I just love J. T. Ellison writing style, and Good Girls Lie did not disappoint. It had a slow build up and you never knew who you can trust. Love the ending.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
The Goode School is an elite, private school for girls settled amongst the scenic hills of Virginia. A school known for its elite students, on the fast track to Ivy League schools of their choice, where the only rules are those in the school’s Honour Code, created to ensure responsibility, honesty and dignity amongst staff, students and faculty. So, when a young girl is found hanging from the front gates, the school is quickly turned upside down. Fingers are pointed at everyone, and after a rash of recent deaths at the school, no one is blameless. Rumours fly, and lies abound, but what really happened?
J.T Ellison is known for novels such as “Lie to Me” and “Tear Me Apart”, among many others. My only other experience with Ms. Ellison was with “Lie to Me”, so although I am not going into this review completely knowledgeable of all of Ellison’s novels, the two I have read are merely middle of the road novels, with enough entertainment and suspense to keep a reader intrigued, but not enough twisting and turning to really satisfy.
When a group of rich girls are secluded in one place, you know something bad is going to happen. Money, power, secrets mixed with self-confidence and hormones? It’s a no-brainer. From the beginning of this novel, there are hints and teasers as to what you expect would be an epic twist. Although the twist is there, it is not what we are expecting and I found it to be disappointing.
The story is well-told, and the characters are all beautiful and perfect, rich and brilliant, the type of girls that are easy to hate (and in this case, to blame). There are questions throughout the novel, and the ending does provide some satisfying just desserts, but the “wow factor” you expect from the twist does not deliver.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Ellison’s novels, as they generally have a consistent style and flow, which makes for an easy read. Fans of Ellison will definitely enjoy her new novel, as her creativity and talent shines through. “Good Girls Lie” has all of the teenage angst you would expect from a private all-female school (my worst nightmare, to be quite honest), with a little bit of murder and deception thrown in.

I like a book that grabs me from the off. And this did that. You meet ash very early on and you want to keep reading to find out what happened. This book has a 'Wild Child' feel to it but with a more sinister edge. I enjoyed it, eventhough I found that the plot dragged ever so slightly in places.

Finally! A boarding school story that doesn’t feel contrived. Excellent thriller. Twists! Turns! Buildings draped in ivy! Everything I wanted.

This is one of those books that you really need to just set aside time to read it straight through. I did not do that and now I want to read it again to look for all of the awesome foreshadowing that the author uses so expertly. This is the story of a private girls’ school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Since that is where I am from originally, I was instantly drawn into the story. The drama! Oh, the drama! Put a group of teens together and of course, you expect drama, a lot of gossip and some mean girls. This book has it all, plus murder! This is a mystery and thriller and the more you read, the more thrilling it becomes. Ash Carr has arrived at the very exclusive Goode School and is instantly targeted by senior Becca to be one of her groupies. Ash’s roommate Camille is snooty, but when Ash hears her crying at night, she does offer her help. What would make a sophomore who is already accepted into the “in crowd” sob into her pillow at night? That’s one of the mysteries that keeps the reader involved in the story. There is also Dean Ford Westhaven, a woman with an attitude of entitlement and a lot of secrets about her love affairs. This book will transport the reader into the fictional world of a private girls’ school and will not let you go until the last satisfying page. The strengths of the book are in the well-developed characters and the intricately woven plot. At the end, I was left with a sense of awe at how everything came together. Readers of suspense and psychological thrillers will thoroughly enjoy this latest book by J.T. Ellison!

Another story about girls at a prestigious boarding school, most from broken homes. This one is all about Ash who has recently lost both her parents, but before they died they wanted to send her to a boarding school in America. We immediately know that Ash is a troubled young girl that wants to fit in, but we also know from snippets of the past that something sinister is going on.

I have to admit this book held my attention. Maybe it is my fascination with girls in high school that are snobby and rich, and manage to bully the girls that struggle to fit in. I was a little confused at how the headmistress's point of view really fit in to the story, but I guess it gave some additional perspective on the school and it's dynamic, as well as another woman who came from a troubled past.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the twist at the end.

