Thank you Macmillan Audio /Netgalley for the ALC and Flatiron Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of What Lies in the Woods in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan Audio
Published: January 17, 2023
Summary:
They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison . . .
They were heroes . . . but they were liars.
Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it 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.
For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.
My thoughts:
This is the second book I’ve read by Kate Alice Marshall, though it is her debut adult mystery/suspense novel and if this is any indication of what’s to come, I cannot wait! I really liked the one YA thriller I read, Our Last Echoes and have been meaning to read her others and now I will do so as I wait to see what she writes next!
But back to this story…and oh what a story it was! While I did have the print copy, I was able to snag the audio version and I’m so glad I did because one of my favorite narrators, Karissa Vacker narrates it and she did a fantastic job bringing this story to life! This one grabbed me from the beginning and I was completely captivated from start to finish. The idea that three young friends managed to send a serial killer to prison after an attack in the woods is one I just couldn’t resist. But of course, the deeper you get into the story, the more you realize not all is as it seems.
I loved all the twists and turns this book took. It totally surprised me and let me say, as someone who reads a lot of thrillers it’s a nice change of pace when you don’t see everything coming. I loved the true crime feeling this one had and would classify it as a nice slow-burn thriller that definitely picks up speed towards the end. It is incredibly atmospheric, and I love how it gets into the reliability of memories, especially those from childhood.
This is a suspenseful, addictive read and I loved how we don’t get the full story of what happened all those years ago all at once. Rather, it is revealed in little pieces, keeping you on edge. And along the way, the twists are thrown in at just the right moments to keep you off-kilter. Add in flawed characters and the secrets that they all have and you can’t help but become consumed with this story.
I highly recommend picking this one up. As I mentioned, this is Kate Alice Marshall’s debut adult novel and I think she totally nailed it!
Audio thoughts:
As I mentioned, this is narrated by Karissa Vacker and she does a fantastic job bringing this book to life. There are a lot of characters in this book and Karissa is able to give each and every one of them their own unique voice and personality which is just one of the reasons she is a favorite narrator. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she managed to infuse just the right amount of emotion and tension into her voice as needed.
