Wow! This was pure out bonkers! John Marrs always seems to come up with eminently interesting books to read and he’s done it again here.

The spiel? Hard to say anything without giving stuff away. The story of a mother and adult daughter who still live together in the family home. Maggie and Nina sit down together for dinner every second night. You see Nina keeps her mother Maggie locked in a room upstairs under lock and chain. She wants to punish her mother for what she has done to her.
What secrets do mother and daughter have between them? Why does Nina hate her mother so much and what is Maggie keeping from Nina?

It’s impossible to go into the plot without revealing major spoilers. In fact I’d advise to go into this blind. It starts off totally mad and continues down that route for the duration of the book.
Inbetween we get flash backs from both perspectives and the present is also told from both points of view. It works brilliantly well as the story is trickled out bit by bit. Your sympathies switch back and forth as more of the story is revealed.

This is such a compelling book to read. When Marrs gets it right there is a subconscious flow to his books that make it near impossible to put them down.

I loved this one. An easy 5 stars for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and John Marrs for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What Lies Between Us is one dark, sad, twisted read, in kind of a good way.

I don't want to give a description because I went into completely blind and think it compelled me to keep reading.

It took me 2 weeks to read this book. Not because it was bad or I didn't need to find out what happened Just because I thought it was so sad and depressing. For the first 60% or so I honestly didn't know who was to blame for what and that's what kept me coming back to finish it up. The mystery of who was the crazy one & who was perhaps protecting the other.
I did predict a couple of the twists but there were so many that a couple of them caught me completely off guard which is what I live the most about thrillers. I did think parts in the first half of the book dragged on, and the timeline, 25 years back, 2 years back, and present was a little much for me to keep up with. But because I drug the book out over 2 weeks that could've contributed to my confusion.
Overall, a very solid 3 star read for me.

What did I just read???

This was, no doubt, one of the craziest books I've ever read. The perfect Thriller: Gripping, haunting, unexpected... And the characters were so well written! I had a million theories throughout, which had me loving or hating each of them alternately and I was still surprised with the ending.

Also, it seems first person narratives are not what bothers me after all. The writing is. John Marrs makes these "inner monologues" cooler than the other side of the pillow. No tackiness here. He is probably my favourite author at the moment. I can't wait for his next book!

Please forgive my "all over the place" review, but I am still at a lost for words.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this incredible ARC!

What a book! I was hooked instantly, curious to understand Nina and Maggie's relationship more. I couldn't have predicted where this book would go. Marrs' clever narration causes the reader to switch sides throughout - despite the strange living situation! There was one point where I genuinely disliked Maggie's character and slowly I realised that I was wrong. I cannot comprehend Nina's actions. I genuinely cringed a lot throughout her parts of the book.

A wonderfully dark book of twists and turns.

I received this copy through netgalley.
I loved it and thought it has good plots and liked the character's and I kept wanting to know more. this is my frist book of the author.
look forward to reading more.

Wow, another gripping read from John Marrs. This caught my attention and didn't let go. The story is about a daughter and her mum and their rather twisted relationship. I loved the way it jumped from past to present allowing you to slowly realise what was actually going on. The revelations kept the reader intrigued and guessing all the way through. Would highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest, unbiased review.
Nothing unusual about a mother and daughter sharing a house normally, but the relationship between Maggie and her daughter Nina is anything but normal. The book tells their story from both of their viewpoints and provides an interesting view upon the actions a mother will take to protect her daughter.
However as in all things, actions carry consequences, and here we delve into those consequences.
Absolutely cracking read. Really enjoyed it. Thanks again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance reader’s copy of this novel.

This book had me hooked within the first couple chapters. I didn’t know anything about the book going in, and that was definitely the right decision in this case. The story is told from the POV of two narrators, both in present time and in flashbacks. How the story unfolds definitely keeps you guessing. There we’re some twists I could predict but also quite a few twists and turns I didn’t really see coming and that’s always exciting !

