Book Review; Good Girls Lie- J T Ellison

Page Count 383

 Publication date Dec 2019/ Publisher MIRA

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Synopsis;

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. But 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.

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Review;

Good Girls Lie jumps back and forth between several characters. Our main character Ash is written in first person, as is an unknown voice that crops up occasionally throughout. I found this to be a little confusing, especially towards the end- it’s hard to explain without spoilers but essentially I couldn’t tell who was speaking even when I was supposed to.

We also follow several other key characters in third person to enable the reader to make discoveries outside of Ash’s knowledge.

The plot itself is EXTREMELY far fetched, but that’s what made it fun! I could never have predicted it but whilst it didn’t click together without the need for heavy explanation I still enjoyed the reveal.

The relationship between Ash and Becca was as confusing and unbearable for the reader as much as the characters. I could clearly remember the nervous uncertainty of high school relationships, the way it can encompass your entire world as a teenager. The back and forth between both girls was torturous and well written.

I also liked the Dean’s character, she was particularly well fleshed out and made a good contrast between adulthood and student life in a school setting.

There was one point left unresolved, I’ll just say it was a medical thing so as not to spoil it. In hindsight that particular subplot doesn’t seem to have added anything to the story, just a tool for misdirection perhaps.

I thought Good Girls Lie took a while to really get moving. At times I found it slightly tedious but there were enough questions to hold my curiosity and when the plot picked up pace I was pleased to have stuck with it.

Roxanne’s Reactions:

I received my copy of Good Girls Lie from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.