Cover Image: What Lies in the Woods

What Lies in the Woods

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Member Reviews

I REALLY enjoyed this book. There were several times I actually gasped out loud!! Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, or “who done it”, the book took a new turn and I was shocked every time! A total must read!!

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This was chilling and thrilling! I was constantly second guessing myself on how I thought this was going to end.

Naomi has survived something terrible, but still struggles because she doesn’t know the truth. And the truth is nothing like she expected.

This was so twisty! Just when I thought I had it all figured out, something crazy would happen. I really enjoyed this and would read more from this author.

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LOVED LOVED LOVED What Lies in the Woods.

Marshall's adult debut is a well crafted thriller full of twists and turns that you'll never see coming. Twenty-two years ago, Naomi Shaw was attacked in the woods while she and her friends, Olivia and Cassidy, played the Goddess game. It was her testimony that out the man away, a serial killer wanted for the murders of six other women. When her attacker dies in prison, Naomi returns to her hometown for the first time in years at the request of Olivia, who has been deeply troubled ever since the incident in the woods. But as she returns home, Naomi begins to question what she remembers of that day and the secret that she and her friends still carry, all as it seems like the past is rapidly catching up to the present.

Marshall writes a vivid, creepy, atmospheric picture in the Pacific Northwest. The characters are bold and believable, and I found myself completely lost to the mystery in front of me. Absolutely thrilling.

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This one started out with a bang for me — I’m immediately jibed with the writing and the author’s voice. There are some plot points that are a little far fetched, so be comfortable with a suspension of disbelief if you pick this one up. Overall this is a solid debut and I recommend it to true crime and crime fiction fans. I can’t wait for the author’s next book.

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Thank you Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨...𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙨.

Three little girls, Naomi, Cassidy, and Olivia, would go into the woods to play a made up game called the Goddess Game. One day when they went into the woods, Naomi was attacked, and the three girls put a serial killer away making them heroes. But decades later, when Naomi returns home, Olivia wants to tell the truth while Naomi wants to figure it out.

This was my first book by Kate Alice Marshall, and I really enjoyed it. I thought the author did a good job with making every character a suspect and none of them trustworthy. I had my suspicions from the beginning. Some of which came true and others I didn’t see coming. The small town vibes where everyone was hiding something were great, and I liked the atmospheric feel of the woods.

There were a couple of times while I was reading that I couldn’t remember who a character was so there may have been too many secondary characters that weren’t fully developed, but overall I enjoyed this thriller and liked Naomi as a character.

I listened along to the audiobook as I read this one, and thought Karissa Vacker was a good choice for this book. She does a good job with the voices, differentiating the characters.

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Wow! What a great book. I was riveted by this book from the moment I started. The narrator for the audiobook was fantastic, creating female and male voices. They made it very easy to distinguish between the characters.

I love the storyline. The mystery throughout of what happened in the woods and how. The character development was wonderful. You could easily picture them in your head and see the progression from the past to the present anticipating their personalities as adults.

I highly recommend this book, especially the audiobook version.

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I received an ARC of this book from Flatiron Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. This is the best book I have read in a while! Kate Alice Marshall is an incredibly talented writer. Her descriptions and characterization are spot on. All the characters are relatable, and you can actually feel the small town vibe: the bored tweens, the political big shots, the outcasts, the high school hero. There are at least three different mysteries going on here (probably more). Though I predicted two twists, I challenge anyone to predict the ending. It is so complex yet makes perfect sense. This book was quite long but absolutely worth it - I don't think anything was superfluous. I would like to see Naomi in a sequel!

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Thank you Kate Alice Marshall, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC.
What Lies in the Woods was a good, slow-burning thriller called.
There are enough people making bad decisions that it was simple to have several suspects, which caused me to make a lot of incorrect assumptions.

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What lies in the woods is my second book from Kate Alice Marshall, and it did not disappoint. She is incredible at writing unsettling ambiance. This was a time of bonding for three friends, Naomi, Cassidy, and Olvia couldn't be more different. Bonding over time, they create a magical game called the goddess game.

While deep, deep in the woods, the three friends' lives will change forever. Naomi is viciously attacked but is able to survive and identify her attacker. The individual is a notorious serial killer and now is behind bars. Twenty-two years later, there are secrets some people would kill to tell. This story felt like being in a dream. It had such a unique writing style, and it definitely kept you guessing from beginning to end.

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I am not a fan of slow burns, but the story in this one kept me so intrigued that I wasn’t even bothered. It was very atmospheric and the storytelling so detailed that I could really picture everything that was happening.

Naomi was the perfect flawed narrator. After the serial killer she and her two friends put in jail dies, she goes back to her hometown to figure out what really happened the day she was attacked. I loved how the story unfolded, with all the secrets that a small town can hold are revealed. There are quite a few twists that surprised me, especially the conclusion. I never would have predicted it and that’s what I loved most about this book. There is also a part that resembles a true crime case and you can definitely tell that’s where the author got her inspiration.

