What a wild, dark, twisty ride that was! This thriller was for sure what I needed from the genre, it had everything I craved. The twists, the darkness, aahhhh.

This is a domestic thriller focusing around a mom and daughter. Maggie, the mom, loves her daughter to no end. And Nina, well... Nina... She has a big heart, but it gets crazy guys.

This is a dual story line of present and past events. There are also two POVs, Nina and Maggie. I really liked to see the story from both characters, and I feel as it went on you come out with a favorite. I definitely picked Maggie on this one.

If you're up for a very twisted, dark, domestic thriller... This is a great one! I will say there are MANY triggers involved so please consider that before reading. (Paedophilia, miscarriage, drug abuse, domestic abuse, etc.)

It must be said, I am a huge John Marrs fan. I have been reading his novels for quite a while. I truly enjoy his writing style, as he always keeps me guessing. I love the twists and turns he adds and I feel as if those take his books up a notch. His other books, I would classify as thrillers, this one I feel is more of a domestic thriller. This is a 4.75 star rounded up to 5 for me!

And what is this I hear? A production company has snapped up the rights to this one!! What a doozy of a crazy ride that will be. I will be in line to see that movie as soon as it is released.

So we have Nina and Maggie. I can't give too much of a description because I don't want to give too much away. Maggie is being held prisoner and she is extremely frightened of her captor Nina. And that is all I am going to say about the plot.

This is a John Marrs' novel, so know that going in this is dark, this is twisty, this is crazy, and just when you think you have it all figured it, you get blindsided and are left with your mouth hanging open. I mumbled to myself many things while reading this explosive story, what the hell, are you kidding me, holy crap, did I just read that correctly, OMG, and I may have had a few other choice words at the ending. This novel is one crazy ride that you never see the drops coming and when you are on the drop, you all of sudden get thrown in a loop. You will love every minute of it. I know I did!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the amazing John Marrs for allowing the privilege of reading and reviewing What Lies Between Us.

I had to think about this story a bit to ponder what I actually thought of it. It was very much dark and Marrs style, with a different kind of premise, which I enjoyed. It's a great revenge story, full of hate secrets, and ugly people.

It reminded me a bit of Darling Rose Gold, without the actual psychological syndrome. It had enough craziness though in these unlikeable characters. I kept switching my thoughts on them through out the story, and sometimes I even felt bad for both the mother or daughter. And it was amazing how the author played up on those human morals over and over through the book. In the end characters weren't just black or white, but very much grey.

Overall not a big twisty mystery that blew my mind, but it was still engaging and entertaining.

#bookreview 3.5 ⭐️ This was a fast paced and entertaining book but I found it a little bit too predictable. It was crazy and had lots of twisted characters. I enjoyed the storyline but it fell a little flat to me. I seem to be in the minority with a lot of 5⭐️ on Goodreads so I still suggest picking it up!
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Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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BOOK DESCRIPTION:
They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.

Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price.

But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way—even if it kills her.

Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.
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John Marrs is back with a new novel and it does not disappoint. I’ll be bold and stake the claim for the future, too (with my crystal ball) and say that Marrs never disappoints. One thing I like about this author is that he seems to be a step ahead of others in the genre as the core of each of his books feels something that has not been done before in the genre. Say, the autonomous cars in The Passengers or the genetic partner fixing in The One. What Lies Between Us also plays with a plot device that has not been used as often… I think… (says someone who isn’t a thriller junkie! 😀 ) .. but I can’t tell what it is, because spoilers!

There’s nothing more intriguing than a secret, dangling like a chunky carrot. Tease the reader with more than one secret? You got yourself a super sticky fly tape to get tangled up in. Juicy! And talk about putting the premise of ‘you never know what goes on behind closed doors’ to work – Marrs has taken one of the closest relationships between a mother and her child and turned it into a sinister house of horrors. Really, I didn’t know what made my head spin more, the fact that I couldn’t figure out who was worse, Nina or her mother; or the things that went on behind closed doors. Twisted, man. Twisted!

I don’t need to spin a yarn about Marrs writing – he’s an established author with a solid fanbase. He knows what he’s doing and there is never a lull in his stories. Even if I tried to troll and say there was something off in the book, people in the know would tell me to FOFF and rightly so 🙂 No critique from this here reader – Marrs does a psychological, crime thriller good. He does it very darned good. So… if you’re on the hunt to put some dys in the dysfunctional, then look no further and let What Lies Between Us deliver an afternoon of warped.

Woah!! This book is how it’s done! I read this in one sitting. This is a fast paced, twisty, turny kinda book. I kept guess until the last chapter.

I love a book with a unreliable narrator and this one has 2. This is so well written then I flip back and forth on who is telling the truth. Nina and Maggie have a very difficult relationship. Told from each woman’s point of view and quite a few time jumps this book is perfection.

Best book of quarantine. Loved it.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

'What Lies Between Us' was my first John Marrs book and holy cow have I been missing out! This is a brilliantly dark psychological thriller about a toxic, codependent relationship between Maggie and Nina.

I've had a really difficult time starting this review because I feel like the less you know, the better. This book takes you on one hell of an insane ride.

Marrs wastes no time getting into your head. I was asking questions while reading the prologue and saying wtf as early as the the first chapter and all throughout the book. The pacing kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I loved reading the perspectives of both Maggie and Nina (present and past) and seeing both their truths unfold. While I may have known some of the things that were to come (let's face it, hard not to when you've read a bazillion thrillers), it didn't take away from the story at all. Between the writing style and just how absolutely insane so much of it was, I was hooked and needed to know everything and how it ended. And the ending, just wow! That ending is what took me from a 4.5 to a 5 star rating.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a disturbing, dark psychological thriller!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and John Marrs for the e-ARC and the opportunity to provide my thoughts.

Wow! Welcome to one of the darkest psychological thrillers that you will read this year! What Lies Between Us takes two characters, a bucketful of secrets about their past and one of the most twisted relationships I’ve ever encountered and gives them a twisted storyline that shocked the hell out of me! Why is Maggie kept locked up in chains by Nina, away from the world and everyone she knew? What are they both hiding? What could Maggie have possibly done to deserve this form of psychological torture? The answers when they come will certainly shock and surprise you!

This is one of those books that I think is best read blind so try not to read too many reviews before you pick it up! It’s a book that works so well even though there are really only two characters centre stage for most of it. And it is actually like a play! I could imagine the horrors that unfold being played out on stage with the sense of foreboding building throughout the acts as they are performed to an unsuspecting audience.

Be prepared to have your emotions well and truly played with through What Lies Between Us. The toxic relationship between these two women will suck you in until you become completely involved in their actions, your emotions constantly batted from one point of view to another until you don’t trust your own judgments! The shocks just keep on coming in this dark, intense and expertly plotted chiller that keeps you guessing until the very end.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough! Even after the final page, I still had these characters in my head, their voices interrupting my thoughts and giving me such a book hangover it was days before I could pick up anything else to read! So if you like tour psychological thrillers creepy and utterly disturbing then this one is for you!

One of my favorite authors John Marrs is back with What Lies Between Us.  He really has writing thrillers down to perfection. In this book he brings us some really dysfunctional characters in Nina and Maggie. It's really a dark and twisted story about a Mother/daughter relationship unlike any I have read about before. Told from alternating points of view between Maggie (the mother) and Nina (the daughter) it's hard for the reader to know who to trust or what to believe.  What terrible thing has happened between the two to cause Nina to chain her mother Maggie up in the attic of the home they share. This story of this toxic relationship  is told in dual timelines from the present and the past. That cover is amazing and I loved every second of this book with so many twists and turns. You may have to suspend belief for parts of it but it is so worth the ride.  I so appreciate getting an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Maggie lives with her daughter, Nina.

After Nina’s father left them she became rebellious and dangerous, so Maggie did what any other mother would to put an end to her teenage daughter self-destroying lifestyle.

Nina cooks for her mother, and after they have dinner every night, she takes Maggie back in the cellar where she has her chained to a wall.

What did I just read?

I can’t even begin to explain the roller coaster ride this novel was. It’s one of those that leave you thinking WOW!

The story is told alternating from the two points of view of the main characters in both present and past via flashbacks. This is a clever way to understand how Maggie is feeling as the victim of a domestic kidnapping, and the reasoning Nina uses to justify treating her like this.

