Society of Lies: Reese's Book Club: A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “A dark and haunting debut that explores secret societies, the bonds of sisterhood, and the intricacies of privilege at an elite college . . . I couldn’t put this twisty tale down.”—Julia Bartz, author of The Writing Retreat
“Readers of dark academia, prepare to meet your new obsession.”—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here
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.
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Community Reviews
Secret societies create unhealthy environments. They look glamorous on the surface, but there’s an ugly worm in the center. This novel switches back and forth between past and present and between 2 different characters. There is murder and intrigue and too many secrets. I felt the story could have been a little shorter and the twists were really just kind of curves, but overall, I enjoyed it.
I am going to start off by saying I did like the concept and theory of this book. Sisters (Maya and Naomi) sharing college experiences together, one will stop at nothing to get answers for the others murder. I was in fortunate enough to receive this book in January of this year. With that being said, it took me that long to get through it.
In the beginning of the book, I thought this was going to be a one sitting read. I enjoyed the dual POV and the two settings, than toward the middle, it slowed way down. I felt like the story started to lose itself in the second half and started to lose its luster for me.
I know this book did not work for me, but that does not mean it may not work for others. It was not a bad book, it just was a bit longwinded for me, as a thriller.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an early copy to read in exchange for my honest review
In the beginning of the book, I thought this was going to be a one sitting read. I enjoyed the dual POV and the two settings, than toward the middle, it slowed way down. I felt like the story started to lose itself in the second half and started to lose its luster for me.
I know this book did not work for me, but that does not mean it may not work for others. It was not a bad book, it just was a bit longwinded for me, as a thriller.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an early copy to read in exchange for my honest review
Society of Lies invites readers into Princeton’s polished halls, and then exposes rotten secrets hiding beneath the ivy. Lauren Ling Brown delivers an engaging dark academia thriller filled with secret societies, suspicious deaths, academic corruption, and privileged students who believe consequences belong to other people. The mystery kept shifting beneath my feet while I happily followed every new clue.
Maya Mason returns to Princeton for her ten-year reunion and her younger sister Naomi’s graduation. The celebration ends before it begins when Naomi is found dead in a campus lake. Police attribute her death to an accidental overdose, but Maya knows her sister too well to accept their explanation. Maya begins retracing Naomi’s final months and discovers that her sister joined the exclusive Sterling Club. Naomi may have also entered Greystone, the secret society operating within the Sterling Club. Maya belonged to the same organization during college and another young woman in the Greystone circle died during her senior year. Maya has spent a decade protecting the truth about that night. Naomi’s investigation threatens to uncover everything.
Brown moves between Maya’s present-day search, Naomi’s final year, and Maya’s own college experience. Each timeline adds another layer to the mystery without revealing its secrets too quickly. The structure creates a steady trail of suspicions, buried guilt, and competing motives. Maya’s grief is tangled with guilt over the secrets she kept from her sister. Naomi’s chapters allow her to become more than the victim who launches the investigation. She is intelligent, determined, and unwilling to ignore wrongdoing simply because powerful people want her silence.
The academic corruption plot offered a convincing explanation for Naomi’s death. Wealthy families, compromised faculty members, falsified grades, and admissions fraud create a system designed to protect power at any cost. I believed I had solved the mystery once Maya uncovered the network. Brown had another reveal waiting. The whole truth involves more than institutional corruption. The personal motive behind Naomi’s death is both shocking and infuriating. I began suspecting the culprit during the final quarter of the story, but I never predicted every piece of the explanation. A twist inside another twist was one of my favorite parts of this thriller.
Society of Lies is a strong debut with polished writing, an atmospheric campus setting, and enough deception to keep the pages turning. Brown examines how elite institutions protect their reputations while vulnerable students absorb the consequences. Pick this up if you enjoy thrillers with secret societies, dual timelines, family secrets, and wealthy people behaving terribly.
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