I couldn't put this book down!

I absolutely love a college setting and dark academia books, so I'm glad this book was a hit for me. I'm shocked to find that this book was Brown's debut because she already seems like a seasoned mystery writer.

In this book, we are in a dual POV with Maya in present day / her time at Princeton and Naomi, her sister, in "present day" up until her death. It remains like this throughout the story and I had to keep reading to find out what happened to Naomi and what secrets Maya has been harboring all these years later.

Read if you need something you can't put down!

Society of Lies is a a story of two sisters. When Naomi turns up dead, Maya is on a mission to find out what happened. Both sisters were members of Princeton's most elite social club... which turns out to hold more than one deadly secret.

I found this one to be a page turner. Normally, dual perspectives in a thriller slow the story down, but I found myself completely invested in both timelines. I did not see the end coming and what I most enjoyed was that this book wasn't predictable.

The phrase "eating club" really threw me off. Explaining it once or twice would have been fine, but the excessive use of this term when just talking about a social club for elites/wealthy seemed overdone and forced. I also feed like some of the sub plots/characters were fluff and could have been excluded without changing the story.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantan for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

What do you think of fraternities and sororities? This is the story of similar institutions called eating clubs at Princeton University. Could these clubs harbor secret societies? When belonging to these organizations could members feel they can get away with anything. Maya attends Princeton and is in one of these organizations when something horrible happens. Will it be covered up and will she be able to live with what happened? Her sister, Naomi, is 10 years younger and decides to enter Princeton. She starts to investigate what happened 10 years ago. Will she be silenced?

This is and interesting look at secretive societies and how they help their members to hide things along with helping them get ahead in life? The story will keep you guessing until the end but the tension exists throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #LaurenLingBrown and #Bantam for a copy of this book.
#SocietyofLies

Fall around the corner? I was craving some dark academia and Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown stepped up to the plate. Taking place at Princeton, Society of Lies was filled with dark academia, secret societies, and mystery.

I found the first half of the book to be a bit slower, with a lot of backstory, however it was necessary as the second half moves much faster. Following Maya a student in 2012 and her sister, Naomi, about to graduate and mysterious deaths and things taking place within these secret societies.

Society of Lies is the perfect fall read! I think it’d be a perfect read for bookclubs this fall. This was a great debut novel; I can’t wait to read what Lauren writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book!

I loooooove me some dark academia it’s probably my favorite sub genre in thrillers so I was so excited for this book. I am so happy to say that it did not disappoint! I was instantly hooked from the start and didn’t want to put it down until I finished it. It was a twisty ride the whole time and I was second guessing everyone on who the killer was. I loved the multiple POVs and the Then and Now timelines and seeing everything connect throughout the story. I loved having Naomi’s story and even though you know from the start that she dies, I still found myself rooting for her and hoping that maybe it’s going to change.

Overall, I loved this one and highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys dark academia and twisty thrillers. This will definitely be the perfect read for fall!

This book was very promising, but end then end it, it just wasn't for me. I felt the storyline and direction was readying a little to YA for my liking. Perhaps I'm not the right audience.

This was my first ARC read and it did not disappoint. If you’re a fan of dark academia, thriller and mysteries this is going to be the book for you!

This book follows Maya (a princeton alumni) who visits her prestigious institution on the weekend of her class reunion only to find out her baby sister Naomi (current princeton student) is murdered by someone at the institution.

Similar in their stories, Maya becomes apart of this secret society (10 years in the past) and is covering a secret that can end her career and life forever. 10 years in the present, her sister Naomi is also involved in the same secret society and is caught investigating the events with a local news reporter that may or may not have connections with her older sister!!


This book was very very veryyy interesting! Although the jumped timelines can confuse you, it is very mild paced for a thriller. The book keeps you engaged from beginning to end. I think the readers would love this if it ever turned into a movie adaptation.

The characters were definitely well developed! ALTHOUGH, i’m not a big fan favorite of Maya lol

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan favorite of the genres above!

thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for- Bantam for sending this! :)

A convergence of past and present meet in this thrilling secret society mystery.

Maya is eager to attend her college reunion and her sister’s graduation all in one go, with them both having attended Princeton. Maya gets news nobody ever wants: her sister is dead. Now, she uses her time back in her old stomping grounds to uncover what really happened to Naomi.

Between present Maya and past Naomi, the story unfolds and I was hooked! I love secret societies and this delivered. The mystery and the intensity that Maya feels to discover the truth was riveting. There is such a sense of wrongness surrounding Naomi’s death and I desperately needed to get to the bottom of it!

Dark academia.. yes please!! I do love a book set in a school, and this is Princeton. Surely all the students are busy studying to so their best and get the careers they have always desired right? think again….

Maya is devastated when her younger sister Naomi is found dean in a lake near the campus. She is sure that her sister would not take her own life and she knows the darkness that lurks behind the walls of this prestigious school. Maya was once a student here and has her own dark past that she does not want to come back. What did her sister get caught up in?

This was a tough book to read at times. Full of characters that you will absolutely loathe. A story of the rich getting richer, the connections people so desperately want and secret societies. So many lies. It was a fabulous debut novel that is well worth a read.

Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Ballantine, Bantam for my advanced copy of this book to read on Netgalley. Publishes on October 1st.

