Naomi in Society of Lies: Character Analysis

Overview

Naomi Mason is Maya's younger sister and a Princeton senior whose investigation into the Greystone Society leads to her murder. An English major who works at Labyrinth Books and dances with the Black Arts Company (BAC), Naomi carries a complicated history: her mother died when she was eight, she never knew her father, and at eleven she was sent from her aunt's home in San Jose to live with the St. Clair family in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is a member of Greystone Society, tapped by Liam in February of her sophomore year. Her death by drowning in Lake Carnegie in May 2023—with benzodiazepines and ketamine in her system—sets the novel's present-day investigation in motion.

Plot Role

Naomi functions as both the emotional catalyst and the investigative mirror of the novel. Her death in May 2023 triggers Maya's return to Princeton and her confrontation with the past. But Naomi's own chapters, which run from October 2022 to the night before her death, show her independently uncovering the same truths Maya spent a decade suppressing. Through her roommate Amy's investigation, Naomi learns about Lila Jones, a Greystone member who died during a 2012 Society ski trip under suspicious circumstances. Naomi's growing knowledge of the Society's corruption—bribes to the dean of admissions, insider trading, and a possible murder—places her in direct danger. Her death is the consequence of that knowledge.

Motivations and Traits

Naomi's actions reveal several core motivations:

Belonging. Having lost her mother at eight and been shuffled between households, Naomi craves connection. She reflects that dance studios are where she feels most at home and that home became the friends who kept showing up. Her decision to join Greystone, despite her sister's warnings about Sterling Club, reflects this desire to belong to something larger than herself.

Protection. Naomi is fiercely protective of Amy. When Amy fears the consequences of her investigation, Naomi grabs her hand and insists she won't let anything happen to her. She also keeps her investigation secret from Maya, telling herself she doesn't want to get her sister involved.

Truth-seeking. Once Naomi learns about Lila Jones, she commits to uncovering what happened. She tells Amy, Let's burn this place down, and begins pressing Daisy, Kai, and DuPont for answers.

Emotional intensity. Her relationships with both Liam and Ben show a pattern of deep emotional investment. She describes her love for Liam as intense and all-consuming, and even after their breakup, she finds herself drawn back to him.

Chronological Arc

Naomi's arc spans roughly seven months, from October 2022 to her death in May 2023:

October 2022. Naomi wakes in Liam's room after a drunken night together, despite their breakup the previous spring after his brother's death. She's late to BAC rehearsal and distracted. She meets Ben Wong in the laundry room and gives him her room number. At Amy's birthday party, she and Ben flirt and leave together.

October 2022. Walking with Ben, they encounter Pete Whitney, who uses a racial slur after Ben shoves him. Naomi privately notes Pete also belongs to Greystone. At Sterling, she sees Liam with another woman and dances with Ben to provoke him. The next morning, Liam warns her about the Hunt Group investigation and its potential impact on her summer internship.

October 2022. At a soccer game, Liam kisses her; Ben witnesses it. Ben's girlfriend Jamie appears. Naomi flees, drinks tequila, and climbs onto a bridge ledge over Lake Carnegie. Liam finds her and brings her to his dorm.

November 2022. Ben explains Jamie wasn't his girlfriend. Naomi's room is ransacked with We Are Always Watching graffiti and slurs. Amy reveals she's been investigating DuPont and the Greystone Society, and tells Naomi about Lila Jones.

December 2022. Amy shows Naomi evidence linking Greystone to various scandals and Lila's suspicious death. They resolve to expose the Society.

January 2023. Naomi feels followed during a run. DuPont offers her a job at Omnis Media and, when she presses him about Lila, tells her to ask Maya, since Maya was one of the last people to see her alive.

March 2023. She confronts Daisy and Kai about Lila. Daisy insists it was an accident; Kai says the same, but Naomi senses they're not telling her everything.

May 2023. The night before her death, she stays with Ben in his uncle's NYC apartment. Ben leaves for Singapore the next morning. Her body is found in Lake Carnegie.

Relationships

Maya. The sister bond is the novel's emotional core. Maya is ten years older and attended Princeton before Naomi. Maya discouraged Naomi from applying to Princeton and warned her against Sterling Club. Naomi's death forces Maya to confront her own decade-old guilt about Lila Jones.

