A campus setting this time of year is always my favorite. This thriller takes place at Princeton and delves into the world of (fictitious) secret societies 👀

The first half of this book, I loved. From the jump, I was gripped by the mystery surrounding Naomi’s death. But what really pulled me in was her sister Maya’s drive to uncover the truth behind what happened and how it was actually connected to Maya’s own past as a member of the same secret society Naomi joined on campus.

The dark academia elements were on point for me, too. They gave such an ominous undertone to the whole novel. From school admissions scandals to drugs, alcohol, cheating and stealing… this is rich kids with their parents’ money behaving poorly at its peak. Makes for a lot of drama!

While I was loving it from the beginning, the pacing was off for me in the second half, which made it really hard to stay invested. I kept thinking we were at the tipping point for “the big reveal” and would check my reading percentage to see that we were still a ways off. Felt like it dragged on, which took away from that stellar first half as it lost some momentum. Although, I will say, the ending was a surprise, and while it was a bit abrupt, I appreciated the twist!

My biggest win though has to be the commentary on larger themes woven seamlessly into this thriller. Topics like sisterhood, class, privilege and multiracial experiences were covered so well drawing on the author’s own experience of feeling “other” in her formative years especially.

On the whole, this was such a good debut (3.5 stars), and I can’t wait to see what Lauren Ling Brown writes next!

This was a really great book!
This follows two perspectives, Maya & Naomi, who are sisters. One was murdered, and one is trying to solve their murder.
Both of them get involved in a secret society at Princeton University that essentially does a ton of shady things to get students into school, etc.
It took me a minute to get into the story but once I did, I was hooked. This is one of those reads that makes you think and you have to really pay attention. I truly had no clue how this one was going to end and I didn’t guess any of it.
It was different and I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. It is also slower paced but that never affected holding my interest. I felt like I was following along in a crime show the whole time and really trying to solve what happened.
My brain hurt often because it was very deep and heavy, and so I really had to take my time with it.
Over all I enjoyed it so much, and my only critique would have been that it needed faster pacing.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I genuinely could not put this one down. It had all the elements of a book that I love - dark academia setting (hello secret societies!), dual perspectives and dual timelines, a thrilling murder mystery, and twists and turns until the very end. This book is perfect for the autumn and had me dreaming of visiting the northeast in my fall travel lineup.

I did feel, at times, like there were a few too many characters and not all of them were necessary and relevant. I also felt like there were some shock and awe moments that didn't particularly add anything to the plot but just left the reader with a quick gasp before moving on. It could definitely be trimmed down, but I enjoyed every minute of it nonetheless.

I would recommend this one to anyone, but specifically for people who love Tell Me Lies (the tv show, not the book, of course). Four stars from me; a wonderful debut novel! Can't wait to see what Lauren Ling Brown does next!

Society of Lies
3.75 ⭐️

So glad no one ever asked me to join a secret society when I was in college 😅

Told from two sisters’ points of view, Society of Lies has all the twists you’d expect from a secret society that’s giving huge advantages to people who want to get ahead and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. While Naomi investigates a murder that happened back when her sister was in the society, Maya works in present day to figure out what happened to her sister.

The dual narration was a little confusing here with so many timelines but it eventually leveled out. I liked the fast chapters and twisted characters, some of whom you could see coming but not all!

⭐️3.25
Murder at Princeton. Two sisters twelve years apart, both in a secret society eating club. Very elite, so life HAS to be good, right?

Not a huge fan of a slow burn in a mystery. The timelines of the present and ten years ago seemed to intersect too much for my liking, but maybe it’s just me.

What I loved was the setting, I could picture it in my mind. I also loved the short chapters and the premise of the story. Great first book by this author, I will be looking forward to her next one.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6365502141

Pub date: October 1, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is pretty slow moving and I had a hard time staying interested. I think the storyline is there, but there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t really go anywhere.

3.5⭐️ dark academia!! The premise of this story was really interesting and while a big portion of it had me hooked, small pieces kind of fell flat for me. I found Naomi and Liam’s drama very tiresome😂 but overall I really enjoyed the story!

