“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
“Unexpected plot twists, deep psychological perspicacity, and an endlessly interesting dance between past and present...evokes the dread and intensity of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects.”
—New York Times Book Review
“This is a wildly disturbing thriller with lots of twists...This suspenseful and atmospheric novel will keep readers glued to the final page.”
—Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
“Kate Alice Marshall knows how to deliver fast-paced twists and turns as she takes readers into the dark recesses of the imagination.”
—West Sacramento News-Ledger
“A master of misdirection, Marshall infuses the novel with secrets and sorrow, false identities and frailty, hostility and hypocrisy...With a cleverly conceived and exquisitely executed narrative and a cast of fully fleshed characters, What Lies in the Woods represents a riveting read and a thoughtful and alarming take on childhood.”
—The Free Lance-Star
“This heady, terrifying thriller is about the magic of childhood, the ownership of truths and stories, and the darkest secrets of small-town life…Already a powerhouse in YA circles, Marshall is more than ready to take on the world of adult fiction with this unnerving and unforgettable tale of the power of not just knowing the truth, but owning the telling of it.”
—BookReporter.com
“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
“This is a wildly disturbing thriller with lots of twists...This suspenseful and atmospheric novel will keep readers glued to the final page.”
—Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
“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
10/24/2022
YA author Marshall (These Fleeting Shadows) makes her adult debut with a powerful psychological thriller. Twenty-two years after Seattle photographer Naomi Shaw survived a stabbing attack when she was 11 while playing in the forest in Chester, Wash., with her two best friends, Naomi expects to feel some closure when the suspected serial killer the girls’ testimony put behind bars dies in prison. But the opposite occurs when the news unnerves the most fragile of the trio, artistic, unstable Liv Barnes, threatening to unearth long buried—and potentially explosive—secrets. Sucked back to Chester, Naomi tries to support Liv, reconnect with their third friend, golden girl Cass Green, and finally press for the truth she’s never been able to remember, despite her statements on the stand, about what really happened that fateful day. Then a suspicious death near the site of the stabbing ups the ante, and the intricate plot starts careening down precipitous, blind curves. Marshall overloads the twists that lead to the devastating denouement, but readers will root for the determined Naomi every step of the way. This emotionally involving tale of friendship, betrayal, and redemption leaves an indelible impression. Agent: Lauren Spieller, TriadaUS. (Jan.)
06/10/2024
YA author Marshall's (These Fleeting Shadows) adult debut follows Naomi Shaw and her best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, who discovered a human skeleton in the woods in their Washington State hometown when they were 11. But instead of telling anyone, they included the body in the ongoing series of dares and challenges they called the Goddess Game, urging one another to shoplift trinkets to leave at the skeleton's cave as offerings. Then Naomi was brutally attacked in the woods, surviving with 17 stab wounds. Urged on by the sheriff, the girls identified serial killer Allan Michael Stahl as the attacker, and their testimony sent him to prison, but none of it was true. Now, as Naomi learns that Stahl has died in prison, Olivia shares that she's learned the skeleton's identity and wants to come clean about all their lies. But someone—or possibly multiple people—are invested in keeping those secrets. Karissa Vacker's narration ratchets up the tension and does a good job of providing distinct voices for the main characters. VERDICT While avid thriller listeners may anticipate the twists, they'll still enjoy rooting for Naomi and watching the pieces of past and present mysteries come together.—Stephanie Klose
08/01/2022
In this adult turn from successful children's/YA author Marshall, Naomi Shaw is attacked while playing in the woods with best friends Cassidy and Olivia. She survives 17 knife wounds and joins with her buddies in identifying the assailant, helping to put away a serial killer. But there's more to the event than they revealed, which a grown-up Naomi is determined to disclose. With a 75,000-copy first printing.
Karissa Vacker performs this thriller about Naomi, who as a child survived a brutal stabbing witnessed by her two best friends, Cass and Liv. Two decades later, after the attacker dies behind bars, Naomi returns home to see her friends and prepare for the inevitable media blitz. Vacker infuses her delivery with Naomi's PTSD symptoms and lingering doubts about exactly what happened that day in the woods. She differentiates the other two women by emphasizing Cass's cool detachment and Liv's shaky hold on reality as the trio wonders whether they should tell the police about their shared secrets. Vacker's male voices are not as strong, but her overall performance, especially her solid pacing, will keep listeners guessing. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Karissa Vacker performs this thriller about Naomi, who as a child survived a brutal stabbing witnessed by her two best friends, Cass and Liv. Two decades later, after the attacker dies behind bars, Naomi returns home to see her friends and prepare for the inevitable media blitz. Vacker infuses her delivery with Naomi's PTSD symptoms and lingering doubts about exactly what happened that day in the woods. She differentiates the other two women by emphasizing Cass's cool detachment and Liv's shaky hold on reality as the trio wonders whether they should tell the police about their shared secrets. Vacker's male voices are not as strong, but her overall performance, especially her solid pacing, will keep listeners guessing. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
★ 2022-10-26
An edgy adult thriller from a YA and middle-grade author shines an incisive light on the secrets of a small-town community.
At age 11, Naomi Shaw was left for dead in the woods outside her tiny Pacific Northwest hometown of Chester, stabbed 17 times by her would-be killer. With her friends Olivia and Cassidy—who were also in the woods at the time—she provided the damning evidence that put a dangerous serial killer behind bars. Now, 22 years later, that man has died in prison, resurrecting unwanted memories for the three women. Liv, in particular, is completely overwrought, insisting she has more that she wants to share. At the same time, Ethan Schreiber, an eager and persistent true-crime podcaster, is asking lots of questions, and when Naomi engages with him on several ill-advised levels, the scene is set for an explosive outcome, as decades of secrets begin to emerge. Marshall does a terrific job of maintaining a palpable current of tension throughout the book, and her depictions of the intricately tangled relationships inherent in small-town life are excellent. Elevating this novel beyond the plethora of other thrillers is terrific writing, such as in Marshall’s powerful description of a grieving mother sitting in her child's room after it's been searched by the police, “running her fingertips over the empty space where [the girl’s] things had been, as if beginning to map the shape of her absence.”
Great writing and boldly drawn characters bring a terrifying tale to all-too-vivid life.
