What Lies in the Woods

Kate Alice Marshall has written a thriller that made me wonder, after I finished, when my heart would stop pounding. The book centers around events occurring twenty two years prior when the three eleven year old girls, Cassidy, Olivia and Naomi, emerged from local woods as heroes. Two of them were not physically harmed. The third, Naomi, was carried out close to death but survived with numerous stab wounds to her face and body. Naomi, relying on the word of the other two, testified in a subsequent trial that she saw who had done this to her and sent the accused killer to jail for the rest of his life.

The experience has seared the three girls, each living with what happened, unable in spirit to every really leave the woods. The most visibly scarred is Naomi who over the years has engaged in a chain of self destructive relationships. At the beginning of the book, she is summoned home from her from Seattle where she makes a living as a wedding photographer. Olivia has called her and wants to finally tell what really happened in the woods over two decades ago.The truth emerges layer by layer on to a final white knuckle finish in the final pages of the book.

This was a truly enjoyable read. However, Naomi is like that character we see in horror movies at whom the audience repeatedly screams “don’t go in that room”. She lies to and refuses the help of the FBI and local police and doggedly tries to solve the mystery herself. This could come down to not being able to trust anyone due to being repeatedly let down throughout her life but I felt this part of her could have been elaborated on.

Thanks to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in turn for an honest review

WOW! This book is excellent and I really need a print copy of it on my shelves because I know I'll want to revisit it again in the future! Highly recommended!

Smartly written story with lots of character development and plot twists. I like the concept of small town mysteries where everyone has secrets to hide and is a suspect at one point or another. The story is a slow revealing of how all those secrets intertwine in both past and present time. Highly recommend for mystery/thriller fans.

Blame it on the fact I almost exclusively read mysteries & thrillers, but I called every single twist and turn on the first page. And I mean, every single one. With that being said, I am still giving What Lies in the Woods a 4-star rating because of the story Kate Alice Marshall weaves together.

Did I find the book predictable? Yes. And while this typically would discourage me from giving such a high rating, I was still fully immersed in the story, the characters, and the way it all came together.

With a complex cast characters you aren’t sure if you are meant to love or hate, Marshall takes you deep into small town life and has you asking, just how far will a town go to protect their secrets?

There are so many things about What Lies in the Woods I loved, but I don’t want to spoil it for the next reader. All I will say is Kate Alice Marshall isn’t afraid to pull back the mask of what friendship looks like amongst young girls who are at the threshold of adulthood; still desperately holding onto the innocence of make believe, and the violent love that consumes them.

I absolutely loved this mystery/thriller. It was fresh and paced super well and though sometimes felt predictable, it was an incredibly well-written and brilliant book. The first page immediately captures you and holds you hostage until the very end.

Thanks to NetGalley & Flatiron Books for the ARC!

I was absolutely enthralled by this book! It’s about a trio of girlfriends. One of the friends almost ends up murdered in the woods and they end up putting the serial behind bars. The book hooked me from the very beginning. Although I did figure out a couple of the twists, a couple I didn’t, I was still completely satisfied. I also appreciated how the book tied everything together and didn’t just end. If you are looking for a good, creepy psychological thriller, this book is for you!

This was a twisty and compelling read that kept me guessing. It was very dark, but oh so readable. Though one of the big twists is telegraphed a little too much, there was enough going on to keep me distracted and guessing the whole truth. I felt the pacing was a little off, with the middle slowing down a bit and the ending feeling rushed, but overall I highly recommend!

Naomi, Liv, and Cassie have been best friends since they were kids. Woods, a make-believe world, and a human skeleton bring them together. However, one day goes horribly wrong when two girls stumble out of the woods and one is left hugging a tree stump after she'd been stabbed by a serial killer and left for dead. Now, decades later, that serial killer is dead and Naomi must return to the woods after receiving a strange call from Liv - Liv knows who the skeleton is and wants to tell all of their secrets.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This was a good book and I loved the story behind the girls' friendship. It reminded me a lot of myself when I was young - going into the woods, finding treasures, and pretending I was magical. Those parts of the story brought me back to my young self. Unfortunately, I didn't like two things:

1. The author basically gives it all away with how she describes the characters. We know who the real bad guy is here and their true motives. If this wasn't given away, I would've enjoyed this book a lot more.

2. Just because someone goes through a major trauma does not mean that they always have to turn to drugs or alcohol or sex. This is one of many books I've read where the main character has gone through major trauma and is self-medicating and self-destructing. Can't we get a strong main character who has overcome a major trauma and is a badass for it?


Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book hooked me from the beginning and kept me up until 2am reading it in one sitting.

Mysterious happenings in the woods? Check
Best friends since childhood? Check
A podcaster doing their own research? Check
A serial killer who may have been falsely convicted by a bunch of kids? Check
A small town with many secrets? Check

My only real complaint was the pacing of this book. There was a huge chunk in the middle with minimal reveals and then they slam into you in after another at the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this ARC!

I love a friend group with secrets and What Lies In The Woods did not disappoint! This was a really enjoyable read! There were some twists I predicted and others I did not. Overall, it felt like the plot made sense and was wrapped up nicely. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author in the future!

Side note: In my personal opinion, I felt the author did an amazing job of depicting how mental illness(es) can present themselves. Characters weren’t labeled with specific disorders but instead displayed symptoms and their disorders were spoken about without labels. As someone with my own psychiatric illnesses, one or two of which were represented in this book, I loved the accurate- to my own experience- representation without the need for labels and diagnoses. That being said, while I did not find this book triggering, others may.

