3.5

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall was another enjoyable listen narrated by Karissa Vacker. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the review copy!

What Lies in the Wood released today and it’s a memorable one! Naomi and her friends spent their summer playing The Goddess Game in the woods, until one of them is attacked and stabbed 17 times. They identify the man who attacked her, a serial murderer wanted for killing several other women. Except, the details are fuzzy and she questions whether she put the right man away and whether his son wants revenge for what she did.

Although I could see a few of the major plot twists coming, it didn’t bug me because our author did a good job at keeping this book interesting. I was still surprised by a few things, too! Altogether, this was atmospheric and well-written. I was rooting for some people from the beginning and was nervous and pleased to see how things turned out for them. There were a lot of characters who gave me the creeps, which added to the ambience.

Karissa Vacker did a fantastic job narrating, as always. I was enthralled from start to finish. I couldn’t imagine anyone else narrating this novel.

This was a very good book. It had me questioning who the killer was the entire time. I never expected the ending. I have murder mysteries like this. She did such a good job. The narrative was excellent.

While I realize the year is just getting started, this is definitely my favorite read so far. Well, I should say listen and thank Macmillan for bringing it to my attention. I devoured this one. And I was mostly guessing until the end. I did peg one piece of the puzzle pretty early on, but in all honesty, I wasn’t sure and wavered on and off over it. It isn’t often I am totally stumped so kudos to the author.

This was my choice of book to listen to on my walks and at the end I was lucky I was walking alone on the golf course as I started talking to the characters. LOL. It’s been a while since I lectured a character.

I was invested from the start. I liked the present story better than the flashbacks to when the girls were children, but those kept up the pace and didn’t drag the story down. I also liked the dynamic of the adult friends. I was a little leary of whether I could trust Naomi’s narration, but that is normal for me in a thriller.

I’ve listened to a few books narrated by Karissa Vacker and she has quickly made into my group of top female narrators. She nails this narration.

There are multiple mysteries to untangle, coming home after an extended time, parental issues, PTSD from an assault and so much more. The story is layered and I was immersed as the layers were peeled.

Kate Alice Marshall, your place as one of my favorite authors is firmly established! To be fair it was already, but this audiobook definitely sealed the deal.

She has such a magnificent way of crafting a wholly unique and original world and a marvelously detailed cast of characters to populate it, and then placing them in bizarre and scary and violent and eerie and magnificent situations that allow them to thrive under the strongest pressure.

The narration was the icing on the cake for this one. Vilinsky is one of my favorite narrators, and she does a fantastic job here. Her voices are distinctive without being caricatures or overly done, and the nuance and pacing with which she reads really brings the story to life in all its creepy glory. I really loved this one!

Naomi and her friends survived a terrible night in the woods a couple of decades ago. The stories that followed of the 3 brave young girls made headlines nationwide and they were celebrated. However, someone knows what really happened that night and it's not what any of the girls have told anyone else. Cassidy and Olivia have stayed behind in their home town after Naomi moved away and when she goes back to visit, Olivia wants to tell the truth of what happened that night, regardless of the consequences.
This book had more twists and turns than many I've read, and just when I thought I had it figured out, something else happened that proved I was wrong.
The narrator did an amazing job in all areas and that helped keep me on my toes throughout the story

I really liked this one. I love books where the title comes into play and what lies in the woods has multiple meanings through out the story. It gave Final Girls vibes, even though Naomi wasn’t technically a final girl she still read like one.

There were lots of characters to draw suspicion and several twists. I guessed 2 of them so it wasn’t quite a 5 star read. But I was still invested in the outcome.

This one was tense and had me looking over my shoulder while reading. Would recommend for anyone new to the genre or fans of Stacy Willingham and Megan Miranda.

*3.5 stars*

This was a very twisty thriller! I read a lot of thrillers and it’s not often that I don’t see the ending coming. This gave up enough of its twists that it kind of lulled me into a false sense of thinking I had it all figured out.

