Society of Lies: A Novel

4 4 out of 5 stars | 3,118 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 12-23-2024


About this item

NATIONAL BESTSELLER REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK “A dark and haunting debut that explores secret societies, the bonds of sisterhood, and the intricacies of privilege at an elite college . . . I couldn’t put this twisty tale down.”—Julia Bartz, author of The Writing Retreat

“Readers of dark academia, prepare to meet your new obsession.”—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here

How far would you go to belong?

Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion—it’s been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her time there. This visit is special because Maya will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi.

But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Maya suspects that there is more to the story than they are letting on.

As Maya pieces together what happened in the months leading up to her sister’s death, she begins to realize how much Naomi hid from her. Despite Maya’s warnings, Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus—the same one Maya belonged to. And if she had to guess, Naomi was likely tapped for the secret society within it.

The more Maya uncovers, the more terrified she becomes that Naomi’s decision to follow in her footsteps might have been what got her killed. Because Maya’s time at Princeton wasn’t as wonderful as she’d always made it seem—after all, her sister wasn’t the first young woman to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past . . . and to the secret she’s kept all these years.


Top reviews from the United States

Susan E Dix
4.0 out of 5 stars Secrets
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2024
Secret societies create unhealthy environments. They look glamorous on the surface, but there’s an ugly worm in the center. This novel switches back and forth between past and present and between 2 different characters. There is murder and intrigue and too many secrets. I felt the story could have been a little shorter and the twists were really just kind of curves, but overall, I enjoyed it.
C
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2024
Gripping story that hooks you from the start. Maya’s sister is suspected of committing suicide but Maya know’s that her sister would never do that. And now she is determined to find out what really happened.
M. Virgin
3.0 out of 5 stars lots of twists
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024
Mildly distracting punctuation errors. Wonder how much of the story at Princeton is true. Are there really still secret societies?
Susan L McGrath
4.0 out of 5 stars Thriller set at Princeton
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2024
I received a digital advance copy of Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown via NetGalley. Society of Lies is scheduled for release o n August 13, 2024.

Society of Lies takes place at Princeton. Naomi is supposed to be graduating, but is instead found dead. Her older sister Maya is devastated, and believes it was not an accident based on her own experiences on Princeton’s campus ten years ago. As Maya investigates her sister’s last months, the past and present twine together in ways that are as dangerous for Maya as they were for Naomi.

This story is told from the point of view of both sisters. We follow Naomi through the six months before her death while Maya bounces between current day and ten years in the past. Both of the sisters have history and motivations that are believable for the story. Given that Naomi is a student at the same school her sister attended, there are a lot of echoes in Naomi’s story. She is interacting with some of the same people Maya did in some of the same places. These same people and places appear in Maya’s chapters, both in the present and the past. This echoing made sense for the story, and helped to develop the themes, but did make it difficult for me to keep the two women’s stories straight. I often had to search for a character name in the chapter I was reading or flip back to the start of the chapter to remember which sister I was with. Given that the echoing is central to the story, I’m not sure that the author could have done anything to help with this.

I did also have some issues with character choices, particularly in the last half of the book. Both women are clearly intelligent. Yet, they make choices (some small/ insignificant, others large and important) that don’t match their intelligence. Yes, we all make bad choices, but they take place in situations and circumstances that make them make sense at the time. In this novel, some of the choices were just dumb with no contextual reason. These were choices the character needed to make to push the story where the author wanted them to go.

In terms of plot, Brown does a good job of giving us lots of potential bad guys. There are very few characters here that I felt confident ruling out as the person responsible for Naomi’s death and the events in the past. Once the truth was revealed, it did make sense, and matched the clues we had been given along the way.

Overall, Society of Lies is a satisfying thriller that digs deep behind the walls of Princeton’s (fictional) secret societies.
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Susan L McGrath
4.0 out of 5 stars Thriller set at Princeton
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2024
I received a digital advance copy of Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown via NetGalley. Society of Lies is scheduled for release o n August 13, 2024.

