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. Told in a flashback format, this death brings lies to the surface amidst The Goode School's elite students and faculty. Beneath its beautiful, rich and influential facade lurks a dark labyrinth of cruelty, secrets and murder. ⁣
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I really enjoying the creepy, disturbing vibe this one had. The setting was wonderful and the plot moved at a quick pace. There were a few twists and even though some were predictable, I was pretty happy with most of the reveals. Overall this was a fast-paced, engrossing thriller.

I have been a fan of this author since the beginning. I was really looking forward to this book. It was a bit of a departure from the normal thrillers that Mrs. Ellison writes. When it comes to secret societies, the idea is intriguing. You can tell as there have been other books and movies made regarding secret societies.

The opening scene is what grabs readers. After that I was very intrigued by the school and the secrets that were hidden within the halls of the school. No one is innocent. Yet, the shine did falter some with a lot of build up of the dynamics between the girls. There was not a lot of other sinister things happening from the first scene for quite some time. I know that the build up was important but it kind of got to be too much after a while.

The latter half to last third of the story is where it all came together and my interest peaked up again. Just when you thought the ending was here, Mrs. Ellison threw in one or two more twists at the end.

I was so excited to receive an early copy of Good Girls Lie. This had several twists and turns and I was very surprised by the ending. The story takes place at an all-girls boarding school. There is plenty of drama within the school, but when one girl ends up not being who she said she was, the real mystery begins.

Another great read by J.T. Ellison

An engaging read that keeps you guessing. A solid addition to this author's novels. An enjoyable read for fans and a story that will create fans from first time readers.

Disclaimer: ARC provided via NetGalley in return for an honest review

Ah what a fun book. You know those books you read about ivy league private school boys and the stuff they get up to? This is kinda like that except with murder, and no pretence that teen girls are any more gentle or any less ambitious because of their gender. This book has it all: a mysterious protagonist, a dean of the school desperate to escape the entire damn town, petty hierarchy and elitism, secret affairs, lesbians, identity theft.

The start was a little slow, and the primary PoV character was just a little too adult-ish at times. But in retrospect I suppose that makes sense given that it is from her PoV and most teens think they are far more mature than they are. It really picks up its pace in the second half and after that it's just a freefall. The last two chapters weren't exactly necessary, but I enjoyed them none the less.

A perfect book for that picnic in the middle of a burnt down, abandoned brick building.

Good Girls Lie, a creative tongue-in-cheek title, follows Ash Carlisle, the newest member of the Good School, a prestigious boarding school set in the south for privileged, elite girls. It’s a creepy, mysterious boarding school with secret societies, mean girls who rule the roost, a dean with her own issues and secrets, ghost lore and a hidden dark past. Upon arrival, Ash immediately catches the attention of the head girl, finds her own notoriety, even while she struggles to maintain a low profile, and drama and chaos ensues. It’s soon clear there is something unusual about this girl.

As in all of J.T. Ellison’s books, Good Girls Lie has a writing style that is straightforward and fast-paced. The short chapters are captivating and compulsively readable, and each ends in a hook that makes you want to read just a little bit more. I also appreciate the chapter titles which are enticing, in and of themselves, and rather unique these days.

I found this entire story engaging and entertaining and a pleasure to read, though the conclusion fell a bit flat for me. The final twist wasn’t all that shocking, but it was satisfying on the whole. I love that Ellison did something a bit different with this story, and all-in-all, I think it was a success.

Let me preface this by saying this is my first book by this author but it won’t be my last!

I am a sucker for a boarding school thriller and this one delivers! The opening scene of the school girl hanging from her death had me shook! I love that the story went backwards to show the author how we got to this point!

A good thriller in my opinion has you questioning all the characters motives. I didn’t know who to trust or who to fault and I loved it!! And when that twist hit ooooh I was ready for it!