But is Maggie really the victim? Is Nina just trying to deal with life as best as she can? I found myself going back and forth trying to decide who I was rooting for. Surely Nina has done a very bad thing but Maggie wasn’t exactly mother of the year, but then again, does it really justify chaining your own mother to a wall? Where is Nina’s father?

What Lies Between Us is terrifying, horrifying, and scary yet you’ll want to read it all over again!

Disclosure: I would like to thank Amazon Publishing UK for an ARC of What Lies Between Us by John Marrs. This is my honest review.

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An interesting, twisted and super dysfunctional story. The characters are disturbing and the suspense is palpable. I found this book after reading a post from Colleen Hoover about it.

Heard it has already sold movie rights and I honestly think a movie might be even more suspenseful and intense. For me, some of the twists were predictable and some not.

Definitely should come with a couple of trigger warnings about family dynamics.

Maggie is Nina’s mother, and she does her very best to protect her daughter - but what lengths is she willing to go to? ⁣
Nina has Maggie tied up in the attic of their family home, because she believes her Mum has taken her future away from her...⁣

My goodness, I love John Marrs books😩 what a story. This is so complex and just amazing from start to finish. It’s easy to follow but not without keeping you guessing. ⁣
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Throughout the story, I found myself sympathising with different characters at different times. One minute I felt for Nina and her childhood being ripped from beneath her. Then the next chapter would come, and my heart was being ripped out for Maggie 🤦🏼‍♀️ it was a rollercoaster! ⁣
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I don’t want to reveal too much but all I will say is that I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it, and I highly recommend it - I’ve already made two people download it on their kindle☺️. ⁣
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Also, although some parts of the book I did predict, I didn’t with most of it, and the ending was definitely unexpected. But be prepared, because it broke my heart a little 💔 ⁣

*ARC review from NetGalley*

Wow. That's all I could say when I finished this book. This story was WILD. Every time I thought I could guess what was going to happen next, I was proven wrong. A dark but still enjoyable story.

This book is so sick and twisted... and I loved it!

'What Lies Between Us' starts off slowly, and I thought I had sussed it out pretty quickly, but I was so wrong. It quickly picked up in pace and I found I couldn't stop reading. I audibly gasped in places and frantically raced through it right to the end.

I don't think I've read anything quite like this - so full of surprises and, again, so twisted!! I'm now jealous of anyone who gets to read this for the first time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy deeply disturbing psychological thrillers about highly dysfunctional people, then What Lies Between Us will be perfect for you. It’s creepy, horrific, cruel and utterly compelling.
Right from the start you know there’s something terribly wrong with the relationship between Maggie and her daughter, Nina, who live together. The lack of communication, subjects that are verboten over rare dinners together, lies and shocking revelations slowly combine to show the truth of their co-existence.
It’s difficult to work out which of the two are more warped, and author John Marrs keeps so much hidden that I found myself alternatively blaming one and then the other for the situation they find themselves in.
Even towards the end, as I found out more of the back story, I wasn’t completely sure of the motives driving them both. Nothing is quite as it seems in this family; or as Maggie—with huge understatement—expresses it, “Nothing about us or this house or our family is normal.”
As usual, Marrs plays with his readers with expertise and sophistication, misleading us at every turn.
As the story progresses, so we see more delusions, cruelty, ruthlessness and determination. I was totally hooked. I knew the building suspense would lead towards something awful, and having read Marrs’ previous books, I knew it would probably be far worse than I could imagine. I wasn’t disappointed.

WHAT DID I JUST READ!? This book was absolutely incredible. I’ve never been so shocked and surprised so frequently in any book I’ve read. Within the first 50 pages, we are delivered our first plot twist. Twist after twist, some of them I predicted, but others came as a complete shock. This book was everything I wanted from a thriller. Written in dual perspectives, Maggie and Nina are both toxic and tragic. I think it’s best to go into this book with as little knowledge about it as possible. This was truly a thrilling, suspenseful experience and I could not put this book down. I would like to mention a warning, there is some graphic violence and abuse in this book that may be triggering.

This book was a mix of so many thrillers in one and it gave me things I have been hoping for in all of those stories. There's twists and turns, you literally don't know what lies are going to come out of the woodworks and the ending was so satisfying, thank God! I'm sick of being let down by those endings.

Both Maggie and Nina are so unlikable and they just get worse and worse as the story goes on.

