Book Review: None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

My Rating: 3.5⭐

In 2019, “Birthday Twins” Alix Summers and Josie Fair meet for the first time on their forty–fifth birthday in a pub where they have both come to celebrate- Alix with her husband and friends and Josie with her husband.

Josie is curious to know more about Alix and looks her up on the internet and finds out that Alix is a popular podcaster known for sharing the stories of strong women who have overcome the odds to exact positive change in their lives. Josie approaches Alix with the idea of being a subject of her next podcast feature citing the fact that she is in the process of making big changes in her life. Alix is both intrigued and a tad unsettled by Josie’s intensity and eventually agrees. Josie’s revelations about her past and her marriage are shocking and Alix finds herself becoming inextricably drawn into Josie’s narrative. Alix begins to doubt some parts of Josie’s revelations when she talks to people who know her and have interacted with her in the past. Just how much of Josie’s story is true? Josie seems to be fixated on Alix and is curious about Alix’s marriage which is also somewhat troubled. What follows is a complex web of lies, deceit, manipulation and murder. All is revealed when Alix becomes the subject of a true crime podcast to be featured in a Netflix documentary in 2020.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell is a masterfully crafted work of psychological fiction- the kind of dark, edgy and suspenseful story that makes Lisa Jewell one of my favorite authors in this genre. Complex characters, shocking twists and several surprises (till the very end) and an ending that leaves you unsettled, made for a riveting read. I loved the structure of the novel which is presented from the perspectives of Josie and Alix with transcripts of the podcast interviews (featuring Josie, Alix and several other characters) interspersed throughout the narrative.

Having said that, there are a few things that keep me from giving this novel a higher rating. I know this is fiction and but a few things did bother me. None of the characters are particularly likable (some worse than the others) which is fine. I know this is fiction but I could not ignore certain aspects of the story no matter how much I tried. Alix's inability to read the situation, her apparent blindness to several red flags in Josie’s behavior and her insensitivity to some extremely disturbing aspects of Josie’s life was off-putting. I also had issues with certain choices that were made in the handling of Josie’s present storyline. The author ventures into some very dark and disturbing themes in this novel (grooming, pedophilia, sexual abuse of a minor, trauma and mental health) and I’m not comfortable with the way those topics were presented.

Overall, this is an intense and suspenseful read that delivers on the thrills. For the rest, it boils down to the reader’s ability and/or willingness to ignore certain aspects of the story.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.