Wow. Now I can see why Renee Zellweger bought the movie rights to this book. I'm a big fan of John Marrs's writing, as I love the unpredictability of his writing. The relationship between the characters is so dark and festering, you cannot help but turn 'just another page' as you follow their story over the years. I'm not giving too much away as I don't want to spoil the story, suffice to say that this will be one of the biggest books of 2020. It's a fast-paced, dark and twisty story. Hitchcock would be proud. You won't want to miss this one.

There was definitely a bit of suspension of reality with some of the character's actions in this book. But the story itself is definitely engaging, and it was interesting getting both character POVs in both the present and the past as the story unfolded. Some of the twists seemed to be projected by the narrative, but what I liked was the depth/reasoning was never exactly what I expected. I also really liked that he wasn't afraid to let the story get seriously dark...

Firstly I have to declare that I absolutely love John Marrs’ books and think he is one of the most talented authors of our time but (and sadly it pains me to say but) this book just didn’t do it for me. I admire the way he manages to never be pigeon holed in a genre but the departure into domestic psychological drama isn’t a great success for me. Needless to say I’m sure 99% of readers will love and enjoy What Lies Between Us but sadly this wasn’t my cup of tea - not just the subject matter but also I guessed the denouement so far in advance that it was almost disappointing to be proved right. I’m still giving this book 4 stars because it is well researched, extremely well written with pace and some empathy but it just wasn’t for me. Having said that I’m looking forward to John’s next one with as much anticipation as I always do for his new books. PS. I will be buying the paperback for my family as they love him as much as I do, and after all, it’s only my opinion - they’ll probably give it 5 stars

Maggie and Nina live together but calling it ‘living together’ would be kind of a stretch because Maggie is actually Nina’s captive. There are many secrets between the two of them and that’s caused an estranged relationship, which has led to this and I really can’t say more because SPOILERS! And there could possibly be SO MANY SPOILERS because there are so many plot twists.

I read this book in a day because it just had me hooked. Sure, I guessed some of the plot twists (but that’s only because I’m super smart. Sorry, I meant cynical) but there were some that really had me shooketh - especially the ones in the end.

This book took the term ‘unreliable narrator’ and put that on crack because as the narrator kept changing with each chapter between Maggie and Nina, you just didn’t know who was at fault or who was more crazy. Were they both just nuts? Probably, I thought.

John Marrs writing definitely did help. It was simple, nothing flowery, no allegories but it kept me hooked. The chapters were short and it felt like with every 20 or 30 pages, there was something that would happen that would just make you want to read more.

This book is definitely a wild ride and I would recommend it to anyone. It releases 15th May and I thank NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for sharing this ARC for me in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! Where do I begin? This book is fantastic. I was surprised by every single twist and turn that the author created. In the whole book there's 2 characters who are remotely likeable and one of them is a pretty minor character. It's strange to enjoy a book and be so invested in the story when the main characters are detestable but that is exactly what the author managed to do. I sort of wish the ending had a bit more finality and closure. Without giving too much away I wish we'd gotten the satisfaction of knowing the final fate of one of the characters. All in all I truly enjoyed this book, it was hard to read at times since it dealt with some difficult topics and it's hard to accept that there are people that twisted in the world but I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good domestic thriller.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't want to rate What Lies Between Us because it was a bit too messed up for me, so for the purpose of this feedback I'm giving it 3 stars. The content warning list included all sorts of abuse, statutory rape, miscarriage, terminal illness, forced imprisonment, and more. It was just a lot to read about in one single story and it never let up. I couldn’t put the book down, but it made me sick to my stomach 95% of the time. I don’t think I could give this a fair rating, so I’m not rating it at all.

The writing was fantastic. I read this pretty much in one sitting because the way the narrative was set up, with two perspectives and alternating between past and present, kept me hooked from the start. The plot development was incredibly well done as well. You slowly found out about all these situations and aspects of Maggie and Nina’s past and they slowly came together to form one really messed up picture.

The twists were also!!!! I hesitate to call them amazing, because they only made things even more messed up, but the way they were handled and presented to us was just… evidence of really good writing. It got so tiring, for my personally, to read about them, though? Not one good thing happened in the entire novel. Everything was terrible all the time and each piece of the puzzle only made things worse. Also, both Maggie and Nina were terrible terrible terrible people. They made for intriguing POV characters, but their tone and the things they did really started getting to me.

