My Rating: 4.5 ✨

WOW, what a debut!! This will be a thriller of the summer and it is well deserved! I literally read the Prologue and was so intrigued that I stopped reading another book I had just started 🙌🏼 If you love dark academia focused thrillers with whodunit vibes then SOCIETY OF LIES is for you! The story is told from 2 alternation points of view and seamlessly navigates through three different timelines and explores much deeper themes than your average thriller - themes including identity, privilege and race.

At Princeton, the most prestigious (fictional) eating club is the Sterling Club and within the Sterling Club is an even more elite and powerful secret society, called the Greystone Society. The Greystone Society is so covert that most people at Princeton don’t even know they exist and the only way in is if you get “tapped”. Sisters Maya and Naomi are both book-smart, practical, biracial girls who both are searching for a sense of belonging as they attend Princeton, ten years apart. That sense of belonging is exactly what the Greystone Society offers them, but at what cost??

SOCIETY OF LIES is a well written, gripping, action packed dark academia thriller with exclusive secret societies entangled in blackmail, collusion, the requisite of drugs & alcohol, and two dead bodies. Maya and Naomi find themselves in the heart of the drama and corruption as they realize certain members are willing to do whatever is necessary to keep secrets safe and the money and influence flowing. The best thriller books, in my opinion, are the ones where multiple different characters are looking guilty and I’m trying to piece together the who, why, when and how along the way. This book does exactly that and I can confidently say I did not guess the twist at the end even though I had my suspicions… 👏🏼👏🏼

My only critique is I felt there were a few loose ends with how the book ended - a few characters dropped off the map and were never heard from again. This is also a book with many characters and timelines so you definitely need to be paying attention!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC! 💜

Thanks to Netgalley, Lauren Ling Brown, and Bantam Publishing for this e-ARC. ,

I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a lot of things going on, and was a little dragged out at times. However, it was very suspenseful, and that always keeps me hooked.

It’s been a decade since Maya graduated from Princeton, and she’s excited to return for her class reunion, especially as her younger sister Naomi will be graduating from Princeton this year. But when Naomi doesn’t show up and no one can find her, Maya becomes frantic, worried something has happened to her. She’s afraid that Naomi’s disappearance may have something to do with the secrets that lurk at Princeton, secrets she’s tried very hard to forget. Because Naomi isn’t the first girl connected with Maya to go missing from Princeton, and Maya knows she will have to revisit her past to gain answers about the present.

The premise of this book is fascinating, especially since it involves secret societies at prestigious schools. I enjoyed the setting and how well it was incorporated throughout the book. The pace of this one is quite slow though and is much more of a mystery than a thriller. Prepare to sit back and take some time before getting to the suspenseful parts.

I had a bit of a difficult time because Maya and Naomi's voices sounded quite similar. This made the swapping between characters and the jumps between Maya's present and past become difficult to keep track of if I set down the book in the middle of a chapter. Not to mention since it all took place at Princeton, there wasn’t anything in the setting to help differentiate the POVs either. However, I did like the characters overall. The secondary ones weren’t anything special, but they didn’t detract from the read. I did like the exploration of sisterhood and how that can be changed by age differences and pressures for responsibility (some self-imposed). Getting to see both sisters’ POV concerning their less-than-ideal relationship was insightful and added depth to their characters and relationship.

If you’re interested in a slower mystery about sisterhood and secret societies, you’ll likely enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this work, which will be published August 14, 2024. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

This was a DNF for me. I may come back to it eventually, but the story wasn't holding my attention. I found it to be too repetitive and the differing POVs were too similar.

Thanks to NetGallery for an advanced copy of this book. I wish I had liked this more - it was too "all over the place." Timelines and characters went back=and-forth too much; it was very disconnected. It seemed as if the author was trying too hard to include too many topics (some extraneous) and create suspense. Disappointing as there are so many good review.

First of all, a HUGE thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC! This is Lauren Ling Brown's debut novel; she did an excellent job presenting Society of Lies!

Maya and Naomi are sisters who attend Princeton ten + years apart from each other. When Maya learns her sister has died right before graduation, she is confident this wasn't an accident. She knows too much about the secrets and lies from her own time at Princeton. As Maya begins to investigate Naomi's college life, she learns her sister was hiding more than she led on. Throughout the story, we learn about the corruption and lies of Princeton's secret society, the Sterling Club, and how money can attempt to sweep their secrets under the rug. Maya will stop at nothing to find answers and get the justice Naomi deserves.

How did Naomi die? Who can be trusted? Did Maya's involvement with the secret society lead to her death?

