I knew Josie was weird for taking a nespresso pod and the downstairs toilet’s hand soap from Alix’s house, but now she’s even going through the recycling bin to take things????? Something is wrong with her. This feels like one of those situations where the person becomes obsessed with another person they envy and they slowly start to change aspects of themselves to mimic the object of their obsession… They start dressing like them, talking like them, walking like them, etc… all to end up trying to take over this person’s life.
Josie wants to be Alix so badly… I’m thinking the fact that she was groomed by a 40 something year old man when she was a teenager and then married him plays a huge factor in this.
I think I first heard about this book while listening to an ad on a Rotten Mango podcast episode, and I was drawn to it because of my love for true crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense. The idea of a podcaster becoming the subject of her own podcast was fascinating to me, and I couldn't wait to dive into it.
Lisa Jewell did such a great job crafting these characters and their storylines. I knew after Janie followed Alix to the restroom in that restaurant that she was going to be weird. Her behavior after that initial interaction slowly but creepily escalated from being "okay that's weird" to "wtf is wrong with her?" The social worker in me wants to pull out a DSM-5 manual and diagnose her with a personality disorder. I'm curious if anyone else shares the same opinion.
The ending still left me with questions. None of this is true... but which part? Josie's telling of her version of her life experiences? Roxi and Erin's telling of their version of their life experiences? I personally want to believe that Josie is, in the words of the British, completely mad and that her (possible) personality disorder and (possible) psychosis has deluded her into believing that she truly is a victim who just wanted to break free.
Side note... This would be cool to watch as a dramatized version on Netflix or something.
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