She lies Alone is set against a Highschool backdrop. Told in the voices of Jane Bryson, the Chemistry teacher and Amy, the part time school accountant and mother of a high schooler.
The story begins with the discovery of the body of
Elena Mayfield, stabbed, in the soccer field one morning.
Elena is an English teacher, who has bent almost all rules of the school and loves to make learning fun for her students. Her behaviour and lifestyle have upset quite a few people at the school, which makes for a wider suspect list. Meanwhile a serial killer too is active in the area and its upto the police to find out if this is a part of the serial killings or if someone who holds a grudge against Elena has killed her.

Nicely written and well wound up plot line.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC

Laura Wolfe has written a cracking psychological thriller heavily dosed with mystery, set at a prestigious High School - Ravenswood. A jogger discovers the deceased body of newly employed and very popular English teacher Elena Mayfield on the soccer field. Jane Bryson, a long-serving science teacher at the same school was delighted when Elena joined Ravenswood High as she had a friend who had been ready to challenge authority. Jane had always given Elena her support and kept Elena's affair with another colleague a secret from the gossips and blabbermouths, however, someone had disliked Elena enough to kill her.

Told from the perspectives of Jane and Amy Granger, the school accounts clerk, the story unravelled at a speedy pace and there were several suspects. With troubles developing, and personality clashes emerging, the stifling school environment was a great backdrop for the growing tension and undercurrents amongst the staff and students. The characters were well portrayed by Laura Wolfe once I had them all straight in my mind, and most were likeable. Jane and Elena's contrasting personalities provided added dimension and I enjoyed the Halloween theme and autumnal touches. Twisting and suspenseful, She Lies Alone was a thoroughly entertaining and mesmerising mystery that I'm certain most psychological thriller aficionados will enjoy.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

She Lies Alone is a good story about lies, family conflict, friendship and trust. Elena is a mystery character. She is full of surprise and secrets. I’m not sure what is she hiding for, but I think, that is how we as a newcomer start our life in somewhere new and be careful in meeting new people.

While Jane is a character that moves the story. She a bit friendly and want to make friend with Elena. I am not really like Jane’s but end up I love how she values her friendship between her, Elena and Liam. She also the one who helps Elena solving the problem that occurs.

This story makes me want to know more about the reason for the murder, why it happens and who did it? A slow pace of reading and bit drag until Elena had been murder. I keep read even though until 3 am.

What I love about this book is each chapter comes in point of view (POV) for each character. From there, I was a reader can know what is their perception, what they are thinking and what they are planning. Especially I can get the knowledge of the character itself.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this ebook in return with an honest review. This book will be available on 9 November 2020.

#SheLiesAlone #NetGalley

With a gripping start of a jogger coming across English teacher Elena’s body on the soccer field, we are then taken back seven weeks previously.

Dual narrated by fellow teacher Jane and Amy who works in the office of the school, which her daughter Phoebe attends.

Jane was Elena’s most supportive friend, even keeping her secrets. Although she quickly became popular not everyone liked Elena’s free spirited nature and the trouble she has stirred up.

This book played out like a movie as I read and I’ve not had that happen in a while. The characters are brought to life and full of personality, especially Phoebe and Rowan. Phoebe I pictured as Fairuza Balk from The Craft.

A great whodunnit murder mystery within the setting of a school and small town community. This would also make a really good book club choice as there are plenty of themes to evoke discussion.

This book shows the cliques and politics of both teachers and students, how gossip is deadly and judgement is easy to pass.

First, I want to thank Laura Wolfe, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may provide you with this review.

She Lies Alone by Laura Wolf read like a Lifetime Movie playing in your mind! Laura brings out the high school drama not only with the students but teachers too. It is an intense, fast paced, suspenseful, incredible read that hits on some important topics.

Right off the bat Laura brings you right into the fast paced story line. The scene is written very descriptively where we learn of the ELA Teachers death. However, it is a mystery throughout the whole book when, why, and how she dies. The reasons will totally shock you as I didn’t even see it coming.

There are sensitive topics that She Lies Alone touches on such as Teen Depression. Laura has been affected with this mental illness personally as well as her family members. By Laura writing about it I hope this brings awareness to the topic.