4 solid stars for this debut album!
Wow- this was a gripping, fast-paced page-turner from start to finish! A book rarely hooks you in from the beginning, but this one surely did! The second half of the book had twist after unexpected twist! I almost want to reread some parts because there were some twists that I didn't pick up on initially and would love to see the clues that brought us to the ending. I thought I knew exactly what was happening, but I did not predict the ending (I love when this happens)! I thought this story was creative and unlike most suspenseful books I have read. I am impressed this is Brown's first novel! I am excited to read more from her in the future!

My only critique of this book was that I occasionally found the dual POVs and alternating timelines a little confusing to follow. There were several characters and I found myself thinking, "Wait, is this Maya or Naomi's point of view?" "Is Amy Maya's friend or Naomi's?" or "Was this in 2011 or 2023?"

Overall, very well done! Congratulations on your first novel, Lauren!

This book has everything you could think of for a thriller: dark academia, secret societies, money flowing, intense relationship problems, drugs, and a dead body. Following in her sister’s footsteps, Naomi gets into Princeton. Not only does she get into Princeton, she gets into the same eating house: Sterling. But when the Greystone society starts to reveal too much, Naomi thinks it’s time to investigate. Was that the reason she was found in the lake days before her graduation? It’s up to her sister Maya to find out.
I tore through this book in just a couple of days. Brown does such a good job switching back and forth between Naomi’s and Maya’s perspectives, between the past and the present. The short chapters kept me going at a breakneck pace, and I couldn’t put it down until I knew exactly who did what. If this is what Brown’s first novel is like, I sooooo look forward to seeing what the future looks like for her! Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam publishing for allowing me access to this ARC!

Well, I didn’t see that coming. Oh, the amazing things people will do to protect the lives they are living or desire to live. But there is always karma to deal with in the end. No spoilers but this book is more than just a murder mystery—it’s about privilege and greed and ethics and racism and love and friendship, as well, all in the context of one of the Ivy League schools—Princeton. Ivy League schools are changing but they certainly are renowned for their privilege, and therefore, racism. Also, there are some wonderfully drawn characters and great dialogue. All in all, a wonderful debut novel from the editor of numerous documentary film and television projects for HBO, Netflix, and Disney, among others.

While slow to start, I overall enjoyed this modern thriller. The book was set up in a way that was easily accessible to audiences, especially for those who are not familiar with Ivy League institutions. I especially liked how this was non-linear and provided both Maya and Naomi's POVs for the same event. Maya and Naomi's backgrounds provided a nice juxtaposition between them and their peers, which helped further the plot.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Society of Lies is a captivating thriller with an intriguing setting of a secret society at Princeton. I enjoyed the dual POV, however, at times it was hard to follow the timeline between past and present. The middle of the book dragged on and fell a little flat but picked back up in the 2nd half with a few twists I didn't see coming.

Overall a good mystery. The multiple timelines were a little hard to keep up with. The ending fell just a little flat, but I definitely didn’t see the ultimate culprit coming.

I thought the premise of this book was strong but the execution didn't work for me. I'm getting frustrated reading books that just aren't quite as good as I think they could be.

One challenge for me what that it works with three timelines: Naomi leading up to her death, Maya ten years earlier and Maya in the present day, but within each of those there are revelations and flashbacks so it was a lot to keep straight, but it still managed to gloss over events that seemed rather important to me. It felt like there was a lack of detail at times and the characters didn't always behave logically.

It's not a bad book, but I had higher hopes for it.

Maya went to Princeton and desperately wanted friends and to fit in. She made it into Sterling the secret society. Then a tragedy happened and her and her friends visited with to put it behind them and move forward.

Maya has always felt protective of her sister Naomi. She warns her not to get involved with Sterling. Naomi doesn’t listen and Maya has to confront her past and figure out the truth.

The back and forth time lines made it difficult to follow and it was a slow pace.

Although I finished this book relatively quickly, I didn't particularly enjoy it. I think it tackles a lot of interesting and timely topics. The two POV characters--Maya and Naomi--are half-Black and half-Asian and, as such, they deal with a lot of racism and difficulties finding a place where they feel like they fit. I especially liked the addressing of the very specific brand of anti-Asian racism that happened during and post-the height of Covid. There's also a lot there to say about wealth and privilege and how often when someone who is wealthy and privileged gets punished, it's because the people around them finally decided to throw them under the bus.

There were also moments when the writing did stand out to me. Particularly I think the author did a pretty good job of building tension and heightening anxiety, especially during the latter half of the novel where things start to really build.

Unfortunately, that's really all I can say that I liked. The novel jumps along three separate timelines: Maya during the present day, Maya during her time at college, and then Naomi a few months leading up to her death. Truth be told, I don't think the novel needed all three POVs because the end result felt very bloated and, at times, confusing. Especially since the novel is in 1st-person and there didn't seem to be all that much differentiating the tone of voice between Naomi and Maya. Also, within their own POVs, the story hopped around a lot for seemingly no rhyme or reason. I think it would be better to have either just Maya's POV (both present and past) or Maya in the present and Naomi in the past, using either POV to fill in any gaps. It'd make the mystery of why Maya is so cagey about her time at Princeton feel more weighty and suspenseful, while also giving both characters a bit more to do, investigatively.

