Thank you NetGalley and Ms. Marshall for giving me the opportunity to review "What Lies in the Woods." This is a novel that will keep you guessing till the end. It hooks you in right from the beginning and keeps the suspense going throughout the novel. There were a few areas that I wish were clarified but overall a very exciting story!

This book was a great read and it kept me on my toes. The author did a great job and I can’t wait to see what else she writes!

What Lies in the Woods is an atmospheric, woodsy, small-town mystery. The narrator Naomi was one of three girls who entered the woods one night when she was 11 and came out forever changed. Naomi was stabbed extensively but somehow she miraculously survived.

This book was a lot of fun and had many twists I did not see coming. This was suspenseful and very well written. This is not a five-star read for me because I expected it to be a bit faster-paced. The middle of the book was slow, but I am very glad I stuck this book out until the end!

Thank you to Net Galley and Kate Alice Marshall for the eArc. All opinions are my own.

Three eleven-year-old girls, Olivia Barnes, Naomi Shaw, and Cassidy Green, best friends since kindergarten, are carrying out their fanciful play in the woods surrounding the small town of Chester, Washington in the Pacific Northwest. It's an ordinary day, the girls often spend their days playing in the woods together. Ordinary, until two of them emerge from the woods covered in blood, and screaming that their friend is dead.

A search party finds the third girl, stabbed 17 times and barely alive. None of the three will ever be the same again, though the horrificness of the day will continue to keep them close, even as it haunts them.

The girls say the attacker was Alan Michael Stahl, a serial killer, and Naomi's testimony puts him in prison for decades. The town breathes a sigh of relief: a bad man is paying for his crimes, saving other young women in the process. The girls are commended for their bravery. There's only one problem. The girls lied.

Twenty-two years after the attack the girls are notified that Stahl has died in prison of cancer. Naomi Cunningham (who moved away and changed her last name in an attempt to distance herself from the event) is working in Seattle as a wedding photographer. After a phone call from Liv, she decides to return to Chester for awhile. She needs to understand what really happened that night, and hopes that she can finally put her nightmares to rest.

Liv and Cassidy welcome her back with open arms, and three young women pick right up again on the close friendships that have sustained them each over these decades. But the longer Naomi is in Chester, the more questions she has as to what really happened that summer, and her questions set things into motion that won't be able to be stopped.

The author writes a taut, well-paced mystery that is filled with red herrings and twists and turns galore. I understand that this novel was a change in genre for her. I am so glad she decided to try something new and hope she writes more books in this vein. I very much look forward to her next offering!

My sincere thanks to Flatiron Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel (set to be published 1/17/23) via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall revolves around Naomi, who was attacked 22 years ago in the woods while she was playing a game with her best friends Cassidy and Olivia. Thankfully, because of their testimony, they were able to send a serial killer to jail. But it's years later now, and Naomi is starting to wonder whether they sent the right man to jail.

Here is a chilling excerpt from the opening chapter:

"One girl shivered and shook her head, wrapping her arms around her body, but the other spoke. Her voice was hollow and lost. “There was a man,” she told him. “He had a knife.”
“Are you hurt?” he asked, wishing that he had his gun, wishing that his spaniel had ever been a threat to anything but his shoes.
“No,” the girl said. When he told the story, Leo would linger on this part. The way she stared right through him, like there was nothing but a ghost behind her eyes. “But our friend is dead.”"

Overall, What Lies in the Woods is a small-town serial killer thriller that you won't be able to put down! . One highlight of this book is the scary, terrifying atmosphere. Another highlight of the book was the multiple twists and turns that I did not see coming. I did take off 1 star because of the slow pace. It didn't get exciting until halfway through. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in January!

Okay I absolutely LOVED this thriller! It was so smart and had me guessing the entire time. Little red herrings sprinkled throughout and I did not see that ending coming. The twists were not out of left field and all made sense. It was a thrilling, heartbreaking, gory page turner and I loved every second of it!

*3.5 rounded up to 4*
Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kate Alice Marshall's "What Lies in the Woods" is about a close knit trio of friends who survived a gruesome attack as children and lived to put the man who did it away. Since the event, the three women have dealt with the trauma in their own ways. When the man who hurt them dies in prison, they reunite in their hometown and unearth long-buried secrets. Trigger warning for slight pedophilia and sexual assault.

The only other book I had read by this author was not a fun experience (I kind of hated it, to be honest) but this one wasn't too bad. I will say that all of the big reveals I had guessed pretty early on but it didn't deter from my enjoyment because I wanted to see how Marshall would get to that point. It's not a perfect book but it's enjoyable and something that you can binge in one sitting (at least for me).

Overall, not a bad book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This book was ok. There were a lot of twists and surprises.
I was surprised about Ethan towards the end.
Other stuff did not surprise me as much.
Getting there took a while though. Some of it was a bit drawn out and not very believable.

