Book Review - What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

Title: What Lies in the Woods
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Published: 2023
 
Description: Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Casiddy 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.
 
For decades afterwards, 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: “What Lies in the Woods” is  slow-burn mystery that is hard to put down. Before this, I only read one other book by Kate Alice Marshall, which was “Rules for Vanishing”, a young adult. “What Lies in the Woods” is an adult thriller.
 
Naomi survived a brutal attack when she was only eleven years old. She and her two best friends Olivia and Cassidy where exploring the woods when it happened. Cassidy and Olivia manages to identify the attacker as Alan Michael Stahl and he went to prison for it. Now, over twenty years later, Stahl has died in prison and it bring the three friends back together. But back in the woods, so many years ago, the girls discovered something that they have kept a secret. And now Naomi is doubting her memories from the attack.
 
Marshall shows us that, as time goes by, you can convince yourself that certain memories are true, even when they aren’t. Naomi starts doubting her own memory and doesn’t know whether Stahl was the man that Olivia and saw that night.
 
The characters in the book are interesting and have depth, although you never really get to like or love any of them. They are all very flawed, but also damaged and dealing with their trauma each in a different way.
 
The story had some predictable moments, and some obvious red herrings, but the twist in the end was really good.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

Title: Rules for Vanishing
Series: -
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
 
Description: Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her—and who won't make it out of the woods?

It's been exactly one year since Sara's sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn't know whether her former friends no longer like her... or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to "play the game" and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca—before she's lost forever. And even though she's hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends—and their cameras—following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side.
 
Review: Once a year, a path appear in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Only people brave enough try to find her, but you have to play by certain rules. A year ago, Sara lost her sister Becca when she went into the woods and walked that path, in search of Lucy Gallows. When the time is here for the path to reappear, Sara is determined to find her sister. A group of their mutual friends gather to walk the path with her, when even most of them are skeptical.
 
The story is set in a small town, with a dark legend haunting them. This already sets the atmosphere. The book is compared to “The Blair With Project”, which I can totally understand, especially because of the unique format. It’s not just traditional storytelling, but also transcripts of interviews, written statements, group chats and more. And I love this style of writing. It reads like a “found-footage” film. You get more and more questions, especially because you have no idea who you can trust. Not even Sara, who we mainly follow.
 
When you throw a bunch of teenagers together in a scary situation, you often predict they will eventually break up or make terrible decisions. But author Kate Alice Marshall manages to avoid a lot of clichés and stereotypes. Instead they make rational decisions, talk about their differences and feel more real. Unnecessary drama is left out, there are no villainous teens and the little romance is kept mostly in the background. Because being in a life and death situation isn’t romantic.
 
I praise Kate Alice Marshall for her creativity and the way she wrote this original horror story. I can totally see this being turned into a movie. It’s fast-paced, atmospheric, creepy and well-written. The ending though, would not leave everyone satisfied. I personally loved the twist and don’t mind being left with questions at the end. If you still think and talk about a book after finishing it, you have written a good book.  “Rules for Vanishing” is an eerie story that you should read if you like unique horror stories in a mixed-media-type format. If none of these things appeal to you, this book is not for you.
 
Rating: 4/ 5