Three eleven year old best friends were in the woods playing their Goddess game when the unthinkable happened and one was attacked and nearly killed. Their testimony put the serial killer behind bars. Now over 20 years later, the three friends reunite after the killer dies of cancer in prison. Was their testimony honest? Were there things they failed to share?

This was a 3.5 star read for me.

Karissa Vacker is an amazing narrator.


This is my first book by this author and I was very impressed. I read that this was her debut adult novel and that she writes YA books, so I will need to add those to my list
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was a dark and twisted tale about three childhood friends, the vicious attack they survived, the lies they told, the secrets they kept, and the magic they believed in.

Naomi, Olivia, and Cassidy are best friends who survived a traumatic ordeal when they were eleven. Naomi was the one who was the most victimized by being stabbed seventeen times, and was the one who provided the eye witness testimony to put the man who did it in prison. 22 years later Naomi receives a call from Olivia asking her to return to their small town after he dies in prison. Naomi assumes she wants to get together for that reason, but she is unprepared for what she’s actually returning to.

This book was full of magic. It gave a darkly enchanting feel because of the games the girls played, which had ties to Greek mythology. This reminded me a bit of Final Girls by Riley Sager and a little bit of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, but I think this was so much better than both of those.

I disliked Naomi as a main character. She was a liar and unreliable, but in the best ways. You couldn’t help but root for her, even if you’re rolling your eyes at the same time. My only pet peeve is that there were obvious solutions, or better choices she could have made throughout the book, but then has an internal monologue explaining why she won’t take the more rational approach. Frustrating, but again, she was a very messy main character.

I did see a twist or two coming, however the execution and final resolutions were done well that I was still very much surprised by a lot of what happened.

I listened to this on audio and it was fantastic! T you so much NetGalley and MacMillan audio for this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion. Karissa Vacker is such an impressive thriller narrator and every time I see her name it’s an instant request!

My overall rating is 4 ⭐️ for the story, and 5 ⭐️ for the audio.

Read this if you enjoy: Greek mythology, Final Girls or The Maidens, unreliable narrators, true crime podcasts, and small towns full of secrets.

Review will be posted to my Instagram page, @Jackiesreadingjourney, and is already posted to my goodreads profile.

This book started out strong and hooked me at the beginning. The writing is very good and I enjoyed the characters and how you slowly learn what's going on as the book progresses. However, as the book kept going, I had a harder and harder time hanging on. One of my biggest pet peeves is when there is a very easy and obvious solution to a problem, but the narrator spends time describing over and over why they're not making the obvious, smart choice. This happened a few times before I finally gave up on it.

What Lies in the Woods is one of the best thriller/mysteries I've read recently. I hardly wanted to put it down! Three friends tied together by a traumatizing experience in their past that nearly killed one of them are brought together once again when the arrested killer dies in prison, but their secrets they have held for 22 years can change everything. It's a story that is just as captivating as the synopsis makes it seem — I highly recommend What Lies in the Woods!

3.5

This was an interesting thriller. Some disturbing twists. The main character apparently just sleeps with whoever she meets 😬.

If you're looking for a good who actually did it and what did these girls find or do...this might be a thriller this one might be for you.

Thanks Netgalley

This book was fantastic. I read a ton of thrillers and this one truly shocked me with all of the twists and turns! What a rollercoaster ride. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great. I could not stop listening to this until I figured out what happened!!

This book had me hooked right from the beginning. I really enjoyed the narration for this one.

There were lots of characters, but I didn't have any trouble keeping track of them. Everyone was suspicious and had secrets which definitely kept me engaged and added to the experience of listening to this one for me. I went through suspecting every character there was, including the main character, so in a sense I saw some of the twists coming. However, I was still pleasantly surprised by a good number of twists along the way.

I would definitely recommend this book to others who are looking for a thriller with lots of suspicious characters and secrets from the past.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook copy of what lies in the woods by Kate alice Marshall!

I’m feeling a little conflicted about this book! The beginning was strong. I was compelled by the setup. The way we got little bits and pieces of the past timeline really helped to put the picture together of what was going on. Trying to find out what happened to her, Naomi felt like she was only giving us half the story. However, when she’s doing her own work to fill in the gaps was where I really was hooked. I liked that we had this complicated friendship between the three girls which kept me second guessing everything. I couldn’t tell if they were actually as good of friends as it seems. Especially with all the subtle jealousy happening between the girls.

SPOILER!!!
One of my lease favorite tropes is when the MC puts full trust into some random stranger AND THEN sleeps with them?? It literally drives me crazy bc immediately I know they are gonna be the bad guy or else apart of the problem. I just had a moment of “omg really” when that happened.

Besides that, I really didn’t enjoy the big reveal with what happened to Naomi and then the reveal with the other body. It felt very convoluted and I couldn’t make it all make since in my head.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall’s previous YA novels so I think I’ll continue to pick up more of those. And honestly? The plot was good in the beginning and the writing is easy to follow and get into so I will keep my eye out for her next adult novel and give it a try!

Kate Alice Marshall knows what's up. I have loved some of their YA works and I was very excited to get invited to review this book.

Naomi was a very unique main character. She felt unreliable and I wasn't sure if her narrative was always the truth. The flashbacks helped a lot. I seriously thought everyone was a suspect. I did have my suspensions and I ended up being correct.

This was like a mash up of some very good books, where the best bits of each one was perfectly put together into one cohesive thriller. Loved it!

Thrilling and chilling. I love the way Kate Alice Marshall writes and killed this one. I was completely hooked from the beginning and did not want to put it down for anything. I will definitely be thinking about certain aspects of this book for a long time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced listener copy.

