From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about 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?

Book Type:

Thriller

Review: None of this is True

The lives of two women inexorably intersect in this deeply dark and unsettling new thriller from Lisa Jewell.

“Hi, I’m your birthday twin.”

Podcaster Alix Summer and Josie Fair cross paths the night of their 45^th birthday. Josie, a seemingly unassuming mother of two, is immediately drawn to Alix, whose life appears to shimmer in a way hers does not. Days later, they meet again at Alix’s children’s school. In what feels like fate, Josie decides Alix is exactly the person she needs at this crossroads in her life.

After binging Alix’s podcasts, Josie brazenly suggests Alix consider recording a podcast about her—someone at the cusp of great changes.

In a decision that would upend Alix’s life, she agrees. As Josie confesses every dark secret—from her relationship with her husband, to hers with her two girls, Alix reels in the shock of it. The more she gets to know Josie, the more her instincts tell her to cut this off for good, but the draw to know more overpowers. Soon, Alix and Josie’s futures are inextricably intertwined, dead bodies uncovered in the wake of the chaos.

Jewell delivers an unflinchingly dark and provocative thriller teeming with surprises. It’s a story about families, friendships, identity, and the secrets we hide behind closed doors. Transcripts of Alix’s interviews juxtapose present-day narrative, to unravel Josie’s complicated life. Unreliable characters cast constant doubt, especially in the story’s shocking climax, where I couldn’t help but second guess what I deemed as ‘truth.’ Just like Alix, I felt a visceral need to read more, to know what happened, to see this twisted tale to its end. I plowed through the pages, relishing in the unpredictability of it all.  I’ve been reading Lisa Jewell for years, and this latest is my new favorite!

It’s the dark, bingeworthy thriller you need right now.

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