3.5 STARS

Have you ever suspected something shady was going on behind the closed doors of your friends' homes, but were afraid of asking for fear of hurting your friendship? Have you ever had to carry a deep, foreboding secret for your friends which changes you immensely?

In Just Between Us, a group of four women begin down a road from which they cannot travel back once they spot a bruise on one of the group's wrists. Assuming Heather's husband has been physically abusing her, the rest of the group, Julie, Sarah, and Alison, make no mistake of giving Heather their explicit advice and telling her they will be there if she needs them. And she does, for a night that they'll regret forever.

The main issue I had with this novel is that it alternates points of view with each woman taking a turn to have her say...and I could barely tell the difference between the voice or personality of each woman. They all had kids and husbands too, although they were basically background players, and I can't tell you any of their names even though I just finished the book a few hours ago. The friends have different careers, but these didn't help me differentiate either.

It doesn't take long before the suspense begins in this book. Even in the first chapter, as the friends are meeting for coffee, we see that one woman feels like she is the outsider, another thinks her friends are secretly talking about her when she's not there. This is all pretty normal in female friend groups, and it's interesting to see that the author included this aspect.

Jumping to conclusions is one thing every character in this book does very well. Without giving away too many important plot details, I will say that the reason almost all events are set into motion is that someone assumes something and rather than asking about it, takes matters into their own hands.

The first part of the book moved quite slowly and took me a while to get into. As I said before, the characters don't seem to have their own unique voices and I couldn't really connect with any of them. The action does pick up and there's a lull while the characters are waiting and expecting their house of cards to fall down. Exposition picks up again towards the end, but by this point I had kind of already guessed the twist.

In the end, I have to say I like the way all of the events came together, even though it was kind of tragic. Just Between Us was not one of the best thriller novels I've ever read, but it kept me turning the pages.

The reason this book gets four stars is because of the author’s forensic knowledge. How to cover your tracks after committing a murder. The story is well thought out but I felt a little unresolved with the ending. I also wished I knew more about a couple of the characters. That said, it is a solid thriller as the pieces come together.

Wow!!!! What a read. This book has it all, friendship, betrayal,lies, manilpulation, etc. 4 friends are drawn into a situation where they think they are helping a friend out. But are they? Or were they manipulated? Lots of twists and turns. Just when you think you have it figured out, another twist is thrown in. This is a very good read. Very engrossing. I could not put it down once I started it. If you want a good read that will keep you glued to the pages, get this book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Man, this book was intense! You could really feel the tension and the suspense all the way from beginning to end with this read! I was excited when the publishers granted my wish for this title but was even more excited with the results.

This book takes you on a wild ride of 4 different ladies' thoughts and psyches and the result was quite chilling! This book will make you question what people really do think about you, when they say another thing! The reason I am not giving this book 5 Stars is because at times it was very hard for me, personally, to keep up with everything. This story is told from all four of the women's narratives and maybe I am just a bit slow (hehe) but I had difficulty keeping up at times.

Overall, this was one fantastic read that I would recommend to someone who is looking for a great psychological drama novel!

This was only an "OK" book for me. The setting is in Pittsburgh and is wrote in four alternating first person point of views. Other reviewers have found it tricky to keep it straight with the changing views, however I found that fine as it is really only three main alternating views. I didn't buy into the girls relationships being so deep and strong that they would really help one another cover up a murder when at times they didn't even seem to like each other very much. There was some suspense with each character as it was evident they were withholding information and hiding their own secrets and I did found myself rushing to the end to found who this blackmailer was but I was bored at times and I just wanted to be on to my next book.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

RATING:3 STARS
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

It's a book that kept me reading to the end, but I didn't love it. I don't think I would recommend it to anyone either. I also found the characters pretty similar, so I kept forgetting which woman was telling the story. The book lost me at the point where they make a decision to "help their friend at all cost". It seemed so Desperate Housewives, as did most of the book. I think had it been a more campy book I would have enjoyed it.

Four suburban moms. Some have jobs, some stay at home with their kids and at a school drop off they connect and start a friendship. This friendship will alter all their lives completely.

There is a prologue at a funeral and fortunately the reader finds out soon enough who has died and what happens, but that is just the start of it! If you are new here, this book has one of my favorite things - multi character narratives. I love it when an author writes from more than one character's viewpoint so the reader gets a full story from all angles.

If I could describe this book, I would call it a companion to Desperate Housewives, the tv show. You have suburban moms, you have a dead body and antics and such. This is a book where if you are a major fan of mystery/thriller you may roll your eyes at the antics, but I was thoroughly entertained by the entire thing.

I always love when I read an author and like them and they have a blacklist that I can dive into. I may have to tee up another Rebecca Drake to read soon!

Fantastic thriller with some really surprising twists. Fans of psychological women’s suspense fiction will want to put this one on their “must read” list.

Friends, coffee, kids, and enough secrets to make your head spin!