I did feel like there were a couple of loose ends at the end, but otherwise I really enjoyed it!

4.5 ⭐️

Recommend: Yes

I read about a third of this book before I decided to not to finish it. I couldn’t get into the storyline at all. I found Nina and Maggie to be so unlikable that I didn’t care to figure out what the big secret was. I found the writing to be a bit boring and vague. The female characters didn’t seem to have much depth. There also seemed to be overuse of mental illness in a terrible way. I loved John Marrs’ other books, but this plot line seemed to similar to other books.

Maggie and Nina are a mother and daughter who live in the same house. Nina's father left the family when she was 13 and Nina blames her mother for driving him away. Nina became out of control when she was 14, drinking, doing drugs and hanging out with less than desirable men and Maggie did all she could to stop it. Now about twenty-five years later, Nina is still blaming Maggie for her father leaving, among other things, and has been punishing her for the last two years by keeping her chained in the upper levels of their house with no ability to contact anyone.

I enjoyed this book. This is the third book I've read by this author and like the other two, the story was interesting and bizarre. I liked the writing style. It is written in first person perspective in Maggie and Nina's voices. The timeless jumps back and forth from present day to twenty-five years ago ... the chapters are labeled so you know the time period and whose voice it is. As the story moves on, you learn what has pissed Nina off so much and Maggie has done (or hasn't done). As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

It’s an easy five stars for this one! Very suspenseful, creepy, horrifying....and did I mention suspenseful? My big question was why is this insanity happening? What’s the real story here? I had a few theories but for the most part I was wrong and it was like running in circles (in the best possible way).
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The story alternates between Maggie and Nina and jumps from past to present. And it’s done flawlessly might I add. Neither of them seemed trustworthy and I really liked that unreliable narrator aspect.
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The author kept the answers just out of reach and the reveals were so perfect! There were unexpected twists and surprises that I thought I saw coming but I was wrong about them and the ending was a shock!
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If you like, thrillers/suspense, pick this up when it comes out in just a few short weeks. Check out the synopsis and if that sounds good to you, let me tell you that the story matches up!

This book was such a page-turner! I was totally sucked into this twisted story that tells us about the messed-up relationship of a mother and her daughter. However, I did find some parts a bit predictable and sometimes the story was a bit too much for my liking. Still, this book was soo good and soo crazily messed up! I definitely recommend checking it out if you're into disturbing thrillers.

I tried to read and review this book but the Netgalley file was corrupted. It sounded really good, so I tried a few times to download it and read it but for some reason the pages wouldn't load. This was a bummer because John Marrs reached out directly, but after working with this for around an hour I still couldn't get it to work! It sounds like a good one though, so I will just have to buy the book when it comes out!

What in the world did I just read!? Like seriously!! WHAT THE HECK!

What Lies Between Us was a doozy! My mind is still trying to process it all while I’m writing this review. I don’t think I have ever read a more crazy book, honestly. But you know what? I loved it!

This book actually kept me up late quite a few times just trying to get to the end. Plus, I would be lying if I didn’t say it also kept me up because it’s pretty disturbing at times and scared me just a wee bit 😉 ! I won’t touch on any of the plot though because I feel like I would give too much away and just keep going on and on.

I will say though…if you love dysfunctional characters, mess with your mind thrillers, edge of your seat, intense, jaw on the floor, what did I just read books then What Lies Between Us is just what you are looking for.

I’m such a fan of John Marrs and I feel like with each book it seems to be getting better and better! I’m so glad I got my hands on this one and I promise you will be happy and most likely majorly stunned once you read What Lies Between Us and you won’t regret it!

It’s no secret that John Marrs is one of my favourite thriller authors. I pick up one of his books and it’s a given that I’m going to enjoy it, and his latest book What Lies Between Us is no exception.
This is one dark, twisty rollercoaster of a book. It is told from the unreliable perspectives of Nina and her mother Maggie, and time hops between their versions of what happened in the past and the present day. I found myself flitting between who I trusted, who was the baddy and the goody.

