Naomi Shaw has spent years of her life trying to recover from a vicious attack that left her scarred inside and out, but what if everything she thinks she remembers about the attack is a lie, and the truth is even worse? Five stars to this twisty, somber thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.

*Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for this ARC. It releases to the world on January 17th, 2023.*

Three young girls go through a horrific experience and send a killer to prison. They're famous for their trauma. New developments in the case cause them to meet up in the town where it all happened. This should be a happy time but, there are secrets that they're hiding.
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I really enjoyed this book. The pace was good, it was entertaining and there was a good level of suspense. It was a bit predictable and clearly drew from some real life cases but there were interesting and entertaining side stories as well. I would recommend this book to friends.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Woah! This is a creepy one. This made me flip flop who I thought it was, what was going and just made me question life. I kept getting frustrated with Naomi but, the friendships of the young girls shined throughout. This was a strong mystery or psychological thriller.

This was well-written, well-structured and well paced. I thought it was not only dark and suspenseful but, it dug into some deep topics!

This was my first ready by Kate Alice Marshall and I am definitely going to be reading some more by this author!

I want to give it 4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley an the publishing team for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WOW, this book! I loved every minute of reading it and I can’t say enough good things. The story is dark and full of creeping tension. The incidents of trauma and the journey to recovery is emotional and heart-breaking. All of the lies and secrets build into a twisting puzzle. The author gives us a trail of breadcrumbs to follow, with so many red herrings that I never knew which direction the plot was going to go. As we learn more and more about what happened in the past, we begin to understand how it has all culminated into the present events. There’s a deep exploration into childhood imagination, how we see the world differently in our innocence, and how those memories can become distorted over time. The story examines the stark realities of grief, abuse, mental illness, and broken families. This is an exquisitely crafted experience. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, another bombshell implodes everything you thought you knew, pointing you in new and equally believable directions. This story is everything; it deserves all the hype and all the stars. I’m officially obsessed with this author’s writing and I will be sure to pick up anything they publish next. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to read and review this title. I will be getting a physical copy for my shelves as I could definitely see myself re-reading it in the future. If you like the dark, twisty, psychological thrillers, then you should absolutely read this one!

This was a very good read. Give it a minute to pick up, as it does start a tad slow at the beginning. Once that foundation is set, it'll keep you guessing until the very end.

4/5 ⭐

What Lies in the Woods is a bit of a slow-burn thriller, in the sense that it begins with a focus on a crime committed many years previously and the impact it had on the main character, her friends, their families and the community in which they lived. As the story unfolds, we realize that the reality of what happened that day long in the past may actually be quite different, and the true nature of the characters in the story is not what it appears to be at first. This book is not only an engrossing read, it's an exploration of the nature of memory and trauma, and a look at the way true crime media alters the way we look at violent crimes, victims and survivors.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This is my first book by Kate Alice Marshall and definitely won’t be my last.

The story starts slow but picks up quickly. You are literally guessing until the end. What is the secret? What is the lie?!

A book you can’t put down!! I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure everything out before the end of the book. Every twist was so well delivered I was waiting and hoping for more. Alice Marshall delivered!

A MC that I didn’t find infuriating, however, I did feel there were a few unanswered questions on my end. Some of the character development from past to present felt open ended. I don’t think it affected the main plot of the story so it was more of a personal thought. The only negative for me.

A must read though.

Thanks so much NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What Lies in the Woods is the story of 3 women brought together by a dark secret and life altering attack at age 11. Everyone makes up games with their friends as child (whomst of us hasn't pretended to make potions out of stuff we found in the woods), but not every childhood game stems from a dark secret. Years later, the death of their presumed attacker brings our main character, Naomi, home to Chester where she is forced to reckon with her past (and ger lack of memory from it) and the webs her and her friends spun as children.

I was so excited to receive this ARC! I'm a huge fan of Kate Alice Marshall's other works, and while this one is quite different, I think it absolutely embodies the genre it occupies. Though this one doesnt have an extensive supernatural bend like some of Marshall's other novels, I appreciate the allusion to the whimsy and magic of childhood imagination. Sometimes it is hard for authors to break out of the YA space, but this had just the right amount of complexity and darkness.

I like to think that I'm pretty good at predicting the twists in most thrillers, but Kate Alice Marshall was able to stay a few steps ahead of me in this one. The author does an excellent job of creating red herrings to throw off the reader. This book is so full of twists that I think I have emotional whiplash after reading it.

This one is definitely worth picking up if you like psychological thrillers, mysteries, or true crime.

CWs for murder, mentions of suicide, violence, hoarding, sexual assault, OCD, PTSD.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4798630037

What Lies in the Woods was an overall compelling but standard thriller. The story centers around Naomi, who along with two of her friends, was attacked in the woods when she was younger. Many years later, following the death of the suspect in prison, Naomi begins to doubt what really happened that day.

I enjoyed this thriller and thought it was a pretty quick read. I also recall being surprised by the twists, but I finished this book fairly recently and already can’t remember much else. I’d still recommend this for fans of twisty thrillers that unite people after an earlier crime (I do tend to like this trope myself!). Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing a digital ARC of this book to me.

This book follows Naomi, a childhood victim of a near fatal attack in the woods who is now an adult whose attacker has died of cancer in prison. However, she and her two friends, Liv and Cass, who were in the woods with her that fateful day have secrets of their own that are about to come out.

