Three young girls spend their summer creating magic in the forest in the form of the 'Goddess Game' until one of them is brutally attacked and their lives are changed forever. Twenty-two years later, Naomi Shaw goes back home and is haunted by her childhood, the serial killer she sent to prison, and the lies she's been carrying around since she was eleven years old. Her life slowly begins to unravel as she begins to question everything she knew about that fateful day in the forest. 

Going into "What Lies in the Woods" by Kate Alice Marshall, I was expecting a story with insane twists, turns, and gut-wrenching discoveries. Instead, I got a well-paced read with some predictable twists. It was an enjoyable read with a solid plot, but I wish I was more surprised with how it all turned out.

A big thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!

As an avid thriller fan, I was happy to listen to What Lies In The Woods. It took me a minute to settle into the book at first, but once I got going I easily finished it in a day. The story is dark with a few twist you might not suspect at first.

I really wanted to like this book but the ending was so confusing and rushed and I really didn't care for it. I was hoping for a much better ending and it just fell flat for me. It had a lot of potential to be a great story but it was only ok for me.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my advanced copy of this audiobook.
My thoughts are my own.

This is a DARK, character-driven, psychological suspense mystery. The story is told from the viewpoint of Naomi, who spends a lot of time reflecting on the past, as well as her current relationships, making the story seem somewhat long. However, the story was interesting and kept me engaged. Though I guessed some parts of the ending, I was very surprised by other parts, as well as the dramatic conclusion. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Karissa Vacker.

SHORT SYNOPSIS: During the summer of her eleventh year, Naomi was viciously attacked while playing in the woods with her friends, Cassidy and Olivia. Naomi was stabbed 17 times, and suffered severe facial wounds, as well as psychological trauma. However, she survived and identified her attacker.

Years later, her attacker dies while in prison, and Naomi thinks back to that traumatic summer and the secret the three girls left in the woods. She also begins to wonder if she really identified the correct person as her attacker.

Naomi returns to her small hometown to meet with her friends. Olivia wants to tell the truth, but the others, especially Cassidy, aren’t so sure that they should. Naomi resolves to find out what really happened that summer, and soon she is involved in a deeper mystery than she is prepared for!

Read (or listen to) this if you enjoy dark, psychological suspense!

I really enjoyed this audiobook! It was a slow burn, but the twists at the end one after another. Bravo!! Loved it. Also loved Naomi’s character! Highly recommend this one for sure!

Thank you NetGalley & MacMillian Audio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
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This was my first novel by Kate Alice Marshall, and after what I listen to it will certainly not be my last. Kate kept me glued to my phone listening at any chance I could. What I thought was obvious from the start was such a darker, and more sinister outcome.

Listen to Naomi’s story, of that fateful day in the woods all those years ago. Join Naomi in her downward spiral into the past trying to piece everything she thought she knew back together; you won’t be disappointed.

What lies in the woods by #KateAliceMarshall is a great thriller that had me intrigued the whole way through. Loved the twists. Thank you #macmillion for letting me listen to this audiobook and thank you to #netgalley for giving me this opportunity. I will be letting my friends know about this one and will be buying it for a special someone who’s going to love it as much as I did.

Oh wow this was a good one for sure! It was twisty, surprising, dark, tense, mind blowing and scary! It kept me on my toes and fully invested in the plot. I found this book to be well thought out, riveting and shocking! I look forward to reading more from Kate Alice Marshall!
Naomi, Cassidy and Olivia were only 11 years old and doing what they loved most which was playing in the woods. The game was called The Goddess game where they all thought of themselves as goddesses and had to do different rituals in the woods. This is where they find a secret that they keep for twenty-five years.
While in the woods one day Naomi was attacked and almost killed. Her two friends run for help just in time and Naomi survives. They testify against a man, presumed to be a serial killer and Naomi's testimony sent him to jail. However, 25 years later, Naomi still has doubts about the identity of her stabber.
When she gets a call that he has died in prison, she decides to go back home to see her two friends.
Only the past won't cooperate and stay in the past and secrets are about to be exposed.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the Audio Book ARC in exchange for an honest review

Wow just Wow, this book takes you on a wild ride. Some may need to sleep with the lights on for a while after reading. It definitely may makes you question the people you trust most and their motives.

Being the survivor of a childhood trauma Naomi Shaw, believed every word of what her friends told her about the horrific situation. Never questioning their shared truth, until a phone call brings her home years later. After a series of events Naomi begins to question everything about that day. If you enjoy books that keep you on your toes I would recommend this book to you.

What Lies in the Woods, by Kate Alice Marshall, is a dark and twisty, captivating thriller with a perfectly curated title. Naomi, Cassidy and Olivia were somewhat unlikely childhood friends who on their summer’s eve of middle school decide to create and play their last imaginative, magical game together in the woods, the Goddess Game. While playing this elaborate enchanted game they make a discovery that changes everything for the girls, and not long after, they suffer a brutal attack that forever changes their lives.
Years later, when the perpetrator of the attack dies in prison, the girls reunite, questions arise, and tragedy strikes again!

This story has a cleverly plotted storyline and is filled with complicated characters, sordid secrets and shocking revelations. There are multiple layers and suspects, and the conclusion is absolutely explosive and ultimately aptly satisfying. What Lies in the Woods is a highly entertaining, somewhat fantastical, but enjoyable thriller that kept me turning the pages to reach the conclusion and unravel it’s mysteries. I look forward to what this author puts out next.

I listened to the audio-version of this book, narrated by Karissa Vacker and while I didn’t love the children’s voices, I thoroughly enjoyed the adult renditions of the characters and her clear, articulate, expressive voice.

