Really enjoyed this book. Have always been fascinated with Skull and Bones secret society books and this one did not disappoint.
I never figured it out and then the last part really threw me for a loop.
I feel some parts were rushed and could have been described a little more for effect..for example...the train station. That's all I'll give.
Definitely give this book a go!!!

Media involving secret societies is a subgenre that is always going to be my jam - Pause for me to tell you how much I love The Skulls and Dying to Belong. ANYWAY. This was a new addition to this type of thriller, and it's one I did enjoy. This is a dual timeline of two sisters who both have involvement with the same secret society at Princeton. The younger of the two sisters is dead, so various timelines are explored to figure out what happened to her leading up to her death, and it also explores her older sister's experiences. There were some good twists with characters that were intriguing and kept me reading. As a matter of preference, I wanted a bit more about the organization to add even more twists and thrills, but a dark twisty read to keep you turning those pages for sure. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this August 2024 release!

What’s not to love here? Princeton setting, eating clubs, a unique cast of characters, mystery, and murder. Great fun and well written.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200704039

I was able to read and review this book thanks to NetGalley. Wow. What a read. I am an avid thriller and murder mystery reader. I am yet to read a book as thought provoking as this. The detail and thought put into this book are truly unparalleled. Coincidentally, I believe this was achieved through both a twisting plot and also brilliant writing on society. “My goal was to write an entertaining story that also encourages conversation around friendship, sisterhood, class, and multiracial identity.” Without a doubt I know this book will be a hit. The perfect combination of a plot in which I found myself questioning the realities of smaller details and diving deep into your subconscious on how people are treated. This book was absolutely thrilling and inquisitive. PS, I never got the murderer right in all my mental guesses.

This one got off to a slow start, but when it picked up MAN did it pick up. I’m a sucker for a good thriller , and can’t wait to add this to my physical collection

This is a little hard for me to rate. I did enjoy myself, but… I guess I found it to be just a little too long. I think it would have been a better story if 50-75 pages were cut out. The resolution took a very long time to get started, and I found myself a bit let down by the ending. The big reveal didn’t make sense to me, and their motivations didn’t ring entirely true. Now that I’m writing this out, maybe the ending bothered me more than I thought. It’s a little too neat, and I have some serious reservations about some of the other characters…but maybe that would make for a good sequel.

All this to say, I liked the main characters, and I cared about the whos and whys. You really feel for both sisters, as the timelines jump back and forth. There’s a fair amount of suspense here, and plenty of “footsteps behind me” scenes that will get your heart rate up. Before I read this, I knew next to nothing about Princeton, and now I know that an “eating club” is not a club where students have an internationally-themed potluck once a week. That was my first thought, haha! I was thinking, my goodness, they are SERIOUS about their food at Princeton!

Also, shout out to the author for keeping the romance non-explicit. We know characters are hooking up, but it ends quickly, and we’re moving on to the next scene—as it should be, in my opinion. We don’t need no stinkin’ sex scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and the author for an advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

3.75 stars, rounded up.

The mystery had me hooked from the beginning! I loved the dark academia vibes in this. Naomi and Maya are two sisters at a corrupt Ivy League school that draw you into a secret school society. There are important issues and discussions present in this book which I loved.

Society of Lies was a captivating murder mystery about the deaths of two young women involved in the secret Greystone Society at Princeton University. The story was told from the alternating points of view of two sisters, Maya and Naomi, and seamlessly navigates between three timelines!! I was hooked from the first chapter! The pacing was masterfully done where I always wanted to keep going to see what was going to happen next and I never felt bored while reading it. I loved the main characters, the campus drama, and all the twists and turns along the way! This was much deeper than your average thriller. The book explored various themes including sisterhood, privilege, and race. I would definitely recommend this book! Lauren Ling Brown did an amazing job with her debut novel, and can’t wait to see what she writes next!! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

The premise for this book was interesting and I liked the idea of focusing on Black characters, with compelling backstories, navigating a kind of place like Princeton. I wanted more from the book, in terms of really believing the character relationships. I struggled with really understanding how Cecily, Kai, and Maya remained friends all that time later. I also didn't see the group actually being friends with Lila, so their commitment to helping her didn't quite ring true for me. Naomi's story felt like the threads connected together a bit better.

While certainly there's many novels of this genre, none give us the plasure of exploring secret societies at elite institutions through the lens of these two sisters. Propelled with intrigue, this novel explores the odds POC and women have to overcome to have a seat at the metaphorical (and literal) table and the sacrifices women make to speak truth to power.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book was great and much more than just a psychological thriller. I enjoyed it a lot, but there were a couple things that kept it from 5 stars for me:
- The middle third or so of the book was somewhat slow.
- Multiple times I had to return to the title of the chapter to remember whose POV I was reading. I found it really confusing and difficult to differentiate the POVs (especially in the middle of the book).
That said, I think it was a fantastic debut! I would absolutely read more from Lauren Ling Brown.

I’m going to go slow with this review as I had to go slow with reading. This isn’t a book that will warrant a humorous response from me as it’s much too real.

The content of this book touches on social class, racism and inequality in gender.

The hidden secrets of an ivy school and the unsuspecting young minds that are preyed upon by those that should be trusted.

Maya, Naomi, two sisters who hold a bond so strong yet both of them unaware at how strong that bond really is . Naomi, feels abandoned, Maya, the one who would stop at nothing to have protected her sister . The lengths she went to will have you on your knees in sobs.

The secrets, the lies, the unburied truth no one wanted to expose…

Honestly, I’m at a loss of words. I didn’t expect this and it was a culture shock and an unsuspecting glance at privilege .

I’ve already reached out to many of my “bookish” friends to encourage them to purchase this book. This is a book that needs to be read by all no matter the preferred genre.

