What Lies in the Woods

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-14

Chapters 15-23

Chapters 24-32

Chapters 33-39

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Content Warning: This section references suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault of a minor, and alcohol use disorder.

A flashback describes the events on the day that Naomi was attacked. A man was walking his dog in a wooded area when he encountered two young girls, covered in blood. They explained that they had been attacked by a man with a knife and that their third friend had been killed. Almost immediately, a group of local volunteers went to look for the third girl; a young man named Cody Benham found her. Miraculously, the girl was alive and able to recover from her serious injuries. There is a hint that there is more to this narrative than has been revealed: “We didn’t tell the story. Not the real one. Not ever” (3).

Chapter 2 Summary

Naomi Cunningham receives an unexpected phone call informing her that a man named Alan Michael Stahl has died in prison. Naomi is immediately curious about whether her two best friends, Olivia Barnes (Liv) and Cassidy Green (Cass), have been informed about Stahl’s death. She is also pleased with the news: “The man who’d attacked me was dead. A little less evil in the world” (7). Later that evening, Naomi shares this news with her boyfriend, Mitch. The conversation leads to an argument between Naomi and Mitch: He is judgmental about her profession (she is a wedding photographer) and thinks that she could create more meaningful art if she drew on her experience of surviving a violent attack. As Naomi and Mitch reconcile, she receives a phone call from her friend Liv. Liv tells Naomi that she found someone, or something, named Persephone.

Chapter 3 Summary

Naomi reflects on her experiences after the attack: She suffered 17 stab wounds and still has many scars. In the trial, all three girls testified that Stahl had attacked Naomi; however, as Naomi reflects, “[her] words counted the most” (17). These eyewitness testimonies played a significant role in Stahl’s conviction.

Naomi looks through a box containing mementoes and photos from the time after the attack, and Mitch asks about a bracelet in the box. The bracelet spells out the name Persephone.

Chapter 4 Summary

Naomi reflects on the beginning of her friendship with Cass and Liv. As young children, Naomi and Liv both came from ostracized families, whereas Cass’s father was the mayor of the town. Nonetheless, Naomia reflects, “[F]or some reason, Cassidy Green took one look at us and, much to her parents’ consternation, decided that we were going to be best friends” (19).

Naomi leaves her apartment on tense terms with Mitch, suspecting that the relationship will end. She drives to Chester and goes to the house where Cass lives with her adolescent daughter, Amanda. Cass manages a successful local lodge, and Naomi has always admired her friend’s competence and tenacity. While Naomi and Cass wait for Liv to arrive, Cass mentions that a man is working on a true crime podcast about Stahl’s murders.

When Liv arrives, she explains that she has uncovered the identity of a skeleton that the three girls found in the woods more than two decades earlier—a skeleton the girls nicknamed Persephone. Liv, Naomi, and Cass have never told anyone about the skeleton, particularly because they fear being seen as untrustworthy and undermining the statements they made about Stahl. However, they’ve also felt guilty about hiding this secret, especially Liv. Cass does not think it is a good idea to ever tell anyone about the skeleton.

Eventually, Cass and Naomi decide that they need to get legal advice before coming forward about the skeleton. They agree to let Liv know when they’re ready to revisit the topic, but for the time being, they don’t want to know Persephone’s identity.

Chapter 5 Summary

Eventually, Liv and Naomi leave Cass’s home together. Naomi is sympathetic to Liv’s desire to try to help the woman whose skeleton is hidden in the woods, but she is also overwhelmed and exhausted. After dropping off Liv with Liv’s parents, Marcus and Kimiko, Naomi goes to the house where her own father lives. The house is derelict; Naomi’s father barely maintains it because he has had alcohol use disorder for Naomi’s entire life. Naomi and her father immediately start arguing; they’ve always had a fraught relationship. Naomi is often bitter and resentful because “it had always seemed like he just didn’t understand what the big deal was. [She] wasn’t dead. The wounds healed” (38). Naomi leaves after a short and tense visit, taking some mail that has been delivered to the house for her.

Chapter 6 Summary

Naomi checks in to a motel in Chester. Nearby, she runs into Cody Benham, the man who found her in the woods on the day that she was attacked. Cody is about 10 years older than Naomi (he was in his early 20s when the attack happened); Cody knew Naomi and the other girls because he was close friends with Oscar Green, Cass’s older brother. Cody suggests he and Naomi catch up, and she readily agrees because she has always liked and trusted him.

Cody is married with children and has a career in politics; he no longer lives in Chester, but he is in town visiting his family. He and Naomi reminisce about growing up in Chester. After he leaves the bar, another man approaches Naomi. The man introduces himself as Ethan Schreiber; he is the host researching and producing the podcast about Stahl: “[I]t’s actually about three serial killers from the Pacific Northwest, but Stahl is a big part of it and so obviously you are, too” (49).