This is a multiple timeline academic thriller about a secret society with some pretty big secrets. Maya graduated from Princeton ten years ago and is at the alumni mixer the day before her sister is scheduled to graduate. When Maya can’t get ahold of Naomi she worries and replays the fights she has had with her sister in the days leading up to this event. They had a rough childhood but somehow both ended up attending Princeton and being members of the Sterling House supper club as well as its secret society. They both were on a better path so when Naomi turns up dead hours before her scheduled graduation Maya can’t help but feel like her sister’s death wasn’t accidental and that someone is trying to cover up a crime. Maya searches for answers while also contemplating the accidental death that happened while she attended Princeton. The story of the two deaths is told in three timelines alternating between the sisters’ points of view. You follow both sisters on their quest for the truth and into the danger and darkness that follows. I think the sisters were both well written characters that far outshine the setting. The side characters are a bit obnoxious, but I guess that is to be expected with an elite college and exclusive secret society. The two mysteries unroll slowly and overall, I think a few conversations between characters could have trimmed down the overall book without impacting the story. The tension stays high throughout the second half of the book and the ending delivers in true form to the genre expectations. This is a good fall/ back-to-school read for mystery lovers.

This is one heck of a debut! If you like dark academia this is one not to miss! It’s complex and full of layers. The story alternates between Maya’s past and present and of her sister Naomi and the months leading up to her death. As the story unfolds, dark and sinister secrets regarding an elite social club are revealed. This story demonstrates the power that money and connections can have. Thankfully there is no real life Sterling Club. I look forward to reading more works by this author!


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Society of Lies was an unexpectedly twisty take on dark academic thriller. Sisters, more than a decade apart, both attend Princeton University and become involved in the same secret society within an eating club. Maya, the oldest, was there when a fellow member died on a ski trip. Now Naomi, the younger of the sisters, has turned up dead in a lake the night before graduation. As Maya sifts through Naomi’s life, trying to make sense of what happened to her, we jump back in time to Maya’s days at Princeton as well as the months leading up the present from Naomi’s point of view. Told in shifting points of view and timelines, each parallel story leads up to what happened then and now, and why. What secrets is the society trying to hide - then and now - secrets that they’d be willing to kill over? The writing was sharp, and the characters well-developed and relatable. The suspense could have been a touch more compelling, but I found the mystery of it all along with the resolution of it at the end worth the wait.

Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown is a dual timeline, dual POV novel that follows two sisters during their time at Princeton ten years apart. Ling Brown weaves a story of murder, mystery and betrayal rooted in secret societies at the university. I enjoyed this take on the typical college secret society novel. I will definitely read any future books by Lauren Ling Brown.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
When Maya attended college, she was a member of a secret society. As a result, she has secrets to hide. Now 10 years later, she is back for a class reunion. She is really excited because her younger sister Naomi is now attending the same school. Unfortunately, Naomi is soon found dead. Who killed her and why? Maya starts digging for the answers, as well as keeping her own secrets. I enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure where it was going in the beginning, but it just got better and better. There were several twists and turns along the way, as well as a surprise ending. A good story if you like mysteries centering around school experiences!

Thank you, Random House and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Society of Lies.

This was a very slow-burn mystery told in dual POV/timeline about two sisters who both went to Princeton and are a part of a secret society. The youngest turns up dead and the older sister investigates. The novel was okay, but it just didn't grab me like I wished it could have.

Wasn’t a big fan of this one the alternating storylines became too confusing and everything just felt messily strung together

Maya's younger sister has been found dead days before her graduation from Princeton. Maya feels strongly that it was murder and it brings back memories of Maya's experiences ten years earlier at the same college. Twists, turns and secret societies. Princeton is a bed of alcohol and drug addiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine/Bantam & Lauren Ling Brown for a digital ARC of Society of Lies in exchange for an honest review.

The combination of the cover art & the word "society" in the title (which I'm a sucker for), I was immediately drawn to this book & reading the synopsis just further reeled me in.

This story follows Maya as she finds out that her younger sister, who is set to be graduating from Princeton, turns up dead. Naomi followed in Maya's footsteps & joined the most elite social club on campus & further was inducted into the super secret society within the club. Maya knows from her own experience with the same club & secret society that there are more sinister things & play & that Naomi isn't the first person to turn up dead. Maya knows there is more to her sister's death than it appears & she intends to get to the bottom of it.

Sadly, this book did not fully delivery. The first half of the book was amazing. I was hooked & couldn't stop reading and then, roughly halfway through, it's like the story did a complete 180. The first half was so bingeable & fast paced & the second half DRAGGED & was lacking in literally everything that was so great about the first half. Honestly, it was really REALLY weird that the two halves of the book were so drastically different.

I was also not a huge fan of the dual POV & three timelines. (1) Maya Present; (2) Maya Past; and (3) Naomi Past. I am willing to read stories with multi-POVs & multi-timelines when the book is stellar. This one was until it wasn't.

While this was a very intriguing concept that showed promise in the beginning, it really went down hill after that with the slow pacing & lack of any reals thrills or suspense.

One sister is returning to Princeton for a reunion. The younger sister attended Princeton but is dead. How did this happen? As the older sister investigates, she uncovers the underside of "eating houses".

Maya was looking forward to her reunion at Princeton, especially because her little sister Naomi is graduating. When police say Naomi died in an accident, she suspects there's more to it. As she pieces together the months leading up to Naomi's death, she sees how much Naomi hid from her. Foremost is the fact that Naomi joined the exclusive Sterling Club as Maya had years ago, and had likely been tapped for the secret society within it. She fears that following in her footsteps got Naomi killed, and that her secrets won't stay hidden.

From the start, there's tension between Maya and people around her. There's a lot she doesn't know about Naomi's life, the way she felt at being shuttled to different caregivers when Maya went to college, and even the people she knew from her time at Princeton. Privilege and money creates a whole separate layer of opportunity for students, even in the clubs they're able to join. Maya got into Sterling for the connections, hoping she could get better opportunities for Naomi. Those were mostly financial and professional, and at that level people have more to hide. Both sisters have investigations of a sort, and are clumsy at it because they're not professionals, putting themselves into the crosshairs of those more powerful and connected.