This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
What Lies in the Woods: A Novel by Kate Alice MarshallPublication Date: January 17, 2023
Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan
Pages: 336
Goodreads
Source: From the Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Rating: ★★★★
Synopsis:
They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison . . .
They were heroes . . . but they were liars.
Twenty-two years ago, Naomi Shaw believed in magic. She and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent that summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder—the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes.And they were liars.
The day she learns that Alan Michael Stahl has died in prison, Naomi gets a call from Olivia. For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi is forced back to the town she'd escaped. She sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.
REVIEW
Just wow!
If I could leave my review at that and be done with it, I would. The reality is that “What Lies in the Woods: A Novel” by Kate Alice Marshall is one hell of a book. I love thrillers and read a lot of them, so it can be hard to find one that truly impresses me or leaves a lasting impact. This one does both.
The story itself is simple, but the added twists and turns make it complex. It’s not too complex to follow, but just enough to keep you guessing. All of the characters are nuanced, and the author does a fantastic job of making them three-dimensional. Each character brings something to the story and helps drive it forward. I had several moments where I was shocked, moments where I wanted to shake some sense into the characters, and somewhere I simply wanted to cry or rage alongside them.
I listened to this book on audiobook, and it was phenomenal. Karissa Vacker, the narrator, did a great job. While it’s too early to say if she’s one of my top narrators, she is definitely one to watch. Her portrayal of the individual characters was completely believable, and her vocal characterizations never made me cringe. Her narration was flawlessly done.