The amount of time and research that went into this book shines on each page . I was always a fan of Lauren Ling Brown, her grace is prominent every time I have engaged with her but to see her showcase her literary talent has me in awe .

Lauren Ling Brown, has entered the bookish circuit and if you haven’t heard or her just yet, you must . She’s not going anywhere, not if I can help it.

This book exceeds any star rating but it’s an obvious 5 star, plus.

Check out this teaser :

When a young woman is found dead on her college campus, her sister doesn't believe it was an accident—and her search for answers leads her closer to home than she ever would have imagined in this thrilling debut novel from an exciting new talent.

Maya can’t wait to return to Princeton for Reunions—it’s been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her college days. This year is even more special because her little sister, Naomi, is graduating.

But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya's worst nightmare when she gets a call no one ever wants—Naomi is dead. The police are saying it’s an accident, but Maya suspects there is more to the story than they are letting on.

As Maya pieces together the months leading up to her sister’s death, she starts to realize how much Naomi hid from her. Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus—the same one Maya belonged to—despite Maya’s warnings. And if she had to guess, she'd say Naomi was also tapped for the secret society within it.

The more Maya uncovers, the more terrified she becomes that Naomi's decision to follow in her footsteps might have been what got her killed. Because Maya's time at Princeton wasn't as wonderful as she always pretended it was—after all, her sister wasn't the first young woman to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past…and to the secrets she’s kept all these years.

I love a book set in academia, and as someone familiar with Princeton and its eating clubs, I ate this right up. The dual POV worked for me and I liked that we were learning about both sisters’ college experiences. I do wish the ending was a bit more fleshed out (how did they make sure Lila took the right shot at the ski weekend, for example?), but overall very enjoyable and I look forward to more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. The writing lacked depth and made it hard for me to connect to the story.
I did enjoy the characters and the storyline held so much potential.
Overall, I just felt like it didn’t really deliver for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy of Society Of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown. I love reading debut novels and this one had a great premise. I loved the idea of a creepy secret society on campus and how Naomi gets involved just like Maya did. This led to some overlapping characters in their POVs, which was sometimes confusing. In Parts One and Two, the multiple timelines were difficult to follow. There was a lot of backstory, but a lot of it didn’t make sense until later on in the book so it didn't really hold my interest. Parts Three and Four were more interesting, the action picked up, and I got really engaged in the story. I look forward to Brown’s next book. If you’re looking for a smart thriller, filled with lots of interesting characters, pick up this one! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

My review and playlist for this book has been posted on my GoodReads account.

What a gripping ride this story was....

Brief Summary-
Maya is supposed to be celebrating her little sister Naomi’s graduation from Princeton the same college she attended 10 year prior. But instead, Maya ends up investigating her sister death. As Maya keeps digging for the truth she realizes the secret society she was involved in when attending college might be the key to finding out who killed Naomi. This is a dark academia story with the rich acting unhinged. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Maya and Naomi, the reader is given two different time periods with each POV leading up to the murder.

My Thoughts-
This book had a very intriguing plot. The characters were very well liked. The author does a great job with weaving in the dark campus vibe and the suspense to this story. The writing in this book was very detailed and vivid. I felt like I was standing on the room with each character. I love how this book touched on privilege and race and how it applies an elite school like Princeton. Money and power is everything, am I right?

I do have to complain about the pace. It was very slow. I think the reason I felt this way is because given the dual POV (which I love in books) it was very confusing, because of the repetition of characters and settings. I had to stop reading to go back to the beginning of the chapter just to confirm who perspective it was. The POV were just way too similar to each other. There was a lot of miscommunication in this story between the sisters. 😭 Which I did not like. But overall, it was a fun ride. The story kept you guessing the whole time. I kept thinking I figured it out but in reality I kept coming up wrong.

🗣️I do recommend this book. This is my first book by the author and I can’t wait to check out her future work.

✨Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and Random House Publishing/ Ballantine/ Bantam for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review✨

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this advance copy for review.

Maya should be celebrating her sister Naomi's graduation from Princeton, but instead, she is grieving her tragic death. Maya suspects foul play, possibly tied to a secret society and a prior mysterious death. As the story unfolds from the alternating perspectives of Maya and Naomi, clues from the past and present shed light on the events leading up to Naomi's demise. While some plot elements may be anticipated, the story is fast-paced and engaging, with Maya and Naomi serving as compelling protagonists. "Society of Lies" is a solid choice for mystery fans and would make for a great book group selection.

#SocietyOfLies #NetGalley
Typical psychological thriller.
Maya can’t wait to return to Princeton for Reunions—it’s been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her college days. This year is even more special because her little sister, Naomi, is graduating. But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya's worst nightmare when she gets a call no one ever wants—Naomi is dead. The police are saying it’s an accident, but Maya suspects there is more to the story than they are letting on. As Maya pieces together the months leading up to her sister’s death, she starts to realize how much Naomi hid from her. Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus—the same one Maya belonged to—despite Maya’s warnings. And if she had to guess, she'd say Naomi was also tapped for the secret society within it. The more Maya uncovers, the more terrified she becomes that Naomi's decision to follow in her footsteps might have been what got her killed. Because Maya's time at Princeton wasn't as wonderful as she always pretended it was—after all, her sister wasn't the first young woman to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past…and to the secrets she’s kept all these years
It was a lovely book. Order your copy today.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for giving me an advance copy.

I couldn't put the book down! I love campus dramas and this was layers of secret societies and mystery. I would definitely read more in the same genre by this author.

I was so excited to have been given an ARC of Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown! From the moment I read the synopsis, I was intrigued and excited to read the book. I absolutely loved the concept and I enjoyed the writing of the book and thought it was very well done! I'm looking forward to recommending this novel once it is released.

Thank you so much to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Society of Lies!