This was my first boom by this author and definitely not my last. Wow.... what a ride. Mother / daughter, nice/ mean, good/ bad...who is who and what should you believe? Awesome thriller with some great plot twists ..... kept me on the edge of my seat the entire ride!!! Must read!!!!

*Thanks Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC from Netgalley.

Nina and Maggie are trapped in a house of lies and secrets. Both have shared this house for a long time, yet one is now staying unwillingly. Nina and Maggie have dinner on some nights, but for the rest of the time they are separated. Each have their own schedule and way of coping with this situation. There are too many secrets between the two for things to ever be the same.

I loved this book!

John Marrs is an expert at writing suspenseful, thought-provoking novels. His characters and plot are always so complex and well-crafted.

What Lies Between Us is no exception. The reader explores the past and present life of both Nina and Maggie. I love how both POVs are presented. The characters better fleshed out and presented in this format.

These characters so complex. There are so many secrets and lies between the two and others. This novel is truly a wild ride that will leave the reader guessing. This is an example of a thriller at its finest.

I do not want to go too in depth with things in this review, due to potential spoilers. I would definitely recommend this though. All adult mystery / thriller fans must add this to their tbr immediately.

Absolutely amazing!

I wasn't sure what to expect from What Lies Between Us. The blurb was vague, and the beginning 20% quite slow.
The moment the story picks up however, it is a roller-coaster till the very end.

Packed with twists and turns (some more shocking than others) and brilliant character building, this book left me at the edge of my seat and craving more.

Told from the perspective of a mother and daughter in various time-lines, the author does a great job at building their relationship and exploring their motives for various actions. Chock-full of drama and suspense, the ending left me totally surprised.

Well-written and wonderfully developed, this book is not one to miss!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an advanced copy of the book.

This was my first book by John Marrs, wow! Can't believe I waited so long.
Maggie is Nina's mother. They live together and dine with each other every other night.
After dinner, Maggie returns to her room in the attic where she is chained up.
Nina is making her pay for the things that she's done to her.
I think the less you know going in to this one, the better!
This dark psychological thriller is shocking and twisty. It kept me fascinated and enthralled. I literally could not put it down.
I can't wait to read more from this author.
Thank you Thomas & Mercer for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Nina keeps Maggie locked away in the attic. The reasons for their dysfunctional relationship are slowly revealed using alternating points of view and flashbacks.

A complicated and disturbed relationship between a mother and daughter. Maggie and Nina are intriguing characters. Both women have kept secrets from one another for many years. The revealing of secrets was well-paced and kept the suspense up.

A wild and twisted domestic thriller. This book had me turning the pages late into the night. A fun and fast-paced read for fans of psychological thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was weird in the best way possible. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and i couldn't stop reading that book. It's my first John Marrs and i can't wait to read his other works. This is exactly what i was looking for in a book !

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a free galley in exchange for my honest review. I went into this book 100% blind and I'm glad I did because WOW! INSANE PLOT AND CRAZY TWISTS! I did figure out an important part of the twist pretty early on, but it did not distract from the rest of the story because there were so many more twists that I didn't see coming. Honestly, the story seems so incredibly far-fetched but John Marrs writes it in a way that is so believable and keeps you flipping through the pages as quickly as you can to see what happens next. I normally would give a quick synopsis, but I'm instead going to encourage you to read this blind and just enjoy the madness of this psychological roller coaster.

I would first like to start off by saying thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and of course the amazing author for allowing me to read and review this ARC. This book was so good. It had a lot of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. One thing I loved about this book is how each chapter kept you guessing and wanting more, almost forcing you to continue reading. I felt like the characters and their dynamic was crazy and well developed.
My only reason for dropping the rating to a 4 star was I felt like some parts were almost to good to be true but overall this was a great read and I look forward to read this authors other work.

This one was nuts! The first 30 percent, didn’t do it for me, it was very slow burn starting out. But oh my, once this one got started it was twist after twist after twist. I don’t think I predicted anything that happened and it was absolutely phenomenal. Because Goodreads doesn't do 5 starts, I have rounded this up to 5.

I highly recommend that you check this one out if you are into psychological thrillers. Believe the hype, it’s as good as everyone keeps saying! I love unique books, and I can definitely say I’ve never read a book quite like this one. Also this is available on Kindle Unlimited as well!

Fantastic, incredible, horrifying, haunting, unsettling, fascinating, scandalous, shocking, unbelievable, heartbreaking... give me all the adjectives! This is just an absolutely outstanding book! There are moments of this book that reminded me of Misery by Stephen King, it is *that* good!

The plot is just unimaginable but so very well thought out and developed. I don't know how John Marrs came up with something so intricately interwoven and complex and carried it off so well! The character development throughout is sheer brilliance as we learn more and more about Nina and Maggie and begin to understand why their relationship is so fraught. I don't know how many times I changed my mind on who was truly to blame between these two women until it all became horrifyingly apparent!

Utterly absorbing, I enjoyed every minute. A plot that gets more and more terrifying with every page! There are moments of true horror and disbelief throughout with a fantastically timed backstory and a brilliant, shocking but satisfying ending!

One of the best books I've ever read in a long time and one that will leave me with the biggest of book hangovers!!

Cannot recommend enough, a brilliantly enjoyable read! Be prepared... Not a book for the faint-hearted!

Thanks to NetGalley, John Marrs and Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I'm not even sure I know what just happened. This book was so incredibly screwed up and just keeps you engulfed through each and every chapter. A mother and daughter relationship just gone totally, totally wrong! I couldn't put this one down! I had to see which one was crazier and how (or if) they were ever going to get out of the toxic circle they're stuck in. An excellent read for psychological thriller fans for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley, John Marrs and Amazon Publishing UK for this eARC!