In Good Girls Lie, J.T. Ellison takes us into the world of the prestigious Goode girls' private school in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Although everything seems perfect in this all-girls rigorous school, secrets are woven in every character's life in the novel. Even when you think you have things figured out, the plot takes an unexpected turn.

This was almost a five star book for me because I loved the suspense, mystery, and not knowing what was going to happen next. However, there are parts of the plot that seemed a bit artificial and some loose ends that I would have liked to have seen tied up. With that being said, it is definitely worth reading.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this suspenseful read!

This was a very well written, twisted read, in which the author really made sure to make the setting, plot, and characters very believable. I thought that it was a good read, but didn’t hit 5 star for me, because it was a bit slow paced and I enjoy the faster paced books. Overall, it’s a good thriller with some intense moments and twists. I would recommend to fans of thrillers set in wealthy settings!
Will tell Chapter Chatter Pub about it!

The premise of this book caught my attention right away. I felt it was a little slow to get to the point of “wow” for me, but carried thru with lots of twists and turns to keep a reader from thinking they have it all “figured out”. The mysterious murders in the school keep the story moving. I liked the description of both the location of the story as well as the atmosphere of the school and students. Worth the read. I received an ARC of this book from NetGAlley, JT Ellison and publisher in return for an honest review, which this has been. #GoodGirlsLie

I've read several JT Ellison books and enjoyed every one of them, including this one. The author keeps several story lines running at once while still maintaining the main focus on the murder and the following investigation. The story is well written with logical (?) progressions, no back and forth in time. The characters sadly seem pretty realistic. Overall a good read.

The private school operates more like a rich girl's club with very little emphasis on education. When the cliques start their hazing and someone ends up dead, it should not be a surprise. When no one will come forward to help find the killer, it leaves the police with far too many suspects and too little evidence. The end will surprise some.

I love JT Ellison and when I saw the opportunity to read this ARC I took it. I thought it dragged a lot throughout the book. It has murder and craziness and it was interesting. Although it was a good storyline it just wasn't doing it for me. The writing was great but just wasn't for me.

This is the first novel I have read of J.T. Ellison and it’s one hell of a twisted boarding school mystery. What I loved about this book is how the author has captured a private boarding school setting. High school is a fraught time in everyone’s lives in one way or another, and adding money and power and an all-girls school is even harder when you have nothing. Such is the situation for Ash Carlisle. She moves to America to attend the Goode school after her parents’ tragic death and finds it hard to keep her head down like she had planned. Then bodies around her start to drop like flies and everyone is scared, including Ash Carlisle.

The story itself is interesting. Most of the novels in high school setting I have read are centered on romance and/or bad boys with girls playing semi-peripheral roles, but Ellison weaves such a fantastic tale without involving any type of romance related jealousies with an all-female cast. It’s a different concept, one which she carries out greatly in this book. I did not see some of the twists coming towards the end, and I loved it!

I gave it 3.5 rating because in some parts, the story dragged for me. Some of the secret society hazing seemed ridiculous. As one teacher in the novel points out, the girls run the show. The headmistress has absolutely no control over what the students are able to do at this school and she’s been in charge for 10 years!! The teachers seem completely oblivious. The students don’t seem to spend any time studying apart from the main character and yet they’re all at this school because they’re excellent at studies? I found some parts of the story a little far-fetched. Yes, it’s more like college than a high school, but it’s still a high school!

Overall, I recommend this book but will say my interest was in the bigger picture than the smaller details…if that makes sense.

PSA: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, but the Kindle version of this book is terribly formatted. I don’t know if it was because my Kindle is a few years old or because it’s something on their end. The quotes are not separated like they should be when one character’s line ends and another’s begins. Some of the words are separated by space. The paragraphs aren’t clear. It got very annoying for me as I went on. I would recommend reading a physical copy or a clean formatted digital one.

Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for this ARC.

This book is different from the others because well, I’ve heard everything written by J.T. is absolutely amazing. Mental illness in younger people is such a huge topic and overlooked topic that I think the nail was hit on the head with this one.
Private school. Horrible, abusive father with 2 daughters from different women, one being his wife, the other a drug addict.
There’s a huge twist to this book that left me dumbfounded and I totally was not expecting it whatsoever.
4.5/5 stars, only because I got a little confused once the sister was involved. How did they meet and become friends? Was she a secret to the other girl or was the father open about the relationship with the other woman? I have so many questions.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It's another unreliable narrator with a twist.

Ash Carr is a English gal who her parents are sending to The Goode School in the US. Death surrounds this gal including her parents who died right before she left. We're given a couple different narratives where we need to figure out who is doing the narrating.

The insight into this school is fascinating. So glad that I didn't go there. The characters are well drawn and the book sucks you in. The end is great!

This book is about a private girls school. When I picked it up I thought of "mean girls" straight away. Lots of twists and turns to keep your interest. It was a roller coaster ride . I connected with the characters which is important for me.

thanks to J.T. Ellison and HARLEQUIN and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC, i thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it had me from page one and i could not put this book down... The main character Ash is attending an all girls school to get her ready to college, the girls who attend this school are all from affluent families and are trusted to manage themselves, not get into trouble, they take an oath when school begins, We learn that Ash has been allowed to be part of the student body as an exception by the dean, who followed in her mother and grandmother's footsteps. Not long after school starts, things start to happen, secret clubs and sororities and initiations, and then someone dies. As we continue to follow Ash it becomes clear she is not exactly who we think and it all starts to make sense.
this was a well thought out mystery, characters well introduced, it sure kept me guessing, loved it and would read more novels by JT Ellison

This is one of the best books I have read thus far in 2019. I generally love the school/college fiction genre to begin with but this one is exceptional. The book starts out with a bang immediately. We learn there has been a 'suicide' at the Goode School, an all female private school in VA. Just as the students begin to try to determine who the mysterious figure is hanging from the gates, we are thrust into the story of how it got to that point. The story primarily surrounds 16 year old Ash Carlisle. Ash has come to the Goode School after both her parents were murdered in her hometown of Oxford, England. From the first day, she seemingly has a target on her back, be it for ridicule, jealousy...She immediately butts heads with Becca, one of the 'leaders' within the school. Soon Ash finds herself invited to be a part of Becca's secret society, Ivy Bound. As she gets deeper into the society, Ash's secrets begin to come out and people start to become hurt or killed, including her roommate Camille. At first the school suspects she was a suicide but digging deeper they start to unravel the truth. Once we have all the feels for Ash, the bombshell drops and we find out who is behind the menacing. It turns the whole story upside down and now you have to really revisit everything in your head for it all to make sense.
The book is wonderfully written from Ash's standpoint. At times towards the end though it does make it difficult to understand without giving away any spoilers, especially the epilogue. Definitely a page turner and roller coaster of a read. I could not finish it in one night but had not been more eager to delve back into it the next night just to see who was behind the madness!

This novel had everything I love in stories that are at in boarding schools: secret societies, rich people, plot twists, drama, and a good mystery. I highly enjoyed this novel, even though I figured out the main plot twist early in the novel. J.T. Ellison's writing more than made up for it and I highly recommend reading this book.

Wow! Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride! This is an excellent thriller centered around an all female boarding school filled with the elite’s daughters. Several deaths, hazing, and mean girl antics culminate into a great twist.

Very interesting mystery/thriller in the high society of an all girl school.
When everyone had a secret to hide, how can you tell who your real friends are?
Ash Carlisle came to the Goode school to get away from her life in London. She’s looking for a new start. But when the girls in the school start singling her out and finding her secrets, how can she continue to hold up her poise and distance.
Intrigue and death seem to follow the girls at Goode. After all, the Goode girls lie.