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was definitely different than any thriller I’ve read, which is a good and bad thing.

There was creepy children, small town vibes, twists, and lies.

I’m not sure this worked for me in the end but I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something different in their thriller pick.

I really enjoyed this book! The three friends all have a HUGE secret that they've been keeping since childhood. This secret has been affecting them all in different ways and as it turns out, they all remember different truths.

In the earlier timeline, young friends Cassidy, Olivia, and Naomi used to enjoy playing in the woods. They made up "The Goddess Game" and that's how they spent their days. Until Naomi was attacked and stabbed seventeen times. The girls were able to identify the attacker and put him in prison. However, did they really put away the right person?

Now in the present timeline, the girls are back in town. Olivia wants to tell the truth about what happened, but is it really worth coming clean?

Greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others!

This is the author's first adult novel and it still reads very YA. This will be a positive for fans of the genre, but I struggled.

Three eleven-year-old girls spend all their time together in the woods playing and exploring. The fun ends when one of the girls survives a brutal stabbing. A serial killer was convicted of the crime, but now there is a question if the wrong man was put behind bars due to false testimony from the girls.

A lot of time is spent exploring the girls' lives when they were young, and the imaginary world where they played the "Goddess" game. This is where my eyes glazed over. As adults in the current timeline there is a lot of angsty drama and the girls doing stupid things.

YA is not my genre, which affected my feelings toward the book. Other reviewers have loved it, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

One of the great pleasures of a thriller / mystery is trying to guess whodunnit and / or what some of those twists are going to be. I think Marshall did a nice job trying to distract us, but I still wasn't hugely surprised at any of the reveals.

This is what I appreciated a great deal about the book: the writing was competent, which is not always true of the genre. Sometimes I want to throw the book across the room in how much cringe-worthy writing was able to slip through, but Marshall can handle a sentence and a paragraph and a set of dialogue. This is her debut adult novel, and I think there's a lot of potential here. If I were in need of an escape book, I'd read another.

I'm also a sucker for the deep, dark woods.

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

I love a good mystery.

Naomi, Cassidy and Olivia are just 11 years old when Naomi is brutally attacked while they are playing fantasy games in the woods.

Fast forward 25 years when the killer imprisoned for Naomi's attempted murder dies, and she returns home to be with her friends.

Not intending to open Pandora's box, Naomi finds herself questioning whether the wrong person died in prison.

Enter, the mystery of what really happened in the woods.

Was it the imprisoned serial killer? Or was it the mayor, the local police officer, or someone else involved in the case?

There were a lot of twists and turns in this one.

I was so into this novel and the writing style at the beginning. Unfortunately, I started to become a little bored towards the last half of the book and therefore, somewhat disconnected from the story.

I love having several whodunnit possibilities, but I think there is a fine line between just enough and too many red herrings. Here, there may have been just one too many for me.

I also found it odd the book did not have chapter titles or numbers, but that had no effect on my overall view of the book.

In the end, I liked it, but I've read some good mysteries lately, and this one just didn't quite hit the mark.

What lies in the woods will have you guessing the whole time. Three friends discover something in the woods and survive a horrific attack, only they’re keeping a secret. Their secret surfaces when they’re adults and questions start being asked, which leads to a hunt for a dangerous search for a killer. You will not want to put this one down because you will soon realize that nothing is quiet what it seems; the twists and turns keep coming, and the ending will leave you shocked!

This book was so good. Naomi was a great protagonist, and I wanted the best for her! Twists and turns during the whole book!

What Lies in the Woods is my second book from Marshall and my first by her in the adult thriller genre. I love books with a premise that requires the main character to flash back to an unreliable perception of the past. The reader gets the chance to discover the truth alongside the narrator and that’s exactly what happened with this story. Naomi is a troubled, but likable main character that readers will want to ride along with on her journey. Equipped with a well-grounded premise, Marshall adds in a fantastic small town setting and a cast of very suspicious characters. As commonly found in stories with these elements, there are many secrets to uncover and a whole lot of red herrings. Marshall’s pacing kept me on my toes as she threw different hints at me and while I was able to guess parts of the grand reveal, there were still certain details I didn’t catch along the way.

🎧: I listened to this one on audio and was immediately drawn into the story by the narrator. I think that this story is perfectly formatted for audio consumption and highly recommend giving it a try!

Wow! I could not stop listening to this book. Karissa Vacker is so captivating narrating this story.
It started off with Naomi Shaw received a phone call letting her know that the the serial killer, her attacker had died in prison. Twenty years ago, three best friends, three little girls, Naomi, Liv and Cass are playing in the woods. Naomi Shaw was 11 years, when she was attacked, stabbed 17 times while playing in the woods. Miraculously, she survived. Her friends claimed to have seen who attacked Naomi and described him to the police. All three girls testified in court and their testimony put a serial killer behind bars. Twenty years later, She returned to her hometown. The three girls, got together to celebrate. They talked about secrets they kept since childhood. Naomi second guess herself if she had put away the wrong man. She returned to her hometown. Liv was found dead by Naomi. Was it suicide or was it murder? The secrets these girls kept; the secrets people of the town kept. The twists and turns pull you right in...and the ending.... wow. Totally, recommend this book

Three 11 year old girls playing in the woods. One of them gets stabbed 17 times and barely survives but a serial killer is sent to prison as a result. Twenty-two years later, the three women get together again when they hear that the serial killer has died in prison of a heart attack. But then things start to go wrong and the stab victim is left questioning whether she sent the right person to prison. Lots of suspense as everyone seems to be hiding something. Well narrated too.