What Lies Between Us is one of the most dark and compelling psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. The story is seriously so messed up told between two unreliable narrators. Who do you believe? Who shall you trust? The story is disturbing and told from two point of views within multiple timelines. POV from Maggie and Nina, between the past and the present. Confusing? No, not at all. John Marrs is seriously becoming one of my all time favorite authors! His storytelling abilities is out of this work!! His writing is so addiction leaving me wanting more and more. I highly recommend this one!!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Loved it and was so sad when it ended. Always have high expectations and John marrs always delivers. A set of complex characters, a plot that unravels....I just couldn’t put it down!

I don’t know how I feel about this book. It is very cleverly written but I found it hard to read in places about how a mother and daughter had treated each other. This is a memorable read and I would read more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is my first John Marrs and man it was a wild ride. I think this story is best to go into totally blind, maybe even not reading the full synopsis. This story was dark and twisty, which is always what I look for in thrillers. The book was so fast-paced that I didn't even take time to formulate any theories or predictions on twists of the ending, which meant I was surprised multiple times by reveals. I wish some things happened differently at the end, but ultimately I enjoyed this wild ride.

This is my first book by John Marrs. I finished reading <b>What Lies Between Us</b> last night and I was trying to come up with a review that does not contain spoilers but this book is full of dark secrets starting from the first page that my novice reviewer self was having a hard time coming up with a decent summary. So instead of ruining the surprise I will tell you what I liked:

Every other night Nina and Maggie have dinner together, they listen to ABBA, clean up and then Nina helps Maggie up to her soundproof room in her section of the house where she is chained up to a pole in the center of the room.

I liked that the story has two main characters Nina and Maggie. The plot of the story revolves around them and them only. No extra characters and no extra secrets. It is what it is and I appreciate the simplicity. I was completely invested in Maggie and Nina's dark, twisted world because the character development was truly amazing. It was easy for me to follow the alternating voices of Nina and Maggie. The story switches from present to 2 yrs. ago and it was uncomplicated and yet packed with sinister details.

There are few trigger warnings that touch sensitive but very relevant topics.

What Lies Between Us is a riveting thriller filled with deceit, riddles and secrecy and built on the most twisted mother-daughter relationship one could possibly imagine. If you thought you have experienced dysfunctional relationships in other thrillers then brace yourselves because John Marrs brings out the anarchic and twisted side of Maggie and Nina's bond and leaves the reader questioning all their actions and thoughts.

The storytelling in What Lies Between Us is flawless. The plot is divided in chapters with alternating POVs between Nina and Maggie and the first person narrative works extremely well in establishing a connection between the reader and the characters to help understand their actions. It has the perfect balance between character development and plot and keeps the reader guessing as both characters' motives are slowly revealed through the multiple unanticipated twists.

I find relating to unlikable and unreliable characters extremely difficult in thrillers yet I was surprised to find that there were parts of both characters that I could connect with. They both make some difficult choices but with the intention to protect and help their loved ones. I was constantly undecided on which character was evil and unbalanced and with each twist I became more convinced that I had figured out their backstory until the shocking turn of events at the end which left me speechless. Looking back, I realise that it would have been impossible to guess the reasons behind their actions and figure out the ending as it is so twisted and unexpected.

After reading The Passengers by John Marrs, I was convinced that I had discovered a possible new favourite author and this book confirmed my suspicions. I was thrilled to hear that it has already sold TV rights and can already imagine some of the dark scenes from this book reproduced on the big screen. I highly recommend this book to all fans of the genre and cannot wait to read John Marrs' previous books.

Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she did. And she can never let her leave.
Twist after twist after twist. John Marrs doesn't write the ordinary thriller. This one goes back and forth from present to past and between Nina and Maggie. You think you've got it figured out? Maybe; but keep going. There's more....and more.

A dark, suspenseful, and addictive read!!

Sixty-eight-year old, Maggie spends her days in the attic watching her neighbors going about their lives. To them, she doesn't exist. As Maggie watches, she notices things that no one else does. She’s the first to notice when Mr. Steadman’s curtains stop opening and his mail and newspapers start piling up.

But there’s nothing she can do about it. You see, Maggie isn’t choosing to live in the attic. She’s forced to stay, kept in place by locked doors, soundproof walls, unbreakable windows, and the heavy chain around her ankle. The only time Maggie leaves the room is when she joins HER for dinner downstairs.


At times, Maggie questions her past actions. Most of the time she knows that she did what she had to do.

What could Maggie have possibly done to deserve this?

Well if you ask Nina, she’d say Maggie has done MANY unforgivable things. And so she must pay.


This was dark and twisted in the best way!

The story alternates between Maggie and Nina’s perspectives, two women with many secrets and lies between them. It's a well-paced read with many surprises and twists. Once I started reading, I couldn't even think of putting the book down. I thought that I had things figured out, that I knew what was going on, but I was way off.

“What Lies Between Us” is a clever and compulsive psychological thriller with an engaging plot and characters whose web of secrets had me trapped and riveted until I turned the very last page.

I really can't wait to see what Mr. Marrs has in store for readers next!!

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Omg what a read, finished it in a day. It’s so disturbing and impossible to put down which I only did as I needed to feed my children 😆. I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what was going on. Just when you think you have it sussed nope its not the case. Really well written and done in such a way thats really exciting but disturbing and you just have to read on. Highly recommend and it’s safe to say John Marrs is becoming one of my favourite authors.