So overall, What Lies Between Us was engrossing and very well written, but it wasn’t good for my mood or mental health. I’m sure so many people will love this, and I definitely recommend it to you if you enjoy plot-twisty dark mysteries that deal heavily with abuse and have terrible people as protagonists, but I couldn’t really handle it. I did finish it, and the ending was shocking and pretty sad, but I don’t really feel good about having read this. 😦

5 *I’m speechless* stars! This is family dysfunction at its absolute grittiest. John Marrs has definitely played mind boggling head-games with readers in this dark page-turner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big John Marrs fan. I don't believe that he can write a bad book! What Lies Between Us will be released on May 15, and it may be my favorite Marrs book to date. We are introduced to some extremely dysfunctional characters and their extremely dysfunctional relationships, and I couldn't look away! Characters were developed well, and we were able to see the two sides to each of their stories. I really enjoyed seeing how the relationships played out and how things developed to the point where Nina now has Maggie chained up in the attic. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishing for the advanced reader copy. This was a truly enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Goddamn... what an amazing book!!!! not only is - very - well written but it has one of the most complex characters I've ever read.

It follows two women, one of them is being kept captive by the other and the author takes us on a journey to figure out why.

Once I knew the nature of their relationship, things got even more interesting to me. So I recommend if you don't know don't search for it!!! , though is not exactly a spoiler, we find out quite early, it felt very thrilling to discover through the storytelling.

I wasn't familiar with John Marrs, but you can bet I will be now haha

Wow what a great book!
As usual John Marrs pulls out all the stops to give us a highly original story that had me hooked throughout the book.
It’s an unusual storyline as throughout the book we learn what had happened in the lives of Nina and her mum, Maggie.
There are alternating chapters and we eventually learn why Nina is holding her mum prisoner in the attic, letting her downstairs only for meals.
There are lots of secrets between the two women and as we discover the truth, the tension in the story really builds.
John Marrs knows how to pull you in to a story and this one is no different.
A fantastic read that I highly recommend.
Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

After hearing so much about this book I am really sad to say that i found it a little underwhelming if i am honest. I felt it was just missing a little something and i managed to guess everything.

Although, even after saying all of this I cant fault the writing style and how everything is tightly woven together. I would have liked nina to find out the truth somehow. Or something along them lines.

This is my third John Marrs book and he really knows how to write a thriller!! But I think I'm in thriller burn out because while I did find a few of the plots twists caught me off guard, I wasn't blown away with this book like I was with The Passengers and The One. So far The One is my favorite of the three books I've read.

In the first chapter, I was thinking "I hope this isn't an unreliable narrator POV because I hate those tropes" but then you're led to see you're not sure which POV to believe...Nina or Maggie so you keep reading to figure it out. Nina has had Maggie chained up in the attic for two years and we learn what led to decision and the back story on what happened. Maggie is Nina's mother which you find out in the first chapter or two and being a mother, you can definitely feel the anguish of what Maggie feels as a mother wanting to take care of her child when their family falls apart.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this to read free for an honest review.

As the story unfolds you discover Maggie lives with her daughter Nina in the family home, only there is a twist.
Nina is holding Maggie captive there for some reason, and is keeping her chained in the attic to atone for some wrong Maggie committed. This story is told in alternating parts between Maggie (the mom) and Nina (the daughter). It also goes back and forth between past and present so you find out bits of the secrets along with the story. Every time you think you know something, let me warn you.... you are probably wrong. There are so many twists and turns, it kept me on the edge of my seat. This author does family dysfunction very well, as well as suspense. This is definitely the one to choose when you are in the mood for a good thriller.

I have just finished this incredible book and jeeeeezzzz!! I am still trying to get my head around it all!! There are so many twists and unexpected turns that had my jaw hitting the floor multiple times! And that ending!! WHAT did I just read?!? I love a book that keeps me guessing and I never would have guessed that! In fact, I didn't guess any of it!

This book is absolutely gripping, shocking, thought provoking and heart breaking. There were a few moments where I felt a little emotional too. Another fantastic thriller by the brilliant John Marrs!