It took me a while to get into this one. To call it a slow burn would be an understatement!

While I loved the short chapters (for easy stopping points), I did have a hard time grasping the dual timelines and all the characters. I found myself going back to see the dates at the start of the chapters to get a grip on where we were on the timeline.

That said, there were lots of secrets, lies, and a secret society within an exclusive society, which made it interesting… but the whole time, we were trying to pin the murder of a student on a professor… and I felt like it all fizzled out in the end, and was rather anticlimactic. In fact, I finished it, and sat there like, “what?! After all that, that’s what went down?” I felt like it took so long to read and the ending wasn’t as exciting as it could have been!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I read 30% and was just bored, I also found the flashbacks confusing because it was multiple POV and multiple timeline. The tone was not for me as well, repetitive talk of racism, racial profiling, etc. We get it, just tell me the story please.

I will say, this book has some great characters that are well played out and give meaning to the story. And the plot was well written and left me with no questions about what was happening. I wish the pace was picked up just a bit. And the second half had a lot of unnecessary details that could’ve been edited down.

With deep and insightful characters, I was all in with this one...for the first half of the book. Then Lauren Ling Brown slowed things waaaayyy down and I struggled to make it through the second half. I felt like Brown's writing was immersive and she had me feeling like I was in the room with each of the characters. The dark academia setting is one of my favorites and she shined in setting that scene as well. Unortunately, in the end, the pacing really ruined this one for me.

Multiple time lines sometimes gets me confused. This book did not confuse me with the multiple time lines. Dark academia is a genre I actually enjoy reading. This book is a chef’s kiss in my thoughts. A thought provoking novel with so many twists, as with so many other books I’ve read I thought I had it all figured out and then another twist proves me oh so wrong. Such a great book!

What really happened to Naomi at Princeton? That's the question her sister Maya, also an alumna, is struggling to answer. This moves back and forth between the two of them as Naomi recounts what led to her death even as Maya, in the present is investigating. The plot might be familiar but the sisters make it unique. This hits on racism, classism, and the high pressure life at elite academic institutions. And, of course on secret societies. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the campus novel.

"How far would you go to belong?

Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion - it's been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her time there. This visit is special because Maya will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi.

But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya's worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Maya suspects that there is more to the story than they are letting on.

As Maya pieces together what happened in the months leading up to her sister's death, she begins to realize how much Naomi hid from her. Despite Maya's warnings, Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus - the same one Maya belonged to. And if she had to guess, Naomi was likely tapped for the secret society within it.

The more Maya uncovers, the more terrified she becomes that Naomi's decision to follow in her footsteps might have been what got her killed. Because Maya's time at Princeton wasn't as wonderful as she'd always made it seem - after all, her sister wasn't the first young woman to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past...and to the secret she's kept all these years."

Oh, I need to know the secret that's MORE secret than the secret society!

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload my review to Amazon on publication day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lauren Ling Brown for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Society of Lies coming out October 1, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I understand this is a debut book. I was intrigued by the summary. I really wanted to love it. I thought the beginning started off really well. I was intrigued by the mystery. However, it didn’t hold my interest. I thought it would be more dark academia or something. It didn’t thrill me. I would check out another book by this author.

This debut novel by Lauren Ling Brown’s certainly did not feel like a debut! I was immediately interested in this synopsis and I think the writer did a wonderful job of jumping right into the story! I am a super fan of dark academia books, and this one didn't disappoint as the mystery continued to unravel at a really nice pace and rarely slowed down, I had to keep reading to find out what happened at the end! I will always recommend this book as one of my top thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Lauren Ling Brown’s Society of Lies is a tense and atmospheric thriller that explores the lengths people will go to belong—and the deadly consequences that can follow. Set against the backdrop of Princeton’s elite social clubs, the novel follows Maya as she returns to her alma mater for what should have been a joyful weekend, only to face the most tragic and perplexing event of her life: the death of her sister Naomi.

