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None of This Is True
None of This Is True: A Novel by Lisa Jewell Review: A Pitch-Black Psychological Thriller That Unsettles
None of This Is True is a 2023 thriller by British author Lisa Jewell, following podcaster Alix Summer and Josie Fair — birthday twins who meet by chance — as Alix's decision to document Josie's dark, controlled life pulls her into escalating danger. Its propulsive pacing and deeply unsettling subject matter have made it one of Jewell's most talked-about novels.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers who love unreliable-narrator psychological thrillers and want a multi-format, structurally inventive story about control, manipulation, and the instability of truth — particularly those already familiar with Lisa Jewell's domestic suspense register.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you enjoy thrillers that weaponize narrative form itself — layering prose, interview transcripts, and a fictional documentary to keep you constantly questioning which account, and which character, to trust.
Skip if
Skip it if you have a low tolerance for genuinely harrowing subject matter — including grooming, incest, and pedophilia — or if you've recently saturated yourself in domestic thrillers and are hoping for something that breaks sharply from the genre's conventions.
What readers & critics say
Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a "Get It" verdict, calling it "hard to read but hard to look away from," and it landed on the New York Times bestseller list. Audible's editorial summary notes that Publishers Weekly and Kirkus both praised the book's pacing and plot twists, while also flagging its particularly dark tone around grooming, abuse, and alcoholism.
“Hard to read but hard to look away from.”
— Kirkus ReviewsAsk LuvemBooks
Was this helpful?
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers who enjoy unreliable-narrator domestic thrillers, None of This Is True is a strong choice: critics recognized its pacing, plot twists, and multi-format structure as genuine strengths, and a reviewer at fictionophile.com called it "a compelling and disturbing psychological thriller." The relationship between Josie and Walter Fair is drawn with psychological specificity that grounds the darkness in credible character detail. The key caveat is the subject matter — incest and pedophilia are present, and Publishers Weekly advised readers with a lower tolerance for such material to look elsewhere. Those who can engage with harrowing content will find Jewell operating at a high level of craft.
- Similar books
- Readers drawn to None of This Is True will find natural companions in Jewell's own Then She Was Gone, which shares her signature domestic unease and psychological character work. Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl is the defining unreliable-narrator domestic thriller and an essential read for anyone gripped by Jewell's layered, trust-weaponizing structure. Freida McFadden's Never Lie offers a similarly disorienting narrative with a thriller built around recorded accounts and hidden truths. Lisa Unger's Last Girl Ghosted rounds out the list for readers who want propulsive pacing and dark interpersonal dynamics at the centre of the story.
- Who should read this?
- None of This Is True is best suited to adult readers who enjoy psychological domestic thrillers with an unreliable-narrator structure — particularly those who appreciate being kept off-balance by competing, untrustworthy accounts. It will resonate strongly with existing Lisa Jewell fans, who fictionophile.com noted are "unlikely to be disappointed." Readers who have recently read a lot of domestic thrillers may find the genre conventions familiar, and anyone with a low tolerance for very dark subject matter — specifically incest and pedophilia — should heed the Publishers Weekly warning and approach with caution or avoid entirely.
- About Lisa Jewell
- Lisa Jewell is a British author of popular fiction.
- Tell me about the adaptation
- A screen adaptation of None of This Is True is currently in development, scripted by Eleanor Burgess and produced by Something Happy Productions and Modern Magic. Lisa Jewell herself is attached as executive producer, suggesting close involvement in translating the novel's layered, multi-format structure to screen. No release date has been publicly confirmed at the time of this review.
- How does it compare to Then She Was Gone?
- Both None of This Is True and Then She Was Gone operate in Jewell's signature domestic thriller register, built around psychologically specific characters and escalating domestic dread. None of This Is True is notably darker in its subject matter — explicitly including incest and pedophilia — and its multi-format structure (prose, interview transcripts, a fictional Netflix documentary) is more formally inventive than her earlier work. Readers who found Then She Was Gone compelling but want Jewell pushing further into unsettling territory will find None of This Is True a natural, if more harrowing, next step.
- Any content warnings?
- Yes — and they are significant. None of This Is True contains incest and pedophilia, themes that a reviewer at ivereadthis.com described as "typically considered taboo" and deliberately chosen by Jewell to generate discomfort. Publishers Weekly drew a direct line: "readers with a lower tolerance for nastiness should turn elsewhere." This is not a book that softens its material, and readers who are sensitive to such subject matter should take that warning seriously before picking it up.
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Our Review
What the Novel Is About
Structure and Form
Pacing and Plot
Darkness and Difficult Themes
Who It Is For — and Who May Step Back
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
en.wikipedia.org
- 3
lukeharkness.com
- Further reading
- 4
Lisa Jewell, Wikipedia
- 5
- 6
fictionophile.com
- 7
kathleenhaagenson.com
- 8
josephbeth.com
- 9
selectedreads.com
- 10
boredtodeathbookclub.com
- 11
Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
Tropes
From how readers and romance sites describe it, not our own reading.
3 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
Best for: Adults only — subject matter explicitly includes incest and pedophilia; Publishers Weekly advised readers with lower tolerance for dark content to look elsewhere.
Skip if you have a low tolerance for very dark subject matter including incest and pedophilia.
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