I have enjoyed everything I’ve read by J.T. Ellison. Her books are dark, her characters are compelling, the settings are top tier, and I have never read a book of hers that didn’t pack at least one (if not several) good twists. Of all that I have read and enjoyed, I think Good Girls Lie is my favorite. Set at an elite all-girls boarding school, Good Girls Lie has it all—a stunning campus, a dean with secrets, a cast of students who are all competing to be the best, secret societies, and a leading character with a dark past.

J.T. Ellison is a master at developing compelling protagonists, settings, and situations for her books. One thing I enjoy in her work is that each book is different and unique from the others. From the married authors in Lie to Me, to the high school sweethearts living poor but happy in No One Knows, to the Olympic hopefuls in Tear Me Apart, and even the talented artist getting married in Italy in Her Dark Lies, J.T. Ellison knows how to bring something new with each book.

Good Girls Lie brings a new story to life as a British teenager arrives at The Goode School in the wake of the tragic death of her parents. The Goode School is an elite all-girls boarding school in the beautiful rural hills of Virginia. The students at The Goode School are among the wealthiest and brightest, often going on to the Ivy League colleges and having great success in life.

Ash Carr (actually named Ashlyn Carlisle) has received a rare scholarship to The Goode School after her parents died in an unexpected and horrific way. The dea Ford Westhaven knows about her tragic backstory and has agreed that for her protection they won’t disclose it to the other students. That doesn’t stop the students from wondering why the beautiful but timid Ash has no social media presence to speak of.

The book starts with a shocking chapter, where a student’s body is found hanging from the school gates. From that scene, the story moves back in time to Ash’s arrival at The Goode School. The other students—with the exception of one—are largely side characters, meant to show how many secrets Ash holds and how brutal the relationships in high school can be if you don’t fit in.

Ash has the benefit of beauty and talent, but she’s shy and often seems a bit skittish. In hearing her narrate her chapters, she wants the other students to be nice but mostly leave her alone. Meanwhile the sophomores she is sharing her suite with are fascinated by her when it seems she has drawn the attention (both positive and negative) of the popular seniors. The leader of this group is Becca Curtis, and we get some chapters from her perspective.

I was so curious about Becca Curtis because she is hot and cold towards Ash and other students. Everyone worries about crossing her (and I don’t blame them). Her inconsistent behavior towards Ash—at times snobby and condescending, and other times vulnerable and warm—made her all the more fascinating. I wanted to understand more about Becca and eventually, we get better insight into why she acts the way she does.

Ash becomes the most popular sophomore after she is the rare younger student tapped for the top secret society on campus. But the night of initiation, Ash’s roommate Camille is pushed off the bell tower and Ash becomes under scrutiny by the police. This sort of attention is what Ash was trying to avoid—the last thing she wants is for her secrets to be revealed.

Ash isn’t the only character with secrets from her past (or present!) though. The reader learns that the gothic school grounds are filled with secrets, lies, and scandals—as any good boarding school should be! Becca and Ash fascinated me. Ash earns the respect of Becca and some other seniors when she shows her impressive coding skills that also garner the attention of her professor.

Meanwhile Becca is a polarizing character, both subjecting others to bullying while also saving them from it at other times. The more I learned about Becca, the more sympathetic I found her. Then she’d do something else awful, and I’d be back to disliking her again. And then we’d see a chapter narrated by her providing insight into her behavior, and I’d be back on her side.

Dean Ford Westhaven is another outstanding character. Ford graduated from The Goode School and was forced to succeed her mother (the former dean of the school) after a scandal pushed her out of the position. Ford yearns to write a novel that will pull her out of the life she has found herself in. As a former student of the school, Ford knows better than anyone what mischief the students get up to. Her approach is to largely leave them alone, knowing that they provide their own checks and balances and she’ll know if they cross the line.

Ford picks up on a lot about the students, but she misses a lot too. She is distracted by her desires to be a writer and by a scandalous, secret affair she engages in after dark. I was curious who the man was of the affair, and I had many theories before it was revealed. Ford is an intriguing character. I enjoyed her perspective and I found her sharp, though distracted.