Great for fans of modern thrillers. Small town, creepy woods thrillers are my favorite and this really satisfied that itch. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes that kind of atmosphere.

A couple tropes in the book aren’t my favorite like the podcast angle and the “avoids trauma by sleeping with everyone” troupe, but they weren’t so huge a part of the story that it became off-putting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC copy of this work. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

The first 50% of this book did it catch my attention and seemed to drag a bit. I was interested enough to continue and the back 50% was much better.

I don’t really no how I feel about it

SYNOPSIS:
Naomi, Cassidy and Olivia were just 11 when the most horrific event happened to them. They sent a man to jail for brutally attacking Naomi in the woods where they live.

Now, years later, when the women find out the man has died in jail old secrets and memories start to come to the surface.

Are the memories of three 11-year-old girls correct? And are they hiding secrets of their own?

THOUGHTS:
-So many twists and turns
-Whodunnit? I really didn’t know until the story was coming to an end
-Cannot the characters and I loved every minute of it!
-Audio was great and I could not stop listening.

4.5 stars for What Lies in the Woods. I could not figure this one out until very late in the game and the audio book was phenomenal! Great job Karissa Vacker!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

What Lies In the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall has plenty of secrets and drama to keep the book moving along quickly. I listened to the audio format and really enjoyed the myriad of voices provided by the narrator. Three girls vowed to keep a secret after spending a day in the woods together. Fast forward a couple decades and that secret is about to be revealed with stunning consequences. Lots of mystery and deceit make for a riveting thriller. Read and enjoy!

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is the second book I’ve read by Kate Alice Marshall, though it is her debut adult mystery/suspense novel and if this is any indication of what’s to come, I cannot wait! I really liked the one YA thriller I read, Our Last Echoes and have been meaning to read her others and now I will do so as I wait to see what she writes next!

But back to this story…and oh what a story it was! While I did have the print copy, I was able to snag the audio version and I’m so glad I did because one of my favorite narrators, Karissa Vacker narrates it and she did a fantastic job bringing this story to life! This one grabbed me from the beginning and I was completely captivated from start to finish. The idea that three young friends managed to send a serial killer to prison after an attack in the woods is one I just couldn’t resist. But of course, the deeper you get into the story, the more you realize not all is as it seems.

I loved all the twists and turns this book took. It totally surprised me and let me say, as someone who reads a lot of thrillers it’s a nice change of pace when you don’t see everything coming. I loved the true crime feeling this one had and would classify it as a nice slow-burn thriller that definitely picks up speed towards the end. It is incredibly atmospheric, and I love how it gets into the reliability of memories, especially those from childhood.

This is a suspenseful, addictive read and I loved how we don’t get the full story of what happened all those years ago all at once. Rather, it is revealed in little pieces, keeping you on edge. And along the way, the twists are thrown in at just the right moments to keep you off-kilter. Add in flawed characters and the secrets that they all have and you can’t help but become consumed with this story.

I highly recommend picking this one up. As I mentioned, this is Kate Alice Marshall’s debut adult novel and I think she totally nailed it!



Audio thoughts:

As I mentioned, this is narrated by Karissa Vacker and she does a fantastic job bringing this book to life. There are a lot of characters in this book and Karissa is able to give each and every one of them their own unique voice and personality which is just one of the reasons she is a favorite narrator. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she managed to infuse just the right amount of emotion and tension into her voice as needed.

Jaw dropping novel! The narrator brings the entire book to life!!! This was one of the best reads/listens this year!!!

Happy pub day to What Lies In The Woods! And thank you to NetGalley for the ALC!

I am so happy I read this one, it was SO good!

Synopsis:

Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes. And they were liars. For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.

What I liked:
- The story itself was interesting! Through the whole book I had trouble putting it down because I just wanted to know what happened.
- The characters are complex but not so complex you feel lost
- When do you read a thriller where the main murder victim lives? It was definitely an interesting twist right from the start.