Alison, Julie, Sarah, and Heather are 4 suburban moms who become friends by meeting for coffee while the kids are in school to exchange parenting stories, gossip a little, and then later having playdates at their houses. They confided personal things to each other like women tend to do in close relationships. Heather is by far the more well off with her husband being a surgeon and a house to be envied. At this point, this is a typical Women’s Fiction novel, but don’t be fooled this is quite a ride! While attending a party, Julie walks in on a heated discussion between Heather and her husband and days before Alison noticed bruises on Heather’s wrists which triggered memories from her past.

Things go terribly wrong when in the middle of the night Alison receives a phone call from Heather. Heather is sobbing and not making a lot of sense. Alison calls the others to tell them that she’s headed to Heather’s house and they should meet her there. It’s obvious that Viktor, Heather’s husband, has hurt her as they all suspected was happening. Heather vehemently denies that she is abused and begs that the police not get involved, but the others know better and what’s best for their friend. Nosy neighbors have seen the abrupt departure in the midnight hours and start asking questions. Then the police are involved. How do these friends keep their activity hidden from their husbands and satisfy questions from neighbors all the while protecting Heather?

Told in alternating chapters from each of the characters kept the suspense up for me until the very end. The relationship between these friends will be tested, but despite their differences and squabbling, they remain strong. This is full of twists as each character’s past is revealed. After all, no matter how close friendships are do we reveal everything? Everyone has secrets.

Just Between Us is the first novel I’ve read by Rebecca Drake and it’s certainly not the last. Thank you, St. Martin’s Griffin, Rebecca Drake, and NetGalley for making my wish come true and granting me an advance copy.

Talk about a suspenseful read with complex characters, a twisted storyline, and my absolute favorite quality in a suspenseful thriller, unreliable narrators. Four close friends leave behind their suburban wife titles when someone from their circle dies and letters start showing up in their mail boxes. With a storyline similar to Big Little Lies, Just Between Us is a domestic thriller that hooked me from the very first page.

"A part of me needed to believe her."

You always know, the minute you pick up a book about a set of friends or a cute, suburban area, that there will be plenty of secrets and lies within its pages. At first, nothing seems that outrageous, any person would want their friend out of a harmful relationship, but it gets increasingly more complicated when the four women join together to hide something. The book is written in the perspectives of Alison, Julie, Sarah, and Heather. In many ways they are similar women; they are mothers, they are wives, and they share a passionate love of coffee and girl time. While I didn't connect with the women ever, I was immediately drawn in to their individual stories and their varying perspectives on the situation they found themselves in. It was very suspenseful, with several plotlines that I could definitely see happening in real life and twists that upped the intrigue. Though parts of the novel didn't seem plausible, I easily passed over those moments due to my curiosity and the desire to know whodunit. I never could have guessed the end, not until every hand was revealed, so that was certainly the best part of Just Between Us.

"There are secrets in every marriage. This is my secret."

Just Between Us is made for those readers who are fascinated by the mysteries that can haunt the everyday person. The wives, the unsuspecting husbands, the secrets between friends are all the things that made this book so interesting. The character interactions in this book and the backwards character development, discovered by the unraveling secrets, will keep any reader turning the pages.

I went with 4 stars because the Rebecca Drake's writing on Just Between Us is strong and concise. Overall I felt the story to be a bit predictable. I appreciated the 4 complex characters at the center of this novel. I had difficulty at times switching from point of view among the ladies. I needed a few more distinguishing clues to know who was speaking when at times. There are a few twists and turns to the mystery and the interplay between the women is well written. The dialogue seemed appropriate to characters and situations. I would read more from Rebecca Drake, and I found Just Between Us a worthwhile read.

If you like big little lies or desperate housewives- this is definitely the book for you!!! I absolutely loved it, although sometimes I had to double check which character I was reading to make sure I was keeping everyone straight. Overall- i absolutely loved this book and will definitely be reading more from this author!

Reminded me of Big Little Lies. I did enjoy this despite thinking the characters made some really stupid decisions throughout. A little suspension of disbelief is required but it was still a good read!

I would like to thank the publisher, St Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is about 4 friends, Anne, Alison, Julie and Heather, who have met each other at the local elementary school. that their kids attend. They are close bussum buddies ego enjoy play dates, meeting for coffee at the coffee hop and enjoy sharing gossip.

When Alison, notices bruises on Heather's body and shared this with the other, they become very concerned and try to be supportive of Heather. They encourage her to leave her husband, go to a shelter, but Heather stays. Then one night, Heather calls Alison with some frightening news and all of them meet up at zheathet's house.

What happens next in the book, make you think about how far will you go to help a friend out of a bad situation. How well do you know your friends and do we really know what goes on behind closed doors. Are things really the way they seem.