Some parts I expected because it made sense that that’s where to story would head but without giving anything away I did not expect the ending to head in the direction that it did!

This is a disturbing, fantastic,binge worthy thriller and I would highly recommend getting your hands on a copy when this is released on May 15th.

Thank you to Netgalley, John Marrs and Amazon Publishing Uk for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of this book drew me in instantly. It was a great read, so eerie, so gripping, so tense right from the off. John Marrs has such a wonderful skill when it comes to reeling the reader in and not releasing us until the last pages. Nina was a woman I did not want to cross. I could not wait to discover what Maggie had done that was so bad that warranted such animalistic treatment from her jailer, her very own sister. This book got stranger and stranger as I read on, I would love to know where he gets his inspiration. It was a great read, I could not put it down. Another great one from John Marrs.

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs is a darkly twisted book about motherhood and how far mothers will go to protect their children. The book tells the story of two women, Nina and her mother Maggie, and the almost indescribably toxic relationship between them. They share a house but that is about it, in fact Nina keeps Maggie chained and confined in an upstairs attic as a punishment for the wrongs that Nina cannot forgive, starting with the fact that she drove her husband, Nina's father, away when she was just a girl, and continuing with a list of grievances that take her to the point where she drugged her and locked her away over two years ago. While Maggie looks out of her attic window and dreams of escape , a part of her understands why she is being punished, and her biggest fear is that Nina will uncover the full history of their past, something that could tip her over the edge completely.
It is a real testament to Marrs' skills as an author that he is able to make the reader feel empathy at different times for each of these clearly very unpleasant women and leave us wondering which, if any of them can be trusted to be telling the real story. I'm not going to lie, there are definitely some plausibility issues, and you need to be willing to suspend your disbelief, especially as the full extent of his machinations play out, but if you do you are guaranteed a fun and entertaining time.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon publishing for the advanced copy.

The best thrillers make me say things like "OMG" or "WTF" while I'm reading.

The very best thrillers make me say "OMG WTF DID I JUST READ" when I finish.

This book did both. Holy crap, this book took psychological thriller to an entirely new level. It took "twisty" and added so many turns, that "twisty" doesn't even begin to describe the plot.

What Lies Between Us not only has alternating points of view (Nina and Maggie) but it has alternating timelines from the present, to 24 years ago, to 2 years ago. At first I was a little confused but the more I read, the more drawn in I became.

I really can't say too much without giving any spoilers, but you have Maggie living upstairs, chained to the room. Nina, her daughter, seems to be living a normal life downstairs. Immediately you wonder, why is Maggie upstairs? What is going on here? Nina alludes to something that happened a long time ago and lies her mother told her. As you read, you think you're finding out the answers, but you're really not. The twists keep coming at you over and over until you are completely spent at the end of the book.

There is a lot to keep track of, between the details of the plot and the alternating time lines and character POV. You definitely need to focus while you read, but you won't be able to put this one down.

One of my favorite thrillers and books of 2020.

Wow, another fantastic read by John Marrs. I was hooked from start to finish and read it in one day. A great psychological thriller and definitely one to read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 stars. This is my 5th book by John Marrs, and I'm very happy to see that there is still two more for me to devour. There are two things I really enjoy about this author's books. The first one being his unique and quite often dark story lines, and secondly he is the master of creating short, suspenseful chapters.

In What Lies Between Us he focuses on a rather mundane subject for him - a disturbing relationship between mother and daughter, but manages to pull it off with his usual finesse. Maggie, the elderly mom, has been chained to the floor and locked up in the attic by her daughter Nina for more than two and a half years. What could Maggie possibly have done to deserve this or is there something wrong with Nina? Told in alternating chapters, Maggie and Nina, then and now - the many layers of secrets are slowly revealed. Who is the real villain in this tale?

Even though I guessed some of the twists, the fun lies in the discovery of the why and not the what. If you have not read any of his books yet, I suggest you start with The One, which is his best I think.