The Goode School is a prestigious all girls prep school, but one day a student is found dead on the campus and questions begin to arise. Was her death a suicide or did something more sinister happen here?

I was so excited for this book as i've heard great things about J.T Ellison and murder at an elite girls school definitely sounds like something I want to read! However, I felt a little underwhelmed by it.

This was a quick and entertaining read, but some of the middle section did drag a little for me and there was no real surprise in it. It seemed rather obvious to me what the plot twist was going to be. Overall, it was good read but not something that's going to stick with me.

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison is a wild and sometimes twisted thriller. Very had to put down as you have to get to the truth, or what you may think is the truth. Ash, a young sixteen year old comes from Oxford England to America and is enrolled in a posh all girl private school. It is one tumble after the other, mean girls, good girls, tragedy and more. Loved this!.

This novel kept me up late turning pages. I really wanted to know who Ash was, and what secrets she was harboring. The author painted a vivid picture of the Goode School, and I could really picture the campus and the dormitories. I thought I'd guessed the big "twist" early in the story, but I was wrong. My only issue with the book is that it was a little difficult keeping track of which character's head I was in. The book frequently jumps between first person (Ash) and third person (usually the Dean) and I kept having to reorient myself as to who was telling the story in that chapter. I also wasn't a huge fan of the sexual encounters in the book, which did nothing to advance the story, but that's personal preference for me as I don't enjoy that content. Overall, this was a suspenseful novel with interesting characters, and I would read more books by this author.

Favorite character: Kate Wood

She is the one sane mind in a sea of doubt, anxiety, and mental illness. I love her stoic determination to unearth the truth, never once succumbing to the gaslighting and losing focus. Kate Wood is relatively a minor character in the amount of time dedicated to her scenes in the novel, but a significant character based on the impact she has on the story.

What I Loved About Good Girls Lie

The delightful intensity of being inside so many minds set me in the right mood to enjoy the story as it unfolded. By the end, I felt like I was gaslighted along with the characters. Moving from mind to mind kept me in an unsettled state and made guessing the who, the why, and then what will happen next tricky. Up to the last page, I wasn’t sure who did it, and even now, I’m not entirely sure. This uncertainty is fascinating to me as it allows me to draw my unique conclusion to go with the ending.

Seeing the story unfold through several characters’ minds is also inherently unreliable, but that is an excellent technique for a psychological thriller. Nothing is scarier than knowing what is in someone else’s head, though at times, I found that my reading slowed down as a result. So, I found the pace to be fast at some points and slow at others, like a natural ebb and flow.

The bits of real boarding school elements intrigue me. I find the whole idea of boarding school to wrapped in mystique due to its exclusivity, and this portrayal enhances my perception. The students, though born to wealth and knowing all the privileges that provides, still have to deal with the same issues as public-school students. They experience bullying, questioning sexuality, pregnancy, and drug and alcohol use and abuse. It’s just wrapped up in a more mysterious package since the secret societies are a big part of these problems.

The character development is based on the unreliability of the narration, so I was never sure that I had a handle on any one character. I realized that as much as I knew, I didn’t really know anything. I loved that I found the characters well-developed but unreliably so. How intriguing!!!

To Read or not to read.

If you love intense psychological thrillers, this should be your next read. It will leave you guessing till the last page and maybe even beyond. It is so good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have a thing for stories set at boarding schools, and the fact that this one was about an all-girls' one plus a murder mystery? Sign me up.

I liked the setting, the atmosphere of the school itself. I wish we had seen more of the everyday life of some of the girls and less of the constant gossip and backstabbing, unless that is what the author wanted to convey happens 24/7.

Some of the narration towards the beginning is purposely dubious (it is unclear who the speaker is), but in the epilogue I wanted the author to just say straight out who was narrating at what time, because by that point we know all the players; they've all been revealed. Not that I couldn't figure it out, but it just seemed unnecessary to try and keep us in suspense by that point.

The fact that all of this was masterminded by some teenage girls is the really unbelievable part, even though darkness can be found in anyone. The perpetrator was really twisted, but what the author did so well was make you feel for the main character, even when you find out that she lies about things (hence the catchy title).

This was a bit longer than it needed to be, as some sub-plots weren't necessary to add to the book as a whole. I found myself frustrated with the Dean and her obliviousness to the blatant rule-breaking, but also understanding since she did not want to be stuck in her role. I did not care for the Dean's love-life plots, though.

The cop Kate was one of those characters that just seemed thrown in as an ex-machina to move the story along.

