This is definitely a roller coaster of a read. About half way through i was worried that it would be a DNF however i absolutely couldn't put it down during the second half of the book.
What Lies Between Us may be a very dark story, however it is utterly compelling.

Well done John Marrs.

An elderly woman is kept in the attic, chained up and tormented. Her captor is her daughter. Someone has done terrible things that neither of them talks about. It is difficult for the reader to know, too. That is the gift of this tale.

The story is told from alternate points of view, in the present and from about twenty-odd years ago. There is no doubt that this is a disturbing account of psychological and physical abuse, skillfully exposed from the distinct perspectives. There is little in the way of sentimentality or sensationalism, although there could have been given the subject matter. There are hints of very dark activities, mental illness, memory, loneliness, guilt, grief and obsession. Although the book is focused on mainly two people I wouldn't say it was a study of mother-daughter relationships, except perhaps the extent mothers will go to to justify their actions in their perception of putting their children first. Maybe.

Marrs uses a measured pace without waffle, informal language and when it seems as if I've guessed the next bit it's not like that at all. There is some dark humour: 'I have several Dusty Springfield records, that's how broad-minded I am' for example, but this is a tale of revenge and accountability above all. And a darn good thriller. Recommended.

Once again I fell a victim to an intriguing premise.
I don't have much to say about this book other than I just couldn't wait for it to end. The idea could have had potential, but it was just so predictable and boring.

Well what can I say! John Marrs never fails to surprise his readers and this book is great proof that he can still come up with twisted and captivating plots.
Nina lives in her childhood home with her mother Maggie but not in the conventional way as Nina has Maggie chained by her leg to the floor so she cannot wander the house alone. It seems that Nina cannot forgive her mother for what she sees as betrayal in her past but Maggie tells a very different version of events but which narrator is right and will they ever get back to 'normal'.
John Marrs has a disturbing mind and this is a dark synopsis but thankfully he keeps writing and long may he carry on as his books are a must read, I can't wait for the next.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy of the book.

"Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she did. And she can never let her leave."

This is a crazy thriller about a mother and daughter relationship which is so twisted that you cant guess which woman is at fault right till the end!! It kept me hooked from the start.

Simply Amazing!! Must Read for all mystery & thriller lovers.

Thank You to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ebook!!

I have to say that I picked up this book based on the cover and the description. I have never read a John Marrs book, but this one certainly was a great first read into this author's work. Upon reading the book's description on NetGalley, I thought this title would be a trip. It definitely met and exceeded my expectations. This is the best psychological thriller I've read recently and had twists at seemingly every turn. Some I could vaguely anticipate, but most were surprising. For me, the beginning of the story plodded along a little but once it got started it clipped along at an exhilarating pace. Both of the main characters were tricky to figure out especially in the beginning. The author did well in writing the character's parts in their point of view. Their rendition of the story in both past and present did an efficient job of muddling how you trusted or empathized with their character.

This title was mainly a try based on the book blurb and it absolutely did not disappoint. Would recommend as a twisty psychological thriller.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an eARC of this title.

Wow John does it again. He puts so many twists in the story that you can’t put it down. At times you want to know what happened in the past to make the two characters act the way they do. Sometimes you are rooting for Maggie, but then he makes you feel for Nina and all that has happened to her.
#whatliesbetweenus, #netgalley, #indigoemployee

First i must say after reading several of the author’s previous novels that I was very excited to be able to read his latest prior to publication This is an excellent read the way the author onstructs the two parallel storylines is rivetting. I will easily give the book five stars and highly recommend. Thank you net galley for the opportunity to read this boo.

Thrillers are very difficult to review as everything feels like a spoiler.
This was very intriguing and I regret not having read it earlier I. E as soon as I received the arc. Anyways, it was very grasping and I was very anxious to get to the end especially the last 30 pages kept me on edge. I did guess a few of the twists but some were very unexpected. Definitely a great read for lovers of psychological suspense.

Maggie was bound to daughter Nina in more ways than one. Nina could never forgive her mom Maggie for the lies. They lived in one house which was filled with secrets from the attic to the basement and the garden beyond.

Having read a couple of books by this talented author, I knew I would get to read thriller which was completely mind-boggling. Human psyche, the dark and still darker sides of it were explored from all angles, and believe me, some parts were tough to read.

It took enormous talent to write a book with two characters with a slight input from a third one near the end. At 60% I could guess one part of the story, the rest was absolutely in the shadows until John Marrs decided to reveal it all.

The story had a lot of twists, each chapter revealed something new. But clues were also laid down subtly. The whole book was one rocking ride from beginning to end, and once started, I couldn’t stop. The book was wonderful in the audiobook version too

Wow! There are no words to do this book justice. It’s creepy and twisted and dark and emotional. It’s scary and weird and completely insane. Yet it’s addictive and I simply couldn’t put it down. It’s just right level of shock and revulsion for me. I hated the characters so much they made me angry, but I was crying with them and willing them to succeed. It’s a sign of a brilliant author when you are so emotionally invested in a fictional character that you want to shout and scream at them. It’s just bloody brilliant!

I was so thrilled when I was approved for this ARC. I have only read one other book by John Marrs (Welcome to Wherever You Are) and it was excellent. He is a masterful storyteller.

I was immediately hooked on this book. I loved the format, which alternates points of view between Nina and Maggie as well as alternate time periods, going back 20+ years to present with numerous stops in between. There were many twists, some I saw coming, some I didn't. This book fits into the "crazy thriller" genre, so if you are in a mood for crazy, this one is for you.

