4.25⭐

Featuring ~ single 1st person POV, childhood trauma, secrets, suicide references

Secrets run deep with childhood friends Naomi, Cassidy and Olivia and they're still haunted 22 years later.
There were some nice twists I didn't see coming ~ whoop whoop! This was a solid suspenseful thriller with a shocking conclusion and this author is on my radar now. From what I gather this is her debut in adult fiction as she normally writes YA, so job well done.

BTW ~ I liked that Naomi never wanted to cover up her facial scars.

I was fortunate enough to receive a kindle copy and the audiobook to review. Either way was great.
Narrated by Karissa Vacker for 11 hours 16 minutes and 40 seconds, easy to follow at 2-2.5x. She's a well seasoned narrator and did a fantastic job.

I tend to steer clear of most thrillers these days because they are the same, tired white cishet formula that I'm no longer interested in. These reservations were set aside when I saw that Kate Alice Marshall was releasing her adult debut because I absolutely love her YA books, and y'all, this book was an absolute treat!

Our MC Naomi is truly a bisexual disaster. She uses sex and messy relationships to bury the horrific childhood trauma that she has experienced. Naomi always had Cassidy and Olivia because they were the best friends that were also there on that horrific night. But these three also have another secret, which Olivia decides that it’s finally time to reveal after more than 20 years.

First off, if you can do the audiobook, do it because Karissa Vacker is incredible!

If y’all are looking for an entertaining thriller that will keep you guessing til the very end then this is it. This book is messy, unpredictable, and one heck of a roller coaster. Be aware that this book is not light nor fluffy. There’s mental health struggles, struggles with sexuality, as well as some murders that will keep you guessing.

I can’t recommend this one enough, and I can’t wait for Marshall’s next book!

4.25 stars

Wow, what an enjoyable thriller. It was very twisty and held my interest throughout. The plot was well thought out, if not a bit unbelievable. I thought the MC was interesting and I found her behavior understandable considering the circumstances. The writing was also solid. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

A disturbing, twisty read. While one of the twists is easy to predict, the others I did not see coming. Well written and suspenseful with characters that are not easy to like. I’ll be looking for more from Ms. Marshall.

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. **

Something wicked this way comes. Living a fantasy—demons and dragons; a prince who rushes in to save the day. Make-believe is a little too real. These are the words that live inside the heart and soul of three eleven-year-old girls. They called it the Goddess Game, Naomi, Cass, and Liv. Can you imagine playing out in the woods where your imagination can soar and while playing one of the most heinous crimes takes place and forever changes the lives of those three young girls one summer day? When the Goddess Game was over, Naomi came out of those woods, barely, with her life. Someone had viciously attacked her, leaving her face riddled with scars that she would carry for the rest of her life.

Cass and Liv had to become Naomi’s memories for that day. When she came to in the hospital, she didn’t recall anything much other than the pain of the knife searing through her face and body. Naomi depended on her best friends to fill in the gaps that were extremely blurry in her mind’s eye. Cass, Liv, and Naomi advised their hometown that a serial killer was Naomi’s attacker, Alan Stahl. They saw him viciously attack Naomi that awful summer day. Stahl was accused of the crime and sent away to prison, where he lived the rest of his days until his final breath.


The three best friends decided to meet up to celebrate, of sorts, Stahl’s death. The nightmare he imposed upon these friends’ lives were finally over—or was it? Naomi goes home to visit her father, a man she hadn’t seen in quite some time. Her personal mail had been collected there and he gladly gave to its rightful owner. Naomi begins thumbing through the junk mail until she comes across a letter that was handwritten personally to her. She opens it and finds that someone knows what really happened all those years ago in the woods. Someone knows that the man she and her friends accused of attacking her, was all a lie. But how could anyone besides the three of them know this? And that, readers, is where this story takes you down a path of lies and twists and turns.

What an incredible story. I couldn’t get enough of these characters’ lives. It’s a story you will want to invest your time in. My one issue with this story was the length of it. I’m not a fan of overkill or long stories that clearly could have ended many chapters ago—unfortunately, this story was one of those, but again, I loved it, but wished it weren’t so long.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When Naomi was eleven years old she was stabbed seventeen times by a serial killer. Her two best friends, Cass and Liv, were both with her and swore that they saw the man who did it. He was sent to prison.

Now, over 20 years later, Naomi is back in her hometown. The man she and her friends sent to prison has died and the friends meet up.

Soon after their meeting, Liv is found dead. Supposedly by suicide, but was it murder? Why? What exactly happened in the woods all those years ago?