Throughout this book I found so many hidden messages that I loved. One was that the ELA Teacher Elana looked past Rowan’s rough image and background. She took the time let him express himself through poetry.

International adoption was another important topic that was brought up. That storyline tugged on my heart. The way Laura described those cute adorable babies my heart melted!

Many I feel will be able to relate to Phoebe’s story in one way or another. It was one of my favorite storylines. Laura did an incredible job pulling out all of her emotions in this storyline.

This enthralling thriller opens with the discovery of the dead body of Elena Mayfield on the soccer field of Ravenswood High School where she taught English. Then the story slips back seven weeks in time and we follow the events leading up to her death as seen through the eyes of science teacher Jane and Amy who worked at the school as a part time accountant and whose daughter Phoebe was in pupil at the school and was in both Jane and Elena's classes. Although none of the chapters were voiced from Phoebe's perspective, her storyline was pivotal to the plot as we witnessed her struggle with her identity and fight back against her mother's control. I thought that Phoebe was a fantastic character and I felt that the author's portrayals of her conflicting emotions and rebellion were very realistic and believable. Being a teenager isn't easy,what with raging hormones, exams and having to make decisions that could possibly affect you for the rest of your life and poor Phoebe's life wasn't made any easier by things that were happening in her private life. I really liked Phoebe and her fellow misfit friend Rowan but was I right in liking them or were the two rebels capable of murdering the one teacher who was willing to give them a chance and see past the judgements and prejudices of others including Phoebe's mother?


I had mixed feelings about Jane although I did admire her determination to uncover who had murdered Elena but was that just a clever ploy by the author to distract the reader from the fact that Jane was actually the killer? As for Amy, she seriously got on my nerves and I could fully empathise with Phoebe and completely understood her actions and behaviour. I know that I was supposed to feel sympathy for Amy once she started receiving the mysterious notes in her mailbox but although I was intrigued to discover who was sending them, the situation didn't alter how I felt about her character. I loved free spirited Elana with her bright clothes and rebellious attitude, she was the type of teacher that everyone wishes to have at school. But in this story of identity and judgement, someone had decided that she deserved to die. Who out of the multitude of suspects had murdered her and what was their motive? Had she fallen victim to the mysterious Silver Slasher or was her killer someone who was hiding in plain sight?

This is a intricately plotted,well written mystery that draws the reader in and keeps you guessing as the drama, trials and tribulations of the realistic characters unfolded before your captivated eyes. I really enjoyed this enthralling story and would happily read more of this talented author's books in the future.

Unputdownable. Addictive. A triumph. Wow this book was something else! One of my favourite books of the year! I loved it, loved it, loved it. So very glad I discovered this author. Just amazing. Please read this book.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The prologue sets the scene with the discovery of a body on the high school football field. From there, it sets up all the characters, and leads up to the murder. This takes 62% of the book. The book is told from two perspectives, Jane, the AP Chemistry teacher, and Amy the mother of one of Jane's students, who is a part-timer in the school office as an accountant. I felt like this book was a bit slow. It didn't hold my attention and wasn't one that I couldn't put down. That being said, I didn't predict the murderer, and I didn't hate it. Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Laura Wolfe for giving me this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of She Lies Alone by Laura Wolfe. While I did like this mystery I was a bit disappointed that it was not the thriller it was supposed to be. In fact, I felt that it was kinda a bait and switch until I well past 50 percent of the way through the book.

Jane Bryson obeys the rules as the science teacher at Ravenswood High School, When new English teacher Elena Mayfield joins Ravenswood, Jane’s excited to have a friend who is ready to challenge authority, and shakes things up. Elena starts a romance with a colleague, meets a student after class, all forbidden, Jane is tries to help her, but in the end warns her friend she better back off. The morning after the annual fundraiser, Elena’s body is found crumpled on the soccer field. Who killed Elena? The ex-boyfriend, the new one, a student, or a parent? This story was told from two points from Jane's and Amy's, and my confusion was the murder didnt take place until over half way through the book. To me this was more about Amy, and Jane, then Elena. Considering how long Elena was in the book, I would have liked to know more about her.

It is difficult to classify this book. The cover says that it is a psychological suspense novel, but there’s also mystery involved. Frankly, I didn’t get much of a “typical” psych suspense from it…more straight-up suspense. But maybe that’s just me.
The book starts with a jogger finding a body on a high school soccer field. The plot then skips back to the weeks prior to the discovery. Most of the book relates the events leading up to the tragic death.
Told through alternating points of view, the story unfolds from the eyes of a teacher, Jane, and a parent, Amy. We get very different perspectives from each of them, but put together, the full picture emerges.
An interesting note: as I read, I was sure that there were other narrators. But in writing this review, I went back to verify, and every other chapter was either Jane or Amy. There were a few exceptions where one or the other had a couple of chapters in a row.
I think it’s a sign of good writing that an author can use two characters to paint such a complete picture that it seems like there are more people telling the story. I didn’t realize that until going back and checking, so very well done there.
I was able to relate to this book because I am a former high school teacher. Both the characters (administration, teachers, parents, students) and the setting were familiar. I recognized people I have worked with, especially among the teachers.
The attitudes were also familiar: the admin who only cares about test scores, the secretary who thinks she controls everything, the differing approaches of teachers…I’ve experienced them all.
I will say that Jane annoyed the heck out of me, and I spent most of the book rooting against her. Maybe it was due to personal experience with teachers like her or maybe she was just unlikeable. But her attitude, assumptions, and barbed comments and thoughts got on my nerves.
I had a difficult time discerning whether she was written that way on purpose to counteract Elena’s more positive approach, or to highlight the differences between an English teacher and a Chemistry teacher, or just to be the vessel that the revelations of the events come through.
Regardless, she did have the longest journey and it seemed by the end that she had seen the error of her approach and was determined to do better in memory of her friend.
I don’t want to say much else, because there were a few surprises along the way. I did guess a few of them (I figured out early on who was leaving the envelopes in Amy’s mailbox). I liked how the end wrapped up the earlier premise that teenagers go through phases – not saying more than that, but it was subtle yet effective.
Less successful, however, was the reveal as to “whodunit.” In hindsight, I see how it was all plotted, but the connections seemed tenuous. I’m not sure it was altogether “believable,” especially in light of the character’s other actions.
Likewise, there was a subplot that seemed to be used solely as a manipulation. I kept expecting a shoe to drop on that case (would have been an even more interesting twist), but it essentially went nowhere.
That being said, it was still an interesting story and there was enough to keep me interested that I read it mostly in one sitting. You won’t be disappointed with this one.

Elena Mayfield is the kind of teacher all students want to have. She’s enthusiastic, innovative, creative and gorgeous. She’s also dead, as we learn in the prologue.

She Lies Alone is a well written, clever mystery set in a small town high school. Narrated by Jane Bryson, Ravenswood High chemistry teacher, and Amy Granger, a single parent who works in the school office, the story begins seven weeks before the murder. Elena is new to the school and her rule-breaking style delights her students and frustrates the administration. Although their styles are very different, she and Jane become friends. And Elena quickly begins a relationship with social studies teacher Nick Bell.

Amy Granger is still bitter after her divorce. Her husband left her for another woman and she and her children are still adjusting. Her teenage daughter Phoebe has been rocked by changes. She’s had a falling out with her friends, quit sports and, after Jane pairs her with a troubled boy during a science experiment, changes her appearance. Amy is dismayed when Phoebe and Rowan become inseparable.

This fast paced plot moves quickly to the annual Geeks and Goblins fundraiser. Elena will be found dead the next morning. The evening brims over with suspicious behavior leading to a shocking conclusion. She Lies Alone is a compelling thriller. The school setting, with its office politics and student drama, is almost a character itself. The personal lives of all the characters, especially Jane, give them dimension. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Laura Wolfe for this ARC.

This is a great murder mystery told from two perspectives - Jane, the science teacher and Amy, who works in the school office.
The book begins with Elena’s body being found by a jogger and then we go back to discover the events leading up to the murder.
Elena is a new teacher at the school and soon becomes friends with Jane. She also starts a relationship with fellow teacher, Nick.
They all get roped in to helping at the Halloween party along with Amy.
Phoebe, Amy’s daughter is also quite integral to the overall story as she’s not having a great time with friends at the moment.
This is a different murder mystery set in a school and it really showed the entangled relationships between all the characters.
This is a great read.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

She Lies Alone by Laura Wolfe is a great thriller with a high school setting.