Naomi was attacked in the woods when she was 11 and barely survived. She didn't see her attacker but her two friends, Cass & Liv, did. They assure Naomi it was a serial killer named Stahl. Naomi trusts their eye witness accounts and testifies against him in court. Years later, Naomi begins to question the narrative she's been told. Naomi's been keeping a secret with her friends about something they did in the woods. What else are her friends keeping a secret?

I have whiplash from all the twists!! If you like your stories dark & twisty, this is the one for you. Excellent storytelling. I was completely engaged throughout. I will absolutely read this author in the future.

I'm entirely unsurprised that I loved this book. Kate's YA horror is by far and away my favorite YA horrors and since I'm an adult, I was very excited about her debut in this age range. I was NOT dissapointed. I adore thrillers where you are able to follow along with the MC and figure out the who done it's. Did I see the twists coming, yes, yes I did. Did that lessen my enjoyment of the novel, not at all!

This book kept me turning pages up all night, gasping and oh my god'ing out loud. I buddy read this with a friend and we had to stop nearly every chapter to discuss theories and freak out over new reveals. I can't begin to tell you how fun that was and how long it's been since a thriller had me feeling that way as a thriller reader.

This novel both felt like the Kate Alice Marshall I knew and didn't. I love the inclusion of The Goddess Game. I adore the lies and deceit in the town. I think we all know by now that there are certain archetypes you never trust in thrillers, and Kate stayed true to a lot of the tropes and conventions of thriller novels, but in a way that still felt fresh, fun, and gripping. This is not a book you're going to be bored reading. This solidified her as an auto-buy author no matter what age/genre she's writing in.

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As kids, Naomi and her two best friends, Cass and Liv, spent most of the summer playing magical games in the woods. Then one day the unthinkable happens: Naomi is stabbed 17 times and left for dead while Cass and Liv hide nearby. The girls all identify Naomi’s attacker, a man under suspicion for six murders, and their testimony puts him away. The girls were heroes. But they were liars, too.

Now 20 years later, Naomi’s attacker has died in prison, bringing the three girls back together. For decades, they’ve kept a secret worth killing for. Now one of them wants to tell, and Naomi finds herself on a dangerous hunt for the truth.

I really enjoyed this book. Just like the games the girls played when they were young, this story felt magical—and it was pretty dark at the same time. There are lots of twists and turns, some designed to throw you off, and the truth of what really happened that day did not disappoint! And even after that big reveal, there was somehow more!

Overall I loved this read. I couldn’t put it down… if you’re looking for your next thriller, THIS IS IT.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

WOW!! What a ride... this was a fast paced story that kept guessing right up until the end. This was a thriller from the first page and I do not want to give anything away, but if you like an adventurous heroine and dangerous twists and turns .. this is a mus read!!

Wow, I was blown away with how much I loved this book. I really love the author's teen horror books a lot, but as an adult thriller writer, she really shines. The plot was intriguing, I was sweating and nervous about what was happening. The characters really came to life and I became very attached to certain characters. The book had great red herrings and plot twists. I love when a thriller has twists that you can see when you go back and look again and this one setup for the twists perfectly.

I really enjoyed this book. I think the author did a great job at keeping you guessing throughout the entire thing. As soon as I would think I knew what was going on, it would take a turn and have me guessing again. I read a lot of thrillers and this one is at the top of my list. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes a book that has more twists and turns than you can count. It was very fast paced and easy to get through. I absolutely loved it and will be buying a physical copy when available. Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

What a thriller! I was hooked from the very beginning and read this as quickly as I could. I just had to know!

At the age of eleven, Naomi and her two best friends spent their days in the woods playing mystical games, paying homage to a long dead body that they named Persephone. That is until the day Naomi is brutally attacked, stabbed 17 times, and left for dead while her friends hid nearby. The testimony of the three girls put away a serial killer. But they lied.

Twenty years later, news of the death of Naomi’s attacker, brings the three girls back together. One of them is ready to tell the truth. The whole truth. About that day and the body that they found long ago. However, someone isn’t ready for the truth to be revealed.

This was full of twists and turns, red herrings, and sudden reveals. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. One of the best thrillers that I have read in quite some time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron for this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Let me just say that I am not a suspense thriller reader. That being said, this book caught my attention first page and held it until the very end. There were so many twists and turns it was almost hard to keep up. I would highly recommend this book, if for nothing else a great ride!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒔. 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏...𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰'𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆, 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕. 𝑰'𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆...𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉.

Three 11-year-old girls, Naomi, Cassidy, and Olivia were in the woods one day playing The Goddess Game. One was viciously attacked, stabbed over and over again, and left for dead. Miraculously, she survived and identified her attacker, who was wanted for murdering six women. These little girls were hailed as heroes. No one knew they were all liars.

For such a dark book, I swear the pages were infused with magic. I loved reading about The Goddess Game, in which the girls assigned themselves roles such as Hecate, Artemis, and Hera; the symbolism of these little girls imagining themselves as powerful goddesses is integral to the storyline.

I was engaged and immersed in this fictional world from the first page. When I found out just what the girls lied about, I was completely taken by surprise--what a great twist! But the twists kept coming, and the story got sadder and darker, and what an ending that was! If you love thrillers and want a storyline that is fresh, you absolutely need this book in your life. So many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my early read. Publishes January 17, 2023.