Is Society of Lies Worth Reading?
I’ve been wanting to read Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown for quite some time now. It’s a story that takes place at Princeton University and features mystery, intrigue, and secret societies. I recently read Zetas Till We Die, a thriller featuring a group of sorority sisters, and figured it would be similar to that. But this story was so much more. In today’s blog post we’re going to be answering the question: Is Society of Lies Worth Reading?
And if you enjoy today’s book discussion, you can read more thriller reviews here.
What is Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown About?
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. (from Amazon.com)
My Initial Thoughts
A few things you should know about my experience reading Society of Lies:
- I listened to the audiobook. I found this very enjoyable because the story features the POV of both Maya and Naomi. There was a different narrator reading the chapters of each sister and I thought they both did a good job. I listened to the audiobook on 1.5x speed because I like my thrillers fast paced. Lol.
- Although this story takes place during each sister’s college days, there’s not really a lot of talk about school. The main feature is the eating clubs at Princeton as well as the secret society that the girls belong to.
- Greek Life gets a bad rap sometimes because of the behavior of some of the members. And that is the same for these secret societies. If you are sensitive to depictions of physical abuse, sexual abuse and other dark and questionable behaviors this may not be the book for you.
I Enjoyed Reading about Princeton Life
I read in the bio of author Lauren Ling Brown that she also attended Princeton University, so I feel like her depiction of the school must have been pretty factual.
Princeton is one of the eight universities that make up the Ivy League, which means that it is very prestigious. I mean, Rory Gilmore considered going there and she’s a very smart cookie. But with that being said, sisters Maya and Naomi had a very different experience at Princeton than many other students on campus.
I found the depiction of the eating clubs so interesting – I had never heard of anything like that before. It was fun to read about the different parties and the different places that students would go. I think that this twisty thriller with the backdrop of Princeton University is a great book for fans of mysteries and thrillers to read.
The Sisters Don’t Have It Easy
Part of this is because of their upbringing. They lost their parents at a young age and since Maya is much older than Naomi, she felt that it was her job as the older sister to take care of Naomi. That is a very brave and difficult thing to do. But attending Princeton was the key to setting up a future for them. Everything Maya did, including joining the secretive Greystone Society, was with her younger sister in mind. It was how she was going to take care of them.
But the sisters are also biracial, and it’s unfortunate that not being white can make things more difficult. Maya knows that being a part of Greystone can help her build powerful connections for the future. But she soon finds out that the society has long-buried secrets and that the man in charge will do anything to keep them from coming out.
Ten years later when Naomi is a student at Princeton, she also discovers that the dark society of Greystone is hiding dark secrets. But while Maya was willing to look the other way, Naomi starts to dig into the dark past of previous members. Maybe being part of a secret society isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
My Critiques
While I really enjoyed this book, I also felt confused at times. And that’s because there are so many different characters. Add in that the story takes place in two different time periods and it’s easy to get confused. It’s an intense read and sometimes I had trouble distinguishing between the different people in the eating clubs and the greystone society and the roommates. I mean, I remember college and you meet a lot of different people. So I think if that had been chilled down a little bit that could have been helpful.
Is Society of Lies Worth Reading?
Yes, in my opinion this is a book worth reading. I love mysteries and psychological thrillers and lately a lot of them have been falling flat for me. They
Meanwhile, Society of Lies is a a dark academia story that is layered with mysteries. There’s a lot going on and I appreciate how in depth the story is. There are a lot of twists. And sometimes when I felt that Maya was on the right track to figuring things out, she had to then turn and go in a completely different direction. I appreciated the depth of this story.
The death of a student on campus is also scary, but it’s even scarier when it’s your own family member. Maya’s actions to finding the truth were admirable and I appreciated how she would do anything to figure out what really happened with the mysterious death of Naomi.
In Conclusion
Thanks so much for checking out today’s books review. Lauren Ling Brown’s Society of Lies was a really exciting thriller that kept me guessing with each passing chapter. I loved that we got to dive into each sister’s mind through alternating chapters. Even though they are completely different it was interesting how they had a similar experience at Princeton University.
Is Society of Lies worth reading? I think so. This Reese’s Book Club pick is really engrossing and shows that Lauren Ling Brown is an exciting new talent to watch out for.
