As a retired high school teacher, I'm such a sucker for novels set in school settings (especially at private schools for some reason), so this one had me at Hello! Ash is a tortured young woman who has witnessed the death of both parents and is now on scholarship at the elite Goode Academy where each girl is virtually assured a place at an Ivy League college, classes are small, and secret societies exist to allow girls to bond in sisterhood. But what lies beneath the surface is a nightmare of bullying as the hierarchy of students is clear at the outset. Dean Ford looks the other way as she believes she is keeping the traditions alive. Secrets, gothic elements including ghost stories of previous murders, tunnels, locked hallways, and The Red Staircase all exist to give the school a great, creepy vibe. Not for the faint of heart, this book is sure to please if you like your thrillers heart-stopping and fast-paced!

I loved this book! There's just something about mysteries involving exclusive boarding schools that automatically attracts me and this book drew me in from the very beginning. How could it not when the first few pages detail a student hanging from the school gates! Revolving around the students of well to do families that attend the all girls school, Goode School, in this tiny town of Virginia, there are plenty of clashing personalities, friendships, enemies and secret societies to create the dark allure of this story.

A student from Britain whose parents recently died, Ash is the main narrator of the book and she's unsure what to make of this place. She immediately makes an enemy of Becca, the all around alpha female and head girl. She gets along slightly better with her roommates but still doesn't feel like she fits in and would rather keep it that way. We also see from the Dean's point of view and she's quite the opposite of the dreary severe old school marm that you may have expected. She welcomes Ash and feels bad for her situation but also feels compelled to keep an eye on her, for reasons she herself doesn't fully understand.

There are so many well developed characters and such a great atmosphere that you can't help but immerse yourself in this dark tale. It is such an incredible page-turner and you will not want to put it down. This author had me hooked until the very end and I cannot recommend this book enough!

This was a gripping and enjoyable read. I loved the setting, which reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, and the main character's mysterious past was intriguing enough to keep me reading. The parts of the novel set in Britain rang less true to me, and I found some of the 'British' slang didn't quite sound right to me, as an Irish reader! The ultimate reveal was a little far-fetched but fun, and I really liked the epilogue. All in all, a flawed but very readable boarding school thriller.

I want sure if I loved it or disliked it. It was filled with twists and turns and the author is someone I rally enjoy reading but I really had a difficult time getting into it. It just want for me.

Thank you to the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for thy opportunity to give a fair and honest review

This is a difficult call to make. Not sure if I loved the book or hated it. Definitely creepy and disturbing. Well written but overall can't give it more than three stars. A bit too unbelievable to be believed.

Goode girls lie.

J.T. Ellison brings to life the world of an all-girls prep school, where the daughters of the privileged, the wealthy, the connected are sent to prepare them for admittance to the Ivy League.

But pampered daughters have their own agendas, and the secrets and lies fester under the veneer of breeding and sophistication. And one girl may have more secrets to protect than most.

When one girl is found dead — suicide? murder? — those secrets start to bubble to the surface. Because some secrets are nothing but lies.

Ellison has created a world that will. Draw the reader in and keep the lights burning far into the night.

An excellent book that is sure to draw the attention of both the mature and the YA audience. Really tells it like it is and draws you in slowly but surely.

The book opens with a girl hanging from the gates of the elite all girls school Goode School. We are soon introduced to Ash Carlisle who is a transfer student from Oxford, who's parents both have just died. As she tries to keep her head down and keep a low profile, she gets off on the wrong foot with the queen bee of the school, Becca Curtis. As the story progresses you are thrown into the world of secret societies and honor codes within the walls of the school. Unfortunately, I found this book to be a bit juvenile, definitely more of a young adult book. Ash was always complaining about trivial drama (dirty looks, rumors), which i guess is typical for highschool. For me I was not scheduled with any twist or turns like I would be with most thrillers and mysteries. I just wasn't into this one.
I want to thank netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You may want to read the author’s other books, Lie to me and Tear me apart before venturing into this one. Everyone wants to be friends with Ash Carlisle. The beautiful British girl has transferred to The Goode School, a prep school for the wealthiest of the wealthy and she’s uber popular. But there appears to be a price for that friendship, as students closest to her die. Dying to be popular just took on another meaning at The Goode School