Read if you like:
🏫 Ivy League Settings
💰 Elite Behaving Badly
🖤 BIPOC /Mixed Race MCs
⏳ Dual Timelines
👯‍♀️ Sisters Dual POV
☠️ Two Murder Mysteries

Maya is the older sister who did it all first, and of course made mistakes while carving her path for herself and her sister. Now 10 years later her younger sister is also at Princeton and a member of the same elite eating club that Maya was part of when a girl died 10 years prior.

Now it is time for Naomi’s graduation celebration but when she turns up dead, questions surrounding her death start to come up, and how is it connected to the secret eating club that she was part of and that her sister was also a member of 10 years prior when another member died.

I loved getting the dual POV of the sisters during their time at Princeton and also Maya’s POV in present day when Naomi is found dead, and as she investigates her sister’s death.

The way both Maya’s past POV and Naomi’s POV leading up to her death worked so well together of sisters trying to find their place while also dealing with the complexity of dead parents, being bi-racial, and trying to find a place in the elite Princeton crowd while not losing themselves was so well done!

I truly enjoyed every second of this mystery as well as the social and political commentary and hints of the college scandals that have been in the news that were woven into this work of fiction so well!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love a dark academia book, and I really enjoyed this one. I actually ended up buying a copy at the airport, and it was the perfect page turner to accompany me on my trip. The back and forth between characters AND years takes a little getting used to, but that also just made me read more carefully and truly pay attention to the nuances.

I wasn’t a fan of this book. I felt like they was just way to much going on and it just did not keep me invested like I had hoped it would. I had high hopes for this book but it really just was a let down for me.

This was a pretty decent thriller! I think pacing was a major struggle here. The first quarter of the book, I was sucked in and ready to binge it. But after that, the pacing fell off for me. The voices in each timeline/POV are not incredibly distinct, making it slightly harder to follow. I do enjoy learning about things like secret societies, so that part was extremely interesting.

Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown was a fast pace story about lies, mysteries and murder in a secret society at Princeton. The story is in dual POV and dual timeline of past and present of older sister Maya, reflecting 10 years in the past on her time in the exclusive Sterling Club and Naomi, Maya's sister who followed in her footsteps to attend Princeton and John joining Sterling Club 10 years later but ends up dead. It was called an accident but Maya doesn't believe it.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

As someone who is pretty particular about the type of prose found in their books, I feel like I had a hard time getting into this story at first because the prose felt too straightforward and simple in a sense. I was interested in learning about the sprawling campus that was so central to the mystery and the author definitely delivered on showcasing Maya's time at Princeton. However, like some of the other reviewers have noted, I also found the jump between the two POVs a little bit confusing and also too similar. Sometimes parallels can be too parallel and I think this book would have benefited with more variation in between the two sisters. I think this book would be good for anyone looking to take their time with a mystery centered around 2 sisters!

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book!

Academia, eating clubs, and a murder yesterday? Sign me up. This is exactly the type of thriller that peaks my interest. This one left me largely satisfied - a creepy atmosphere and an ending that I didn’t see coming. I found this book fun with a little bit of societal note added to it. I really liked it, but thought it slightly dragged in a couple of places. This would make a great tv series. 4 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for review.

This book was just meh for me. I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading as I lost interest in all the unlikeable characters. It was fine at first, but I don't feel like any of them developed as a character. Maybe it was just to many characters as there were so many POV"s There was a lot of dialogue that felt forced and it just made it annoying.

This book was predictable and formulaic. I appreciate the storyline, but the characters had no depth.

I'm a bit at a loss about this book. I felt like it had a lot of potential, but it truly just fell flat. I wanted an unputdownable mystery with a murder, and got a lukewarm story about annoyingly privileged ivy league individuals who behave badly and get rewarded for it. The two point of views of Maya and Naomi were difficult to distinguish because they were so similar, both going to Princeton and being involved in an exclusive society full of less than stellar people. I felt the twists weren't that unpredictable, and the book has so much unnecessary commentary at times. Feel like there was at least 50 pages too many for the story. Nevertheless, I'm sure it is going to be popular with some audiences.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I am a big fan of dark academia books. Give me a mystery set on a college campus and I"m in. There were secret societies, murder and corruption. A little something for everyone. I never anticipated what was going to happen.

I found the eating clubs very interesting and did a lot of googling to learn more about these. I also enjoy a dual POV book however there were a few points where I felt we needed a bit more distinction between the voices of the sisters.