First off thanks to @netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to love and adore this book, but I can't. I find the story horrible, I can't keep reading it's so degrading and I am not feeling any attachment to the characters on feel pity for Maggie... I can see what all the hype is about but I cannot continue reading this one. I guess this was just not the one for me. I went halfway but have no desire to continue. If you're interested in this one it comes out May 15th 2020.

Wowza, what did I just read? That was seriously bonkers.
I saw where some of it was going, but some surprises did occur. It is wholly difficult to know who the good people are vs. who are the bad people. Or are they all a combination of both?
I couldn't stop reading because the twists just kept on coming and there were some doozies!
I will admit, some of this story (probably much of it) is so implausible, but for once that didn't stop my reading enjoyment, if I can say that I enjoyed it because that seems terrible that I did.
I can't say too much because I don't want to give away all of the blindsides in this novel. I'd classify it as a domestic thriller, with some psychological suspense thrown in for good measure.
John Marrs does it again with his imaginative writing skills.

When I first started this book I was getting a lot of “Woman in the Window” vibes. After a few more chapters, I realized What Lies Between Us is MUCH darker and more twisted. And I liked it.

Without giving too much away, What Lies Between Us is essentially the story of a mother/daughter relationship, which bounces back and forth between two timelines and alternating narratives. I loved the alternating narratives between Nina (the daughter) and Maggie (the mother). When one character revealed a storyline I found myself racing to get to the next chapter to see the other character’s perspective on the same reveal. There were so many underlying themes—communication in relationships and how many sides there are to a story and how each side is both right and wrong. The lengths a mother goes through to protect her child and the repercussions of these decisions is another thing the reader is left thinking about. The story is complex and well-written and definitely calls for discussion at the end.

While I guessed some of the twists, I never saw the ending coming. This was my first John Marrs book, though The Passengers has been on my TBR for awhile now, and is definitely being moved up to the priority list after reading What Lies Between Us. Four well-deserved stars

And the award for Most Messed Up Book of 2020 goes to What Lies Between Us. This book is dark and deeply unsettling. Honestly, I struggled with the rating because I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book? Thematically-speaking, it doesn't really bring anything new to the psychological thriller genre. The plot is fairly predictable, even with the plot twists (it's all about reading between the lines). But its predictability doesn't lessen the quality of the writing and its ability to reel the reader in.

The story is simultaneously disturbing and engaging. The protagonists are incredibly messed up, but that's to be expected in a psychological thriller. I think the dynamic between the main characters is the reason why I found this book so distressing. We have two women who hate each other, but are living in the same house together. Nina keeps Maggie chained to the attic for reasons that I won't go into. Maggie is stuck in her room for the most part and her only social interaction is with her captor when they dine together every other evening. Their relationship to each other is initially unknown to the reader, which makes it all the more disturbing when you find out that they're in fact mother and daughter (not a spoiler; you find out about this very early on in the book). So now you're left wondering: Why? Why is this daughter holding her mother captive? And that's what makes you turn the pages as you explore this toxic relationship in both the present and the past.

I don't want to get into the details because of spoilers. But I can say with confidence that this book really unsettled me. The atmosphere was eerie and the characters were messed up. What Lies Between Us will stay with me for a long time, that's for sure.

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CW: pedophilia + grooming, miscarriage, substance abuse

WOW - I very rarely gets five stars to any book but “what lies between us” took my breath away and it deserves every one of those five stars. It had me hooked me from Page one. . The plot twist and turns were amazing and the writing was a breath of fresh air in a sometimes dull genre. This is the first John Marrs book I’ve read but it will definitely not be the last. You will absolutely love this thrilling page turner of a book

All the stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can't believe this is my first experience with this other-I am definitely late to the party.
And when I say experience, I mean this book was one wild, creepy, dark and twisted ride!

Told in 2 POV's (Nina and Maggie) you come to learn about their toxic relationship and what happened for them to arrive at this situation.
Along with the 2 POV's, there are flashback chapters that help provide the necessary backstory to fill in the blanks. When past and present finally come together, BAM! the ending is one fantastic masterpiece.

I am now on a mission to collect past Marrs books and catch up on all I've been missing. He has become my new obsession!!

ARC provided by NetGalley