The book is nearly 500 pages, but I didn’t find it drawn out or inconsistent in pacing. I was hooked from the first page to the very last. I loved the gothic setting at the school. I could picture the girls running around the beautiful building, their whole lives ahead of them, but caught up in their adolescent lives.

Nothing about the book reads as Young Adult, despite the main character being a teenager. Part of that is the writing, which switches from first to third narration and amongst characters seamlessly. The story has a sinister edge, particularly after the shocking first chapter and the death of Ash’s roommate. Ellison holds many of the secrets back until later in the book, though they are paced out so that each time a secret is revealed to the reader, it adds a layer to the broader story that pulls the reader in further.

As always with Ellison, expect some good twists and turns and a jaw dropping ending. The final chapter was perfect, in my opinion. It added the exact ending to the story that I craved (without realizing I craved it until after I read it). All of the characters are compelling, and even the secondary characters felt important to the broader story. Good Girls Lie delivers top notch suspense and is a standout in the psychological thriller genre.

I loved Ellison's Samantha Owens' series - I could not wait to devour this book. Though I enjoyed the plot and story, it could lose some pages to help move the plot faster.

I loved this book! Thank you for the ARC. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t leaving reviews on netgalley and was solely sharing on Instagram. My apologies. Huge fan of this author! I actually received the tangible copy. Trying to clean up my netgally account.

Good Girls Lie is about the secrets of the privileged young women at the Goode Academy in rural Virginia. This has so many elements that make a great private school story: There’s the headmistress, who just wants out of the school, but who’s been tapped into running her ancestors’ academy after her mother resigned in disgrace over mishandled murder of a student. The school’s handyman/driver/pot dealer is the son of the murderer, because no one can ever leave this town, and also, what’s a good private-school story without a ghost or two? There’s a horrible bully who’s also the Head Girl and a secret-society leader, with all the secrets, hazing, and general rich-kid meanness one would expect.
Still, there are so many unrelated secrets at this school, and so many characters with developed, hidden agendas to make this a great page turner. I really liked it, until the last bit of the book. I found the ending unsatisfying, where the novel changes from a thrilling page turner with an unreliable narrator who’s probably keeping something back, into a soap opera where EVERYTHING IS LIES. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted the prep school secrets, and I enjoyed most of it, I just wasn’t quite on board with level of drama in the finale.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This books was a page turner that kept me engaged throughout! Loved the setting and the characters were well written, topic was of interest and different than anything I’ve read.

Good Girls Lie is my second book by J. T. Ellison and I am once again on board with this sinister mystery/thriller read. This was a quick read for me and I was captivated from the start. I love a good boarding school mystery and this one certainly delivered. I enjoyed the alternating points of view and the way the author built up tension throughout the book. The plot was well done and there were plenty of twists to make me questions everyone’s motive.

"Good Girls Lie", from JT Ellison, explores the dark bonds of wealth, friendship, and elitism at a private all-girls' school on the East Coast. The Goode School is a prestigious boarding school located in the rolling mountains of Virginia. One must be wealthy, influential, and have the right connections in order to be admitted. Which is why it's even more mysterious when an outsider enters the fold. Beautiful and intelligent, it's clear that this new girl has "something" about her. But where has she come from? And what secrets does she hold close to her chest? Immediately drawn under the wing of one of the school's most powerful secret societies, it's clear that this newbie might have more information than someone wants her to have. When a shocking death occurs on campus, the rumor mill begins to churn in full-force. Was this a suicide of a lonely and troubled girl, or a murder to cover up a sinister plot?

I wanted to love this book. Ellison's older works, when she wrote her Nashville detective series, was simply awesome. This book was easily 150 pages too long, and had me perplexed throughout. Is Ellison now writing young-adult fiction, or is this book geared to adults? It certainly was not geared to me, as it was significantly drawn out, and the plot line was not at all original. My advice? Skip this read and go directly to her earlier works.