There is a lot of hype around this book, including being a Reese Bookclub pick, which is why I read it. Murder set at in a snooty academic setting (Princeton) is usually my jam. I like the first two parts of the book and could barely put it down, then it screeched to a slow pace after that. Lots of confusing timelines because the book goes back and forth between time and characters.

I was excited to receive an eARC of this as I've been hearing about it all over social media. The book has three time lines: current day, 10 years ago and several months leading up to current day. We have two narrators: Maya and her much younger sister Naomi. The sisters were orphaned when Naomi was quite young and Maya has spent years attempting to provide the life she feels Naomi should have. This has led to some questionable behavior in the past and of course, that leads to trouble in current day. The plot involves an eating club at Princeton in which Maya was a member in the past and Naomi is a member currently. I did not understand much of the characters' actions or motivations..(why did the scheme at the ski camp seem plausible to these highly educated people??) Made no sense to me. So I'm afraid I did not think this book lived up to the hype.

Started off interesting, but unfortunately I didn’t get immersed like I expected to. I didn’t get anything new or fresh from this story, though the writing was strong. Id try her again but with a different plot.

This was my first time reading a book by this author and I thought the story was really intriguing. I loved the way she moved between perspectives, and I especially liked Maya’s perspective. Honestly, I felt like her POV made the whole story. I wasn’t so fond of Naomi though. Her sections almost seemed repetitive sometimes. It could be because the story overall was a lot slower than I prefer, especially in the middle. Not that there’s an issue with slower stories, it’s just a personal preference. But I kept finding myself getting distracted during Naomi’s chapters. Overall though, I liked the story and would definitely read more from this author!

Huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Many thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc.


So I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a good pace with good characters.

Lies and deceit at an Ivy League secret society? Yes, please! If you have not yet read Lauren Ling Brown’s debut novel, do it NOW! This one was such a fun twisty ride! After a life of hardship, Maya is finally a Princeton graduate and is heading back to her college reunion. It’s been 10 years and her little sister is following in her footsteps as a Princeton Legacy with graduation just days away. The weekend quickly turns into Maya‘s worst nightmare as she discovers that her sister Naomi has been killed in an “accident”. This is not the first time a young girl has been found dead on campus. Maya cannot help but believe that the ultra prestigious and exclusive Sterling Club members might have something to do with it. Brown shakes up the timeline of the book by going back and telling the stories of both Maya and Naomi‘s experiences at Princeton, showing the reader their shared experiences and missteps along the way. This novel answers the question: How far would you really go to belong? Are wealth and power worth the price? The dark side of Princeton’s fictional dining clubs is revealed, showing the lengths its members will go to keep their secrets safe. Would you join? Thank you to @netgalley and @bantambooksuk for the E-Arc in exchange for my honest review. #laurenlingbrown #societyoflies #reesesbookclub #thrillerbooks #readerlife #suspensebooks #thrillerbookaddict #readmore

Dark academia and mystery that I enjoyed. Book started off with a bang...got a little slow in the middle...but then finished strong!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this book!

This is the first book I've read from the author - I feel so very fortunate I've had the opportunity to read such amazing "new-to-me" authors lately!

In Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown, Maya heads back to her old stomping grounds, Princeton, to celebrate her sister's, Naomi, graduation. While Maya is there, she also plans to meet up with some of her college friends she keeps in touch with but doesn't often get to see.

But her happiness turns into heartbreak when she learns Naomi has died. While the police call it a tragic accident, Maya is convinced there’s more to the story. As she starts to investigate what happened, she finds out Naomi had joined a secret society made up of those who have a lot of power and influence over its members; it's the same club Maya belonged to and is tied to some of her darkest and deepest secrets.

The book follows Maya as she uncovers shocking secrets about the club and her past while trying to keep her family safe from growing danger. What Maya doesn't realize is that the answers to her questions could be answered by someone in her close circle.

Again, this was an amazing read and I can't wait for more from the author! This is an absolute must-read if you haven't already done so!

First, let me say I love dark academia books and this one did not disappoint. Told from varying points of views between sisters in the months/weeks/days before the death. I knew nothing about eating clubs at Princeton, so this was interesting, so much so that I looked up more about Princeton eating clubs. I think the writer did a great job laying out the bread crumbs for multiple mysteries, one during Natalie's timeline and one during her sister's Maya's own college timeline. Good mysterious read.