What I didn’t like:
- It got a bit confusing at the end when the plot was unravelling. I got easily confused but understood it in the end.

Overall I really enjoyed this one! I’ve had a lot of rom-com arcs to get out this month, so it was really refreshing to switch up my reading with this one.

While I certainly found this book propulsive and easy to read, for me, it was an average 3/5. I found the plot twists to be fairly predictable. However, that did not keep me from devouring the book! I thought the true crime kind of mash up of Green River Killer and the Slenderman case was an interesting premise to build a fictionalized story on. While an average read for me, I would read another book by Kate Alice Marshall.

Happy Pub Day to this edge of your seat thriller!

Haunted by a killer lie from their youth, a group of friends begins to unravel when one member starts asking questions.

I haven’t read a book by @kmarshallarts before but I’m excited to see more of her work after reading What Lies in the Woods. This story is full of secrets and twists galore. Just when you think you’ve solved the mystery the story takes a turn. I loved the creepy atmosphere of rural small town woods. Add some creepy kids and you’ve got a page turner. Pick this book up today! You don’t want to miss out. 🤩

Do you go camping?

4.75 but rounded up. This book was so good. One twist was obvious to me. But the others just had me shocked.

A tragedy occurred when the main character was a child. Justice was served….or was it? What are they hiding? I loved every minute of this book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy

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!

I loved What Lies in the Woods. It was so twisty and fun, and I could not put it down. I did predict the ending about 70% through, but it was still a great mystery and page turner. Persephone was haunting throughout the story, and I felt for the childhood mistakes of the protagonist due to her trauma.

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!

The narration was pleasant! Well-paced and easy to listen to!

In Kate Alice Marshall's latest novel she shows that the past will always be with you till you comfront it:

Naomi, Cass and Olivia have been best friends since kindgarden, and they would spent their days and summers in the forest, playing and creating games. The last summer is was the Goddess Game, but it suddenly ended when Naomi was attacked but miraciously survived the 17 stab wounds and along with Cass and Olivia they were able to ID the man that hurt her. The girls were seen as heroes, but the problem is that they all lied. Now 22 years later. when he dies suddendly in prison, Naomi feels obligated to head home where she discovers that Olivia wants to tell the truth. Naomi has been running from the truth for this long, but she feels she is finally ready to face what happened that night and what really happened. But this town has many secrets and it is a dangerous game to seek out the truth.

Alright, start the car and go grab this book if you want to read a really good mystery with a side of thrills. This is how you write a book. I was hooked from the very beginning and would have read this book in one sitting if I could have. I enjoyed the main characer, the flow, the mystery and multiple twists and turns along the way. I also loved the setting with the a small town secrets to spare and so many are revealled along the way in this book.

Alright it has been a long time since I have read a book that had so many twists and turns throughout that had me questioning thing throughout the story. Was I able to figure it out before the end, Yes, but that did not stop me from questioning what I thought as well wanting me to read more and more to see if I was right. I think that what Marshall did really well was there were so many people that Naomi could not trust around her and the small town if full of secrets and those trying to protect themselves. I enjoyed that the book was dealing with a mystery in the past that had some present day consequences for many individuals within the town. I wouldnt say that this book is a thriller though as that has different set of parameters for me, there are some thrilling moments but it is not constant in the book. It is mainly about Naomi trying to figure out what happened that night 22 years ago and whether she sent the wrong man to prison with her lie.

Naomi was an interesting character to have the story told through as she is not a realiable character when she is reliving the events of the past, as what happened to her she can physically cannot remember what happened the night that changed her life forever. I love that Naomi does not shy away from what her body and face look like. She never covers her scar that bisects part of her face.

This was a great mystery novel that had many aspects that I love in mystery book. I cannot wait to read her other works and to see what she is able to come out with next.

Enjoy!!!