JT Ellison can be hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed her novel No One Knows and it's among my top thriller reads. Good Girls luckily hit its mark and although not my favorite from the author, still very engaging and atmospheric. Twists were clever and characters were well developed. They were almost too well developed since a few parts did drag. Yet, overall a very good mystery that will keep you guessing.

A thriller set within an exclusive all girls boarding school? I'm so in! There's just something about sneaky, catty girls and sinister happenings that I find irresistible. Mix in some bad behavior, sexual surprises, secret societies, hazing and yes - murder and you have quite the page turner.

The book starts off with an unforgettable death scene that pulls you right in and and will have you needing to know what happened.

J. T. Ellison knocked it out of the park with this mystery! You won't want to put this book down because you need to know what the girls of Good are up to and what happens on the next page! I absolutely love a good, darky mystery, and J.T. Ellison knows exactly how to deliver that! I have loved all of her books, and this one was no exception. I cannot wait to read the next one!

How I found it: This book was recommended through NetGalley, and while not a genre I gravitate towards, there was a boarding school and secret societies, which are two things I love reading about.

What's It All About? Ash Carr, formerly Ashlyn Carlyle, is attending the prestigious, all girls, Goode School. One of the silent ivy schools (high schools that provide a direct line to ivy league schools for the daughters of the rich and influential). All Ash wants to do is forget the last few months, forget that her parents killed themselves, forget that her father had an affair, and keep her head down so no one else finds out. But teenage girls have a way of discovering these things, and the less one wants known, the more they will find. When a student on campus jumps (was pushed?) out of a clock tower, suspicion falls on Ash. Can she prove her innocence and keep this life that she is building? Is she innocent?

My thoughts: As I mentioned, this isn't a book I would have been likely to pull off the shelf, but I am SO glad that I read it. I read most of it in two nights, and ignored my family for the last half of the book because, my god, I HAD to know what was going to happen! I was surprised by every twist and turn, as the seemingly vapid and shallow teenage girls showed other sides of themselves. When people started dying, I was so engrossed, and had no idea who to suspect, as everyone in the book was suspicious. One think I can say, is that I did not expect the ending at all. The narrator of this story falls squarely in the unreliable camp, and even now I am not 100% sure of what really happened or who was really crazy. If you read it, let me know what you think!

Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Themes: Family, friendship, secrets, mental health

Recommended For: I know a lot of teenage girls at the library who would appreciate this book. Also, fans of thrillers or this type of setting. I would suggest this as a book for a long trip, or even a beach read for those who aren't into the more sugary books often given that label.

This psychological thriller is captivating and is a true page turner. The setting is an all girls school with secrets and murders. I couldn't stop reading as the story grabs your attention and keeps you wanting to learn more about the characters. Must read!

Good Girls Lie was just okay for me. I liked the characters and the plot was decent. I'm giving Good Girls Lie a 3 star rating.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

This was a little confusing and difficult to get into. I'm also not a major fan of mysteries so I felt indifferent about it. I struggled to care.

I thought this was a wonderful book! There were twists and turns on every page. I went in thinking I would enjoy the promise of the book, and I was right. I couldn't put it down. This is the first book I've read by J.T. Ellison, but I will definitely be reading more!

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison is somewhat predictable in premise, but good nonetheless. A private school, lots of secrets, lots of lies. Overall a pretty good read but nothing exceptional.

I liked this book probably more than I should have. However, it really hit all my buzz words/topics. Old creepy boarding school, mysteries, teenage angst and secrets. You know when you are reading about an elite boarding school full of snobby teens that you are in for a ride. This is the second book that I have read by JT Ellison and I have to say she is an auto read for me. I cannot believe how I eat her books up and when I am not reading them I'm thinking about when I can get back to reading!! That's when I know I have found an author for life.

Wow!! What a read!! The writing was exceptional and created such a feeling of impending doom. So atmospheric and chilling.

I don't want to give too much away but that epilogue was brilliant. A truly great thriller.

Engrossing and suspenseful, Good Girls Lie will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Synopsis:
Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond.

But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous.