This book was really not for me and a DNF at 38%,apologies but was not enjoying the story and found it more drama and no real thriller and was not keen on. any character in the book

I'd like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing an e-book copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This was a new author for me, and overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick lightweight read, but some of the plot lines were a bit disappointing and underdeveloped. More drama than thriller, for my reading tastes. I'd try another book by this author again, though.

She Lies Alone by Laura Wolfe is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read recently. The book opens up with a terrible murder of a high school English teacher, Elena Mayfield, who is well liked by many. The story is told by a few different POVs and the characters are all well developed and likable. That list of suspected grows as the story develops. The plot execution is excellent. Highly recommend!!

She Lies Alone opens with the discovery of the body of one of the main characters, Elena. The novel then moves back in time before the murder to reveal the stories of the other main characters, Jane and Amy. The story is told from their viewpoints. Jane is a chemistry teacher who plays by the rules and befriends Elena as she starts as an English teacher at the same school. They become friends quickly and Jane tries to help Elena stay out of trouble with school administration. Elena quickly falls for Nick, who Jane is already friends with, and they become a trio. The relationship is forbidden, but Elena is a rule breaker and Nick is smitten. Amy, a recent divorcee, has also started working at the school doing administrative tasks and struggling to provide for her kids after the divorce. She’s resentful of her ex and how everything seems to be coming up roses for him and she’s worried as I it appears her daughter, Phoebe, is struggling in her friendships and turning to a troubled dark horse teenage boy, Rowan. After the story catches up to the murder, everyone is a suspect and the story takes a couple of small twists.

I felt that this was a pretty lightweight story and some of the plot lines were underdeveloped and unresolved especially Phoebe’s story and Rowan’s history. It was an easy read and held my interest, but wasn’t as gripping as I would have liked. It’s a slow build, but less thriller, more drama.

A compelling thriller told through multiple points of view. This book delves into the drama at a prestigious school amongst teachers, administrations, parents and students. Drama that eventually leads to a murder where everyone is a suspect. I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I wasn't sure where it was leading and didn't guess who the killer was, which is a rarity for me. Will definitely be reading this author again!

News spreads fast. Gossip spreads faster. Deadly secrets spread fastest of all.

this was a fast paced book. with lots of twists and turns.
I loved the writing of this book. Very intense

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
.
This story centers around Ravenswood High School, which is run by a strictly by-the-book Principal. Mrs Mayfield has recently become the new English teacher. She is beautiful and kind of a boho, nonconformist that is constantly being admonished by the Department Head and the Principal.
Feelings toward Mrs Mayfield among the faculty and students are polarized.
.
Mrs Mayfield is found dead by a jogger one morning on the soccer field. Who killed her?
_______________________________________
.
This is more of a mystery/ drama than a thriller. If you go in with that expectation, I think you will like it more. It’s a pretty good story, I just think it’s a bit miscategorized.

She Lies Alone by Laura Wolfe is a compelling mystery that kept me turning the pages. This is the second novel that I have read from Ms Wolfe, and I can certainly confirm that she is one to watch.

Jane is a high school teacher who is desperate to adopt a baby with her husband, Craig. Life is good, if a little bit routine. All will change, however, when a new teacher arrives to shake things up at the school. Elena Mayfield is not one to follow the rules, and quickly becomes popular with both students and staff, including both Jane and a very smitten gym teacher. But when Elena's lifeless body is found following a school fundraising evening, it becomes clear that not everyone was as enamoured with the vivacious young teacher as it appeared. Who among the community may have had sinister intentions towards the popular Ms Mayfield?

This is a well-spun whodunit that kept me guessing until the very end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

It took me longer than usual to finish this book. The title of the book sounded interesting but after reading it it doesn't quite fit the story or what is expected. The story is set in a high school and follows a few teachers one of which is killed. Throughout the story you are guessing who the murderer is. The end was a little bit disappointing.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read She Lies Alone by Laura Wolfe. #SheLiesAlone #NetGalley

You are responsible for your own actions. That’s an indisputable fact, but sometimes other people can drive you insane and that’s when the bomb goes off. You see red and nothing can stop you with all that this implies…
There were a lot of suspects here, but no one really stood out. That made it rather complicated for me to put the blame on someone. There was not one person that I disliked so much that I would happily see them behind bars, but someone must have done it.
When all the masks fell off, I was utterly surprised by the outcome. Not once did that person’s name cross my mind. This shows the author’s skills of being able to fool her readers or me at least 😉.
People gossip. People come to conclusions they believe are the right ones. People are cruel. Nothing new there, right? But these are very good elements to use in a book and build a story around. 4 stars.

Thank you, Laura Wolfe and Bookouture

Oh wow this book has kept me awake far too late at night but has been completely and utterly worth it.
I have been completely captivated from the beginning. The author has kept me on the edge of my seat and made this a book which has been impossible to put down.
The author has really built up the tension and suspense in this one. I definitely haven't been disappointed.

