Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown is a captivating debut that delves into the dark underbelly of elite academia and secret societies. The story follows Maya, who returns to Princeton for her ten-year reunion, only to be thrust into a mystery surrounding her sister Naomi's sudden death. As Maya investigates, she uncovers secrets about the exclusive Sterling Club and its covert Greystone Society, which she and Naomi were both involved in. The novel is a compelling mix of suspense and emotional depth, exploring themes of belonging, privilege, and the lengths one might go to fit in. Brown's writing is vivid and detailed, making the campus setting come alive and adding to the overall tension. The characters are well-developed, particularly Maya, whose journey from a confident alumna to a desperate sister seeking answers is both relatable and heart-wrenching. Naomi's narrative, told through flashbacks, adds layers to the story, revealing the pressures and dangers she faced. I found Maya to be the most interesting character in Society of Lies. Her journey from a confident alumna to a desperate sister seeking answers is both compelling and relatable. Her determination to uncover the truth about her sister Naomi's death, despite the risks and secrets she encounters, adds depth to her character. Maya's emotional struggles and growth throughout the novel make her a captivating protagonist. While the plot is engaging and filled with twists, the pacing can be uneven at times, with some sections feeling slower than others. However, the strong character development and the intriguing mystery make up for these minor flaws. #netgalley #societyoflies

Overall, Society of Lies is an addictive read that keeps you turning pages late into the night. It's a promising start for Lauren Ling Brown, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future

Lauren Ling Brown's Society of Lies is a suspenseful work asking how far will people go to belong? Following the story of two sisters, Maya and Naomi, experiencing Princeton ten years apart, this book continues to forces characters to continue to ask that question. What will you do and what will you stay silent on?

This book is a fantastic look at the elite circle of secret societies and just how far they can reach.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review.

A dark academia-style thrill set on an elite Ivy League campus. I found the ending somewhat unbelievable, but it was entertaining. I especially loved the relationships between the characters, and the writing was top-notch.

i really enjoyed this one! i love a dark academia setting, and this one really checked all of the boxes for me. i wish we'd gotten a little more depth in the sisters' relationship dynamic, but everything else was really solid.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn't love a dark academia novel complete with secret society? I enjoyed this book, but wasn't "wowed" by it.

I was totally engrossed by this dual-timeline read. I loved seeing the (horrifying but addictive) story play out through the sisters’ eyes, a little more than ten years apart.

I had no idea who was the villain until the end. The characters were so well written—I either loved or despised each one of them.

The mystery surrounding (and embedded in) the secret society was fascinating. It’s one of those 0.1% things that I love reading about, especially when there’s scandal and rich people problems—this hit those criteria perfectly.

Overall, loved this and would gladly read the author’s next book!

This was a pretty typical thriller/dark academia for me. I did find it really slow for about the first 70% or so. I enjoy dual timelines but found myself having to go back and see who was talking in that chapter because there are characters that overlap. I enjoyed Naomi's narrative more than Maya, but I felt bad for both sisters. Then ending picked up pace and I enjoyed it. Overall I think it was a good debut. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

I love the premise of this book, dark academia and secret societies at an Ivy League school. It started out strong but slowed down toward the middle, where frankly I was bored.
I also found it somewhat confusing with the multiple POV’s, you really need to pay attention to which year you are reading about.
Another thing that drove me crazy was the repetitive use of “out of the corner of my eye” and “ are you okay?” If it was said once it was said easily 50 or more times.
Overall a premise I love but the execution just wasn’t there for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
🏫 Ivy League Settings
💰 Elite Behaving Badly
🖤 BIPOC /Mixed Race MCs
⏳ Dual Timelines
👯‍♀️ Sisters Dual POV
☠️ Two Murder Mysteries

Maya is the older sister who did it all first, and of course made mistakes while carving her path for herself and her sister. Now 10 years later her younger sister is also at Princeton and a member of the same elite eating club that Maya was part of when a girl died 10 years prior.

Now it is time for Naomi’s graduation celebration but when she turns up dead, questions surrounding her death start to come up, and how is it connected to the secret eating club that she was part of and that her sister was also a member of 10 years prior when another member died.