Speaking of the mystery, I'm a little mixed on how I feel about it (no spoilers, though). On the one hand, I feel like the ending does make a bit of sense. On the other, the author seemed to have a bit of a difficulty in laying out the pieces of the mystery for the reader to follow. There were times when the author over-explained things that probably could've been picked up based on context and others where things that needed an explanation seemed to get glossed over.

The writing, too, felt very "show" rather than "tell". As a result, there were times when the characters felt very one-dimensional, despite dealing with some very traumatic and intense things. That's not to say the entirety of the book was like that. There were definite glimmers of character growth and motivation that peeked through every so often, but they weren't often enough to make me fully invested in what was going on. It wasn't really until near the ending that the author seemed to gain her stride.

While I didn't particularly enjoy my time reading this, I definitely think the author has promise. I just, personally, think this book needs much harsher editing to cut out the extraneous parts and expand more on building the characters into 3-dimensional beings, as well as streamline the pacing a bit.

I happily requested an ARC of Society of Lies after receiving a promotional email from NetGalley. I was intrigued by both the description and the fact that it was my first Lauren Ling Brown novel. Overall, I was so impressed with Brown's writing. I loved the setting, loved the characters, and loved the plot. I truly could not put Society of Lies down and am waiting anxiously for Brown's next book already!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance e-copy of Society of Lies in exchange of an honest review.

"While it may take some time to fully immerse yourself in the story, 'Secret of Lies' by Lauren Ling proves to be a captivating dark academia tale worth the investment. Through the use of alternating timelines, Ling skillfully weaves together the past and present, drawing readers into the intricate web of secrets surrounding the Sterling Club and its super secret society. As the protagonist, Maya, delves deeper into her sister Naomi's mysterious death, the author keeps readers guessing at every turn, skillfully planting red herrings and leading them down unexpected paths. Ling's ability to create suspense and maintain an air of uncertainty throughout the book is commendable. Although the pacing at the beginning may be slow, it steadily accelerates as the plot thickens, making it difficult to put the book down. With its unpredictable twists and revelations, 'Secret of Lies' will leave readers on the edge of their seats until the final page." This book was a solid 4.2 Stars!

This book starts off really fast and doesn’t stop. From the very beginning the suspense and mystery pulls you in and I could not put it down. So good.

Maya has a lot riding on her shoulders. Both of her parents have died and she's living across the country from her 11 year old sister Naomi. Maya is determined to get a good education at Princeton so she can care for Naomi. One of the ways she can do this is by joining one of the many social "eating clubs" on campus. Luckily, she has friends who already belong to Sterling, one of the most prestigious clubs, and they help to get her in. Not only that, but there is an even more secretive and selective group within Sterling called Greystone. Maya is thrilled to gain membership in this group as well, since its members tend to help each other out with jobs and other perks of the elite for the rest of their lives. She soon begins to wonder if there is more to the clubs than social standing when another member, Lily, begins trying to warn her away from joining.

Twelve years later, Naomi is also attending Princeton and is looking to join the same groups her big sister did. Naomi has been basically adopted by the brother and sister-in-law of one of Maya's college friends. When Naomi's roommate begins looking into some potentially explosive information involving a professor at the school and a death that occurred when Maya was a student, things turn dangerous for everyone. Soon Naomi ends up dead and Maya must figure out what happened to her sister and what part the events during her own college days might have played in the tragedy.

The story jumps between Naomi's life in the months leading up to her death and Maya's search for the truth about what happened to her. There are plenty of shady characters and while I appreciated all of the twists and turns, it was a bit of a stretch that the main characters in the events could, or would want to, keep secrets for so long.

This was a good one! Liked the secret society setting parts the best and the two timelines. The big reveal could’ve used a little more groundwork-building since I didn’t 100% believe it but overall enjoyed.

Give me an Ivy League school, throw in an elite secret society, a dash of murder and I am ALL IN! It took me a few days to read just because I was busy but I was reading every moment I could.
Society of Lies tells the story of sisters, Maya and Naomi. It is told from both of their perspectives during different time periods, which is something I love. Maya graduated from Princeton and 10 years later, Naomi is there as well.
When Naomi is found dead on her college campus, Maya doesn't believe it was an accident—and her search for answers leads her back to Princeton, the life she had there, and the secret society she had been a part of.
For a debut novel, this was exceptional and I can’t wait to read what Lauren Ling Brown comes up with next. Look for this book when it comes out on 8/13/24 from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc.