Published in 2023, None of This Is True is the 21st novel written by Lisa Jewell, who is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers and crime fiction. She originally wrote her debut Ralph’s Party (1999) in response to a friend’s challenge to write three chapters of a novel, the reward for which was an evening out at a fancy restaurant. The book became an immediate best-seller, and since then, her prolific work has been published in over 25 languages. She is now prominently known as a skilled writer in the psychological thriller genre, and her titles are constantly featured on the New York Times bestseller list.

This study guide utilizes the e-book edition of the text, published by Atria Books in 2023.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of domestic violence, alcohol use disorder, physical and sexual abuse, pedophilia, abduction, and murder.

Plot Summary

None of This Is True combines psychological thriller conventions with elements of the true crime genre. The novel intersperses multiple retrospective narrative voices to enhance the traditional narration of the main plot in order to outline the increasingly sinister aspects of the relationship between podcaster Alix Summer and Josie Fair, the woman who approaches her and proposes to be the subject of her next podcast. In addition to this main plotline, the story is supplemented by interviews, transcripts, and other materials from the Netflix documentary based on their story.

When Josie Fair steps out of her comfort zone to celebrate her 45th birthday in a popular local pub, she meets Alix Summer, her “birthday twin,” who is celebrating her own 45th birthday as well. Although they are from the same neighborhood, Josie and Alix’s lives are very different: Josie lives with her husband, Walter, and daughter Erin in a small apartment overlooking a bus stop; her older daughter, Roxy, has long since left her family home. (The circumstances of Roxy’s departure are left untold until the end of the novel.) Alix lives with her husband, Nathan, and their two children, Eliza and Leon, in a spacious, elegant home just blocks away.

Alix, a well-known podcaster, attracts Josie’s attention. Josie is looking for a change in her life, so she approaches Alix to propose that they do a podcast together, documenting her big life changes as she implements them, along with her account of her past history. Despite some reservations, Alix agrees, and they embark on the project in Alix’s home recording studio. As the interviews progress, however, Alix learns some shocking truths about Josie’s life. Josie met her husband when she was only 13, and married him when she was 18, and he was 43. Their eldest daughter, Roxy, ran away, and their youngest, Erin, never steps out of her bedroom, and eats only baby food. Josie believes that Walter has been abusing Erin for nearly six years, but never confronts the problem, instead putting in earplugs when he leaves her bed every night.

As Josie’s confessions continue, Alix grows more uneasy with the situation. Beyond the details of Josie’s life, she is insinuating herself into Alix’s own life, but Alix is determined to finish the podcast, which is shaping up to be both explosive and important. When Josie visits Alix’s house for the interviews, she often takes a small item from Alix’s life (a teaspoon, a bracelet, a drawing), and hides it in her underwear drawer when she gets home. When Josie and Walter have dinner at Alix’s home, the situation comes to a head. Nathan, Alix’s husband, stays out drinking with friends—he has been dealing with an alcohol addiction, an issue that Alix has shared with Josie. Josie is angry about the ruined dinner party, and when she gets home that night, decides it is time for a change. Several hours later, she appears on Alix’s doorstep, badly beaten, and claims that Walter, upset about the dinner party, had taken his frustrations out on her and Erin. She claims that Erin went to a friend’s house, and now Josie is relying on Alix to take her in.

For a week, Josie stays with Alix, becoming increasingly comfortable wearing her clothes and exploring her home. They continue the podcast interviews, even delving into the disappearance of Brooke Ripley, Roxy’s first girlfriend. As Alix becomes increasingly suspicious of Josie, Josie collects things from Nathan’s pockets and uses them to create the suspicion of infidelity in Alix’s mind. When Josie finally leaves, and Alix’s sisters arrive for a visit, she thinks that Josie’s influence in her life is over. That night, however, Nathan disappears. He was last seen getting into a car rented with Erin Fair’s credit card. Alix understands that Josie has kidnapped Nathan, and the search for them begins. Police break into Josie’s apartment and find Walter beaten and dead in the bathtub, and Erin, also badly beaten and comatose, tied to a chair.

Roxy returns home to look after Erin, and when Erin comes out of her coma, she says that Josie committed the crimes. Together, they tell Alix that Walter hadn’t been abusing Erin. Erin is a famous gamer, and Walter had taken part in her gaming streams every night, helping her to monetize them so that she could gain independence and move out of the apartment. Erin also tells her that Josie killed Brooke, and the police later find Brooke’s body hidden in the Fairs’ garage.

The police finally discover where Josie was holding Nathan, but it is too late—he is dead. Alix receives a text message from Josie, who claims that Nathan’s death was an accident, and that she only meant to hold him so that Alix could experience the freedom of life without him. She also sends a vaguely threatening letter, but Alix never hears from her after that. Over a year later, Josie is on a bus when she hears two women talking about the Netflix documentary based on Alix’s podcast of her story. She remembers the night of Brooke’s death and recalls how Roxy accidentally killed Brooke and the family colluded to hide the body. She holds onto the belief that, no matter what else happened, she was a good mother.