Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly, she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

4.5 stars

This is my second Lisa Jewell book, and I can now say that I’m definitely a fan and want to read her entire backlist. I think she may be an auto-buy author for me now. Even though I haven’t quite hit that five-star book from her yet, both of the books that I have read have come very, very close. She’s a brilliant writer and knows how to engage and immerse her readers in her clever and twisty stories. 

This is another mystery thriller that takes you on a wild ride through the London area. This is a dual-perspective book from our two main female protagonists, Alix and Josie. We see these two strangers meet and form an odd relationship with each other. Jewell writes this story in such a captivating way that we get an intimate look into the psyches of both of these ladies, and they feel relatable. I found myself with conflicted feelings about both of them because, on one level, I could absolutely feel compassion and empathy for them. We see their strengths and their vulnerabilities. But then on another level, I was disgusted and horrified, especially as more and more information was revealed to us. It definitely takes you on an emotional rollercoaster where you don’t know how to feel. But her writing draws you in, where you feel close to the characters, but you also get that dreadful, eerie feeling. It felt a bit atmospheric at times, and it definitely reminded me that I was reading a mystery thriller because there was always this underlying, unnerving, disturbing feeling that crept up throughout it. 

The whole story is chilling and bizarre, but in the best ways possible. You don’t really know what’s going on and try to piece the puzzle together as you read it. All of the characters are unreliable. The entire time, I kept guessing scenarios of what was really going on. There were many twists and turns, and at times, I didn’t know what to believe, who to believe, or what was really happening. It’s definitely a mindbender and will leave you pondering things even after you’re done with the book. 

Also woven intricately throughout the narrative is a fun, unique element of blending clips of a Netflix documentary with clips of Alix’s podcast. I felt like it helped to reveal more information to the reader, helped to foreshadow what was coming up next, and it helped to break up the narrative and keep the reader alert as well as entertained, because it really did read like I was watching a documentary.  

If you’re looking for a riveting, unsettling psychological thriller that keeps you guessing and turning the pages until the very end, then you must pick this book up. Highly recommend it!