Naomi initially refuses to talk with Ethan, but she becomes concerned when he mentions that he spoke with Liv; she wonders if Liv might have told him about the skeleton. She reluctantly agrees to answer some questions, hoping to learn more about what Liv said. Naomi is somewhat impressed that Ethan is knowledgeable and compassionate when he speaks about the other women that Stahl killed. Naomi surprises herself by confiding that she feels conflicted about her role in having gotten Stahl convicted; she’s glad that he was brought to justice but also feels the responsibility of having gotten him sentenced.

Eventually, Ethan points out that the nature of the attack on Naomi didn’t align with Stahl’s normal pattern; Ethan questions whether Naomi is certain that she saw the man who attacked her and that it was Stahl. Cody returns, and Ethan quickly leaves. Naomi is left uneasily reflecting on a secret she has kept for more than two decades: She never actually saw her attacker.

Chapters 1-6 Analysis

The novel is narrated in the first person by protagonist Naomi. This technique is effective in a mystery/thriller because it limits readers’ access to information: They only learn facts when Naomi does, and they share in her uncertainty, which builds suspense. The opening chapters of the novel establish two central mysteries: who attacked Naomi in the woods and the identity of the skeleton nicknamed Persephone. The mysteries in Marshall’s novel date back decades, which means uncovering the truth will mean also dealing with the Destructive Consequences of Secrets and Lies that have kept what happened hidden. The inciting action of the plot begins with these mysteries being reopened: Stahl’s death prompts Naomi to reconsider doubts about the identity of her attacker, while Liv’s discovery of the skeleton prompts the friends to think about finally coming forward with a secret they have hidden for years.

Because the two crimes occurred a long time ago, much of the investigation must rely on memories. The novel repeatedly explores the idea that it is very difficult to move on from past events, especially if those events were traumatic. Naomi’s face and body are covered in scars, symbolizing how she was irrevocably changed when she was attacked. When Naomi reflects, “I’d never get rid of the scars, and I refused to try to hide them” (6), she is referring to these physical markings but also symbolically commenting on how she doesn’t try to apologize or make other people feel comfortable with her past—part of her ongoing tension with her father is their disagreement over whether she should get over what happened. Naomi is haunted by the attack in ways that echo some aspects of post-traumatic stress disorder: After cutting her finger, she experiences a flashback in which “instantly [she is] back in the forest, the loamy scent of the woods overlaid with the metallic smell of [her] blood” (11). The forest is an almost mystical place; linked to childhood games about goddesses and the supernatural, it remains outside human control and looms large in Naomi’s memories.

While Naomi’s trauma is reflected in her scars and her tough and defensive demeanor, the two other women have processed their experience in different ways. Liv is presented as both physically and emotionally fragile; Naomi describes how Liv kept “melting away until you could count the vertebrae through her shirt” (6). Cass, on the other hand, is described as polished, put together, and exuding power and confidence: “She looked like something out of a home and garden magazine, with her platinum hair swept up and her make up immaculate” (20). This contrast characterizes their personalities and informs Naomi’s different relationships with each. Naomi feels protective toward Liv, while she respects and begrudgingly admires Cass’s competence and authority. Cass’s ability to project a flawless appearance also foreshadows her ability to lie and deceive others for her own benefit.

The bond between the three women stretches back to a friendship forged at a pivotal time in their life: They found the skeleton the summer they were 11, and Naomi was attacked in the woods a few months later. Significantly, the girls were likely on the cusp of puberty and adolescence; the attack marked the end of their childhood, which develops the theme of Maturity and Loss of Innocence. After the attack, the girls could not avoid the reality that evil exists in the world, and they were also initiated into lying, losing their ability to live freely and authentically, with little regard for social constraints or concerns.

Allusions to Greek mythology further develop themes of femininity, violence, and Maturity and Loss of Innocence. Notably, the three goddesses the girls fantasized about embodying are associated with power, death, the absence of sexuality, and wilderness. Artemis and Athena are both notably virgin goddesses who fiercely protect their chastity; Hecate is a goddess associated with gateways, crossroads, and transitions, marking her as an appropriate figure for girls on the cusp of adulthood (for more on the meaning of the novel’s allusion to Greek mythology, see: Background). The goddess game thus symbolizes both the girls stepping into socially constrained roles as young women and their desire to preserve the agency and freedom they found while running wild in the woods. Looking back, Naomi reflects that “[they] made ourselves into warriors, into queens, into goddesses” (1); this comment undermines the expectation that the girls were simply docile victims, which is how children who suffered a violent attack might more typically be portrayed. This context sets the stage to reveal that the girls are more complex and more complicit in the attack than might be expected and introduces themes of women being capable of anger, violence, and a desire for power.