Society of Lies takes place at Princeton. Naomi is supposed to be graduating, but is instead found dead. Her older sister Maya is devastated, and believes it was not an accident based on her own experiences on Princeton’s campus ten years ago. As Maya investigates her sister’s last months, the past and present twine together in ways that are as dangerous for Maya as they were for Naomi.

This story is told from the point of view of both sisters. We follow Naomi through the six months before her death while Maya bounces between current day and ten years in the past. Both of the sisters have history and motivations that are believable for the story. Given that Naomi is a student at the same school her sister attended, there are a lot of echoes in Naomi’s story. She is interacting with some of the same people Maya did in some of the same places. These same people and places appear in Maya’s chapters, both in the present and the past. This echoing made sense for the story, and helped to develop the themes, but did make it difficult for me to keep the two women’s stories straight. I often had to search for a character name in the chapter I was reading or flip back to the start of the chapter to remember which sister I was with. Given that the echoing is central to the story, I’m not sure that the author could have done anything to help with this.

I did also have some issues with character choices, particularly in the last half of the book. Both women are clearly intelligent. Yet, they make choices (some small/ insignificant, others large and important) that don’t match their intelligence. Yes, we all make bad choices, but they take place in situations and circumstances that make them make sense at the time. In this novel, some of the choices were just dumb with no contextual reason. These were choices the character needed to make to push the story where the author wanted them to go.

In terms of plot, Brown does a good job of giving us lots of potential bad guys. There are very few characters here that I felt confident ruling out as the person responsible for Naomi’s death and the events in the past. Once the truth was revealed, it did make sense, and matched the clues we had been given along the way.

Overall, Society of Lies is a satisfying thriller that digs deep behind the walls of Princeton’s (fictional) secret societies.
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Melissa Coleman
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2024
I couldn’t stop reading. The author keeps you in suspense until the end. Highly recommend this book for a great read.
Meddings_Musings
4.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Must-Read!
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2024
This is the first book I've read from the author - I feel so very fortunate I've had the opportunity to read such amazing "new-to-me" authors lately!

In Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown, Maya heads back to her old stomping grounds, Princeton, to celebrate her sister's, Naomi, graduation. While Maya is there, she also plans to meet up with some of her college friends she keeps in touch with but doesn't often get to see.

But her happiness turns into heartbreak when she learns Naomi has died. While the police call it a tragic accident, Maya is convinced there’s more to the story. As she starts to investigate what happened, she finds out Naomi had joined a secret society made up of those who have a lot of power and influence over its members; it's the same club Maya belonged to and is tied to some of her darkest and deepest secrets.

The book follows Maya as she uncovers shocking secrets about the club and her past while trying to keep her family safe from growing danger. What Maya doesn't realize is that the answers to her questions could be answered by someone in her close circle.

Again, this was an amazing read and I can't wait for more from the author! This is an absolute must-read if you haven't already done so!
SJ
3.0 out of 5 stars If you like college campus mysteries you'll be sure to like this one!
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2024
Heartbreaking start to this book when Naomi turns up dead the night before her Princeton graduation. Her sister Maya, in town for her own 10-year reunion as well as Naomi's graduation ceremony, is shocked and overwhelmed with grief. Maya is a Princeton alumni and her sister's death has not only raised many questions, but also dredged up memories from Maya's history. Turns out both Maya and Naomi belonged to Sterling Club, an exclusive social club on campus, and also to the secret society within Sterling Club.

The stories of sisters Naomi and Maya are told in their own POV, in both the past and the present. Since the story mostly takes place on the Princeton campus, there are a lot of friends and teachers of both sisters to keep track of and I felt like I had been dropped in the dorm and had a bunch of new people to get to know. Unfortunately, the story line felt flat to me. It kept my interest, but I felt it could have been shorter and while I was surprised by the twist at the end, it didn't raise my adrenaline or make me want to read any faster. I had a hard time connecting with Maya or believing her grief.

This is a debut novel for Lauren Ling Brown. I do like her writing and I look forward to reading her future work. Make sure to read her author's note.

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