From the very first pages, Brown pulls readers into Maya’s turmoil as she receives the devastating news that Naomi has died under suspicious circumstances. The official ruling of Naomi’s death as an accident doesn’t sit right with Maya, and her instincts lead her down a dark path of secrets, lies, and long-buried truths. What begins as a search for answers about her sister’s final days quickly transforms into a dangerous confrontation with the past—a past that Maya thought she had left behind.

Maya is a compelling protagonist, driven by her guilt and grief over Naomi’s death. Her return to Princeton not only brings her face-to-face with the mystery surrounding Naomi but also forces her to reckon with her own experiences as a former member of the Sterling Club, an exclusive organization with a mysterious secret society within it. Maya’s internal conflict is central to the novel—while she wants to protect her sister’s memory and seek justice, she’s haunted by the knowledge that Naomi followed in her footsteps, perhaps too closely. The complexity of Maya’s character, torn between guilt and resolve, makes her journey through this harrowing mystery all the more gripping.

Naomi, though absent in the present, is vividly rendered through Maya’s investigation into her life. As Maya uncovers the secrets her sister kept, she begins to realize how little she truly knew about Naomi’s time at Princeton. This gradual unveiling of Naomi’s character is masterfully done, and it heightens the suspense as Maya discovers unsettling parallels between their lives. The idea that Naomi might have fallen prey to the same dangers that Maya encountered during her time at Sterling Club adds layers of tension and fear, making the stakes feel personal and immediate.

The plot of Society of Lies is intricately woven, with every revelation drawing readers deeper into the dark underbelly of Princeton’s social elite. Brown deftly balances flashbacks of Maya’s own experiences with the present-day investigation, creating a chilling parallel between past and present. The story unfolds with a slow-burn intensity, as Maya peels back the layers of secrecy surrounding the Sterling Club and the deadly cost of admission into its inner circle. The author keeps readers guessing, with each clue adding to the sense that Maya is uncovering something far more sinister than she ever imagined.

The novel excels in exploring the themes of privilege, power, and the often dangerous allure of belonging. Brown critiques the toxic culture within these elite institutions, where loyalty and ambition can blind members to the darker truths lurking beneath the surface. Maya’s gradual realization that the Sterling Club—and the secret society within it—might have played a role in not only Naomi’s death but also the death of other young women forces her to confront her own complicity in perpetuating these dangerous traditions. This moral complexity gives the novel depth and makes it more than just a mystery—it’s a commentary on the lengths people will go to fit in, and the devastating consequences that can arise from turning a blind eye to injustice.

Society of Lies is a thriller that will appeal to fans of dark academia and psychological suspense. Brown’s skillful writing and sharp characterization create an immersive and unsettling atmosphere, where every chapter feels like a step closer to uncovering a terrible truth. The novel’s exploration of loyalty, guilt, and the power dynamics of privilege make it a thought-provoking read, while its tightly paced plot will keep readers on the edge of their seats. For those who enjoy thrillers that delve into the shadows of elite society, Society of Lies is a must-read.

The backdrop for this novel is an intriguing one: a secret social society within an elite social club at a prestigious university. Add to that a murder or two, and this novel had me really wanting to read it. Upon reading, I was not as enamored with it as I had hoped to be, but it also did not completely disappoint. The characters were intriguing, the plot kept me turning pages, and there were definitely some good twists and turns. Nonetheless, I found parts of the narrative — especially in the second half — to be too disjointed and unconnected (perhaps because the POVs and timelines seemed to change far too often), and all seemed to be more of a slow burn than I would have liked. Overall, it kept my interest to the end.

This is a really great book. The plot is amazing and interesting. It told from the perspective of two sisters Naomi and Maya in dueling timelines. The setting on the campus of Princeton University adds to the tension of the story. Readers will eagerly turn the pages as they try figure out who the good guys are versus the bad guys. Some situations will evoke strong emotions, but it all just adds to the dramatic moments present in the story. This is an excellent first novel.