Julie Patterson is a former Miss Mississippi with a successful husband, two wonderful children, and the lavish life that many can only dream about. Her life becomes even better when her husband receives a long-awaited promotion and the family moves to a neighborhood near Washington DC. Julie quickly makes friends with neighbors, except for the woman who lives behind her, who simply stares without acknowledgment of Julie. After a while, though, the woman, Lynn, warms up to Julie, and the two form a fast friendship.
But this friendship quickly turns strange as Julie learns of Lynn's propensity to lie for attention. She and her family also notice that Lynn has gotten the same car as Julie, has begun to dress like Julie, is getting a pool just like Julie, and is consistently attempting to one-up Julie. At first everyone brushes it off, but when one lie threatens Julie's family, she begins to realize Lynn has some unknown agenda, and Julie is her target. No one else takes it seriously, and many neighbors side with Lynn, even as the situation begins to spiral out of control, until one is found on the stand for attempted murder.
Is Lynn a False Victim, or could Julie be guilty? Is there an end to the madness? Will the story end happily? You'll be on the edge of your seat as you await the answers in this gripping, psychological thriller based on a true story.
First off, I have to say that I won this book through Goodreads First Reads! I would absolutely recommend anyone to read this book!
Author Kathie Truitt wrote False Victim based on a true story. The story is of an appalling event that happened to the author and she uses false names to tell her story.
From the very beginning of the book I was instantly compelled to keep reading. As the story progressed, my emotions took over. As I was gripping the book I kept thinking, “what is this b*tch going to do next?” The things that Lynn does to Julie are more than awful! I had kept questioning myself what I would do in Julie’s situation and I don’t think I could have handled it near as long as she did. I am pretty sure that I would have snapped right from the beginning! Not only did I grow a bitter hate for Lynn, I was angry with the authorities and the laws that were in place that would/could not protect Julie and her family.
I was even thinking, “Either Julie really tries to kill this psycho, or Lynn is going to try and frame Julie for murder.” Neither would have surprised me in the least!
The worst part for me is when it really starts to affect poor little Will! I actually cried for him! Oh, My, Gosh!! And the part when she has to explain to her son that she may be going to prison, that part was a complete tearjerker. OH! It was also a huge eye opener when Julie realizes who Lynn’s biggest victims are and they will never be able to escape!
Anyways, this review is going to be extremely long because I need to vomit out everything that is embedded in my brain about the storyline. I have been dying to tell someone about this book because it is so crazy! So here it is:
The Prologue starts off as; Julie is getting ready to go to court for a charge that would ultimately cause her to go to prison if found guilty.
The Patterson family has to relocate from their hometown of Portman Mississippi, to Woodbridge Virginia to pursue Tom’s career in politics. The house that Julie finds seems to be the perfect fit for their life change.
Julie was concerned that she would not fit in in this new neighborhood. The moment the Patterson family was settled; Julie quickly met and made friends with a lot of her neighbors. There was one neighbor she was unsure about. The house behind the Julie’s up on the hill had a woman that would stand on the balcony and glare at Julie. The woman also had access to see inside Julie’s house from the balcony right through the large sunroom windows. Quite frequently she would notice this woman’s strange behavior.
One day while Julie was talking with a contractor about building a pool, the strange neighbor came running up to Julie to introduce herself. Lynn Hennessy! (Just thinking her name UGH! GRRR!)
Julie and Lynn quickly became close friends. Julie found that she had quite a bit in common with Lynn. They both shared a common tragedy that allowed them to bond in a way no one else could understand.
After spending countless days and nights bonding with Lynn over a period of time, Julie discovers that a lot of the things Lynn has told her were lies. At first Julie was hurt for being lied to, but eventually she gave Lynn the benefit of the doubt and kept up their relationship. Olivia, Julie’s daughter was the first to see something was wrong with Lynn. Lynn starts to dress like Julie, buys the exact same car and even gets the same pool that Julie wanted. When Lynn’s lies start to get out of control, is when Julie decides to distance herself from Lynn. This is when the story really starts to gets horrifying.
***So stop reading my review and start reading this book!***
I can't even begin to fathom what going through something like Julie and her family did feels like. I've read horror novels that were not as frightening as this book, the fact that it was based on a true story that aired on Investigation Discovery makes me shiver.
Reading False Victim put thoughts in my head that will most likely never go away. Someone, anyone, can literally ruin your life just by making false allegations to the police. You can be completely innocent, someone calls the police with a bogus claim, and next thing you know you could be in jail bent over with some guard searching your genitals and whatnot, when you haven't even come close to doing anything, you were sitting at home eating dinner when you supposedly punched them in the eye and threatened to kill them.
