What Lies in the Woods: A Novel

A childhood secret plagues three friends into adulthood. You can’t always trust what you see!!

I started off really enjoying this book and then found myself reading it and waiting for it to get good 🥴 by no means what is it not a good or interesting story, I just didn’t like the plot at certain times. I didn’t understand the whole game/ritual aspect to the story, like are these girls really that dumb? (Actually, probably yes). There was some confusing aspects to it too which ultimately lost my interest in the middle. Overall, I finished it bc it’s a bookclub read and I may be the only one who didn’t really like it lol three stars though bc I did enjoy the main character Naomi. I love a female powerhouse protagonist that still pushes through while the world tries to bring her down!

2.5 stars. Read for my book club. The first three pages of this book were the best part. I was expecting an atmospheric, “The Honeys” (Ryan LaSala)-esque novel. This was not that. The pacing was super slow, I didn’t connect to or care about the characters, and I figured out almost every twist before it was revealed. This book felt like it wasn't sure whether it was YA or adult. I was really bored and kind of just trudged through to finish this, but it fell very flat for me.

I was blown away by this book. Marshall’s writing is fantastic, the way that she introduces her characters and the stories that she builds between them is incredible. I can’t wait to read more of her work!!

Set in Washington state, the book centers around Naomi. When she was 11, she was brutally attacked in the woods she and her two best friends (Olivia and Cassidy) were playing in and left for dead, her two friends witnessing the attack while hiding from view. She somehow survives the attack, and the girls say the attacker was Alan Michael Stahl, a suspected serial killer. Naomi's testimony puts him in prison, and the town can rest easy. Twenty two years later, Naomi still bears the physical and emotional scars from that day and has moved to Seattle to escape the memories, while Olivia struggles with severe mental health issues. Cassidy, a single mother and the mayor's daughter, seems to be the only one doing well. They all get a call telling them that Stahl has died from cancer in prison. Naomi heads back home to check in with Olivia and Cassidy about all of this, and while there, her dad gives her a letter that came for her...it's from Stahl's son, who says she put away the wrong man. This sets off a chain of events that make a lot of people in town very uncomfortable, and Naomi vows to figure out what really happened all those years ago. This book was such a wonderful story. Not only was this story a quest to find the truth about what happened all those years ago, it also covered a lot about the dynamics of friendships between girls and how they can often be toxic. I thought the author did a great job illustrating the ripple effect of lies, and the result for me was quite a mix of emotions. And the twists and turns had me dizzy! I chose to listen to this book via Audible, which was narrated by Karissa Vacker. Though her voice irritated me sometimes (she used a sort of breathless whisper a lot of the time), she did a great job overall in bringing this story to life for me. I loved the voices she gave to the characters, and she portrayed the emotions perfectly. If you enjoy suspense/thrillers, then definitely give this one a read or listen!