Audiobook Review: What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

I’ve said it before – I would read Kate Alice Marshall’s grocery list. Their unique way of drawing you into the story has me coming back no matter what age group they’re writing for – and especially since I love adult thrillers! What Lies in the Woods is – what’s the audiobook version of a pageturner? That. I kept wanting to listen, even when I had other things to do. Check out my 5 star review below and pick up this twisty thriller, out now!

What Lies in the Woods

by Kate Alice Marshall
Published by: Flatiron Books
on January 17, 2023
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Pages: 336
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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.

Review

11 year old Naomi believed in magic. Adult Naomi has had it all ripped away. This story is her untangling of trauma, for good or not.

I love stories that are rooted in understanding childhood trauma, and a character’s exploration of that. This story checked every box, exploring their world as children and how that landed them as the adults they are. The worldbuilding becomes a character on its own, with big personalities rooted in a small place.

This is Naomi’s story but features a large cast of distinguishable characters. Between the storytelling and narration, readers will easily get to know each of the characters and their motivations. I kept messaging Kelly with a lot of non-spoilery points as I unpeeled the onion. Just as I thought I’d figured things out, Kate would throw in another twist. I never saw the ending coming.

I am no stranger to Karissa Vacker’s narration, as she’s narrated many YA and adult books I’ve read recently. Karissa embodied Naomi and her emotions, drawing listeners in and keeping readers engaged.