Liam. Her ex-boyfriend, a tennis player and Greystone member who tapped her. Their relationship is intense and destructive. After his brother's death, he disappeared, went to rehab, and returned aggressive and distant. Naomi's feelings for him remain complicated even as she moves toward Ben.

Ben Wong. A soccer player and Sterling treasurer. He's more open and emotionally available than Liam. Their relationship offers Naomi a healthier alternative, though it's complicated by the Jamie situation and Ben's family obligations in Singapore.

Amy. Her roommate who's investigating Greystone. Naomi protects her and joins her investigation. Amy's research reveals Lila Jones's story and the Society's history of corruption.

Zalikah (Zee). Her best friend and roommate, a choreographer who plans to attend Harvard Law.

Margaret St. Clair. Her guardian in Greenwich, who raised her after she left her aunt's home.

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Joining Greystone. Tapped by Liam in February of her sophomore year, she accepts. This decision places her inside the Society's orbit and, ultimately, in its crosshairs.

2. Investigating Lila's death with Amy. After learning about Lila, she commits to exposing Greystone. This puts her in direct conflict with the Society's most powerful members.

3. Confronting DuPont. She presses him about Lila in his office. He tells her to ask Maya, revealing that Maya was one of the last people to see Lila alive. This is a turning point that deepens her suspicion.

4. Keeping her investigation secret. She doesn't tell Maya about the investigation, partly to protect her sister and partly because she fears Maya will try to stop her.

5. Going to Ben's in NYC. The night before her death, she stays with Ben. He leaves for Singapore the next morning, and her body is found in Lake Carnegie that night.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Naomi's story connects directly to several of the novel's central themes:

• The corrupting influence of elite secret societies. Naomi's membership in Greystone and her discovery of its crimes—bribes, fraud, and a possible murder—illustrate how the Society's power corrupts everything it touches. Read more about this theme

• The burden of guilt and the destructive power of silence. Naomi's silence about her investigation, and Maya's decade-long silence about Lila, both prove destructive. Read more about this theme

• The protective bond between sisters. Maya's investigation is driven by love for Naomi, and Naomi's decision to keep her investigation secret is, in part, an attempt to protect Maya. Read more about this theme

• The outsider's struggle for belonging. Naomi's background—moving from San Jose to Greenwich, from a futon to a bed fit for a princess—makes her an outsider in Princeton's elite world. Her desire to belong leads her into Greystone. Read more about this theme

• The pursuit of justice versus self-preservation. Naomi chooses justice, at the cost of her life. Read more about this theme

Discussion Questions

1. Why does Naomi keep her investigation into Greystone secret from Maya?

Naomi tells herself she doesn't want to get Maya involved or give her a reason to stop the investigation. She also knows Maya was in Greystone and may have been connected to Lila's death. After DuPont tells her Maya was one of the last people to see Lila alive, Naomi's suspicion of her sister grows, making it even harder to confide in her.

2. How does Naomi's relationship with Liam differ from her relationship with Ben?

Liam is intense, all-consuming, and ultimately destructive. He disappears after his brother's death, goes to rehab, and returns distant and aggressive. Ben is more open and emotionally available. He shares his photography and his family struggles, and Naomi feels she can be vulnerable with him. She reflects that Ben is more open than Liam.

3. What role does dance play in Naomi's identity?

Dance is Naomi's anchor. She reflects that dance studios are where she feels most at home. It's the one space where she feels she belongs, and it connects her to her community at Princeton through BAC.

4. Why does Naomi decide to confront DuPont directly?

Amy encourages her to attend the meeting and press him for information. Naomi sees it as their chance to get him talking. She's also driven by her commitment to uncover the truth about Lila.

5. How does Naomi's death change Maya's understanding of her own past?

Naomi's death forces Maya to confront the decade-old guilt she's carried about Lila Jones. Maya realizes the same thing may have happened to her sister, and she begins to question whether her own silence about Lila contributed to Naomi's fate. See the ending explained for more on how Maya's investigation resolves.

For more discussion of the novel's characters and plot, visit the questions and answers page or return to the book overview.