Elena is found murdered in the high school soccer field the morning after the big school fundraiser. She is a new English teacher at Ravenswood this year. Elena doesn’t follow rules. She lives by the theory it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. This doesn’t always work out for her. Elena starts a poetry club without getting it approved by the principal. She starts a relationship with another teacher, Nick. Nick is known for dating women for a short time.

Elena quickly becomes friends with Jane. Jane is a chemistry teacher in the classroom next to Elena’s. Jane always follows the rules and never does anything questionable or against the rules. Jane is always trying to keep Elena from getting in trouble and encouraging her to follow the rules.

She Lies Alone caught my attention from the first page. The book starts out with Elena’s body being discovered and then goes back seven weeks to explain leading up to the murder. She Lies Alone is told from the perspective of Elena and Amy.

Amy is a new office employee. She starts the job to make money after getting divorced. Amy’s daughter, Phoebe is having a difficult time with the divorce. Phoebe quits the tennis team and stops hanging out with all of her friends. Amy wants Phoebe to go back to her old friends and the way she used to be. Amy finds threatening notes in the mailbox and is convinced they are from Phoebe’s old friends. I never understood why Amy would want Phoebe to be friends with girls threatening her. Amy tries to catch the girls leaving the notes. Will Amy figure out who is actually leaving the notes? Is someone threatening Phoebe? What secret is Phoebe trying to hide?

I found it very interesting how the book was told from Jane and Amy’s perspectives. The reader gets to learn about Elena from the people around her. Jane is her closest friend, but Amy she rarely interacts with. Phoebe spends more time with Elena especially during poetry club.

I enjoyed the fact that Phoebe was such an important part of the story. Phoebe is dealing with typically high school problems like losing friendships, trying to figure out who she is and her parents’ divorce. How Phoebe handles situations is interesting. She is emotional but always trying to hide her emotions and keep things from everyone including her mom.

Elena has upset a lot of people including the principal, her boss, and students. Everyone always suspects the boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. Who killed Elena?

I loved the formatting of She Lies Alone. The reader finds out Elena was murdered and then gets to learn about her while trying to figure out what caused her to be murdered.

I recommend She Lies Alone to thriller fans.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for She Lies Alone.

When free-spirited new English teacher Elena Mayfield joins Ravenswood High School, she begins to challenge authority and starts shaking things up.

Jane Bryson, a long-standing science teacher, likes to live a simple and avoid any problems. But she is glad to have a new friend. Though she doesn’t necessarily agree with Elena’s techniques and methods, Jane backs Elena all the way.

When a jogger finds Elena’s crumpled body on the soccer field, the morning after the annual fundraiser. It soon becomes clear that not everyone was fond of Elena.

This was a suspense filled read. It was well written and the plot flows quite smoothly, making it an easy read. The list of suspects was so long because of all the gossip, secrets and lies.

There was constant drama going on. The issues of teenage rebellion and school politics are well covered. I felt that that the characters were all good and unique, especially Phoebe and Rowan, each of their stories added an extra bit of thrill to the plot.

I enjoyed the epilogue. I felt it was an excellent way to end the book.

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

She Lies Alone is a fast-paced and twisty psychological thriller with a hefty dollop of mystery, set at prestigious Ravenswood High School under the strict care of a battleaxe Principal. It begins with a bang when the deceased body of recently employed English teacher Elena Mayfield, a teacher popular with students, is discovered by a passing jogger on the soccer field; she has been stabbed to death in a frenzied and brutal manner leaving the whole school rocked to their core. We are then taken back almost two months to the events leading up to that day via flashbacks. Narrated by chemistry teacher Jane Bryson and Amy Granger, the school accounting clerk, the story unravels and there are several suspects. Jane and Elena had become firm friends since Elena joined the school’s teaching team but the two women didn't agree on how you should behave. Jane is a stickler for rules and regulations and is quite the sycophant, whereas Elena was a free spirit and nonconforming. Despite Jane warning Elena to follow the rules it seemed to go in one ear and out the other and she has already been in trouble with the school administration on multiple occasions.

