What Lies in the Woods, Kate Alice Marshall
What Lies in the Woods, Kate Alice Marshall
10 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

What Lies in the Woods
A Novel

Author: Kate Alice Marshall

Narrator: Karissa Vacker

Unabridged: 11 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/17/2023


Synopsis

"Vacker's overall performance, especially her solid pacing, will keep listeners guessing." - AudioFile Magazine

"Clever and deliciously dark.” - Alice Feeney, bestselling author of Rock Paper Scissors

"Narrator Karissa Vacker, with scores of audiobooks under her belt, provides a pitch-perfect performance in what, for some, would be a tough ask. Vacker's voice is a solid touchstone guiding listeners through shocks and twists."- Booklist

They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison. They were heroes . . . but they were liars.

Kate Alice Marshall's What Lies in the Woods is a thrilling novel about friendship, secrets, betrayal, and lies - and having the courage to face the past.

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.

“What Lies In the Woods is a gorgeous fever dream of a novel about the dangers lurking in the hearts and imaginations of little girls. Kate Alice Marshall deftly charts a winding path through her creepy woods, doubling back and changing course to build a labyrinth of secrets and lies in which I was delighted to lose myself for hours. Hands down, it's the best thriller I've read in a long, long time.”—Chandler Baker, bestselling author of The Husbands

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

About Kate Alice Marshall

Kate Alice Marshall is the USA Today bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, A Killing Cold, and multiple novels for younger readers. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on April 10, 2025

Oh my! My bookworm friends, you’re guaranteed to sleep lights on at least for months after reading this ultra disturbing, extra wild ride! Kate Alicia Marshall returned back with different, jaw dropping adult thriller/ horror to whisper to your ears nightmarish fairy tales before you go to bed and s......more

Goodreads review by Rosh ~catching up slowly~ on February 09, 2023

In a Nutshell: Good enough, though not mind-blowing. Not sure how avid thriller readers would find this plot, but I, a dabbler in this genre, was entertained. Story Synopsis: Twenty years ago, three eleven-year-old girls (Naomi, Cassidy, and Olivia)) were instrumental in sending a serial killer to pr......more

Goodreads review by Debra on December 09, 2022

The games we play when we are children are priceless. Made up of imagination, dreams, and magic! Naomi Shaw and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, were playing in the woods. They made up a game and spent hours playing and believing in their Goddess Game. They made a discovery in the woods and......more

Goodreads review by Melissa (Semi-hiatus for Work) on November 19, 2024

3.5 stars This is Marshall's debut adult thriller, and while I liked it, I didn't love it. There are some surprises, but I did find it a bit predictable and the explanations for everything were a bit too OTT for me to completely buy into. Naomi and her two childhood best friends Cass and Liv, created......more

Goodreads review by Nina (ninjasbooks) on March 20, 2023

I feel a bit torn about this book. Some parts were really good, but some just dragged on. A fellow reviewer wrote that suddenly everything happened at once, with long pauses in between. I agree, the build-up was sometime too long. The twists were decent, and I was surprised. But I couldn’t quite buy......more


Quotes

“Utterly riveting. What Lies in the Woods is a stunner—dark, unflinching, and as twisty and sharp as a tangle of thorns.”
—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The House Across the Lake

“I loved everything about this beautifully written and impossible to put down book. I was hooked from the first clever and deliciously dark page and couldn't stop reading. Readers will love What Lies in the Woods, an exciting new voice in the genre.”
—Alice Feeney, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Darker

“Shines an incisive light on the secrets of a small-town community...Elevating this novel beyond the plethora of other thrillers is terrific writing…Great writing and boldly drawn characters bring a terrifying tale to all-too-vivid life.”
Kirkus, starred review

“Marshall explores the complicated dynamics of childhood friendships and the powerful effect that memory has in shaping narratives…In a novel filled with emotional depth and convincing red herrings, Marshall delivers a propulsive mystery about trust, secrets, and friendships.”
Booklist, starred review

What Lies In the Woods is a gorgeous fever dream of a novel about the dangers lurking in the hearts and imaginations of little girls. Marshall deftly charts a winding path through her creepy woods, doubling back and changing course to build a labyrinth of secrets and lies in which I was delighted to lose myself for hours. Hands down, it's the best thriller I've read in a long, long time.”
—Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands

“A haunting tale of betrayal, heartbreak, and redemption told in poetic prose with deeply layered characters. Marshall’s master storytelling is gripping and pulls you in with a magnetic force that never lets go.”
—Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish

“Masterfully diabolical plot layered with red herrings…We’re in the hands of a phenomenal storyteller…Marshall shows she can’t put a foot wrong with this confident debut in the adult thriller genre, spinning an intricately compelling tale of friendship and magic, sorrow and betrayal wrapped up in a suspenseful murder mystery.”
—The Nerd Daily

“A powerful psychological thriller…This emotionally involving tale of friendship, betrayal, and redemption leaves an indelible impression.”
—Publishers Weekly