I would highly recommend this audio to readers who enjoy a suspenseful thriller. The narrator did a great job in portraying the male/female voices. I enjoyed the emotion conveyed in the telling of this story.

This was definitely an emotional roller coaster ride as Naomi tried to figure out the truth behind her brutal attack along with her friends from 22 years ago. I enjoyed the twist and turns although at times it did drag a bit.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I will definitely check out this narrator for future audiobooks.

Naomi and her two best friends spent all summer playing in the woods until Naomi was attacked. She survived the 17 stab wounds, and their combined testimony sent a serial killer to prison. Twenty-two years later, Naomi returns home in an attempt to remember what happened. Because all this time, she has had no memory of what happened, and one friend just admitted they’d been lying.

I enjoyed being in Naomi’s head, as I’m a sucker for scrappy characters. With her history of childhood trauma, her self-damaging decisions felt credible, and I understood her choices in that context. I had the twist mostly figured out, but there were multiple red herrings and reveals to keep me engaged. It felt a little longer than its 330 pages as the middle bogged down, and I was often confused by who each character (other than the three girls) was. In addition, the ending felt epilogue-y; I didn’t need the additional closure. Overall, WLITW was an entertaining thriller with an exciting premise and fun twists and shocks.

Macmillan Audio offered me this thriller because I’d previously enjoyed Vacker’s narration. She delivers here, too. For someone who narrates meditation, she's surprisingly good at freaking me out in a psychological thriller.

Thanks, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio, for the Advanced Listening Copy of WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS. US Pub Date: 17 Jan 23

This was my 68th book of 2022, &, about a quarter of the way through, I was pretty sure I had it all figured out. I’m pleased to say: I could not have been more wrong! I went into this book blind, and found it a fantastic ride, so I’m not to give a plot summary here, but I will say: these characters stick with you. I didn’t want this book to end, and now that’s it’s over, I want to know all about what happens NEXT! I can’t remember feeling this way after a book, so that’s super exciting.

I’d not read anything by Kate Alice Marshall before. She’s an excellent poet-story teller. Her worlds come to life & every word is written with intention. I’ll be reading more by her a for sure!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review..

As a young girl, Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. She and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent their summer days roaming the woods, creating their own world of wonder and ceremony through a game they called the Goddess Game. But their idyllic summer came to a sudden and violent end when Naomi was attacked and left with 17 stab wounds. Despite her injuries, she survived and identified her attacker as a serial killer wanted for the murder of six women. The testimony of the three friends helped put the killer away, and they were hailed as heroes. However, for decades, the friends have kept a secret so explosive that it is worth killing for. Now, with Olivia wanting to confess the truth, Naomi sets out to uncover what really happened that summer in the woods, no matter how dangerous the truth may be.

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me access.
•
What Lies in the Woods took me on a quest to find the truth of what really happened that night to a young Naomi, Olivia, and Cassidy.
•
Without giving too much away…the more I listened, the more secrets were uncovered, leaving no one in town safe from being a suspect. With all the twists and turns Marshall creates a tragic story that holds all the dangers of what the woods can hide.
•
This was the first book by Marshall that I’ve read (or listened to) and I am completely hooked on her writing.

I listened to the audiobook for this one and the narrator did an excellent job giving voice to the story. I think her style goes particularly well with thrillers and I hope to listen to more from her. The mystery was good. I did think the reveal was a little drawn out with some bonus last minute twists but I was there for it and it worked. I had predicted most of the twists and thought most of the red herrings were a little obvious but it didn’t stop the story from being a suspenseful and compelling read. Naomi believed in magic as a child until a horrific day left her almost dead with 17 stab wound scars. She and her two best friends testified and put a serial killer away for life, but the fact that Naomi remembers almost nothing from the incident has always haunted her.. She is back in her home town because one of her best friends called her back in the wake of the news that the serial killer they put away died in prison. But Naomi has a lot to learn about secrets in small towns and someone doesn’t like the questions she has started to ask.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4910655772

I love a good thriller, especially one that keeps me on the edge of my seat and trying to figure it out through to the end. What Lies in the Woods was that for me. From the beginning you knew this story was going to be one that brought shocking revelations.

Three friends, at just 11 years of age, experience a brutal attack and put a man in prison. But this is where the lies begin. These three friends stayed close as kids, but will their friendship last into adulthood? The title can be taken as both what is lying within the woods and what lies were told in them.

With so many twists and turns, What Lies in the Woods kept me wanting to listen more, drive a little farther, clean a little more, all so I can hear what happens next. The narrator does a fantastic job drawing you in an conveying the emotions of each character.

I highly recommend this audiobook and look forward to more from author Kate Alice Marshall.

*reviews will be posted to Amazon and B&N on release day and will be posted on my Instagram page, @the_literary_fox this week.

This was an enjoyable read for me, despite the ending being almost exactly what I expected it to be. The author does a great job weaving the past mystery into the present mystery and the domino cascade of reveals at the end was very satisfying to read! Hats off to Karissa Vacker for stellar narration yet again. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC!

What Lies In The Woods started off really great. I was immediately pulled into the story and was excited to continue reading. However, these feelings went away about halfway through the novel. Some of the “big surprises” later in the story were things that I had already figured out and the ending was incredibly cheesy and predictable. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one to other readers, especially other thriller aficionados who would also probably figure out the twists and turns ahead of time.

What Lies in the Woods is a clear 5 star read. I love titles that have a double entendre! Finding out the intricacies and dysfunctions of decades-old friendships is always a wild ride, and What Lies in the Woods is no exception. The narration on this book kept me driving around the block, just trying to get another chapter in!