She is frequently being reprimanded by the Principal and Head of the Department for creating clubs and counselling students without asking permission. But who hated her enough to want her dead? This is an addictive, intense and compulsive read and right from the prologue I was pulled into, and engaged by, the drama going on at the school. It's a story full of gossip, secrets, lies, betrayal and drama and if you think that students get up to no good then wait until you see the adults who are supposed to be setting a good example. The dual perspective worked extremely well creating a fully rounded story and the atmosphere is quite sinister with a lot of shady things going on beneath the surface and with hidden, bubbling resentments and jealousy seemingly everywhere between both students and staff. The writing flows superbly making it easy to fly through the pages and the entertaining and exciting plot is complex but well thought out. It's unpredictable in places and pacy with a cast of nicely developed characters who are not to be trusted. Fans of women's fiction and thrillers light in gruesome slayings will thoroughly enjoy this. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Wow. <b>She Lies Alone</b> is captivating.

I quite honestly felt like I was hooked from the first few lines. It did take me significantly longer to finish reading this novel than I would have hoped, given how interested I was in the story line. Alas, personal issues arose and my mind couldn't keep up with everything.

This novel, right off the bat, gave me the impression of something sinister and tragic was occurring... but as the story line built around all of these well-written and developed characters, I somehow forgot it was supposed to be a psychological thriller... and I was thinking to myself, what a wholesome novel, full of characters navigating life.

And then BAM!, we are confronted with the murder that was outlined at the beginning of the novel that we have just been working through the back story to get to. I had no idea who the killer could have been, because there were quite honestly, many suspects.

I feel like the mystery of who did it was drawn out perfectly and the story tied itself off efficiently. I liked how the beginning of the novel tied in cleanly to the end of the novel and gave the impression of closure for many of the characters.

I think that this has been a very satisfying and gripping read and I would definitely be open to reading more of this author's work in the future!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review!</i>

This is a well-crafted and captivating murder mystery. It is a slow burner but it kept me interested and entertained.

Jane is a teacher at a high school. She plays by the rules and is a quite normal teacher. Elena is young and pretty and does not care so much about rules. She is the new English teacher and the pupils love her way of teaching. But she is in conflict with the schools authorities and she is involved with another teacher who is quite a womanizer. Then one day she turns up dead. What happened to lovely Elena?

This story is well told and quite complex. There are quite a few characters and they are all very well crafted with all their flaws. The writing style has a flow to it that just keeps you entertained. I enjoyed this book very much. Just go into it blind and you won’t regret it.

‘She Lies Alone’ is a fantastic murder mystery told from the perspectives of Jane, the science teacher and Amy, the school accountant and I loved it. Not only was it an intriguing and a well constructed mystery, it had me guessing until the end. The two POV’s were brilliantly written. I’ll confess to even trying to work it out while doing mundane tasks like cleaning the house. It had my brain ticking away.

I loved Jane’s character and in fact, I found her really refreshing. She’s the one who obeys the rules and is passionate about chemistry but her life is missing something. She was so well rounded and intelligent. Then there’s Amy, a woman in her forties who’s coming out of the other end of a painful divorce while trying to raise a rebellious teenager. Again, her character was so relatable. Her daughter Phoebe also plays an integral part in everything and then there’s the sinister happenings - which I won’t talk about here. No spoilers - haha.

The setting was the icing on the cake. A lot of the scenes are based in the high school classroom, staff room and the the ‘Geeks and Goblins’ event. Loved the school setting and the entangled relationships between all the characters. It made for an exciting and unpredictable read and a fast moving one at that.

I’d recommend this book to psychological thriller lovers and those that enjoy a good helping of drama. This promises both and delivers too. A fantastic read with a big whopping reveal that will have you saying - OMG!

This book was good, not great. A bit above average for me. Also, the ending was super confusing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.



3.5/5

This book is just an okay read for me. The beginning (prologue) was done well but the story keeps dragging until the murder happened. It was too long and it makes me feel a little bored until the murder occurred—my pace of reading increase after that until the end.

I liked Jane. For me, she’s the one more reasonable person in this book. I want to know more about Rowan’s history but didn’t get it. The ending just nice.

Overall, this one is not the best thriller I have read. More drama than a thriller. If the fast-paced storyline right after the epilogue, it would be nicer.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me ARC in exchange for an honest review.