What lies in the Woods tells the story of 3 friends Naomi, Cassidy, and Liv who grew up playing the Goddess game in the woods. They loved this game until one day they made a grave discovery that changed them all – a secret they vowed to never speak of again. The secret became part of the game until one day Naomi is attacked and stabbed seventeen times. When interviewed by the police, Naomi identifies her attacker as a known serial killer. Based on the girl’s testimony the killer is sent to prison and the town feels safe again.
When the killer dies in prison, the three reunite in their beloved hometown. Still carrying the physical and emotional scars of her attacker, Naomi sets out to discover what really happened in the woods all those year ago.
Get ready for a roller coaster ride with many twists and turns. I listened to the audio book and had a few theories along the way. Some turned out as I predicted but there are a couple that completely blindsided me. The book kept me fully engaged from start to finish and I truly enjoyed the narrator.
Thank you, Macmillian Audio, and Netgallery for my ARC.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was great.

I thought this was an interesting depiction of the lifelong battle of dealing with childhood trauma and how much was can trust our own memories, as the MC Naomi pursues what really happened to her when she was stabbed at 11 years old by a serial killer. It explores the pursuit of truth versus memory, how we close ourselves off to pain, and even how we purposely make bad decisions to punish ourselves. But it's also about self-redemption. This has a lot of twists and turns and dark character motivations that mystery lovers will enjoy.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When they were 11, three girls were apparently accosted in the woods of their town where they had spent the summer playing "Goddess Games," and one of the trio was stabbed 17 times and almost died. The other two were understandably traumatized. The three friends helped put away a suspected serial killer, but now that he has died of cancer while still imprisoned, 20 years later, the three reunite. Two of the three, Naomi, who was the stabbing victim, and Liv, have had a rough go, suffering PTSD and other mental health challenges. The third, Cass, seems to have made a roaring success of her life with no ill effects.

Podcaster Ethan arrives on the scene, stirring up questions of what really happened that day in the woods 20 years ago. But is he who he seems to be? Is anyone in this drama?

Marshall calls to mind the Slenderman story from 2014 in her examination of memory, trauma, and violence.

If you're here for a likeable heroine, this book is not for you. Naomi is not a super likeable MC, but you do find yourself rooting for her after all she has endured. The plot does become rather convoluted at the end (lots of people keeping lots of secrets over a period of decades doesn't really track for me, but I don't read mysteries for their innate realism), but it's solid enough, and there are twists and red herrings galore.

Solid debut: 3.5 stars rounded up.

I had a bit of a love-hate with What Lies in the Woods. It started out as a detailed account of the best ways to make terrible choices. Then it blossomed into a really good set up for a mystery worth jumping into. Besides the protagonist, there was really no gelling with any of the characters for me. They all seemed to project this terrible secret. Nobody seemed to react the way they would in real life though. I did like the end and thought it was laid out well. My only issue with this genre is the back and forth of YOU DID IT then NO, YOU DID IT... wait, no, hold on... That is most of the books I have read like this though so I don't know that it is a bad thing, it is just not my thing.

“Naomi, I wish I didn’t know what a liar you are.” But what is she lying about?

Fact - Naomi was stabbed in the woods, 17 times, when she was eleven years old.
Fact - her best friends Olivia and Cass witnessed the attack.
Fact - they have a dark secret they’ve been harboring all these years.
Fact - Things are NOT what they seem.

Trying to guess what was true and what was a lie, was a fun challenge while listening to this audiobook. I was happy I started a reading journal this year and had a place to jot down my theories. Some things I figured out. Others I did not! I also found myself caring what happened to some of the characters, which I don’t often do with thrillers. So props to Marshall for the good character development that made me feel invested. Overall, this was definitely a fun listen and the audiobook performance was well done.

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall was intriguing! This fast-paced thriller will keep you guessing until the very end. Unputdownable with flawed characters, good sequencing, perfectly placed plot points, and great audio quality/narration, What Lies in the Woods will quickly become one of your favorite thrillers of 2023.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for an advanced review copy of the audiobook for my honest opinion.

What a great read! It pulled me right out of a reading slump.

An exciting whodunnit that kept me guessing. A small town full of secrets and lies with plenty of atmosphere and shocking reveals. The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life.

4.5*

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review..

I finished this one in under 24 hours, but I didn’t really enjoy this one to be honest. I feel like we were thrown straight into the story without much cushion for the fall. While the story was good web of twists I was just annoyed with most of the characters and the actions of them. I feel like much didn’t happen through the maybe 65% and we were just very slowly piecing the mystery together with a bunch of things catching along the way. We don’t really get much excitement until the end after the opening.

Thank you to Macmillan audio & Kate Alice Marshall for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is EVERYTHING! It is definitely in my top three thriller books I have ever read. Never once did I see what was coming. The twists and turns to literally the last 15 minutes of the book were huge! Without giving too much away, the characters were strong, the story line was twisted, and the narrator was excellent! I recommend this book 1000%! Just go read it…NOW!

