Member Reviews
Another great Lisa Jewell book, ive read all of her backlist and it just gets better with each book.
Great plot, great characters and will not disappoint.
I felt i did know where this was going to go but again i was left with my jaw dropping! i clearly didn't have a clue.
Its a dark book so i do suggest you definitely check out them trigger warnings beforehand as this covers a whole range of topics.
What a book to get your teeth stuck into! The title is spot on. What is the truth? Is anyone telling the truth? Two strong main characters, one is easy to like, but the other one, I’m not sure whether I feel sorry for her, I’m scared of her or if I despise her.
Brilliantly written.
Absolutely brilliant. I totally knew that it would be but that doesn’t lessen the immense enjoyment. Lisa has such an easy writing style to read, it’s like meeting someone and chatting to them and feeling like you’ve known them forever, no awkward silences just lovely flow of words. The bad side of this is that it’s so hard to put the book down, luckily, maybe knowingly, I started it on holiday in my windswept caravan so finishing it within a day wasn’t a problem.
There are many recognisable elements of human nature, not least that I was 45 upon reading it. The day to day lives the stages of life with my children growing up and no longer being the cute cuddly toddlers, the whole commentary on life and it’s rich characters was spot on as always. I loved the sinister elements and undertones and also the contemporary references to lockdown and podcasts.
I honestly can’t fault it other than I dashed through but also didn’t want it to finish and now I have to wait for the next one. Thank you.
It is rare to find a truly unique plot when you read a lot but I think this is it. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the previous release by this author but this marks a return to great writing. I was hooked!
This has got to be one of the best books I have read this year!
Coincidences and cohesion worked closely behind friendship and fear.
Two ladies meet, but the relationship is very one-sided - unbeknownst to Alix. Alix was flattered and wanted to widen her listening audience, so she took on a project which absolutely changed her life for the worse.
I could not put this down.
Josie Fair is out for dinner for her forty-fifth when she meets Alix Summer, also out for hers. They strike up a conversation when they realise they are birth twins. Journalist Alix puts aside her caution and lets herself be drawn to a strangeness in Josie, making her a good subject for her podcast.
Josie provides her version of her life during the interviews and gradually as the reader is treated to a slightly different story, this dark thriller becomes more and more addictive.
None of This is True is Lisa Jewell at her best. With a few tweaks, Alix’s apparently perfect middle-class life looks not so poles apart from Josie’s unusual life as at first appears. These fault lines allow anything and everything to happen, and in this thriller they do.
This book is an edge of the seat one, a not to be missed experience.
This was a slow burner of a thriller that once it picked up pace, it didn't stop. The twists kept coming and each one revealed a shock worse than the last. All in all it was another cracking read from Lisa Jewell and one I would definitely recommend. Many thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
None Of This Is True
Alix Summers & Josie Fair are birthday twins. Born on the same date, the same year and in the same hospital. Yet their paths have never crossed. Until one night they meet celebrating their 45th birthdays in the same pub - and one of them decides nothing will ever be the same again.
Alix has a young family, she has a very successful podcast and a beautiful home. Josie has an elderly husband, two grown up daughters with their own issues and a life that she doesn’t feel she has lived to the fullest.
Josie wants Alix to make a podcast about her and the dark secrets hidden in her closet. Alix is at a loose end and agrees.
The less you know about this book the better, it’s twisty, the characters unreliable - keeping you second guessing. With as many red flags as red herrings.
One of Lisa Jewell’s best yet.
Alix Summers, well known and popular podcaster goes out to celebrate her 45th birthday when she bumps into another woman who also happens to be celebrating her 45th birthday and by the end of this book Alix Summers will wish she had never stepped over the doorstep that night. Because her “birthday twin” Josie Fair has decided that she wants Alix to tell her story, for Josie Fair has a story to tell that is going to blow the minds of all who listen to it. And what follows is a dark and twisted suspenseful rollercoaster ride of a read that made me vow NEVER to get talking to anyone in the ladies toilets ever again!
Cleverly crafted, using podcast episodes, scenes from the Netflix drama and different points of view, I really had no clue where I was going with this but all I knew was that I just could not put it down!
This book is addictive!
I actually read this book in 24 hours, something i haven’t done in years!
Such a rollercoaster of a story, the dark twist and turns have you not wanting to put it down.
I know that if this was a real documentary on Netflix I would watch it too.
Definitely not one to be missed!
Firstly, I would like to thank Najma at the publishers for sending me an ARC of this book.
Now on to the hard part of writing a review.
I do not think that any review that I write about this book will do it the justice that it deserves.
This book is an utter masterpiece.
I have found myself slumping with thrillers at the moment. Picking a lot of them up and not really finding myself intrigued. Probably the state of mind I have been in.
However, this book sucked me in from the very first page and I found it hard to continue normal life until I knew the truth surrounding Josie’s life and just what she wanted with Alix.
I had so many theories and so many thoughts. I mainly hated Walter and felt so much for Josie. Really felt for what she had been through for her childhood.
Was I right to feel those ways…did my opinion change after part 3….
I loved the way in which the author also put a spin on things in part 4 of the book. Just when I thought I could not be more shocked by the book, I go and read eighteen months later and my mind was blown!
This book is utterly addictive, clever and is one that I will be recommending to all thriller lovers. I have recommended to so many people now and I do not think anyone will be disappointed.
I am fairly certain that this will be my thriller of the year and we are only in April…
Go preorder it now 😊
It's been a while since I've inhaled a book like I have None of This is True and it's certainly been worth the wait! The plot immediately gripped me as it was just so intriguing and I really liked the format which alternated between Alix and Josie's POVs and was scattered with podcast recordings and Netflix clips, adding a really modern feel to the plot. The pace was just perfect and at no point was I bored, flicking page after page until I was forced to stop reading for some reason or other.
All of the characters were so well fleshed out - not just Alix and Josie - that it was hard at times to believe they weren't real people. It was very easy to like and sympathise with Alex and be creeped out (and yes, curious) by Josie.
Overall a fantastic book full of twists, turns and tension and that you'll find hard to put down. I'm actually disappointed it's over...or is it?
If I had to compare this book to a food item, I would say it's a utterly delicious and juicy burger that you can't stop bingeing, don't want to put down, and can't help but want more of. Mmmm! And Lisa Jewell is the masterchef that has killed it once again.
This was such an unsettling and riveting page-turner. Yet I couldn't tear myself away and enjoyed every moment! The story flowed well and I love how it's interspersed with podcast excerpts, which made everything feel all the more chilling.
The characters are flawed but so well-written; I was invested in everyone and could empathize with their motivations + decisions. Only Lisa Jewell can make me feel bad for imperfect characters I wasn't expecting to feel anything for.
She also did a terrific job in messing with my mind and making me question everything. What's real and what isn't? What's true and which are lies? Guess I'll never know...
You genuinely cannot go wrong with a Lisa Jewell, she is the queen of suspense, thrills and plot twists and this one is no exception!
I loved the idea of two women having the same birthday and meeting up coincidentally and I love the sinister plot it then followed. The characters were interesting and it had me on the edge of my seat all the way through! An easy five stars for me!
Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin!
Wow! Just wow. Lisa Jewell has done it again.
None of This is True follows the story of Alix Summers a popular podcaster. She is out celebrating her 45th birthday when she crosses paths with Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th birthday. Birthday twins. A few days later Alix and Josie bump in to each other, Josie has an amazing idea after she listened to Alix’s podcasts and wants Alix to do one on her life. Alix agrees and they start doing the podcasts and meet at her home. This is when everything becomes interesting, Josie has lived a life and wants the whole world to know. But is she telling the truth?
This book had me on the edge of my lounge. It gripped me from the beginning and had so many amazing plot twists that I wanted more and more of this book. I loved the episode playbacks in the book and hearing all the sides of the story from all involved. It is truly a masterpiece of crime fiction and I'm looking forward to grabbing a physical copy for my shelves.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a copy of this book for my honest book review
Lisa Jewell’s latest book None of This is True is amazing. One of the main characters is so well drawn and gets creepier as the novel goes on. It’s fast paced and the characters are so vivid and different and believable. Alix was my favourite character and I felt for her as Josie slowly encroached on her home and family. Lisa Jewell is to me like Ruth Rendell as Barbara Vine - her books have a unique quirky style and this is possibly my favourite of hers so far.
Wow. I can’t do this book justice like some of the other reviews, but wow.
I read this so quickly, which is amazing given what a busy life I have with 2 toddlers. It had me absolutely hooked from the beginning. It’s twisty, dark and totally gripping. It has a podcast/documentary style in places and is so well written you won’t know what to believe. I thought I knew what was going on and then right at the end another twist hits you.
Excellent writing and an excellent story. 100% worth reading. Best book I’ve read for quite a while.
Lisa Jewell's best so far. I couldn't put this down. It's dark and twisty and has more layers than an onion.
I raced through this new one by Lisa Jewell and I believe it’s her best yet. The two main characters are Alix and Josie, both married with children and roughly of similar ages. Alix makes podcasts and Josie becomes her latest project. As we read the podcast and follow the interaction between the two characters, their different personalities become apparent and tension builds. What follows is a series of events culminating in tragedy.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a taut and tense psychological thriller.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the book.
Thank you to Random house Uk for this ARC copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was wonderful! I loved all of the twists and turns, the tense moments and the gripping plot. The writing style was great and it was easy to read and get involved in the characters and the story.
I read this book in 24 hours and could not put it down!
I loved the dual POV and the documentary format within the book, it made it that much more interesting and was just very different!
I will definitely have to read more books by Lisa Jewell in the future, I have quite a few on my shelf.
I gave this book a 4.5 ⭐️ rating.