What Lies in the Woods

YA author Marshall (These Fleeting Shadows) makes her adult debut with a powerful psychological thriller. Twenty-two years after Seattle photographer Naomi Shaw survived a stabbing attack when she was 11 while playing in the forest in Chester, Wash., with her two best friends, Naomi expects to feel some closure when the suspected serial killer the girls’ testimony put behind bars dies in prison. But the opposite occurs when the news unnerves the most fragile of the trio, artistic, unstable Liv Barnes, threatening to unearth long buried—and potentially explosive—secrets. Sucked back to Chester, Naomi tries to support Liv, reconnect with their third friend, golden girl Cass Green, and finally press for the truth she’s never been able to remember, despite her statements on the stand, about what really happened that fateful day. Then a suspicious death near the site of the stabbing ups the ante, and the intricate plot starts careening down precipitous, blind curves. Marshall overloads the twists that lead to the devastating denouement, but readers will root for the determined Naomi every step of the way. This emotionally involving tale of friendship, betrayal, and redemption leaves an indelible impression. Agent: Lauren Spieller, TriadaUS. (Jan.)