22 years ago, Naomi Shaw and her best friends Cassidy and Olivia spent their days playing deep in the woods. They loved using their imagination and playing magical games like Goddess. At the end of that summer Naomi is brutally attacked while the girls are together and stabbed 17 times. Somehow she survives and the girls are able to identify the attacker, who is also it turns out a serial killer. The girls are then celebrated and called heroes. Except they were not heroes they are all liars.
Present day, Naomi finds out that the man she helped put away for life has died. She decides to return home and visit her friends, including Liv, who says she can't live with the secrets anymore. With the help of a pod caster, Ethan, Naomi decides to revisit the woods where they grew up and find the truth about what happened all those years ago, but it turns out the truth could put her in danger.
Wow! I don't even know where to being! This book is amazing! There are so many deep, dark, twists and turns and it seems like the 3 girls are not the only ones keeping secrets in this small town! Every time I thought this might slow down another twist is thrown into the mix. This was hard to put down and the narrator is one of my favorites! This had everything I love with thrillers, filled with suspense, drama, phenomenal character development, and plot twists that made my head spin. I highly recommend you check this out!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kate Alice Marshall for allowing me to listen to an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an audiobook ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley.

All in all, this one did as promised: tension, high drama, twists and turns, and an excellent narrator.

Talk about the unexpected! Kate Alice Marshall throws in more than a netful of red herrings in this thriller/murder mystery. Protagonist Naomi finds out that the man she and two friends sent to prison has died. He was accused of stabbing her 17 times and disfiguring her face. What Naomi and her friends Olivia and Cassidy didn't share with the police is that the attack wasn't the only thing that happened in the woods. Now as grown-ups, the friends are left with guilty feelings and unanswered questions. When Olivia dies from likely suicide, well, the questions really explode, drawing in old acquaintances and suspicious characters. The narrator does an excellent job bringing the characters to life, making each one distinct in speech and tone. I highly recommend this novel, but don't start it late at night unless you're prepared to get little sleep!

Absolutely amazing. It had my mind all over the place trying to figuring out what happened. I would've never guessed.

This book kept me guessing right to the end. I thought I had it figured out many times, only to find out I was wrong. I read a lot of thrillers, so its hard to find ones that I can't figure out fairly quickly.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a good one to listen to! I did guess a few things ahead of time but it didn't ruin my enjoyment. I loved the narrator as well.

#WhatLiesInTheWoods:⁣
⁣
“A righteous lie was still a lie. A wicked life was still a life”⁣
⁣
Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted copy!⁣
⁣
Let’s talk about it y’all. The mashup it’s giving me is Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn) and A Flicker in the Dark (Stacey Willingham). It’s honestly what I wanted AFITD to be, and What Lies in the Woods is good.⁣
⁣
There’s a lot of twists and turns in this book, and a lot to keep you guessing. A majority of it is easy to navigate through, and you know early on who is capable of what. Some of it did shock me, but the majority did not. But that did not ruin the book for me as it played out so well. ⁣
⁣
Audio by Karissa Vacker is it y’all. She is one of my absolute favorite readers and she (as always) knocks it out of the park. Her contrast between Ethan and Naomi were so wonderfully done. As always, any KV audio is highly recommended.⁣
⁣
Now, I will say, for someone who says they aren’t trusting and has had such trauma happen to them, Naomi was a little quick to trust about everyone. I think it comes from a place of never belonging and clinging to someone who she believes she can find refuge in, but girl, you’re too trusty. Other than that, I felt this book was amazing and pleasantly surprised me!⁣
⁣
What Lies in the Woods is out 1/17!

Special thanks to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

THIS BOOK WAS SO WORTH READING! Read the blurb, because I'm not giving anything away. I give this book 5 stars! Highly recommended! And a definite page-turner..

Absolutely 5 stars!*****

4.5 stars. THIS WAS SO GOOD. Like so good to the point that I gasped at a certain part at the end. Wowowwww. It’s likely you’ll figure out the twists; I was bummed I had guessed correctly so early, but I’m apparently like really smart or something (that’s a joke). There are so many pieces to this story, but they all make sense to the main point. There’s not many annoying characters, no alcohol issues, no unreliable narrator. Really well executed and I was captivated truly the whole time. Amazing debut and I can’t wait for more by this author!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook of What Lies in the Woods by Katie Alice Marshall.

This book centers on friendship, secrets, betrayal, doubts, and the need to know the truth. Naomi and her two best friends, at 11 years old, spent the summer in the woods playing an imaginative “Goddess game”. Up until Naomi was attacked and the girls helped put away the serial killer they believe was the attacker. However, Naomi has always wondered: Did they put away the right man?

Years later, as adults, these three friends push their friendship to the limit with lies, secrets, and more twists and turns than I ever expected!

I devoured this book. The second half was so full of twists, and as much as I kept guessing, I’d be wrong and things would take a new direction. This is what a thriller is all about!

Five stars. Definitely recommend reading this book!

Naomi Shaw was attacked in the woods when she was eleven. After being stabbed 17 times, she was left with internal and physical scars that would last the rest of her life. Naomi's testimony and her friends Liv and Cass's testimony were enough to send Allan Michael Stahl to prison. When Naomi learns that Stahl has died in prison, the friends decide to meet. This compelling story will keep you reading on the edge of your seat. Well written, with a lot of twists and turns. Trust no one! Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Flat Iron Books, and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.