I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall Published by Flatiron Books on January 17 2023
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: Secrets, lies and shocking plot twists will have readers scrambling to find out the truth in this excellent thriller.
What Lies in the Woods is a slow burn mystery that was nearly impossible to put down. With this book, Kate Alice Marshall has made it onto my auto-buy list of authors, it was that good. With impeccable pacing, deep character development, and stellar writing, this is a definitely a “must read” thriller of 2023.
Naomi survived a vicious attack when she was only eleven years old. She and her best friends Olivia and Cassidy were playing in the woods when Naomi was attacked and stabbed seventeen times. Cass and Liv saw the attack and were able to identify a man named Alan Michael Stahl, a suspected serial killer who the authorities were only too happy to send to prison.
Twenty years later, Naomi gets word that Stahl has died in prison, and wanting to bring some closure to her horrible experience, she decides to go home and reconnect with Liv and Cass. But rather than bringing her comfort, seeing her old friends only opens up old wounds. Liv is clearly distressed about something and claims she has a big secret she wants to tell Naomi. And that isn’t the only secret threatening to spill out. The three girls discovered something in the woods all those years ago and swore never to tell, but when tragedy suddenly strikes, Naomi begins to question her memories. What really happened that day in the woods? And how is the girls’ big secret connected to it? With the help of a podcaster who has his own doubts about what happened, Naomi embarks on a dangerous quest to find the truth.
Marshall brilliantly shows how fragile memories can be and how over time you can convince yourself that something is true, even if it isn’t. I loved watching Naomi come to the realization that perhaps the events from the past happened differently than she remembers. Naomi was an interesting protagonist in many ways. She still has terrible scars on her face from the attack, a daily reminder of what happened to her. She changed her last name because she was tired of the notoriety that came with surviving a serial killer attack, and she just wants to be left alone. Coming back to the scene of the crime, so to speak, isn’t doing her mental health any favors, but you can see how badly she wants to discover the truth and put the past to rest.
There are quite a few characters in the story, but the author gives each one an important role, and of course casts suspicion on many of them, making it nearly impossible to guess the final outcome. All of the characters seem to be damaged in one way or another, and none of them are very good people, but honestly, doesn’t that make the story more interesting? I ended up really enjoying the relationship between Naomi and her estranged hoarder dad, who was never a very good father to her growing up and didn’t give her the support she needed after the attack. But seeing them interact as adults was, believe it or not, one of the more heartwarming parts of the story.
I also loved the feeling of nostalgia I experienced during the flashback scenes, when Naomi, Liv and Cass spent hours playing something called the Goddess Game. The “game” revolved around Greek goddesses and magic, a heady experience that ultimately spiraled out of control. These scenes in the past leading up to Naomi’s attack were steeped in mystery, as the author only sparingly hands out details of the game and the actual events. I remember as a child myself having an overactive imagination, and I could see how the machinations of such a game could lead to misunderstandings and high emotions. The author brought the past and present together in spectacularly thrilling ways, and even readers who don’t like dual timelines will probably find themselves riveted by Marshall’s skillful plotting.
There were so many twists and turns in the last twenty percent of the story, I couldn’t stop gasping from shock! In fact, that might be the only negative for me, that there were just too many crazy twists so close together, I couldn’t keep up. I did love that Marshall chose a feel-good, emotional ending that felt highly satisfying. I cannot wait to read more from this talented author!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Good, satisfying thrillers are a rarity and this one seems to fit the bill quite well: I will have to keep this book firmly on my radar because it seems just perfect for my tastes. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…COME WITH ME, by Ronald Malfi
She’s an excellent writer, which makes the book even better:-)
Gotta love when you can add another must-read author to the list, right? 🙂
Definitely!
I don’t read a lot of thrillers bec ause I find that they can be often too predictable, at least the ones I usually read. But… since you liked this one so much and that the author is now on your auto-buy list, I think I would enjoy it too so I might choose this for one of my next audiobook reads. Thanks for sharing, Tammy!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Two Rakes for Mrs. Sparkwell by Eva Leigh
I didn’t find this predictable at all, but then again I don’t read a ton of thrillers so I could be wrong. But super fun and suspenseful!
Glad I picked this up from my library Friday!
I hope you love it too!
Oh boy, this sounds really really good indeed
Emma @ Words And Peace recently posted…Sunday Post #77 – 02/05/2023
It was! And all the twists surprised me:-)
Ooh, great review! I probably would have passed right by this book (I tend not to read thrillers), but the description is fascinating. Will have to check it out!
I’m glad I tried it! I’m curious about her YA books now.
Excellent review! This is one I might have to read too.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Wicked All Night by Jeaniene Frost @Jeaniene_Frost @avonbooks #Read-along #GIVEAWAY
Thanks Anne. I think you’d enjoy it:-)
This was such a pleasant surprise, especially since I’ve passed on so much YA these days so I never really paid attention to any of her previous work. This book had me hooked though, and I got serious chills when the reveal came and it dawned on me what really happened. Gave me vibes of the real life Slenderman stabbings, but I couldn’t really say it in my review because I guess that would be a massive spoiler 😀
This sounds so good! I’ve only read one other book by Kate Alice Marshall and I really liked it, so now I have even higher hopes for this. I love a good, well-written crazy twist (though I agree sometimes too many all at once can be a bit much). So glad you enjoyed this!
This sounds wonderful. I’ve not read anything by this author but this one is definitely going on my TBR after reading your review.
“All of the characters seem to be damaged in one way or another, and none of them are very good people, but honestly, doesn’t that make the story more interesting?”
Oh yes!
I know you’re not the biggest fan of YA on the whole, but her books in that age range are really good as well! I can’t wait to read this one now.