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It was dark and twisty and I was hooked from the beginning. Naomi doesn’t have her life all together and doesn’t hide her physical scars from that night to anyone. There weren’t too many slow points in this book (for me. I’ve read other reviews who have felt the opposite.) I guessed s couple of things that happened or were revealed, but not the final ending. I will definitely read more from this author.

Naomi Shaw was viciously attacked with a knife as a little girl in the woods she loved to play in with her friends. Now in her 30s, she receives a call that the serial killer convicted of attacking her is dead. The call forces her to reconnect with her two best childhood friends, Liv and Cass, who witnessed her attack those many years ago and vowed to always be there for each other afterwards. Once together in their hometown again, doubts and secrets begin to bubble to the surface and Naomi can’t ignore them anymore. She is placed in the very dangerous position of getting to the bottom of what truly happened back then, why, and along the journey, realizes multiple people have been lying to her for many years. Not everything is what it seems. To get to the truth, some sacrifices must be made.

Okay so this review took me a little bit of time to think about and write, even though I read this book earlier this month.

My thoughts were difficult to formulate because I really wanted to love this book. I heard fantastic things about it prior to beginning and even had ordered my BOTM version prior to starting the uncorrected proof. It was fine, but it just fell flat for me in some ways and felt like it dragged. There was also a lot of typos (which I am sure were likely fixed prior to publication).

It was long. Or at least it *felt* incredibly long, this I believe is due to 1) the way the “chapters” were divided and 2) the super slow burn nature of the book with a quick ending that left me wanting more closure.

Goodreads says the book is 336 pages, but with uncorrected proofs on kindle it’s almost impossible to know how long a book is. The uncorrected proof didn’t have any kind of real chapter division either and the segments or I guess, unofficial chapters, were very long. Not sure if this was an uncorrected proof feature or if the final was meant by the author to be that way — I will have to check against my BOTM copy.

This is definitely a very slow burn — the story was very detailed and had in depth character development and backstory necessary to color the current events. I definitely got more than I needed to understand the plot. It took a very long time to get to the suspenseful climax of the story and by then, I was super invested in the story and the characters. The plot twist was clever and I didn’t expect it coming, but the climax just came and went so fast and then the story was over. After how invested I was for what felt like such a long book, it just felt like not enough. I guess this is one of those books where you need to enjoy the journey and not the destination?

This is the second book I’ve read very recently where the plot involves a true crime podcaster that isn’t who they say they are and they offer help to the MC with an ulterior motive. It seems to be a popular, modern addition to thrillers lately.

That all being said, I still enjoyed most aspects of the book enough. I would read Kate’s work again for sure. She certainly has the creativity and writing talent to blossom into one of the thriller greats. I just want some more THRILL, girl! And shorter chapters please… lol.

I rated this 3.5 out of 4 stars, rounded up to 4 here and Goodreads due to the half.

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Kate for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, I want to thank you for allowing me to read this book! It took awhile for me to start this book, just due to the holidays and daily life. Once I was able to start it, I had a hard time putting it down. Horror is one of my new favorite genres and this book just goes to show how much I love it. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more.

Y’all I loved this one! This book captured the nostalgia of being a kid playing in the woods, while also having the elements that I love in a thriller! It has a serial killer, small town secrets, an unreliable narrator, short chapters, and shocking twists. I had this one as an ARC, but made it my @bookofthemonth pick too! I recommend checking this psychological thriller out.

Thank you @flatiron_books and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

People, hear me. I did NOT see the end of What Lies in the Woods coming. You must read this book if you love a great plot and an unpredictable twist!

I absolutely loved this book! From the very beginning it's clear that there is more to the story than anyone is letting on. With everyone hiding something the twists and turns just keep coming and the ending will leave you shocked! A rivoting page turner I couldn't put down!

What Lies in the Woods is a slow paced thriller full of secrets and memories from a childhood trauma that the main characters suffered. It gave me major slender man, or Mister Tender’s Girls, vibes at the beginning. The writing is well crafted, the characters interesting, but I just wish the pacing had been a tad quicker. Overall a solid story and I enjoyed it!

My thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with a digital copy for review.

This was such a twisty, compelling thriller! It hooked me right from the start and did not let up until the very end. Some of the twists I guessed, but others I did not see coming! Despite her flaws, I really liked our main character Naomi. She was attacked at age eleven, having been stabbed seventeen times. All that trauma weighed heavily on her and as a result she grew up with some self destructive behaviors. When the man accused and convicted of the attack dies in prison, Naomi and her friends reunite in their hometown, but of course old secrets rise to the surface, as well as the possibility that there is more to the story of what happened all those years ago.

I would highly recommend this to mystery lovers. It was not perfect, and as I said before, I did guess some of it. But it was still quite enjoyable and a wonderful addition to the mystery/thriller genre.