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Probably one of my top reads of 2020, really enjoyed this book. To the point that I was thinking about what happens next, when I wasn’t reading it! My first book by this author and I am definitely seeking out more of his to read. Just brilliant. I have even recommended it to others already.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

My first John Marrs book but definitely not my last! Fantastic thriller that kept me reading into the wee hours of the night! Riveting, absorbing and incredibly dark...a story that painted a vivid picture of family dysfunction at its worst.

It’s been just Nina and her mother Maggie ever since Nina’s father left when she was 14. Nina has always blamed her mother for her father leaving. This book explores the relationship between love and hate and being bound to the person who has destroyed your life.

The character development and writing were superb. It was a suspenseful story that had many twists and turns. Absolutely recommend to fans of psychological thriller genre.

A gracious thank you to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A dark, riveting narrative that will make your jaw drop at every twist.

This was my first John Marrs novel and it didn't disappoint. I was immediately hooked on the premise - a daughter who has imprisoned her mother for reasons that will gradually become apparent to us. The question constantly running through your head is who is the guilty party? Does Maggie deserve to be trapped and shackled in her own home like a tortured animal? Or has she done something so unforgivable to Nina that this is the least she deserves?

I thought this book had a lot of substance and was brilliantly executed. The short chapters made it easy to devour, and I always wanted to read on to uncover more secrets. At one point, I physically gasped from a twist - a sign of a great thriller.

The plot was strong and realistic for the majority. There were a few times when I thought the story started to get a little far-fetched but it was soon pulled back into a more authentic setting. The ending was unexpected and exactly what the thriller needed. It was very character-driven, with Maggie and Nina's mother/daughter relationship explored with flashbacks and switching perspectives. It is definitely one of the better thriller's I've read recently and I can't wait to read more by the author.

John Marrs, folks. He’s done it again.

I absolutely LOVED The Passengers and had high expectations for this one as well - I requested an ARC without even reading the description. And despite this being totally different in almost every way from The Passengers, my expectations were exceeded. This is a dark, glorious psychological thriller about the twisted relationship between a mother and daughter.

Less than 10% of the way into the book, you meet Maggie, an elderly woman who watches the neighborhood below from high up in her attic room. You learn that she lives with her daughter, Nina. You learn that Nina keeps Maggie chained up in the attic and has been doing so for years.

As you start to learn the stories of Maggie and Nina in shards and fragments, you’ll start to understand the dynamic between the two - and you’ll understand the lengths a mother goes to in order to protect her child.

This was so close to being a five star home run for me, but the pacing and ending were a bit off. The story is told in roughly three time periods: present day, two and a half years earlier, and twenty five years earlier. Each chapter jumps around to a different time period to reveal a small part of what led up to present day, and it can sometimes be confusing to remember which time period you’re in. Sometimes a dramatic reveal at the end of one chapter then reverts back to an earlier time period to give context about what happened, which throws off the escalating tempo of the big reveal. The ending was also a bit frustrating - some things are a little bit unbelievable, and the comeuppance could have dealt a sharper and more satisfying blow.

Overall, this is a totally unputdownable thriller from the master of all things dark and twisty - a creepy beach read (if summer 2020 is still happening). I can’t believe that The Passengers was my first Marrs book and that this is only my second; can’t wait to pick up more of his. Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC!

I just finished this one.. and my thoughts aren't quite clear haha of how I should feel about it.

This was a very dark novel, also very fast paced.

I loved the short chapters, and definitely always had that just one more just one one more feeling.

Again dark twisted characters if that's your thing you will love it..

Aaahhhh John Marrs is one of my auto buy authors and I love his work. All of his books have been amazing - as is this one!!! Couldn't put it down!

'Wow' seems too trivial a word to describe this book.

I don't know how he does it, but yet again, John has pushed the boundaries with his writing. His ability to create unique and 'out of the box' stories is what makes him one of my favourite authors.

The dark, twisted and frankly horrifying relationship between 'Maggie' (Mum) and 'Nina' (daughter) is incredible and when you slowly discover what has led to where they find themselves now, will leave you utterly gobsmacked, but will also leave you wondering what you also would have done in their position....

Just brilliant!

First Class, Absorbing, Intense

As one of my favourite authors, I didn't hesitate to request a copy of What Lies Between Us by John Marrs. This is an extremely well constructed mystery/thriller that is evenly paced and gave me the shivers. It perfectly combines darkness and brooding with suspenseful thrills in an entertaining story that showcases good character development, haunting pasts, murky secrets, disturbing choices and terrible lies.

The story starts with Nina and her mother Maggie who are chatting, having just finished eating dinner. Nina then takes Maggie back to her attic room and puts her chains back on. What on earth has Maggie done to Nina to deserve such treatment and what are the secrets that Maggie is so desperate to hide?

Told from the viewpoints of Maggie and Nina in flashbacks over the last 25 years, and in the present, this story was so addictive and compelling that I couldn't look away. As a lover of dysfunctional, toxic mother and daughter relationship tropes, this story was packed to the rafters! The way John Marrs tantalises the reader with details about both women’s lives but never revealing too much, was a stroke of genius. The reader is privy to the two women’s disturbed minds, in a manner that I found bone chilling and creepy, but it also made for a tremendously exciting read. The plot is sublimely executed with no let-up in the tension as the horrors of the tale rose and fell. Complete with a fantastic conclusion, I think this book has overtaken all of the other novels by John Marrs to become my new favourite, and of course I confidently recommend it. What Lies Between Us is one of my winning reads so far this year.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.