Good Girls Lie by by J.T. Ellison
Available December 30, 2019 from MIRA

What do you get when you combine an elite boarding school, loads of wealthy families and their secrets, and some mysterious deaths? You get a riveting story full of twists and turns. Good Girls Lie is an intense psychological thriller that will keep you guessing up until the very end. I was riveted to the story of Ash and her troubled past. Rich and beautiful, she seems to live a storied life but instead hides a past full of abuse and sadness. But does she? When everyone has something to hide, who can you trust to tell the truth?
Thank you to Netgalley and MIRA for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Harlequin-Mira in exchange for an honest review.

YA thrillers get a bad rep and to be fair, most of them don't live up to their synopses. Thankfully Good Girls Lie manages to be the exception to this rule and delivers an intriguing, well-paced and engaging story.

British Ash has just arrived at The Goode School, an american boarding school for teenage girls of the highest caliber. She has a troubled past but she's determined to keep her head down...that is, until she accidentally gets involved in one of the school's secret societies and catches the attention of the Head Girl. When her roommate is found dead, Ash must fight harder than ever to keep her secrets to herself. Even from the reader...

I will admit, it took me a little while to get into this book. It is primarily told from Ash's POV but there are a few chapters told from an unknown POV and occasionally it will focus on the Dean of the school, with these being told in third person. None of these changes in POV are indicated so it was quite jarring to suddenly find you had switched perspective without realising. However, once I got to grips with that, I became very invested in the story. One thing I really liked was you were unsure what direction the plot would take for most of the book. Once certain things are revealed it does become very easy to guess, but before that you don't get much to work with which means you can't predict what will happen (in a good way).

Ash herself was a breath of fresh air. I found her a very compelling character, even with the narrative deliberately keeping a lot of information about her back from the reader. Similarly all the other main/side characters were pretty interesting and none of them were stereotypes which is where YA thrillers usually suffer. I liked that the Dean got such a lot of focus as that rarely happens in these kinds of books.

Overall, this is a solid YA thriller to pick up. It gives you so little to work with plotwise in the synopsis but that only strengthens the style of storytelling and the way the narrative slowly unfolds. It's not the fastest paced thriller but if you crave YA thrillers with well-crafted characters and a neat little story, this is definitely worth a try.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Good Girls Lie was a great psychological thriller. The characters were likable. There were lots of secrets and surprises throughout the book.

If you liked Pretty Little Liars or Mean Girls, you will like this book.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

What does a prestigious all girl boarding school with a dead student hanging from the front gates make you think of??? My first thought would be that the cast from Gossip Girl invaded Rory Gilmore’s Chilton High School (not a boarding school, but same idea) and something BIG “goes down”. Well, if you think that makes an interesting combo, you must check out J.T. Ellison’s new book, Good Girls Lie. Pull down the shades for a darker backdrop and add a dollop of creepy. A very juicy treat is on the menu. Suspense and thrill seekers will gobble this story up. Let’s go to High School where scandal is the norm, lying is a past time and secrets can actually kill.

Ash Carr is about to start her sophomore year of high school at The Goode School, an all girl boarding school for the elite in Marchburg Virginia. Ash, originally from England, was recently orphaned. With her extraordinary smarts and extenuating circumstances, the Dean accepts Ash into the exclusive school for the Ivy bound student. Ash is immediately propelled into a world filled with backstabbing mean girls and secret societies with hazing at its finest. Shortly after her arrival, a well known student is found dead. The mysterious death ruffles the feathers of just about everyone at the school. Piecing together evidence of this death is not as easy as it appears. Secrets are abundant and lying comes easily to those with money to blow, attention to seek and the Ivy League at stake. With the school’s tarnished past resurfacing and skeletons from Ash’s closet making a surprise appearance, solving this case gets tricky. Will the Dean be able to get to the bottom of this tragedy while protecting the reputation of the school?

