Reviews tagging 'Torture'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

36 reviews

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A psychological thriller following the link between two women, Alix and Josie, who meet when they realise they share their birthdays. Josie then asks Alix to make a podcast about her, unravelling her life. Interspersed in their tale are flashforwards to a true crime documentary made from their story. 

This story reads like a Netflix/BBC miniseries that gets crazy popular and that everyone's mum is obsessed with. The first 50% is amps up the tension between the two women, but ultimately it goes along very slowly. The second 50% is fast paced, desperate and dramatic. My one ultimate annoyance with this book is the title: None of This is True.

It ultimately spoils the fact that Josie is lying about the exact circumstances of her life.

if it had been named differently I think the revelations of the second half would have hit a lot stronger. However, the ending was so very satisfying (ending spoiler:)

especially the final twist of Josie's final chapter where she may not be as diabolical as we were lead to believe...

 

In terms of diversity, both Alix and Josie are white cis women, married to their husbands. Everyone appears to be ambiguously white and straight, except for, some of Nathan's friends and

Josie's daughter Roxy, who is a lesbian with her dark moments.

Erin is autistic with smooth food preferences and is the gamer queen of my heart. 

I very much enjoyed this as an audiobook, with two excellent main narrators and then a full cast making up the interviewees of the inserted documentary moments. My only gripe with it was that at times in the documentary aspects the interviewer's voice was very quiet, but otherwise it was good.

Wheelhouse: narrative parallels/foils, women protagonists over 45,

unreliable narrators,

spliced in revelations in the form of interviews.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Ableism, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Incest, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

The dog is uninjured and fine at the end. Josie's relationship with Walter:

allegedly started dating when she was 15 he was 42, describes grooming behaviour, alleges that he is physically, emotionally and fiscally abusive towards her.

spoiler for the twist of Josie and Walter:

this is then twisted when her children allege that she was manipulative and emotionally abusive towards the whole family, including Walter, and that she may have attacked him as he died.

Josie's relationship with her children:

Erin is autistic and while Josie is mostly supportive in terms of providing her with food she likes there is an underlying current of slight abelism when it comes to Josie's views on Erin. Josie ends up fighting Erin, restraining her in her house and abandoning her for dead while stealing her money. Roxy appears to have a more fraught relationship with Josie, with allegations of child abuse and that Josie allegedly sabotaged her relationship with Brook. There is a custom made child's chair with restraints which apparently Josie used on Roxy.

Josie's final plan:

she kidnaps Alix's husband and ends up killing him, apparently accidentally.

Roxy:

final final twist spoilers: Roxy might have been the one to have killed her then girlfriend Brook.

kathryn0628's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I hated the ending.   Are we supposed to feel sorry for Walter and just ignore the fact the he slept with his girlfriends 16 year old daughter when he was 43?  Gross.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Torture

kjackowski's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Confinement, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Murder, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Torture, and Eating disorder

thevanessa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5/5⭐️



It was really good, but I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not without a full list of trigger warnings😅

The audiobook though 👏🏻so good👏🏻 one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to! The voice actors gave it there all and really sold me the story, so much so that it felt real

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Grief, Incest, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Confinement, Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Torture, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content

mawest's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OMG! This is a first Lisa Jewell novel and it set the bar high. I’m terrible at connecting dots but towards the end you will have even more thoughts as dots get connected. Towards the end, it’s impossible to put down. Great physical read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, Alcoholism, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse and Addiction

barefootsierra's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Child abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

girrllie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Like binge watching a show and getting to the end and saying, “What did I just read?” A waste of my life even though the writing is excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Grief, Child death, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Gore, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

hillarym's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Kidnapping, Death, Blood, Torture, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Toxic friendship, and Child abuse

coco78337's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Excrement, Pregnancy, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Pandemic/Epidemic

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Pedophilia