If you like books with serial killers, toxic friendships, and small towns with secrets, this one is for you.

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Naomi would like to forget what happened in the woods 22 years ago. Despite her misgivings, Naomi reluctantly makes a trip to the small logging town where she grew up at the request of her best friend, Liv. Liv's proposal to Cass and Naomi forces them all to face the complications of the past in ways they never imagined.

This book had me turning the pages, staying up late, and sneaking in a chapter every chance I got until the very end. I kept thinking I had things all figured out but had to keep revising my theories as new information continually turned up. My hunch was correct on one plot element, but the major revelations were still quite shocking for me. This was a complex, dark, and gripping read with a cast of untrustworthy characters.

Beware! If you start this one, you won't be fully focused on anything else until you're finished! It's the perfect read for a rainy weekend on the couch with a beverage and a cozy blanket.

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If you've read my KAM reviews before, you know I'm a Stan. This book 100% did NOT let me down! The mystery of what happened to the girls all those years ago and how everything unfolded was so good! There was a constant feeling of being so close to the answers and yet every time you thought you know what was happening, you were wrong.

I did guess one of the major plot points but it was mostly because I was thinking how great of a plot twist it would be if it happened, not really because it was heavy handed. And it WAS a great plot twist. They all were. SO MANY.

Our main character Naomi is the girl who was murdered in the forest - almost. I didn't expect the story to be from her POV honestly. Typically when you have these kinds of books with multiple survivors, you don't get the viewpoint of the one who was hurt the most, but it really worked here. Getting Naomi's viewpoint of everything that happened when they were kids and everything they'd been through since then was just an emotional rollercoaster that I loved every minute of.

Liv and Cass were so well done as well. The way we learn about "that summer" and the things they remembered. It was all so well done. Marshall was built for thrillers, there's no other way around it. While her mid-grade and YA spooky books are near perfection, I was happy to see that she could put a book together without any sort of fantastical element and it could be just as good.

If you like dark twisty tales of the secrets a small town is willing to hide, this is definitely the book for you!

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4.25⭐

Featuring ~ single 1st person POV, childhood trauma, secrets, suicide references

Secrets run deep with childhood friends Naomi, Cassidy and Olivia and they're still haunted 22 years later.
There were some nice twists I didn't see coming ~ whoop whoop! This was a solid suspenseful thriller with a shocking conclusion and this author is on my radar now. From what I gather this is her debut in adult fiction as she normally writes YA, so job well done.

BTW ~ I liked that Naomi never wanted to cover up her facial scars.

I was fortunate enough to receive a kindle copy and the audiobook to review. Either way was great.
Narrated by Karissa Vacker for 11 hours 16 minutes and 40 seconds, easy to follow at 2-2.5x. She's a well seasoned narrator and did a fantastic job.

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I tend to steer clear of most thrillers these days because they are the same, tired white cishet formula that I'm no longer interested in. These reservations were set aside when I saw that Kate Alice Marshall was releasing her adult debut because I absolutely love her YA books, and y'all, this book was an absolute treat!

Our MC Naomi is truly a bisexual disaster. She uses sex and messy relationships to bury the horrific childhood trauma that she has experienced. Naomi always had Cassidy and Olivia because they were the best friends that were also there on that horrific night. But these three also have another secret, which Olivia decides that it’s finally time to reveal after more than 20 years.

First off, if you can do the audiobook, do it because Karissa Vacker is incredible!

If y’all are looking for an entertaining thriller that will keep you guessing til the very end then this is it. This book is messy, unpredictable, and one heck of a roller coaster. Be aware that this book is not light nor fluffy. There’s mental health struggles, struggles with sexuality, as well as some murders that will keep you guessing.

I can’t recommend this one enough, and I can’t wait for Marshall’s next book!

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4.25 stars

Wow, what an enjoyable thriller. It was very twisty and held my interest throughout. The plot was well thought out, if not a bit unbelievable. I thought the MC was interesting and I found her behavior understandable considering the circumstances. The writing was also solid. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

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A disturbing, twisty read. While one of the twists is easy to predict, the others I did not see coming. Well written and suspenseful with characters that are not easy to like. I’ll be looking for more from Ms. Marshall.

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. **

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Something wicked this way comes. Living a fantasy—demons and dragons; a prince who rushes in to save the day. Make-believe is a little too real. These are the words that live inside the heart and soul of three eleven-year-old girls. They called it the Goddess Game, Naomi, Cass, and Liv. Can you imagine playing out in the woods where your imagination can soar and while playing one of the most heinous crimes takes place and forever changes the lives of those three young girls one summer day? When the Goddess Game was over, Naomi came out of those woods, barely, with her life. Someone had viciously attacked her, leaving her face riddled with scars that she would carry for the rest of her life.