Even with a death lingering in the background, the students press on with their rigorous academics. Secret societies do their part bullying and brainwashing the next in line for their illustrious underground club, but at what expense? Anyone who attends Goode learns quickly that alliances and friendships have no roots and waver with the blink of an eye. Because the story is told from the point of view of both Ash and the Dean of the school, readers get a taste (not always very reliable) of what is going on from all angles. Ellison’s characters all play a role in this pulse pounding and provocative read. Suicide or murder??? Everyone was a suspect in my opinion. There was no shortage of peculiar behaviors and flawed personalities. “The Truth” was always questionable and at the end of the day, it was every man for himself.

Ellison’s description of The Goode School was spot on. Dark wooden staircases lined with dusty carpet, creaky doors, and a gothic flare added to the allure of this tale. Twists and turns with every flip of the page made this read suspenseful to the very end. Throw in a surprise ending that will leave your mouth wide open, and you’ve got yourself a solid read.

This Post was a part of Harlequin's Blog Tour for Mysteries & Suspense

Good Girls Lie
J.T. Ellison


Buy This Book
Tear Me Apart by J. T. Ellison was one of my favorite suspense novels of last year, so naturally I was eager to review her 2019 offering, Good Girls Lie. While it did not quite match the brilliance of the first book, it is still a riveting read.

Ash Carlisle is a Goode girl. The recipient of a scholarship to the elusive, all female preparatory The Goode School in the small, picturesque town of Marchburg, Virginia, she has now joined an elite group of young ladies who call this elegant Silent Ivy their home. Catering to the daughters of the wealthy and powerful, The Goode School offers an intense, competitive education, that along with their stellar pedigrees, assures their graduates attend Ivy League colleges and become the movers and shakers of the industrial and political world. A diploma from this institution comes with a guarantee of success.

But Ash is not their typical student. Shy, with a tragic history, she has changed her name and left her home in Oxford, England to begin again. Her first encounters at the school do not go well. Becca Curtis, the reigning Queen Bee of the school, who is president of all the clubs and groups that matter and has a strong clique of girls who back her reign of terror, takes an instant dislike to Ash, calling her a “mad Brit” before classes have even begun. She implies Ash won’t be able to handle the tough curriculum and will commit suicide before the year is out. Ash’s recital for Muriel Grassley, the music teacher, ends in disaster. She’s not off to a stellar start.

But these hiccups will not be the only tragedies she faces. Everyone has secrets at The Goode School. Everyone lies to protect their privacy. Some are even willing to kill in order to do so.

This is a subtle, layered mystery which hinges around a secret that is alluded to but not spelled out until almost the end of the tale. My review will not contain particulars because I don’t want to spoil the winding, macabre, delicious ride Ms. Ellison takes us on to get there.

The author does an excellent job of depicting what most of us would expect from an elite all-girls school. There is a large degree of cattiness, an even larger degree of stress, and friendships and love bloom amidst this tense hormonal atmosphere. Anyone who has ever been to a secondary school will recognize that beneath the glamorous, gentrified facade of this one are the same cliques, challenges and concerns that all teens face. Sadly, recent years have taught us that this atmosphere can also lead to death and murder, which, of course, happens here. Within the first few months of the term, one of the girls jumps (or is she pushed?) from the bell tower. Of course she had secrets. Of course the discovery of those secrets has a domino effect; everything learned about the dead girl reveals something about a living person, something others would much rather keep hidden.

Most of the story is told from the points of view of Ash and Ford (the dean of the school), but we also see certain events from other perspectives. Using the currently popular trope of the unreliable narrator, the author makes it clear from the start that everyone is hiding something. Or lying. The voices are all vivid and compelling and finding out whatever elusive secret(s) is/are being hidden is addictive, and kept me turning the pages. My primary questions surrounded our primary narrator, Ash. Is she an innocent victim of everything that is happening? A pawn of a more powerful player? Or a manipulative witch who has perfected the art of appearing innocent and vulnerable?

