None of This Is True
Lisa Jewell, 2023
Mystery, thriller & crime Contemporary fiction
A true-crime podcaster meets a woman who wants her life recorded, and the interviews start to curdle. A thriller about stories and who gets to tell them. The prose stays plain while curiosity and dread build, and the story's moral unease makes you watch who controls the narrative.
Feels like curiosity, dread and hope. About morality, ambition and society.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy crime novels that turn a true-crime podcast setup into a quiet study of ambition and control. The plain, dread-heavy voice keeps the tension inward, so expect moral unease rather than a loud, action-led chase.
Why read it
It gives you a tense, plain-spoken look at how stories get shaped, and why the person holding the recorder matters.
A page from the book
What the impulse to close your eyes at the wheel is really asking.
You know, like when you’re driving down windy roads and you deliberately close your eyes for a second, just to see what happens. So that’s what I did. Lisa Jewell.Jewell wrote her 1999 debut, Ralph's Party, after a friend dared her to put three chapters on paper; it became that year's bestselling UK debut.
Books that feel like this
More by Lisa Jewell
Then She Was Gone
Lisa Jewell, 2017
Ten years after a mother loses her daughter, a girl who looks just like her walks into her life.
The Night She Disappeared
Lisa Jewell, 2021
When a teenage couple disappears after a night out, a crime writer new to the village finds a note in her garden that says 'Dig Here'.
Don't Let Him In
Lisa Jewell, 2025
A novel about the charm that gets a man let in — and the damage that follows.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is None of This Is True for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy crime novels that turn a true-crime podcast setup into a quiet study of ambition and control. The plain, dread-heavy voice keeps the tension inward, so expect moral unease rather than a loud, action-led chase.
- What is None of This Is True like?
- The prose stays plain while curiosity and dread build, and the story's moral unease makes you watch who controls the narrative. Feels like curiosity, dread and hope. About morality, ambition and society.
- What should I read after None of This Is True?
- If you liked None of This Is True, try The Only One Left (Riley Sager), The It Girl (Ruth Ware) and Want to Know a Secret? (Freida McFadden).
A taste of the feed
What someone says when they know you’ve already decided.
But that’s not what you’re most curious about, is it? You want to know if I’m as evil as everyone says I am. The answer is no. And yes.
The Only One Left · Riley Sager
The terrifying possibility that destruction can birth a terrible new beauty.
They’ll pull your life apart and stick it back together with vomit and shit, but it’ll still be more beautiful than you ever thought possible.
The It Girl · Ruth Ware
She tells everyone it's fitness; it's really the last high she has left.
I tell everyone that I’m trying to keep fit, but the truth is, the adrenaline I get from running is the only thing close to what I used to feel when I was in the courtroom. If I ever stopped running, I would probably have to start taking speed. I love pushing myself as hard as I can.
Want to Know a Secret? · Freida McFadden
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