Society of Lies: A Novel

“Ms. Banks, how much did you know about your sister’s life?”

Detective Simmons’s pointed question allude to Maya and Naomi’s somewhat distant relationship. Though Maya cares deeply about Naomi and moves her to the East Coast, Naomi doesn’t tell Maya about her research into Lila and Greystone, and Maya doesn’t tell Naomi about what happened with Lila and Greystone. The sisters have secrets. At this early point in the novel, this question acts as a hook for the suspense narrative, as the detective voices what the reader would also like to know.

“Sophomore year was the year most students’ fates were solidified—either you ended up in an eating club or you didn’t. And something like eighty percent of students…did.”

The ellipsis here is an example of the colloquial diction of Maya’s narrative voice, making her character more engaging and sympathetic. This is important because of her moral ambivalence throughout much of the novel. This passage also sets up the important explanation for how and why Maya gets drawn into the life of Sterling.

“[Ben] juts his chin toward Amy’s laptop on her desk in the corner of the common room and the Totoro sticker I gave her.”

The Totoro sticker is an allusion to My Neighbor Totoro (1988)—an animated film created by the famed Japanese studio Studio Ghibli. The sticker provides a key clue that helps Naomi figure out who took Amy’s laptop. When Ben sends Naomi a photo of Liam and DuPont with a laptop, Naomi knows it’s Amy’s due to the Totoro sticker.

“Since you don’t know anyone, it’s really important to make a good impression…so to that end, I told them your grandfather is a wealthy Chinese investor.”

Spoken by Daisy, this ties together the novel’s three major themes. Daisy feels compelled to lie about Maya’s background so that Maya can enter an elite space. At this point, the truth—she’s working class—doesn’t put Maya in lethal danger, but it jeopardizes Maya’s chances at getting into Sterling.

“I’m about to look away when [Amy] shifts into my line of sight. To my surprise, she’s wearing lacy underwear, and her laptop is propped on the bed as if she’s on a video chat with someone.”

The scene adds to the mysterious atmosphere of the story, as Naomi doesn’t know what Amy is doing. At the same time, the moment operates as foreshadowing. Later, when Amy gives her presentation, DuPont uses one of her sexual videos to publicly humiliate her. This passage and its place in the wider structure is an example of how Lauren Ling Brown builds drama and suspense gradually through the narrative.

“I realized Daisy wasn’t like them. She looked the part, but the Chloé purse she carefully kept in its original bag, the Byredo perfume she used until it was gone, the way she’d carefully apply her drugstore makeup.”

Brown uses imagery to reveal that Daisy, like Maya, doesn’t come from wealth. The picture of the preserved designer bag and the “drugstore” makeup reveal that Daisy knows how to cover up her working-class background. The tone here is compassionate rather than critical: As neither Daisy and Maya have an affluent history, they will become true allies.

“It’s about the article I’m working on. If we call public safety, they’ll investigate, and the wrong people will get wind of what I’m writing. That’s all I can say. Let them think they won. Please. Don’t report it.”

The trashed room foreshadows what DuPont and Greystone will do to protect themselves. Amy still hasn’t told the truth about “the article,” yet the clipped, pointed sentences at the end of the quote allude to the article’s emphatic importance.

“‘What do you think? How long will we stay?’ he called out. The crowd responded. ‘Usque ad finem.’ Professor DuPont opened both palms in welcome. ‘To the very end.’”

The call and response between DuPont and the Sterling members alludes to the intensity of Sterling. Joining Sterling isn’t a causal commitment—it’s an identity for life. The same formula applies to Greystone, so when characters try to expose it, there’s violent, deadly pushback from its dedicated members. Brown highlights the elitism of Sterling by using a Latin tag, although she helpfully translates it for her readers so that the words retain their full subtext.

“Naomi’s thesis was about how women have been silenced throughout history for upsetting the status quo […] May all of us who loved her continue to support her mission and not permit another young woman to be silenced in her grave.”

Fiona Williams’s speech at Naomi funeral connects Naomi to feminism. Williams presents Naomi as an empowered woman standing up to toxic power dynamics. As Cecily helps DuPont “silence” multiple “young women,” the narrative also shows that “young women” can silence other “young women.”

“I was studying in the Sterling Club library. I was hunched over a dense section of Paradise Lost, when someone slid into the chair across from me. ‘Mind if I join?’ Liam asked.”

This is an example of the novel’s patterning of scenes that feel as if they are clues. Liam’s simple question will later take on a toxic significance as DuPont asked Liam to get close to Naomi to protect Greystone for Amy. The inclusion of John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) hints at his deceit, as Milton’s work explores the theme of lost virtue.

“I’d convinced myself that belonging to this group didn’t mean I had done anything wrong. The Society had done so much good too—the Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit organization, financed children’s hospitals and cancer research, community initiatives. Philanthropy was one of the things Greystone stood for.”

In this passage, Naomi becomes aware that she’s deceiving herself. She realizes can’t belong to a harmful society and be separate from it at the same time. While the Legacy Foundation does “much good” for other people, it also funds Greystone and, thus, a part of its various financial crimes. This passage is a turning point in the novel’s moral and emotional trajectory.

“Relax. She’s worked for us for years, she’s like family.”

Cecily’s quote about Marta highlights Marta’s deep connection to her and Greystone. The close relationship reveals itself when Marta helps Cecily dig Maya’s grave.

“And underlined at the bottom, the most terrifying of all: DONE.”

Brown uses diction to turn an ostensibly simple word into a harbinger of death. Naomi writes “done” in her notebook as she and Amy are almost finished with their research. Yet Naomi is “done” because Cecily and DuPont kill her.

“She runs up to me and gives me a hug. ‘Oh, hi there.’ She smells sweet and in her hands is a small pack of gummy bears.”

Brown uses a trope of grooming and abuse—strangers giving kids candy—to emphasize DuPont’s poisonous character. DuPont isn’t a stranger, but he uses the candy to show how he can continue to menace Maya and her family. Here, Maya thinks the gummy bears came from a person at school, so she doesn’t know the harm they represent for her.

“‘I just want you to know I’m here, if you ever need to get anything off your chest. I won’t judge you. For anything.’ […]

‘If there’s something going on, you can talk to me. You know that, right?’”

The dialogue between Naomi and Maya reveals their inability to communicate. Naomi speaks first. She passively encourages Maya to tell her about Lila. Then Maya, sensing something is wrong, encourages Naomi to share. Yet neither sister opens up, making Naomi more vulnerable to Greystone’s machinations.

“Sorry. But we came to let you know, whoever is last down the mountain has to put the drugs in Matthew’s drink.”

Cecily’s quote is an example of how Brown interjects humor into the dramatic story. Cecily’s words turn drugging DuPont into a playful, childlike game. More so, her participation in the scheme serves as a red herring, as it conceals her relationship with him.

“Eventually, I told Nate about that weekend. Well, brushing around the edges of what I’d done, of course. It felt wrong, not telling him the full truth, but if I told him about the drugs and my role in what happened to Lila, what would he think of me then?”

Maya’s words reinforce the bond between deceit and the danger of the truth. Maya claims she told Nate about “that weekend,” but since she admits to “brushing around the edges,” she doesn’t tell him the truth. The truth doesn’t endanger her elite status, but it puts her relationship with him in jeopardy.

“I watch as Cecily flirts with him. This morning before they knew I was awake, I’d overheard Cecily telling Kai how Theo’s been away on business in London for weeks and wondered if their marriage had been suffering.”

Maya sees Cecily flirt with Jax on the yacht, which hints at Cecily’s unfaithful character. Maya’s suspicion that Cecily’s marriage is “suffering” further foreshadows her own attachment to DuPont.

“That bastard, he should have known better than to come here. I’m sorry—I’ll send him away.”

The text exchange between Margaret and Maya at Kai’s wedding carries multiple meanings. At first, Margaret is simply vowing to ask DuPont to leave Kai’s wedding. As DuPont dies at the wedding, and Margaret is the person who killed him, “send him away” turns out to mean death.

“Listen to me—you have to be careful. They know everything. They’re coming for you. Stay where you are. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Liam shows that he genuinely cares about Naomi when he calls her to warn her about Greystone. The series of short, percussive sentences here convey the urgency of the situation.

“‘The blood?’ Nate lets out a strained laugh, but his features harden. ‘Maya, if you’re so goddamned sure I did it, what are you doing asking me? Go call up your friend, the detective.’ I flinch at his words.”

Maya thinks Nate killed DuPont, but the clues are red herrings, and Nate highlights her errors by laughing her off. At the same time, Nate doesn’t explain the spot on his shirt or why he went for a drive so early in the morning.

“Your sister’s phone pinged a tower in Manhattan. A tower in Manhattan—Cecily lives in Manhattan. They’d learned Naomi was sleeping at her friend’s place downtown, but the tower had been uptown. Where Cecily lives.”

In Cecily’s car, Maya, with the help of Daisy’s texts, puts the clues together and correctly concludes that Cecily and DuPont killed Naomi. Unfortunately, Maya’s situation parallels her sister’s, so Cecily plans to kill Maya too. This passage is an example of the dramatic tension Brown creates as the novel reaches its climax.

“Marta. Thank you so much for saving my life.”

Though Marta benefits from Greystone’s corruption and predation, she ultimately stops it by killing Cecily. Marta “saved” Maya’s life, so Marta becomes one of the story’s heroes. Maya’s gratitude is also a symbol of how another’s goodness can provide redemption.