That ambiguity kept me from liking Ash or any of the characters, really, because all of their actions seemed to have dual explanations. A good example of this is what happens at the piano recital. There is a claim that everything that occurs is a tragic accident, but oddly, that tragic ‘accident’ worked to the benefit of the person who caused it. I didn’t trust that it really was a mistake, which kept me from liking and trusting the person behind it. Moreover, most of the characters had some genuinely nasty characteristics which obliterated any sympathy I might have felt for their circumstances. A teen in trouble turns out to be a snoop, a liar and a mean girl who had created a great deal of hassle for another student. One girl is clearly a psychopath whose narcissism leads her to kill to solve her problems. Yet another, who has family issues that would typically lead me to feel some empathy for her, was so cruel and controlling with her classmates that I couldn’t feel much pity for her. The love affair between two of the girls came after one of them had been so cold and condescending to the other that I couldn’t really wish for an HEA for them. Or even an HFN.

Most psychological thrillers are a little bit over the top and this story is no exception. The big reveal towards the end, where our biggest villain is introduced, isn’t completely impossible, but I would put it at the high end of improbable. It worked, if just barely, because of the nature of the tale. The author does a nice job of laying the groundwork for this particular twist so that it’s as believable as it can be when it arrives.

Like many of today’s psychological thrillers, Good Girls Lie explores the darkest parts of the human spirit. There are no innocent victims here. Just one long litany of damaged souls, which made it one of the darkest mysteries I’ve read in some time, and makes it a near perfect novel for someone looking for a grim, seductive, twisty story that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning.

I really struggled with this one.
I found the first 60% to really drag, despite alot happening I didn't feel pulled in or gripped.

I didn't find any of the characters very likeable either.

I struggled to follow who was talking and who each paragraph was about.

The end seemed to speed up and get more interesting, and had alot of plot twists that were interesting but it was too little to late for me.

I wouldn't be rushing to read another of this authors books if the writing style is the same.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Densely plotted, jaw-droppingly twisted and absolutely heart-pounding, get ready to lose sleep and to have your life completely and utterly consumed by J.T. Ellison’s latest page-turner, Good Girls Lie.

The Goode School is not an ordinary school for girls. Known as Silent Ivy, this prestigious academy is the school of choice for the daughters of the privileged and the powerful, the rich and the influential and the brightest and the best. The Goode School does not let anybody to stride through their doors, but it is a domain occupied by girls who will be the leaders of the pack and the movers and shakers of society. It is an institution that prepares its students on how to conquer the world and reach the top and stay there whatever it takes. Traditions are of paramount importance to the school, yet it looks like Silent Ivy might not have been as vigilant lately because a stranger has walked through its august doors and the ivy has just turned poisonous and deadly.

The pupils who attend Goode are used to life bending down at the knee for them. Their every need, whim and desire is catered for and they never question their privilege or think about the consequences of their actions. Any misdemeanor or misconduct is quickly brushed over and forgotten about, but it looks like getting away with murder could well and truly become a thing of the past when a popular student is found dead. The truth can no longer be glossed over because a Pandora’s box has been well and truly opened now and as shocking secrets, deceptions and revelations come to light, the glossy veneer is stripped back once for and all and the unvarnished truth is exposed – alongside with its harsh flaws and ugly blemishes.

In a world where reputation and appearances are everything, the students at Goode are about to get a very harsh dose of reality. But will the guilty be punished and will truth prevail? Or will money and privilege once again end up triumphing?

A spine-chilling thriller you will want to tell all of your friends about, Good Girls Lie is a heart-racing page-turner that grabs your attention from page one and will keep you glued to its pages until the early hours of the morning. J.T. Ellison is a phenomenal storyteller who knows what scares, worries and terrifies her readers and with her exceptional gift for storytelling, keeps the shocks and twists and turns coming.

A captivating thriller you will not easily forget, clear your schedule, switch off your phone and get ready to lose yourself in J.T. Ellison’s latest chiller, Good Girls Lie.

A psychological thriller set up in the elite boarding school for rich girls. Mystery after mystery, twists and turns. J.T. Ellison definitely knows how to grab reader’s attention. I really enjoyed this interesting book.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to MIRA for providing me with an e-ARC of Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 rounded up!

