BOL_4791201Synopsis: “From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.  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? “

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My Review

Wow what an audiobook! This was one of my highly anticipated listens for the year, and boy did it live up to my expectations! I think it’s Lisa Jewell’s darkest yet, something I seem to say every year! 😂

The story is told from Alix and Josie’s points of view, with snippets throughout from a Netflix documentary featuring Alix’s podcast of the same name ‘Hi I’m Your Birthday Twin’.

I really liked Alix and her family, although wasn’t too sure about her husband Nathan, he seemed very unreliable at times, not someone I’d want to be married to. Alix was having her doubts about him at the beginning of the story, but kept hoping things would improve, giving him the benefit of the doubt, but also enjoying the perks of his well paid job.

Josie Fair on the other hand? Well, the less I say about her the better, as you need to find out about her yourself as you listen or read the book. She was brilliantly portrayed by Louise Brealey, a narrator I’ve listened to before and really like. Nicola Walker’s portrayal of Alix was superb as well, and she’s definitely a narrator I’ll look out for in the future.

I must admit that I almost didn’t listen to the audiobook, as a sample I heard via the author’s newsletter really made me flesh crawl! However, I’m so glad I listened to it as the production is superb, and I definitely wouldn’t have the same experience reading it.

Highly recommended on audio!

Book 18 of 20 Books of Summer