The Lying Woods

By: Ashley Elston

Narrated by: Adam Verner, Stephen Dexter

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees' retirement accounts, Owen's father vanished without a trace, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout.

Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he hardly remembers despise him for his father's crimes. It's bad enough dealing with muttered insults and glares, but when Owen and his mother receive increasingly frightening threats from someone out for revenge, he knows he must get to the bottom of what really happened at Louisiana Frac....and the cryptic note his father sent him at his boarding school days before disappearing.

Owen's only refuge is the sprawling, isolated pecan orchard he works at after school, owned by a man named Gus who has his own secrets - and in some ways seems to know Owen better than he knows himself. As Owen uncovers a terrible injustice that looms over the same Preacher Woods he's claimed as his own, he must face a shocking truth about his own past - and write a better future.

©2018 Ashley Elston (P)2018 Blackstone Publishing

A solid mystery. Great book.

Solid story. You really get invested in the characters. It kept me guessing. I felt it was just a very pleasant mix of mystery, drama, teenage angst, and a touch of romance and comedy. It does start a bit slow and the southern accent in the narration was hard to adjust to at first. It's worth the read/listen.

Loved it!

Loved the characters and the story - was hooked from the beginning. Usually I'm skeptical of free audio listens and not all of them are great, but this one I'd have paid for happily. The characters are well drawn and I got so invested in them and in the story itself - one of those rare listens where I couldn't wait to return to it and at the same time I didn't want it to end. Really wonderful.

A really good story.

Everything is good about this story. The writing and narration tells of a world far from my own. This is a book that has me up late to hear more.

Absolutely loved this book

Being from Alexandria Louisiana this book hit home more than others ! The writing and suspense was phenomenal

Masterful, and a Surprise

Loved this book! I listen to a lot of the included Audible Originals because I Door Dash, so am driving a lot. I usually don't review them. This one stood out and was a nice surprise, because I didn't see the twist coming, and I usually do! I was expecting a different twist, which I suspect was the author's intent. Well done!

the "twist"

I enjoyed this book. The "twist" was not what I expected it to be.

Very enjoyable

Great story development! Characters you care about, interesting story, a mystery with some little twists! Good listen!

Wonderful story told well

I like the way the author told the story, leaving out information that would be explained later. Then wrapping it all up in a tight package of happily ever after.

Great story!!

They story line was great. Kept me interested! Had some good twists and turns I didn’t see coming. Narrator did great!!

Great book.

That is a great story. And well told. the narrator is very good enjoy is voice and feel it added to the story.