The story from here is intense, gripping and has many twist and turns. At times, for me the story line became too unrealistic and I thought about stop reading the book., but I am happy that I kept on reading. I enjoyed getting to know the women and the dynamics of their relationships as we all can relate to our friendships with our female friends one way or the other.

The holding on to the secret, the resulting paranoia, the desperation and the planning and scheming and then the unraveling of the real truth, I thought was very clever. The ending was very surprising to me, I wish that the friends had more time to work this out between them.
I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

A gripping psychological thriller surrounding four mothers in suburbia. A cover-up so compelling it makes you think twice.

This is a hard one for me to review; I definitely have mixed feelings. It took me a while to actually get submerged into this world crafted by Drake. Y'all know I love duel POVs. But four? It felt like it was a little hard to grasp. I liked each of the perspectives, but sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who. I would pick it up, read a chapter or two, and put it down. When I picked it back up again, I had to go back a few pages to remember what POV I was reading last. Or I would be reading and be like wait, I thought I was reading this person when really it was someone else. So then I had to go back and figure it out all over again. The POV changed in every chapter. I think it would have been a little better with only three POVs, or maybe even two.

Now, onto the good stuff. I loved the premise of this book. Honestly, I think it's what kept me going. I had to find out where all of this was heading. It made me question how well I know my best friends. But it also made me question how much did I know about their relationships. We only know what we're told; we have no idea what happens behind closed doors.

Drake's writing is spectacular and she kept me turning the pages, although it was a slow read for me. Even though the POVs were confusing at times, I was definitely invested and I had to see it through to the end. This novel holds tons of domestic suspense, and you become captivated by their secrets, even though you don't have a favorite character.

Overall, this was an interesting read. While I would have liked to see a few things differently, this is a book I was glad to have read.

Just Between Us is the first book by Rebecca Drake that I have read. Always great to discover a new author whose books you enjoy reading.

Just Between Us is a fascinating story of 4 friends. You know, the type of friends all women have. You become friends because your children are the same age or go to the same school. But what do you really know about people you meet when you are an adult. What do they have hidden in their past? And what are they really capable of?

I loved reading this book. I could identify with the 4 main characters. I could easily understand how they could fall into the mess that they did. Well written and great characters..what more can you ask for?

Highly recommend Just Between Us.

What a great read! While this book reminds me of Big Little Lies in some small ways, it goes much deeper into the dark side. Just how far would you go to help out a friend? Crafty and complex, this book will keep you enthralled from first to last page.

I loved this book!!! I love a book with so much drama. This book made me look at people a little differently since you really just don’t ever know what goes on behind closed doors.

Favorite Quotes:

The strange thing about a secret is it longs to be told. Someone can confide personal news —a terminal illness, having lied on a job application, even an indiscretion with a stranger— and you might simply focus on the story itself, the details and the implications, but if they add that caveat—“ don’t tell”— then suddenly that’s all you can think about doing.

…her small, probably fixed, ferrety nose sniffing the air while she darted beady-eyed looks about the room. I doubted she’d ever been in Heather’s house before—she was an acquaintance rather than a friend, one of those women who believed that personal power came from the collection, and distribution, of gossip.

The coffin was a huge, satin-padded mahogany box, Viktor tucked into its folds like a piece of expensive mail-order fruit that got delayed somewhere in transit, polished and presentable, hiding a rotting core.

It was the sort of death he might have appreciated, high-intensity and cinematic, crashing through a guardrail and plunging thirty feet into the river. A swift end to a short life, but people like that seem destined to die young.

My Review:

I seem to have been on a suspense junket lately, and I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve enjoyed them, but it has also cost me greatly as I am now sleep deprived. My lack of somnolence came not only from being enthralled and unable to put my Kindle down but from also ruminating about the characters and storylines once I finally closed my eyes. Just Between Us presented such a conundrum. It was well plotted, full of creative and unimagined twists and turns, and terribly hard to put down. The primary and as well as many secondary characters were well fleshed out and knowable, but not all at once, as shocking surprises were in store from each household.

The four women were uniquely unsuited to be friends. This wily author presented them in a cunning and intriguing manner, tantalizing me with unpredictable and questionable behaviors and thoughts, as well as making them annoyingly realistic and significantly flawed once the layers of civility were removed. Not a one of them were as I had expected or as they had presented themselves, to anyone. Each had dark and shameful secrets hidden in their histories, which were compounded by the new clandestine activities they had been caught up with. They had pulled together with the united purpose of assisting one of their own then became ensnared and saw no choice but to press forward with riskier and outright illicit behaviors. It is so true to form that when in the midst of a crisis options appear limited or nonexistent, but a day or so later all the alternatives of should have and could have, will flood the mind. The storylines heated up and boiled over as the four ladies began to unravel from the guilt and stress with panic attacks, paranoia, resentments, distrust, and destructive bad habits that frayed and fractures their ties. But I never saw this ending coming, it was cleverly devised and craftily enacted, yet oddly disquieting as well.