The Charlotte Jewish News- Janurary 2026- Page 31
Turning Pages: Beneath the Polished Surface of“ Society of Lies”
By Elizabeth Breyer Johnson
Welcome to Turning Pages, a new space in the Charlotte Jewish News for thoughtful reflections about what community members are reading.
This month, we’ re delighted to feature our inaugural bibliophile, Liz Naman, a longtime presence at Shalom Park whose story is deeply intertwined with this community.
When Liz and her husband moved to Charlotte in 2008, they joined the Levine JCC for its convenience. But once their first child was born, Shalom Park quickly became part of their daily rhythm that included mommy-and-me classes, JTots, the Charlotte Jewish Preschool, and eventually family programming at Temple Beth El.
And what stayed with Liz
wasn’ t just the activity; it was the generous welcome. As a then – non-Jewish participant stepping into a vibrant Jewish space, she felt fully included and embraced. Not only as a parent, but as a leader. That reflective sense of belonging played a meaningful role in her decision to convert to Judaism in 2017.
What Kept Liz Turning Pages Liz discovered this month’ s novel through the Reese Witherspoon Book Club, one of her go-to sources for a great read. She expected a smart, twisty thriller, especially with the timejump structure she loves, but was struck by how deeply the story explores privilege, race, class and the sibling dynamics that anchor this foray into dark academia.
The protagonist, Maya, resonated with her in unexpected ways. Because Liz was in college around the same era( a few years earlier), the book’ s flashbacks carried her right back to that time in her own life. This is the kind of book that reminds us thrillers can be more than page-turners; they can stay with you.
Liz’ s Review:“ Society of Lies” by Lauren Ling Brown
Lauren Ling Brown’ s debut novel takes a deep dive into the most elite institutions within the Ivy League, namely the fictional Sterling eating club and Greystone Society, the ultra-exclusive secret society hidden within its ranks at Princeton University. The novel’ s protagonist, Maya, is a Princeton alumna returning for her 10-year reunion. Her younger sister, Naomi, is now a senior and Maya arrives with mixed feelings, namely memories she has tried to bury and a strained relationship she hopes to repair.
Before the sisters can reconnect, tragedy hits when Naomi’ s body is found in a nearby lake. Determined to uncover the truth, Maya is forced back into the secrets of her own college years, particularly her involvement with Greystone Society. Maya and Naomi are biracial, with an Asian mother and Black father, but their upbringings diverged. Maya was raised primarily by their mother, while Naomi grew up with the influential St. Clair family, Princeton insiders whose connections eased her path into elite social circles.
Maya’ s position as an outsider
navigating these exclusive spaces offers readers a clear entry point into Princeton’ s stratified world. With help from well-connected friends who embellish her family story, she enters Sterling and eventually Greystone Society while continually questioning her place within it.
Her ambivalence becomes one of the story’ s most compelling threads. She recognizes how Greystone’ s traditions often exclude people who look like her, yet she is drawn to the access and opportunity membership provides. As an adult, she warns Naomi against joining Greystone without any real explanation, which only makes membership more alluring to Naomi and deepens the tension in their relationship.
The novel moves across three timelines: the present-day investigation, Naomi’ s final months, and Maya’ s undergraduate experience in the early 2010s. At times,“ Society of Lies” feels engineered to become a hit Hulu series. Its brisk pacing, suspenseful chapter endings and atmospheric setting give it the feel of a prestige drama in the making, and one I would absolutely watch. Some of the scenes played so clearly in my mind I
Lis Naman could almost hear the indie-pop soundtrack behind them. I would also like to add, I am confident one of the suspects was written for Alexander Skarsgard ala the HBO Max hit show,“ Big Little Lies.” All in all, this was an excellent read. The twists as well as turns kept me reading, and the conclusion was both satisfying yet genuinely surprising.
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