This book had all of the things I look for in a book that boasts the dark elitiest community! Murder, lies, love, and lust were all perfectly plotted in this dual timeline between sisters. This was such a great read and I will be recommending it to my book club!

This book explores in detail the dark side of privileged, elitist groups who do as they please, even at the expense of others. I admired Maya for never giving up and leaping into the fray that is the Sterling Club. Well-written and immensely engaging.

Excellent! A plot that grips you and pulls you in. You won't want to put it down! Academia, secret societies, love, murder; all the good stuff!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Slow burn thriller. I almost stopped reading and then it got interesting! The POV of both main characters made it fun. It changed from different times which the author wrote beautifully. Sometimes it can get confusing.

I loved entering the world of this propulsive, character-driven thriller, and appreciated that Brown kept the twists coming until the very end. Quick and enjoyable read about a secret society at Princeton and the enormous web of secrets and treacheries concealed within.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The different perspectives of sisters so far apart in age sharing similar but yet such different experiences at Princeton! The writing gave me hope for a character that I already knew the end for and even knowing the end, There were SO MANY twists and turns! I will say I did not see the twist coming, which is hard to do! I loved the representation, and how the topics that can sometimes be difficult to talk about were depicted! Overall I loved the story!

What a fab book!
I don’t typically like books that go back and forth between different points of view and different timelines. However, I got over it and still enjoyed the book.
It was a good mystery. Would recommend.
Thank you

WOW!

I will start by saying that the ONLY reason this wasn’t a 5-star read for me was because of how slow paced it was. I didn’t love how long it took to get to all the good, juicy twists and turns and the suspense. With that being said, I absolutely love books with multiple POV’s and every twist once things started to speed up had my jaw to the floor. I never once expected the ending… I also loved how the book touched on so many REAL world issues such as racism, women being silenced, and people with money having so much power. This book was absolutely brilliant and I enjoyed every bit. I want to say a huge thank you to Lauren Ling Brown and Penguin Random House for giving us readers the opportunity to read this early. This was my first ARC/eARC and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this new to me author. I really loved the story, the mystery and seeing how it unfolded throughout. I enjoyed how they switched between different characters and time lines to tell the story. Sometimes I have trouble with stories that do so, but this one helped to heighten the story. I feel like there were still a few minor loose ends I would have like tied up but overall it was a great read. I will look to read more from this author in the future.

The Secret History vibes with Get Out social commentary! A character-driven suspense about two sisters who get involved in a secret society, ten years apart. Recommended for readers who like moderately-paced thrillers with depth in character and ideas, like In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, White Ivy, The Maidens. Love it!

Interesting story and I liked inside look at the “eating clubs”. Jumping timelines with overlapping characters was a little confusing at times. I found it a little slow to get into, but overall I enjoyed the story.

*A sincere thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing the advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review!”

It feels like your standard three-star appeal-to-the-masses thriller, and I’m guessing that’s where it will land. I did stop after chapter 1 (4%).

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

*** I received an e-ARC of this book from Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review***

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary: Maya returns to Princeton after 10 years to celebrate her sister Naomi’s graduation. When Naomi doesn’t show up and the expected time, Maya is irritated. Checking her phone, Maya notices an update about nearby police activity. Shortly thereafter she discovers Naomi is dead. The police say it’s an accident but Naomi doesn’t think so. Past and present blur together as Maya tries to separate her history from her sister death.

Thoughts: This story is told from the alternating POVs of Maya and Naomi. Naomi’s POV is the months leading up to her death, and Maya’s is her past at Princeton and the present. The story was good, but you have to pay close attention to both the narrator and the timeline or you may get confused. The same characters appear in all POVs, and there is a noticeable disconnect between the two sisters. I struggled getting into the story but 1/3 of the way through I was intrigued. I kept thinking I knew who was responsible but I was wrong.

🗣️This was my first book from this author and I would read more of her stories in the future.

✨ Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.

We love a debut author! 👏🏼👏🏼 Lauren Ling Brown crushed it. I give this a 3.5, rounded up!

As an older sister who loves their baby sister more than life and would protect her at all costs, this book hit all the way home. I lovveeee a changing POV and timeline. It kept the story moving forward at a great pace that kept me engaged and wanting more.

This is a classic whodunnit and let me tell you…when the twist comes I wanted to start the whole book over again to see how I missed it! You can’t go wrong with Society of Lies

This had a good plot, but I really struggled to get into it. Maybe it was the alternating narratives. We hear from Naomi in the recent past , her sister Maya from 10 years in the past and Maya in the present. All of them trying to figure out the mystery of a secret society. I felt like it had good writing and good plot, so I’m not sure what was missing!

I received an early copy through Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing!

A sister attempts to get to the bottom of her younger sister’s mysterious death, right before her college graduation. Readers are tossed into the world of Princeton, and the secret societies where the most powerful movers and shakers matriculate and then move on to run the world. I could not stop reading, as the book took us through the older sister’s past, that may have had something to do with her younger sister’s death, then jumping forward to the months and weeks right before the death, then moving into the time after this tragedy. Jumps in time like that can often be confusing, but the author weaves the story and pulls the reader through like a champ. Big recommend!

Secrets, lies, and murder haunt the Ivy League elite in Laura Ling Brown’s thrilling new novel “Society of Lies.” Spanning over a decade, Brown captivates with a twisting tale of two sisters caught up in the dark underbelly of privilege and power at Princeton University.

Brown alternates between Naomi and Maya’s present-day struggles and their isolated teen years on Princeton’s lonely margins. The dual narrative offers chilling parallels between the sisters as they become more enmeshed with covering up dark truths. Even as shocking revelations stack up, Brown manages to keep the killer’s identity artfully obscured until the final pages.

This multilayered thriller simmers with noir atmosphere then boils over with exhilarating plot twists. Brown’s characters shine with moral complexity that will keep readers guessing about motives and loyalties. With chilling suspense, emotional depth and pitch-perfect pacing this is a must-read for 2024!

Such a great read for their first book! Hooked me at the front and had me wanting to never put it down. I look forward to more from this author.

This is an incredible debut from the author. The dual timelines and POVs from Maya and Naomi really added depth to the story as they hurtled toward their endings.
I had my suspicions from the start as to who was behind everything. But it wavered off and on.
I admit I was really hoping that somehow Naomi wouldn't have really died. I just feel like with all they both went through, they deserved HEAs. They worked so hard and I think that was the most heartbreaking thing: Naomi is dead. Maya lost everything she worked so hard for eith that loss. I'm glad she got closure but it sucked.

You guys! This book was SO good! Even more impressive is that this is the author’s debut novel! Society of Lies is about sisters Maya and Naomi - both attendees of Princeton. Maya had already graduated and was back at the school to attend Naomi’s graduation when she receives a call that her sister was found dead. Told in dual POVs between past and present, we go on a deep dive into the corruption, lies and cover ups within the university and secret societies. I LOVE anything dark academia and this did NOT disappoint! I thought I had everything figured out a few times but when it came time for the reveal, I was shocked! Get your copy of Society of Lies when it comes out on August 13th!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for this amazing ARC in exchange for an honest review