By Lisa Jewel
A Creatively Woven Psychological Thriller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SUMMARY
Alix Summer meets Josie Fair for the first time in a London restaurant bathroom. They were at the restaurant, both celebrating their forty-fifth birthday. They had even been born in the same London hospital. Alix is a wife and mother of two young children and the creator of a well-known podcast series about successful women. Josie is a stay-at-home wife and mother of two adult girls.
Alix and Josie bump into each other a week later outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie pitches an idea to Alix. Josie thinks she should be the subject of Alix’s next podcast series since she is on the verge of making significant changes to improve her life. Alix is intrigued enough to listen to and record Josie’s stories.
As Alix gets to know Josie, she becomes increasingly distressed by the stories about Josie’s childhood, mother, husband, and children. At 3 am one morning, Josie appears on Alix’s doorstep after a physical fight with her husband. She had nowhere else to go. Josie masterfully insinuates herself into Alix’s home life and becomes the unwelcome guest who will never leave. On the day she finally gets Josie out of her house, Alix’s husband heads to a bar with some friends, and Alix’s life turns into a nightmare, and she becomes a major player in her own podcast series.
REVIEW
Maybe that bathroom meeting should have been a sign of things to come. NONE OF THE IS TRUE is a creatively woven tale of Josie, an outlandish woman who wants to change her life, and Alix, who tries to capture the story. This story is a psychological thriller about womanhood, our choices, and our secrets. It is a gut-wrenching character-driven drama.
Author Lisa Jewel’s writing is smartly structured, and Josie and Alix’s characters are intriguing. Who is Josie Fair, and why does Alix feel drawn to hear her stories? Despite being born on the same day and in the same hospital, their characters could not be any more different. Alix is smart and sparkling and has made a happy life for herself and her family. Josie is self-centered, dark, and miserable with the life she chose over thirty years ago.
My favorite part is Alix’s character, who allows herself to be caught in Josie’s chilling unraveling. The podcast tapes draw us in like a moth to a flame. The stories are horrendous, and the tension is unrelenting, but you just cannot stop reading this entertaining and diabolical story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher Atria Books
Published August 8, 2023
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
