Title: Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 464 pages
Book Rating: 464 pages
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
J.T. Ellison’s pulse-pounding new psychological thriller examines the tenuous bonds of friendship, the power of lies and the desperate lengths people will go to in order to protect their secrets.
Goode girls don’t lie…
Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond.
But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous.
In a world where appearances are everything, as long as students pretend to follow the rules, no one questions the cruelties of the secret societies or the dubious behavior of the privileged young women who expect to get away with murder.
When a popular student is found dead, the truth cannot be ignored. Rumors suggest she was struggling with a secret that drove her to suicide.
But look closely…because there are truths and there are lies, and then there is everything that really happened.
Don’t miss this fast-paced suspense story from New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison!
Review:
Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison is a fast-paced and intriguing mystery which takes place at spooky all girls boarding school.
Ash Carlisle is more than ready to leave Oxford behind. With both of her parents now deceased, she is looking forward to attending The Goode School in Marchburg, VA. A small boarding school which houses 200 young women from elite families, the school has a long history which includes a few untimely deaths. Ash is roommates with Camilla Shannon and although the sophomores are not overly close, they do get along. In the midst of hazing and mean girl antics, a death at the school brings Sheriff Tony Wood and his homicide detective niece Kate onto the grounds. Ash fears the secrets she is hiding will be unearthed, but does she have more to be afraid of than the police?
Ash wants to fly under the radar in order to focus on her studies. She also plans to leave her past behind her and thankfully the school’s Dean Ford Westhaven agrees with her. Ash is woefully unprepared for boarding school life but she soon settles into a routine that keeps her out of sight. But when someone digs up the truth about what happened in Oxford, Ash is terrified her other secrets will soon be unearthed.
However, everyone’s attention is soon captured by the untimely death of one of their classmates. Ash is soon under suspicion but there is scant evidence to prove she is a killer. Kate is a homicide detective with impressive instincts and something about Ash feels off. As she begins looking into what happened to Ash’s parents, Kate is shocked by what she uncovers. But before she and Tony can question her, another young woman is dead and Ash might just have the answers they need to solve these horrific murders.
Good Girls Lie is a completely riveting mystery with an eerie setting. Ash is a bit of a mysterious young woman with plenty of secrets and a tragic past she wants to keep buried. Her classmates are not exactly accepting of a newcomer in their midst and this adds an extra layer of tension to the suspense-laden plot. The mystery is compelling and the boarding school is atmospheric. With a few shocking twists and turns, J.T. Ellison brings this cunning mystery to a diabolically clever conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this well-executed mystery that will keep readers guessing whodunit and why for a major portion of the story.