Overall, there’s nothing making this book inherently awful. It’s an enjoyable enough murder mystery thriller. However, it does nothing particularly special. The twists and turns are predictable. The characters are all very one-note. The pacing was a bit slow, due in part to the fact that I was always multiple steps ahead of Naomi’s understanding of the situation. If you are new to this genre, this might be a good read for you to get acquainted with it. However, I think a seasoned thriller reader could easily skip this one without missing out on anything.

Note: Check the triggers for this book before reading.

I was really looking forward to having this book keep me awake at night, terrified and thrilled at how it would end. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me and I found myself struggling to get through parts of it. The ended did surprise me though and as the answers unraveled, I was happy to find that it was not as I predicted. However, I felt that the characters were two dimensional and I had little vested interest in finding out what happened to them. Lots of plot twists and turns... and a surprising ending!

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Genre: Thriller
# of Pages: 336

Read if you enjoy:
- Secrets on secrets
- Small town crimes/drama
- Searches for the truth
- MCs that overcome hardship

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: At 11 years old, Naomi and her friends were roaming the woods playing imaginary games. That is until the day that Naomi was brutally attacked. The identification of the man and her testimony are key in putting away a serial killer. But they had secrets, and they all have lied. For decades, their secrets have remained hidden. When the accused man dies in prison, it triggers a lot of memories , emotions, and the unraveling of secrets begins. The question is, how dangerous are the truths that have been hidden for nearly 22 years?

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:

🪵 The admission of secrets right out the gate had me hooked. What is the secret? Wait…there are more than one? Perfection. Things slowly unravel throughout the story until ultimately the big reveal. Twisty, turny and dark.

🪵 I really appreciated the complexity of our MC, Naomi. She has undergone a LOT of trauma. From her alcoholic dad, to her mom who stepped out on her at a young age, a brutal stabbing she miraculously survived, and her community who has placed her life under a microscope. This story really unravels the impact these events have made on her life, her trust of people, her relationships, her view and trust in herself. She questions everything she knows

🪵 A lot of descriptions and themes surrounding mental health throughout (though not identified/labeled). I feel this is important to share as it may be triggering to some.

🪵 I think that the ending wrapped up everything nicely. I closed the last chapter feeling satisfied, my questions all answered.

🪵 This book releases on 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

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⚠️: Stabbing, Abuse, Sexual Assault, GSW, Loss of Friend, Manipulation, Delusional behaviors, Suicide, Alcoholism, Hoarding



Thank you Flatiron books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. I appreciated the opportunity to read and share!

Reading this book was like watching a car crash, in the best way possible. You see it coming, but you can’t stop watching. You can’t do anything to stop it, but you need to know what happens, if everyone is going to be ok. I did see one of the major twists coming, but I do read a lot of thrillers. Over all, a really good book, it kept me hooked.

Naomi has run from her small town past, and changed her name so that her past doesn’t define her. She can’t get rid of the scars, but that’s what happens when a serial killer stabs you 17 times. But somehow she survived and with her two best friends put him behind bars. They meet up when that serial killer dies behind bars, and her friend Liv calls her and tells her that she found Persephone. That summer the 3 girls were goddesses, completing rituals to please Persephone. But who is Persephone really? And why can’t Naomi remember the attack that nearly killed her. Why is she not convinced that the serial killer was truly behind it?

This book follows Naomi and her two best friends from childhood. Seems normal, right? Except for the fact that they play a, what ends up being, dangerous game.

The plot of this book was relatively fast and flowed really well. However, the mystery could have been solved towards the first 30% of the book if the reader pays attention and picks up on the clues.

I will admit, a lot of the characters were not trustworthy and unlikable.

Thank you for providing an early access copy of this book for an honest opinion.

What Lies In The Woods is a mystery centered around a woman who survived a serial killer's attack as a child and the 2 friends who were present for the attack. They reunite as adults when the killer dies in prison. Old doubts quickly rise to the surface as new questions are asked, all calling into question the reliability of their memories of the attack.

This initially sounded like a somewhat familiar story, but it was elevated to a higher level by Marshall's complex characters, skillfully layered plot, ominous atmosphere, and immersive storytelling style. I found myself picking this book up every time I had a few moments free and flew thru it in less than a day.

Small town secrets and lies, a 20 year old crime, unreliable eyewitnesses, a podcaster searching for answers, and a present day death all work together to form a well done, engrossing mystery that will keep lovers of both mystery and crime fiction quickly turning the pages until the final revelation.

I've loved every book of this authors that I've read, and this title is a welcome addition to my list. I look forward to seeing more adult titles from Kate Alice Marshall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for providing a copy for me to read and review.

I was initially pulled into this story, with its poetic writing, creepy woods setting and deeply flawed main character. But it slowed down and got sort of crime focused so I put it down for a bit around the 30% mark. Picked it up later, and things really started rolling around 50%. It becomes a bit of a whodunnit, but everyone has a motive and I truly couldn’t predict the ending. I thought the writing was quite beautiful for a mystery/thriller. The characters are all flawed in thier own way, as they should be from a traumatic past, and they feel very authentic. This was my first read from Kate Alice Marshall and I will definitely look into other work by this author.

ARC provided by Netgalley.

I absolutely loved it !!! Thrilling. Actions. Suspense. Mystery. It was griping and made my heart race in anticipation. One of my favourite suspense mystery books. I was hooked from the beginning and intriguing. It was best book I've read.

I thought this book was an overall good thriller. It tore at my heart strings which I liked. I would recommend this to someone who is a lover of thriller.