thriller.

The Author

Lisa Jewell was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph's Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.