None of This is True - Lisa Jewell

Oh. my. gosh. I've read and enjoyed all of Lisa Jewell's books. But her latest - None of This is True - is crazy good!! 

Take a second look at that cover. The same image, but with one turned upside down. And that's what you'll find - everything you thought you read, will be turned topsy-turvy.

Alix and Josie are both out for dinner to celebrate their 45th birthday and discover they are 'birthday twins' both born on the same day and in the same hospital. Until tonight they've never met before. Another chance meeting brings an unusual request. Alix is a well known podcaster and Josie would like Alix to document her life as it changes. It's an odd request, but Alix is intrigued...

If you can, I recommend going into this book blind. There are many twists and turns and discovering them as I listened was a treat. The plotting is fabulous - unpredictable over and over again. (And had me shouting out loud more than once!)

The two lead characters are very well drawn, but do we really know them? Their inner dialogue belies the faces they show the world. There's a number of supporting players that may or may not be unreliable as well. Who to believe? 

I loved the epistolary element of the podcast episodes. A story within a story.

The audio version of None of This is True is performed with a full cast. The two leads, read by Nicola Walker and Louise Brealey were brilliant. The voices they employ absolutely matched the characters. Each is easy to understand, spoke clearly and was well paced. Their reading has movement, easily capturing the tension, fear, and more. I really enjoyed the full cast. New voices for all of the supporting players. The background sounds and details of the podcast vignettes made them feel 'real'. A nice touch for an audio performance. Listening often brings you deeper into a book, and that was most definitely the case with None of This is True. An excellent performance of a fabulous novel.

An easy five stars! Hear for yourself - listen to  an excerpt of None of This is True.

Gentle listeners, there are some triggers.