If I had to compare this story to another one, it was very reminiscent of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. This story follows a woman who, through a series of circumstances, ends up back in her hometown where horrific events unfolded when she was a child. I really loved how the story unfolded and I was engrossed while reading the entire time.

Naomi, Cass, and Liv were best friends, and spent the summer they were 11 in the woods, playing the Goddess Game. Naomi was attacked, and almost died, but the three girls were able to identify her attacker, and the testimony put him in jail. Twenty years later, he dies, and everything Naomi thought she knew is called into question.

I enjoy Kate Alice Marshall's writing, and was thrilled to receive an ARC of What Lies in the Woods. Well written, nicely paced, and emotional punches that didn't stop coming. Each time I thought I had an idea of where the story was headed, it surprised me.

Thank you Netgalley and Flatiron Books!

This was my first book by the author, and it was so good! There were so many twists and turns that left me breathless by the end. Naomi is the narrator and is quite prickly. As we learn more about her story, it is easy to understand why. She has baggage, and was the survivor of a serial killer attack at the age of eleven. She now finds that the death of the convicted murderer has stirred things up twenty years later. There were three girls in the woods that day. All three were united in their story. They also shared a secret. Letting that piece of information out is like the opening of Pandora's box. Who will survive? What will Naomi have to do to get to the truth of that day in the woods? Dark and atmospheric, this book will worm its way into your dreams and make you a little afraid to go for a walk in the woods.

This was my first book by the author, and it was so good! There were so many twists and turns that left me breathless by the end. Naomi is the narrator and is quite prickly. As we learn more about her story, it is easy to understand why. She has baggage, and was the survivor of a serial killer attack at the age of eleven. She now finds that the death of the convicted murderer has stirred things up twenty years later. There were three girls in the woods that day. All three were united in their story. They also shared a secret. Letting that piece of information out is like the opening of Pandora's box. Who will survive? What will Naomi have to do to get to the truth of that day in the woods? Dark and atmospheric, this book will worm its way into your dreams and make you a little afraid to go for a walk in the woods.

This was such a fun thriller! We follow Naomi as she reconnects with her two best friends after the man that nearly killed her dies in prison. I think Naomi was a likable character despite her many flaws because of her search for redemption.

While some of the twist were predictable, there were also some I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed the ride. This was my first book by Kate Alice Marshall and now I’m interested in her backlist. Definitely pick this up if you love drama filled thrillers that are reminiscent of a crime podcast.

Tragedy struck best friends Naomi, Olivia and Cassidy when they were eleven years old and their testimonies were responsible to for sending a mass murderer to prison. After the prisoner dies, the girls, still best friends who rely heavily on each other, come together because one of them is ready to tell the whole truth about what they actually saw...and didn't see...in the woods on that tragic day and reveal other secrets the girls have been keeping!! Some will go to any lengths for the truth to be revealed and others will go to any lengths to keep secrets buried in the woods!!

Wow!! What Lies in the Woods kept me guessing till the very end and built up to a great ending that I truly didn't see coming! If you're looking for an unpredictable thriller with a great, enthralling cast of characters, easy to follow, intriguing story, then this is it!!

Naomi, Cass, and Liv were childhood best friends. They spent their days roaming the woods all while playing the Goddess game. One day while out playing Naomi is attacked. She was brutally stabbed 17 times but lived to talk about it. Their testimony helped put a serial killer in jail.

Now adult Naomi is questioning if they put the right man away.

Unlike most other reviewers who claimed they struggled with the first 30% due to the slow burn style but then became invested in this story thereafter but I was the opposite. I enjoyed the first 30% and then it went off the rails for me. This is my first novel by Kate Alice Marshall and apparently it's her first adult thriller but strangely enough it still read as more YA to me. A lot of our time is spent with the girls when they're young and playing the Goddess game and you know what I think of that? Magic schmagic. I was so no interested in this storyline. 🤦‍♀️

Naomi was a character that I just didn't enjoy spending time with. She was rude to almost everyone and I just couldn't muster any sympathy for her. Cass was a stuck up bitch and Liv was a mousy little cry baby. As you can see I didn't like anyone in this book. And that goes for the extraneous characters as well.

At one point there is a conversation between Naomi and Cass. Naomi says they have to go to the police with the information they have while Cass insists it's a terrible idea. Then on the very next page Cass insists they go to the police and now Naomi thinks it's a terrible idea. That feels like sloppy writing to me.

There was one twist that managed to surprise me but it wasn't enough to redeem the book.

The grand finale managed to be predictable and unsatisfying all at the same time. My opinion is only my opinion as you can see by reading all the other glowing reviews for this novel. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my complimentary copy.