A trio of best friends were eleven when they survived a horrific attack while playing in their local woods. The three girls were praised for their courage to testify against a prolific serial killer, but the intervening years have found them all handling the trauma in their own way. Cass is a single mother focused on raising her daughter and her career, Liv has been on and off prescriptions to manage her psychosis, and Naomi, our narrator, has embraced her scars both literally and figuratively. When the man they accused dies while incarcerated, the trio are drawn back to one another and Naomi starts to question the reliability of her memory of that summer. Naomi is a realistically flawed female and as a reader you applaud her new determination to face her past while also understanding why she has avoided it as long as she has. Marshall’s newest is engrossing with just the right amount of twists.

Holy cow!!!! My head is still spinning from this book. This masterpiece is one of the twistiest books I have every come by! So many secrets, lies, and coverups you will have no idea who or what is going to happen. Do yourself a favor and READ (or listen to) THIS BOOK! You definitely won’t be sorry.

***** Many thanks to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Kate Alice Marshall for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

Rating 4.5 stars but rounding up to 5 stars on goodreads.

My review will be posted on Instagram (thriller_book_sisters) on 1/16/23.

Now this was a thriller!! It’s the book I have been wanting and searching for! It was disturbing and twisted!!
As a child Naomi was attacked in the woods while playing with her 2 best friends Olivia and Cassidy. They would play a game called the Goddess Game and it was huge part of their childhood. Their testimony put away a serial killer. Twenty two years later he dies in prison of cancer and she’s get the call informing her of his death. Naomi finally heads back to the town she left behind to visit her two friends who witnessed her attack. Her attack left her with more that seventeen scars but she suffers from emotional scars as well. Olivia keeps calling her to talk about something important she has discovered. Olivia is convinced about coming clean about the secret they have kept called Persephone! Cassidy and Naomi believe they should wait a little longer. When Naomi is approached by a Ethan a podcaster asking questions about her case, she begins to realize maybe she doesn’t know everything that happened that day she was attacked. Did she blame the wrong man ? The more she digs she’s soon realizes maybe the people closest to her are hiding secrets, and she begins to find herself in some scary situations and secrets that someone wants to stay buried!

Thank you, net galley for this ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review!

I was interested in this story from the beginning and I think overall it was a pretty good mystery. I didn’t find it predictable and I finished strong. The only downside was it was a bit slow paced for my taste.

If you're looking for a strong mystery to start off 2023, read What Lies in the Woods. I could not put this book down.

The story follows three friends Naomi, Liv, and Cassidy, who love to play The Goddess Game in the woods. One day, one of them is brutally stabbed and they sent a man to jail. While they were hailed as heroes, they hid a secret for years. Fast forward several years and the convicted serial killer dies in prison, and Naomi heads back to her town to see Liv and Cassidy. When all of their secrets start to come out and the truth of that summer comes out.

Honestly, this story was a wild ride. It had me guessing at every turn and the ending was certainly one I didn't expect. It's exceptionally good, and not one to be missed.

Thank you Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the eARC!
4.5/5 stars

Wow. One of my favorites! Defintiely dark and twisted but it had me intrigued from the beginning. I was interested in all the characters and was wanting to keep reading to figure out the details. The twists were great too! Would defintiely recommend to friends and can't wait for more people to read to discuss.

Whew! This book was a doozy! It's been a while since I read a thriller that had me sneaking off to catch a few more chapters, shirking responsibilities to lounge around and read, and generally finding myself unable to put it down. "What Lies in the Woods" was definitely a can't-stop-reading thriller. Full of complicated relationships, complex characters, and twists and turns, this mystery draws you in and doesn't let go.

Naomi and her friends survived an attack in the woods as young girls. Their testimony put a serial killer away. But it wasn’t the truth and now they are ready to find out.

This was an entertaining suspense that keeps your turning the pages. While you are told about the past event, there’s enough mystery about the details to keep you guessing. Your told a bit more a bit at a time. The female friendship aspect is interesting and the innocence and curiosity of adolescence.

“Once that fear was in your body, that knowledge that someone wanted you dead, it never entirely left.”

What Lies in the Woods comes out 1/17.

What Lies in the Woods is one of those books you cannot put down. Without knowing who to trust, it takes the whole book for the full story to unfold and the truth to be revealed. I was on the edge of my seat until the very end! I thought the characters were well-developed and the narration was smooth and seamless. The story was original and imagined, and thoroughly entertaining. I would definitely recommend this book to start the new year.

A big thanks to Flatiron Books for my gifted eARC and to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC!

I loved this book! The pacing was quick and there was a lot going on. Just when I thought things were getting predictable, a twist I didn’t see coming would suck me right back in. I liked the MC and found her easy to root for. The subplot with her hoarder dad was interesting and added more depth to the characters. This is my first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last. I was thoroughly entertained the entire time!

Kate Alice Marshall is my new favorite author. Three little girls playing a game in the woods...one gets attacked and stabbed by a man....she lives and is able to make sure the guy goes to jail. Basically two decades later, questions arise...the friends have a secret. I can't tell you how hooked I was on this book. I didn't want it to end. I NEEDED to know!! Everything!! Literally one of the best books I've read in a LONGGGGG time!

I devoured this book. I am rarely hooked on a book so soon, but I was obsessed after a few pages. I loved how I kept trying to guess who did it but I couldn’t nail it down until everything was explained. I will definitely be recommending this book to others.