This was a solid thriller, I'm so glad I picked it up!

Hi and welcome to my review of What Lies Between Us!

Reviewing books can be tough. Sometimes you didn’t love the book that you’re meant to review and you don’t quite know how to get that across without sounding mean or flippant. And sometimes you love a book but you can’t find the words to aptly express that. In both cases writing a review is like pulling teeth with tweezers, a very slow, very painful and ultimately rather futile process. And then there are books like this one. Books that somehow get all the juices flowing that need to flow and in doing so, just about write their own reviews. Books like this one definitely make reviewing fun! But more importantly: they make reading fun!

I’ve been trying to stay away from NetGalley for months but when I saw on Twitter that What Lies Between Us was up for request, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t even read the blurb. It’s a Marrs, really that’s all I need to know. John Marrs has been on my auto-buy list for years now but he never ceases to amaze, surprise and shock me.

What Lies Between Us is the story of Maggie and Nina. Nina keeps Maggie locked in the attic, shackled, forced to relieve herself in a bucket, it’s dehumanising, it’s inhumane. It’s a fucked up situation and it’s crystal clear that between these women lies a lot of history and a lot of lies.

The deliciously dark and ominous prologue immediately had me craving more and I instantly knew I’d get along with What Lies Between Us. The short and snappy chapters lured me into the notorious “just one more chapter” trap. And then every chapter after gave me pause until, at about 15 percent in, I could say but one thing: John Marrs is on fire, this shit is bananas! Every revelation had me changing my mind. My loyalties kept shifting, my thoughts, opinions and feelings went back and forth so many times that in the end I felt like I had been reading What Lies Between Us on a bloody seesaw.

This is the 93rd book I’ve read this year. Bookwise, it’s been a good year so far, I’ve read some corkers, found some new favourites, but no other book this year has actually made my jaw hurt from doing this every other chapter:


In case you hadn’t noticed (because I was so extremely subtle about it): I absolutely loved What Lies Between Us, it’s bloody brilliant and I can’t recommend it enough!

What Lies Between Us is out on 15 May, pre-order here!

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

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


This latest John Marrs creation tells the story of Maggie and Nina, two women sharing a house, but it's not just the house they share, because these two have a history full of deep, dark secrets which have brought them to the situation they find themselves in today, much of this history is unknown to Nina, and that is how Maggie wants it to stay because if Nina uncovers everything that has happened, there is no telling what she will do.

The story is told from both Nina and Maggie's perspectives, in the present day and from 25 years ago, throughout the book my sympathy alternated between the two women, each time I learnt something new from one of them, I despised the other but what was truth and what was lies, each chapter brought me closer to finding out and I was completely hooked.

John Marrs is one of a few authors that I will pick up one of his books without reading the blurb, knowing that I'm just going to love it and this was no exception because he delivers every single time with total accuracy. The twists, once they start, just keep on coming, each one more mind blowing than the last and Marrs proves, once again, that each time he puts pen to paper he produces a work of art, and that he's got a very twisted imagination! Another perfect plot! I highly recommend this one and now that Renee Zellweger's production company have bought the movie rights I look forward to seeing it on the big screen too.

I'd like to thank Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for the auto approval and will post my review on both Amazon and Goodreads.

TOOT TOOT! All aboard the crazy train! What I love about Marrs is how each of his books seem a little bit different from One to The Passengers and now What Lies Between Us, which took me back to the crazy ass characters feels from The Good Samaritan. Let crazy be crazy and I'll happily board that train, throw my hands up and keep that seatbelt OFF because safety third when you're on an insane ride!

Obviously I had a great time with this book. My fifth book by Marrs and my fifth five star review for him. Now, for avid thriller readers, there's not going to be an entirety of a story line that we're not used to. HOWEVER, I think the ride on this one was thrilling, made my butt pucker at times and was such a quick binge that I just devoured it.

Maggie and Nina - who is crazy and who isn't? Or are they both and geeeeeeeeeeezuz already, I loathed them both but had SUCH a great time reading about them. From the past to the present, from the crazy to the insane. While the reveals were nothing that I didn't really see coming, every time one presented itself, there were still more questions and more layers to uncover. I found myself nodding and going ok.. yep... what's next.. give it to me! And for me, this was the book I needed right now and I appreciated that ending. Hell to the yes.