This is a sick and rather sad story where similar situations take place. Lynn can't stand the idea of anyone getting more attention than she does, she craves attention at all times and will stop at nothing to take down anyone who receives more. If you are a standout in the neighborhood and people really like you, you could easily make it on to her hit list.
Lynn and Julie became friends shortly after Julie moved to the area. The friendship began to fall apart when Julie realized Lynn was a compulsive liar. There was nothing the woman would not lie about.
In Lynn's sick mind, she believed that Julie was actively trying to be better than her, purposely trying to show off and make people admire her. Lynn started to follow the woman around town, spy on her in her home, and try to copy her style, she had to know what Julie was doing every second possible or she couldn't rest.
One of the worst parts of this for me was the way Julie's husband, Lynn's husband, and new "friends" behaved. Lynn was quite obviously evil, she was quite obviously a filthy liar. Lynn would lie about things that could easily be checked, she would directly lie to your face about things she would claim you yourself had done. So many downplayed her behavior. They didn't care for Lynn, and some even thought she was crazy, but somehow they still didn't seem to understand what a threat Lynn was, or they didn't want her to come after them if they openly decided with Julie too often.
Lynn continuously upped the torture at every turn. The more Julie refused to show Lynn just how enraged she truly was, the more Lynn wanted to win, the more she craved the idea of Julie having no choice but to throw her hands up in defeat.
Most of the police department was a joke, and were quick to believe Lynn when she contacted them over and over again with lies against Julie.
Eight hours have passed since I finished this book and I am still reeling over how easy it is for a person to target someone innocent and set out to destroy them, they may or may not get away with it, but having to live through that is so scary, and all it takes is one call to the police and a good enough performance.
You hear about this kind of thing happening during custody battles or divorces, and that's wrong, but it least there is a reason involved that you can sort of wrap your mind around, in cases like this, there is nothing like that, there is no logical reason and that is terrifying to me.
False Victim reminded me somewhat of Copycat by Gillian White, it's similar in some ways, only it takes places overseas, and it was also based on a true story. Other books that bare a resemblance are Her by Harriet Lane, Keep your friends close by Paula Daly, and Cuckoo by Julia Crouch.
* Thank you to Tate Publishing for sending me a copy of this book for review!
Former Miss Mississippi Julie Patterson knew moving to another state would be difficult, but she never anticipated the horrors she and her family would endure at the hands of a neighbor. At first, Lynn seems to be the friend Julie has always wanted: someone who truly understands how difficult it is to lose a child because she lost two babies of her own. Even when Julie learns that Lynn lied about her losses, she gives Lynn the benefit of the doubt, as she believes a true southern lady would. But then the lies begin to multiply, and Julie learns from others that Lynn has a propensity to lie about everything, often changing her stories in order to appear more pitiable or, at times, even more heroic, than her neighbors. Unfortunately for Julie, Lynn has chosen her as her new favorite target, because Julie fights back. But will Julie’s efforts to protect her family from Lynn be enough?
FALSE VICTIM is based on true events that took place in the life of the author, Kathie Truitt, a former Mrs. Missouri America. Truitt builds her story gradually, but the pacing is excellent and perfectly suited to a contemporary psychological thriller.
Advice to Readers: Read FALSE VICTIM on a weekend! It’s certain you’ll be up all night, engrossed in this shocking tale.
Inside this novel you will find a riveting, fast paced plot based on a true story. I was at the edge of my bed, clutching my tea with every page I read. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! The characters were likable, and the villain,Lynn, was terrifying. This is where the positives end, though.
This novel is a good example of the old saying, "show me don't tell me."
I felt like everything was simply skimmed over. There were some gripping detail and killer imagery, but as soon as I started rooting the author on for clever writing, it went back to stale passages.
The characters were not three-dimensional, complex characters. I wanted to know more about them and what was really going on in there head. As a reader I like to get to know the characters and that didn't happen with this book. The only exception was with Lynn, a psychotic villain who Truitt portrayed with such realism and clarity that I felt like I was the womans victim!
The only reason I continued to read this novel was because of the plot and Lynn, and still I did enjoy this book! I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a creepy, fast-paced read!
there is one word for this book - terrifying. The one thing that really had me thinking was this question---if something like this was happending in my neighborhood and I was a witness, would I have the courage to stand up and help. There was some amazing cowardice in this book that was very disturbing and I at least want to think I would act differently.
This book was more like a train wreck that you couldn't stop watching rather than a good read. Most of the writing is extremely simplistic making it somewhat tedious to get through, even though it goes quickly. It was educational though, I am amazed there are people out there that are this psychotic and vindictive, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I read this book upon first release. I’ve known the author for years, however, when she moved away this horrifying ordeal she endured I couldn’t imagine.