Cass and Liv had to become Naomi’s memories for that day. When she came to in the hospital, she didn’t recall anything much other than the pain of the knife searing through her face and body. Naomi depended on her best friends to fill in the gaps that were extremely blurry in her mind’s eye. Cass, Liv, and Naomi advised their hometown that a serial killer was Naomi’s attacker, Alan Stahl. They saw him viciously attack Naomi that awful summer day. Stahl was accused of the crime and sent away to prison, where he lived the rest of his days until his final breath.


The three best friends decided to meet up to celebrate, of sorts, Stahl’s death. The nightmare he imposed upon these friends’ lives were finally over—or was it? Naomi goes home to visit her father, a man she hadn’t seen in quite some time. Her personal mail had been collected there and he gladly gave to its rightful owner. Naomi begins thumbing through the junk mail until she comes across a letter that was handwritten personally to her. She opens it and finds that someone knows what really happened all those years ago in the woods. Someone knows that the man she and her friends accused of attacking her, was all a lie. But how could anyone besides the three of them know this? And that, readers, is where this story takes you down a path of lies and twists and turns.

What an incredible story. I couldn’t get enough of these characters’ lives. It’s a story you will want to invest your time in. My one issue with this story was the length of it. I’m not a fan of overkill or long stories that clearly could have ended many chapters ago—unfortunately, this story was one of those, but again, I loved it, but wished it weren’t so long.

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Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When Naomi was eleven years old she was stabbed seventeen times by a serial killer. Her two best friends, Cass and Liv, were both with her and swore that they saw the man who did it. He was sent to prison.

Now, over 20 years later, Naomi is back in her hometown. The man she and her friends sent to prison has died and the friends meet up.

Soon after their meeting, Liv is found dead. Supposedly by suicide, but was it murder? Why? What exactly happened in the woods all those years ago?

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It was dark and twisty and I was hooked from the beginning. Naomi doesn’t have her life all together and doesn’t hide her physical scars from that night to anyone. There weren’t too many slow points in this book (for me. I’ve read other reviews who have felt the opposite.) I guessed s couple of things that happened or were revealed, but not the final ending. I will definitely read more from this author.

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Naomi Shaw was viciously attacked with a knife as a little girl in the woods she loved to play in with her friends. Now in her 30s, she receives a call that the serial killer convicted of attacking her is dead. The call forces her to reconnect with her two best childhood friends, Liv and Cass, who witnessed her attack those many years ago and vowed to always be there for each other afterwards. Once together in their hometown again, doubts and secrets begin to bubble to the surface and Naomi can’t ignore them anymore. She is placed in the very dangerous position of getting to the bottom of what truly happened back then, why, and along the journey, realizes multiple people have been lying to her for many years. Not everything is what it seems. To get to the truth, some sacrifices must be made.

Okay so this review took me a little bit of time to think about and write, even though I read this book earlier this month.

My thoughts were difficult to formulate because I really wanted to love this book. I heard fantastic things about it prior to beginning and even had ordered my BOTM version prior to starting the uncorrected proof. It was fine, but it just fell flat for me in some ways and felt like it dragged. There was also a lot of typos (which I am sure were likely fixed prior to publication).

It was long. Or at least it *felt* incredibly long, this I believe is due to 1) the way the “chapters” were divided and 2) the super slow burn nature of the book with a quick ending that left me wanting more closure.

Goodreads says the book is 336 pages, but with uncorrected proofs on kindle it’s almost impossible to know how long a book is. The uncorrected proof didn’t have any kind of real chapter division either and the segments or I guess, unofficial chapters, were very long. Not sure if this was an uncorrected proof feature or if the final was meant by the author to be that way — I will have to check against my BOTM copy.

This is definitely a very slow burn — the story was very detailed and had in depth character development and backstory necessary to color the current events. I definitely got more than I needed to understand the plot. It took a very long time to get to the suspenseful climax of the story and by then, I was super invested in the story and the characters. The plot twist was clever and I didn’t expect it coming, but the climax just came and went so fast and then the story was over. After how invested I was for what felt like such a long book, it just felt like not enough. I guess this is one of those books where you need to enjoy the journey and not the destination?

This is the second book I’ve read very recently where the plot involves a true crime podcaster that isn’t who they say they are and they offer help to the MC with an ulterior motive. It seems to be a popular, modern addition to thrillers lately.

That all being said, I still enjoyed most aspects of the book enough. I would read Kate’s work again for sure. She certainly has the creativity and writing talent to blossom into one of the thriller greats. I just want some more THRILL, girl! And shorter chapters please… lol.

I rated this 3.5 out of 4 stars, rounded up to 4 here and Goodreads due to the half.

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Kate for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

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First of all, I want to thank you for allowing me to read this book! It took awhile for me to start this book, just due to the holidays and daily life. Once I was able to start it, I had a hard time putting it down. Horror is one of my new favorite genres and this book just goes to show how much I love it. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more.

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