I'll reiterate that what the author does so well is make you root for the one who may not be 100% what she seems, and that is part of the draw. And yet you end up hating another character that had a hard past, and yet you don't want to excuse her actions in the slightest.

This was a young adult thriller that delivered! It took place at a prestigious all girls school and had lots of girl drama. The setting added to the mysterious mood of the book. There were some stereotypical characters and they were juicy! The suspense held my attention and I wanted to read, read, read. There were some surprises for me and I didn't guess the ending. I haven't read much from this author, but I can't wait to check out others.

Do good girls lie? Or just Goode?
Wow! So much "good" in this book, I absolutely devoured it!!
I've read the boarding school suspense books before so, you can gather what my thoughts were when I began. However, that was NOT the case with this novel. This book had a lot of plot twists that created more diversity through the story and it all worked together to form a truly GOOD thriller!
A special thanks to Harlequin and the author for sharing this really amazing read with me. This comes out December 31st so you would be smart to pick it up then!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just finished Good Girls Lie. It was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and it did not disappoint. Who doesn’t love a boarding school thriller?! Girls who come to The Goode School are the best, smartest, and come from influential families. A new student comes to town and the story starts with a bang leaving you to read to figure out what went down. The setting was perfect for murder, lies, secret societies…and GUYS! that. ending. I really enjoyed this one!

Ever wish you had gone to boarding school? Wonder what it would be like to be surrounded by smart, competitive, devious people? With Good Girls Lie, JT Ellison gives us the Goode School - an ultra-elite, all-girls school with a murderous past.

"Ash is a new student at the Goode School. Her parents in England have recently died and Ash is hoping for a new start in the US. She quickly finds that some lies are not enough."

This story sucked me right in. JT gives the reader enough description where you can feel and see the school. You can hear the whispers in the dining hall. You can feel the animosity from the Head Girl. And so many lies from so many people. The story goes back and forth from present to past, but it works. The beginning is ambiguous enough to make you wonder about the ending. And you may guess much of the ending as you get there, but there's a nice twist for us at the end.

JT has a fast-paced writing style that makes the story hum along. Fans of thrillers should add this to their list. JT Ellison is a relatively new author to me (this is my 2nd book) but I will be searching out more of her books.

An atmospheric thriller set in an all girls boarding school. I loved the atmospheric quality and setting but the plot went in a direction that I don't like and the characters were not enjoyable to read about. I appreciated the writing style and will definitely pick up other books by this author but this wasn't the book for me.

4 stars

Huh?! This book is so good and confusing I am still not quite sure who did what. I do know, damn girls be crazy b's! I loved the gothic boarding school background, and am now very glad I didn't attend one. This was my first book by J.T. and it probably will not be my last.

I liked this book. It had some really good twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the setting at the boarding school and it was interesting seeing through Ash's eyes as the story unfolded.

The descriptions the author uses for the setting kept me so immersed in the story as well.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I will definitely pick up more from this author.

Good Girls Lie was an interesting read that took some fun twists at the end. There were some things I enjoyed about this book and a few things I didn't care for, but overall I thought it was a good book.

Ash is the main character, and as the story starts a girl is found dead on the school grounds. A few of characters are mentioned at this point (that we learn more about later) and that's all the information we are given. It definitely piqued my interest and I wanted to know more right away.

We then go back in time to Ash's arrival at the school and how she settles in. There's an obvious air of mystery around her because she has secrets that we as the reader don't know.

So, for me, the book wasn't super exciting until I was about 40% in. We are settling in to Ash's life, trying to figure out her relationships with her peers, etc. And simultaneously we are switching POV to a few other characters and learning their thoughts, backstories as well. The switching between POV felt choppy to me and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but it felt hard to navigate between the characters. The headings of the section were supposed to signify whose point of view we were reading in next, but one was titled The Senior and I had to remember who the senior was in the story.

Sometimes while reading this I struggled to remember that the characters were 16 and 17 year old girls. They acts a lottttt older than their supposed ages. Maybe it's because of how they were raised? I don't know, parts felt unbelievable in terms of maturity and age.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot twist and figuring out who was behind the murder(s). and the ending left me thinking more about the story. And I love when a book does that.

This thriller has an enticing setting which is at a boarding school. This is not your typical school....but one bursting with secrets, hazing rituals, murder, and surprises around every corner. The Goode School is prestigious and all-girls in its boarding school composition. This is an elite setting coupled with plot twists and intriguing characters. There are a LOT of chapters contained within (89 I believe?) this mystery that leads more toward the spectrum of being a thriller. I really enjoyed the alternating points of view created by the author because this creates a unique dynamic of tension that continues as the story is told. Every ingredient that you would imagine accompanies a typical "boarding school" atmosphere is present and this only adds to the appeal of the story in itself.