I loved getting the dual POV of the sisters during their time at Princeton and also Maya’s POV in present day when Naomi is found dead, and as she investigates her sister’s death.

The way both Maya’s past POV and Naomi’s POV leading up to her death worked so well together of sisters trying to find their place while also dealing with the complexity of dead parents, being bi-racial, and trying to find a place in the elite Princeton crowd while not losing themselves was so well done!

I truly enjoyed every second of this mystery as well as the social and political commentary and hints of the college scandals that have been in the news that were woven into this work of fiction so well!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love a dark academia book, and I really enjoyed this one. I actually ended up buying a copy at the airport, and it was the perfect page turner to accompany me on my trip. The back and forth between characters AND years takes a little getting used to, but that also just made me read more carefully and truly pay attention to the nuances.

I wasn’t a fan of this book. I felt like they was just way to much going on and it just did not keep me invested like I had hoped it would. I had high hopes for this book but it really just was a let down for me.

This was a pretty decent thriller! I think pacing was a major struggle here. The first quarter of the book, I was sucked in and ready to binge it. But after that, the pacing fell off for me. The voices in each timeline/POV are not incredibly distinct, making it slightly harder to follow. I do enjoy learning about things like secret societies, so that part was extremely interesting.

Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown was a fast pace story about lies, mysteries and murder in a secret society at Princeton. The story is in dual POV and dual timeline of past and present of older sister Maya, reflecting 10 years in the past on her time in the exclusive Sterling Club and Naomi, Maya's sister who followed in her footsteps to attend Princeton and John joining Sterling Club 10 years later but ends up dead. It was called an accident but Maya doesn't believe it.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

As someone who is pretty particular about the type of prose found in their books, I feel like I had a hard time getting into this story at first because the prose felt too straightforward and simple in a sense. I was interested in learning about the sprawling campus that was so central to the mystery and the author definitely delivered on showcasing Maya's time at Princeton. However, like some of the other reviewers have noted, I also found the jump between the two POVs a little bit confusing and also too similar. Sometimes parallels can be too parallel and I think this book would have benefited with more variation in between the two sisters. I think this book would be good for anyone looking to take their time with a mystery centered around 2 sisters!

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book!

Academia, eating clubs, and a murder yesterday? Sign me up. This is exactly the type of thriller that peaks my interest. This one left me largely satisfied - a creepy atmosphere and an ending that I didn’t see coming. I found this book fun with a little bit of societal note added to it. I really liked it, but thought it slightly dragged in a couple of places. This would make a great tv series. 4 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for review.

This book was just meh for me. I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading as I lost interest in all the unlikeable characters. It was fine at first, but I don't feel like any of them developed as a character. Maybe it was just to many characters as there were so many POV"s There was a lot of dialogue that felt forced and it just made it annoying.

This book was predictable and formulaic. I appreciate the storyline, but the characters had no depth.

I'm a bit at a loss about this book. I felt like it had a lot of potential, but it truly just fell flat. I wanted an unputdownable mystery with a murder, and got a lukewarm story about annoyingly privileged ivy league individuals who behave badly and get rewarded for it. The two point of views of Maya and Naomi were difficult to distinguish because they were so similar, both going to Princeton and being involved in an exclusive society full of less than stellar people. I felt the twists weren't that unpredictable, and the book has so much unnecessary commentary at times. Feel like there was at least 50 pages too many for the story. Nevertheless, I'm sure it is going to be popular with some audiences.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I am a big fan of dark academia books. Give me a mystery set on a college campus and I"m in. There were secret societies, murder and corruption. A little something for everyone. I never anticipated what was going to happen.

I found the eating clubs very interesting and did a lot of googling to learn more about these. I also enjoy a dual POV book however there were a few points where I felt we needed a bit more distinction between the voices of the sisters.

There is a lot of hype around this book, including being a Reese Bookclub pick, which is why I read it. Murder set at in a snooty academic setting (Princeton) is usually my jam. I like the first two parts of the book and could barely put it down, then it screeched to a slow pace after that. Lots of confusing timelines because the book goes back and forth between time and characters.