Content Warnings: Good Girls Lie starts off with a scene of a character hanging. This is mentioned a couple more times through the book. There are also scenes & mentions of child abuse & drug addiction.

Good Girls Lie is a wild ride from beginning to end & you truly don’t fully understand what’s happening until the conclusion.

Without giving spoilers, there are chapters in which it’s difficult to know whose’s point-of-view the story is being told in. This may sound like a mess, but J.T. Ellison ties it together very well at the end and makes the set-up worth it.

As much as I found the beginning to be interesting (learning the history of the boarding school, the traditions, urban legends, etc.), I did find it to drag for a bit. It wasn’t until around the half-way mark that things started to fly, and I found it difficult to put the book down.

Good Girls Lie has a lot of ~spooky~ factors — from whispers in the hallways to the boarding school’s murder history. At times, it feels Good Girls Lie has the right amount of ingredients to be a ghost tale. That is until you fully grasp what’s happening in the story.

There’s also a lot of scandals within the halls of The Goode School. If you’re a fan of the dramz and shows/books like Gossip Girl then definitely give this book a checking out. There are relationship scandals & banned hazing rituals. What more could you want?

There’s an epilogue & that ending is extremely satisfying, even more so then the conclusion provided before the epilogue. In fact, if the book would have ended without an epilogue, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much.

Good Girls Lie is a good read for anyone who enjoys boarding school novels, mysteries/thrillers & drama.

Fun, fast-paced psychological thriller. An exclusive girls boarding school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, with a checkered past, doesn't know what hit them when dead bodies start showing up at the same time as the arrival of a new transfer student, Ash Carr, from the UK whose parents are recently deceased. But something in all of this smells very off. The headmistress, with secrets of her own, is desperately trying to save her school and get to the bottom of it all.

Recommend this as an highly entertaining fun read. I pretty much knew the how and why through most of the book, but it didn't detract from the reading and I still had to second guess myself a few times throughout. I loved the ending and how there were no threads left dangling.

Many thanks to HARLEQUIN - MIRA and #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

It is called The Goode School. A driving force behind the school is the strict code of honor. Only daughters of the well-to-do are privileged to attend. Girls that graduate from what is also called a Silent Ivy go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians. How is it, then, that the school has become tainted?

Who is this the student that has changed the environment? It is someone the school's dean admitted, Ash Carlisle, or more accurately Ash Carr? Who is she? Why did Dean Westhaven allow her to become part of the school's student body?

Shockingly, a body is found hanging from the iron gates guarding the entrance at the school? Who is it and why are some girls heard to be practically chanting, Ash, Ash Ash?

What a way to start Good Girls Lie! From this point on in the book, the story starts being delivered in multiple viewpoints and at breakneck speed.

There are leading chapter headings such as The Lies, The School, The Arrival and The Dean. These first several chapters deliver a fantastic setup for what turned out to be a thrilling story of secrets, lies and much, much more. And, as entertaining as this book was, it is easy to see why this book was impossible to put down. As a matter of fact, any book read by J.T. Ellison, whether singly, or co-authored with Catherine Coulter, has proven to be a winner for me.

It has been a while since I have read a principle character with an unreliable narrator, and Ash fit that to a "t". The deeper the story got, the more convoluted it became. This compelling story led to an amazing conclusion. Another job-well done for one of my favorite authors.

Many thanks to Mira, NetGalley and Edelweiss for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

We love a mystery set in an elite private school! Murder, secret societies, friendship, lies - the perfect combination for a great read! Another entertaining book from J.T. Ellison!

Thank you to netgalley for providing us with a copy!

I first have to say that this is not my usual read but after reading a little more about it I had to dive into this story. It is full of secret society’s and rituals, which are completely my style of book. It is exciting and has a good tempo. However, I did find parts of it very unbelievable which in turn ruined certain characters for me. A younger me would not have cared at all about these things so I just tapped into her and enjoyed it for what it was, a really fun and exciting thriller/mystery.