Mystery, secrets and drama swirl at the prestigious girls’ Goode prep school located in a small Virginia town. Shortly after a new student arrives, two people connected to the school die. The reader must sift through clues and surmise what is truth and what is not. Clever twists, suspense and thoughtfully drawn characters made this a 4-star read.


*will post to online venues closer to publication and insert link below.

Very suspenseful, grips you from the very first chapter and does not let go until the very last sentence. Simply amazing.

While this didn't take the crown as my new absolute favorite J.T. Ellison book, it was a great, twisty boarding school mystery. With secret societies, murder, a sordid but hidden history of the school, and a main character with plenty of secrets, this has both Ellison's great mystery writing skills and all the elements of a school based story that make them so enticing.

I've enjoyed other books by Ellison, but this one I couldn't really get into. Maybe it's the whole boarding school, teenage stuff, who knows. Good premise, and Ellison is a great writer, but it was kind of slow to start and I'll be honest and say I couldn't finish this one. Will try and go back at some point, but for now I guess I'm just not in the right headspace for this type of genre.

I'm a sucker for a good boarding school story, always have been since my Malory Towers or Chalet School days, so when I read the synopsis of this latest book from J.T. Ellison it seemed right up my alley. Set in a prestigious and exclusive boarding school in Virginia, the Goode School, this is a book full of teenage cliques, secret societies, mystery, murder and intrigue.
A new pupil, Ash has arrived at the school following the tragic deaths of both parents, and initially struggles to find her feet. Due to the notoriety and scandal following her parent's deaths, she has elected to enrol under a different name, and her new schoolmates soon figure out that she is hiding something. Settling in proves difficult but when she is tapped to join a secret society by glamorous senior Becca it seems like her luck is on the turn. However in this book nothing is quite as it seems, and when Ash's room mate is found dead, it seems like someone it trying to pin the blame on the new girl.
This is a book that is full of twists and turns, and combined with the use of short chapters, it means that it moves at a pretty rapid pace. We are given several point of view characters, Ash of course, but also the headmistress of the school, or Dean as she prefers to call herself, a woman who is struggling with the legacy of running the school while dreaming of making it big as a best selling author in the city. and later in the book, we also meet an off duty detective who is drawn into the murder investigation. Each of these perspectives gave us a little more of the story, as well as more background information about the characters and the school itself. Most of the characters are well fleshed out, which can be difficult to achieve when so much of the action is set in one place. As the book moves towards its conclusion ,it does veer slightly into soap opera territory, but while this may be a flaw, I really did enjoy the book, and found myself hooked enough to read it in a single sitting. The writing is good and flows well, making the book easy to read, and the short chapters kept it moving nicely. I thought the author did a great job of creating a creepy setting by slipping in details about the history of the school itself. While the opening of the book is a little jarring, it is worth persevering, and by the time you wind back to the opening scene, it makes a lot more sense.
While this book was pitched as YA. I would definitely say its aimed at the older end of that market. as it tackles some pretty heavy topics including suicide and mental health issues, abortion , torture and obviously murder, including some gruesome details.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

J.T. Ellison is a literary master. Ellison is capable of so many twists and turns in her novels you are constantly second guessing every character and narrator. Who to trust? Who to believe? For a suspense/thriller, this sort of unease and anticipation is paramount, at least for me.

Meet Ash. She's just arrived in the United States from Jolly Ole England a poor (kind of) little orphan girl. A poor little orphan girl that just has to be 25 to come into her inheritance that is. And she's on her way to attend a prestigious and expensive all-girls private school in Virginia, the Goode School. Just like any "horror" story you've heard about private boarding schools, there are mean girls, entitlement, rituals, social order, and lots of hazing.

Like I said, Ash is an orphan. After an unfortunate and public scandal over the summer, her prestigious high-powered father commits suicide. Upon coming home and finding her husband dead, Ash's mother takes a gun to herself. And their young daughter is the one who found them both. So Ash is a broken girl, for sure, who's life has already been filled with much death and tragedy, on her way to America for a fresh start.

Unfortunately for Ash, deceit, terror, and evil don't rest and secrets don't stay dead or buried. When strange things start happening at Goode Ash doesn't know who to trust or believe, or even if she should believe herself. And reader, neither do we.

Every single character we meet has a secret they are hiding. Everyone is lying. Quite ironic considering the pride and confidence Goode school puts behind their "time-honored" honor code.

If you've been spell-bound by Ellison before you are sure to be once again by Good Girls Lie.