As I sit here today, reading this book again, I’m reading for a different reason. I know how she felt. I’m going through a similar situation as a False Victim of Cyberstalking. Having someone unknown take over my real FB account, creating cloned accounts & other accounts with different pictures.
Having vindictive posts made toward family & friends to which I have no control over. The same with messenger. Currently I don’t have accounts with either.
In order for FB to do much, an IP address is needed. From what I’ve learned, stalkers & hackers usually use prepaid phones under false names, then eventually toss these phones, and buy another.
Stories like this are true. It’s not always money stalkers and hackers are out to gain. I’ve discovered women are the number one target for a stalker to want nothing more than to destroy a person’s life and reputation.
Just like False Victim, laws are in place, and stalkers know exactly what not to say or do that would get prison time. If caught, and that’s a big if, misdemeanor charges are what the majority face if a post doesn’t pose as a direct threat with a name.
As I write this, I have adult children not speaking to me, other family, and people I believed were my friends.
Read False Victim. If for nothing else, it will prepare you for what could one day be you. It really is a good read, and interesting knowledge how criminals cans and do get by with ruining the lives of others.
It’s unsettling that this happened to someone so easily and for so long. The story itself held my attention and I read it in a day. However, since it was based on a true story it would have flowed better if the story was only from the character “Julie’s” perspective. After 11 chapters it suddenly switched to Lynn’s perspective and that was hard for me to accept given we will never know what she was thinking. That made it feel more fiction than true story and so then I started wondering what actually happened versus author’s liberties. Also there were a few instances where words were left out of sentences (to, be, the) as well as accidental misspelled words (“exit” but the author meant to write “exist”). It was like accidental autocorrects. However, overall the story did grab my attention.
I enjoyed the mystery of this book. I found myself not wanting to put the book down. However, I was disappointed with the ending because it ended so abruptly and there was not a clear explanation. The book was based on the author's life, so I understand why there was not a clear explanation to Lynn's behavior on why she went after Julie. Overall, I did enjoy the book.
This story is ridiculously incredible! I read the book in 2 days because I just couldn't put it down! I found myself thinking the entire time about this happening to me. Who knows who will face something like this in their future, it's certainly not something you for! Thanks for sharing your heartache to inform readers of this dark reality that you stumble into unexpectedly.
The story itself is intriguing, and I absolutely hate to hear that anyone would ever have to go through this. The author however, is very "holier than thou" in her approach to telling the story. She makes herself out to be more Christian, more wealthy, and classier than anyone around her, and therefore, incapable of doing anything wrong. She even refers to something as "white trash" at one point. No one deserves what happened to the author, but she comes across as generally unlikable.
I couldn't put this book down! I was about to watch the movie it's based on but decided to read it first so I could compare the two. I loved the characters and the pacing. There were multiple moments where I imagined Julie getting violent with Lynn, which reinforced the storytelling ability of the author LOL. The ending was realistic although I wished for payback against the antagonist. Read it for yourself, I highly recommend.
I started this early yesterday as soon as I saw it was going to be on the Lifetime movie last night and with non-stop reading I finished by the time the movie started ( and this will get your interest from the start and is a great read. I thought the movie was good but did like the book better.
A truly terrifying page turner. It’s no wonder a movie was made because things like this only happens in a movie right? Julie endures a case of stalking that threatens to send HER to prison and the worst part is that this crazy stalker has the power to persuade most of those in the neighborhood it is SHE who is being stalked, harassed and is the victim. I couldn’t put the book down.
The story is straight up crazy, and keeps you reading......but the writing is very poor. There is a movie as well as an ID TV episode, and I would probably guess that would be the better option over reading the book (and I don't say that often).
It's hard to imagine the things that happened in this book are true. And that is what makes it so good. I was in suspense the whole book just wanting to know what Lynn was going to do next. Truly masterful writing that keeps you wanting to read more.
I really enjoyed the book. I hope “Lynn” got what was coming to her in real life. No one should endear this kind of harassment without the perpetrator getting in trouble for lying. Especially when they perjured themselves on multiple occasions.
One of the blogs I read mentioned this book. I was drawn to it because it happened not too far from where I live. The story was interesting, but the writing was a struggle. At one point I wanted to stop, but finished it to see how it ended - ending was anticlimactic, at best.
Spell binding. I can't believe this was based on true events that happened to the author. Made the book so good to read. Kathie made the book so hard to put down. Just an unbelievable crazy neighbor in this book. A must read!!!
I haven't read a book in a long time that I couldn't put down! It made me so mad what Lynn was doing to Julie, I was hoping that Lynn would get hers in the end! Excellent read!
Oh my word, this is a must read. My sister bought me this book to read during the covid 19 stay at home crisis. Scary and terrifying. Could happen anywhere and did!