The book begins with a jogger finding the remains of an English teacher in the school grounds in the prologue and then the reader is taken back to a few weeks before the incident and the story builds up from there. This works well as otherwise the reader is bound to lose interest while the actual incident takes place more than halfway through. Told in two alternate views of a colleague and a office assistant cum parent, where one woman is strong and stable, the other woman the opposite. The plot begins with a very good pace, but due to the paucity of characters slows down to a predictable conclusion. With some of the characters having mental health issues, the importance of counselling could have been stressed instead of brushing aside. The teenage phase of the students are well handled. 3.5 stars

4+

A jogger finds the body of a woman on the soccer field of Ravenswood High School. It proves to be that of English teacher Elena Mayfield. The storyline tracks back to seven weeks before the murder and is narrated by fellow teacher and friend Jane Bryson and Amy, a part time worker in the school office and mother to Phoebe, a student at the school. This works really well.

I really enjoyed this well written novel that makes for a good autumnal/Halloween read which features in the book. The characters are excellent, all are easy to visualise especially Elena who is a breath of challenging fresh air in a tightly controlled, stifling school environment. Jane and Elena make for an excellent contrast as Elena pushes boundaries and disregards lines whereas Jane nearly colours within them. The students are well portrayed too, especially Goths Phoebe and Rowan and I like their individuality and growing friendship. This becomes a very absorbing read with the mounting fallout from Elena's actions. There are several themes in the novel which makes it doubly interesting. The small town eyes everywhere with judgement awarded is well depicted especially towards Amy following a messy divorce. It captures school politics extremely well and I can well imagine the pursed lips and frowns of the uptight office manager. Teenage rebellion and the meanness of cliques, whose an insider and whose outside looking on, whose conforming and whose not in the students and the adults adds another interesting element.

The pace is good, although there’s a bit of a dip in the middle then it picks up again with growing suspicions and some strange, slightly creepy events and occurrences. The outcome is no huge surprise but that does not detract from the enjoyment in any way.

Overall, this is a good, well written psychological drama.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc in return for an honest review.

Wow! That was one suspenseful and thrilling read. I’m still at a loss words because She Lies Alone is one of the best psychological thrillers that I’ve read so far.

The story takes place at Ravenswood high school where english teacher, Elena Mayfield is found brutally stabbed on the soccer field. Flashback a few weeks earlier and the story unfolds from two points of view. One point of view coming from Jane Bryson, AP chemistry teacher, and the other point of view from Amy Granger, the school’s accounting clerk. There are a number of suspects, including two of Elena’s students.

With excellent plot execution and in depth character development, She Lies Alone garners five stars from me. A sensational read.

I received a digital ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

This review is concurrently being posted on my Goodreads account. Book blog review will post on 11/2/20 with a cross post to my Twitter account on the same date.

This is a story about teachers in a high school. It tells about the teacher's lives outside of school. It's also about the students, they're lives in and out of school. It's about friendships, love, betrayal and schoo and office politics. Mainly it's about what type of people we encounter and live by each and every day.
Great read!

<I>3.75 stars!</I>

Okay, so the premise of this book gripped me initially and the beginning of the book felt like a whirlwind. I thought the writing was great. Laura clearly has a knack for story telling and this book is eerie enough that it’s perfect for this time of year.

<b>What did I like?</b>
- I thought Jane was an interesting character. I liked reading from her perspective and I saw her choices and decisions reflect her personality well. However, Amy’s point of view made the entire book loose its compelling grip. I felt it was obvious what the ending entailed by the way the book swapped points of view and I felt like if you wanted more mystery, one perspective or several more would have worked more.
- I think the build up was good. I usually find some thriller books lack the pacing until about 50% in but this book had enough that kept the pages turning.
- I liked the ending despite calling it early and I think the epilogue worked. I did want to see more of the aftermath though.

Overall, a decent thriller that will capture your interest. It’s an interesting, easy read.
<I>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

I enjoyed reading this book. It was well written and a quick read. I was loving it until I got to the end. It was still good but I, personally, didn't like who was responsible. I plan on reading more of Laura Wolfe's books though because it did keep me entertained and was so well written!

While this wasn’t a “totally gripping psychological suspense novel I wasn’t able to put down,” to quote the ad text, it was an excellent mystery about small town life, gossip, and conformity.

Teachers Elena and Jane become fast friends when Elena comes to teach at the exclusive Ravenswood school. Jane is a rule follower while Elena is not. She doesn’t get that you have to ask permission for things like forming new clubs, and counseling students out of school. Plus, there’s the relationship she’s started with another teacher, Nick, that is strictly verboten in the school.

Jane tries valiantly to warn Elena about stretching all these rules, but the young woman is immune to the advice.

The secondary story in this tale is about divorce in a small town, division of the friends in that divorce, and what happens when your life suddenly does a 180 and you’re unable to cope.

These two storyline converge and Elena winds up dead after a major school fundraiser. The police are stymied and Jane takes it upon herself to find out who killed her friend.

There were some really excellent parts of this mystery/book and while I figured out whodunit almost as soon as the deed was done, the book was still a very satisfying glimpse into small town life and small minded people.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookature for a sneak peak. 5 stars from me for a good read.

Two teachers, an exclusive boarding school, a secret society. All the elements for an enclosing psychological thriller that will literally leave you spellbound. I highly recommend this book

Wow this book was great!! You will never guess the ending in this story and you will not want to put it down until you get there! Such a great book!