What Lies Between Us is a dark psychological thriller that will disturb your concept of a mother and daughter relationship. What has happened to have caused such a taut hatred? To smile and engage with light conversation while underneath plotting to be free while violence lurks, that will shock to the core.

Maggie is an elderly woman who spends her days in an attic bedroom and through a shuttered window she has a limited view of the outside world. For over two and a half years she has lived like this.

“The longer I spend at this window, the more I realise I’m becoming like Jeff, the wheelchair-bound character James Stewart plays in the film Rear Window. Like him, I have little choice but to spend my days spying on my neighbours. Jeff thinks he has witnessed the murder of one of his neighbours. But the only thing dying in this street is me. And nobody knows that but my daughter.”

Maggie is chained to a spike in the floor that gives her access in her bedroom but not beyond. Every second evening she gets chained to a longer chain that allows her down one flight of stairs for dinner with her daughter Nina and the bathroom.

John Marrs creates two protagonists that he develops with skill throughout the novel and each tells the story from their perspective. The family background with Maggie and Nina, and the incidents which led to this highly caustic situation are slowly revealed. The suspense of the unknown and which character is the most dangerous and cruel is maintained with wonderful complex switching of suspicion between the two. “But I no longer allow her to witness how her cruelty upsets me. Maybe I’ve been taking the wrong approach.”

The biggest issue for me is the believability on how this scenario developed. I can normally suspend belief when the thriller suspense is as riveting as this but this issue constantly nagged at the back of my mind. This was a buddy read with Beata and this topic became our main discussion area. Marrs does captivate with his threads of action and manipulation and this is a page-turner of drama with a wonderful pace throughout the whole novel. At this stage with Beata, we both know each other so well that we wait with a smile knowing how the other is going to react to the author’s intent and their delivery with possible plot holes.

I need to try more John Marrs because he certainly knows how to hook a reader and I appreciate how he enthrals his readers. I would recommend this book and I would like to thank Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

What Lies Between Us was a phenomenal read - I wish I could rate higher than 5 stars. The plot centers around Nina and her mother Maggie, who is chained up in the attic as repentance for a lifetime of hurts she has caused her daughter. Told from each woman’s perspective both in the present day as well as the past, ‘What Lies Between Us’ never stops revealing incredible twists and truths as we learn what brought mother and daughter to their current situation.

The book finishes just as strongly as it begins, and the characters, especially Maggie, are written masterfully. Although the premise seems a bit unlikely, I didn’t notice any glaring holes that damaged believability and the author has clearly taken this into account. This book will leave you with a series of emotions and will be hard to put down.

Note: I received a free eBook copy of ‘What Lies Between Us’ from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Whew!! This would have to be one of the most toxic dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships in fiction!

Nina can't forgive her mother Maggie for the things she has done to destroy her life and chance of ever having a happy family. But Maggie only wanted to protect her daughter so does she deserve the revenge that Nina serves up in return?

This is a fantastic, disturbing, intense and warped thriller, told in the voices of mother and daughter in the present time and going back twenty five years to when all the trouble started. Compelling story telling with excellent characters and dark and twisty secrets and lies.

A relationship between any mother and daughter is a unique and special one but comes with its share of ups and downs. But the relationship that Nia and her mother, Maggie have is especially complicated. Nia has had her mother chained in an upstairs room of their house for the past two years. Nia believes her mother has ruined her life and so now she wishes to return the favour. Nia was a wild child and made some big mistakes that Maggie helped her through it Nia doesn’t see it that way at all.
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Wow this book was a wild ride and certainly unexpected. I was about 15% into it and wasn’t loving it and almost gave up until I saw another review on it and decided to push on. I am certainly glad I did because I absolutely loved this book. There were so many twists and turns and so much of it was unpredictable. I loved the writing style in that the chapters changed POV from Nia to Maggie but also went through different time lines from past to present. I would highly recommend this one to all the thriller lovers out there.

How far would you really go to protect someone that you love?

We meet Maggie and Nina. Every other night Maggie and Nina have dinner together, like normal families do. After dinner, Nina helps Maggie back into her room in the attic -- along with the heavy chain that keeps Maggie locked up there.

Told from alternating perspectives of Nina and Maggie, What Lies Between Us tells the story of the ultimate mother/daughter relationship. From Nina's perspective, Maggie needs to be punished for everything she has done, whereas Maggie believes that all the things she did were out of love (and therefore justified). John Marrs managed to deliver a captivating thriller with just a few characters. A great read for 2020!

What a wild ride! Even after reading the description, I honestly wasn’t prepared for what I was getting myself into when I started reading this book. Now that it is over, I keep asking myself, “What did I just read?!” It will be sticking with me for a while. ⁣⁣⁣
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Description: Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. Afterwards, Maggie returns to the attic where she is kept on a chain because of the unforgivable things she has done to Nina. However, Nina doesn’t know everything about the past, and Maggie plans to keep it that way.⁣⁣⁣
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This book is the definition of dark and twisted. I was completely engrossed in the story and found myself hanging on every word. I loved the alternating points of view, the flashbacks, and hearing from both of the main characters. I couldn’t put it down. As I got deeper into the book, I kept finding myself being utterly shocked by all of the secrets that were being uncovered. For me, the ending seemed a bit abrupt, but it worked! ⁣⁣⁣
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“What Lies Between Us” is the first book I have read by John Marrs, and now I can’t wait to read all of his others. Thank you @netgalley and #amazonpublishinguk for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review!⁣⁣⁣
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Thank you to NetGalley for this advance copy. John Marrs is one of my favorite authors. This book was heartbreaking, pulse pounding, page turning and twisty! First I was horrified for the mother, then for the daughter, then for the mother, then.... wow!

OMG, what a rollercoaster of emotions. I absolutely devoured this book in one day. I am left feeling bereft that it has ended.

This book tells the tale of mother, Maggie and daughter, Nina and the intricacies of their relationship. You are taken on a twisted tale of love, devotion and the extent others will go to to get what they think they want. The story is told from both their points of view and you are taken to past and present till the climax.

This has to be the best book I have read so far all year. It will stay with me and was well worth losing a day to.

This is my first book by this author and It won't be the last. This book was amazing! Incredible writing and a story that keep you guessing and engaged from the very first page. The twists and turns are brilliant and so well thought and developed.

I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be getting a hard copy!

I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. I was blown away by Marr’s stellar The One, so was excited for this.
This is told from the POV of two women: 68-year old Maggie, who is held captive in her home by her 36-year old daughter, Nina, who tied her mother up by a steel chain. She unties her mum to bring down for dinner, then takes her back up to the attic. I won’t say any more about the plot. The less you know the better.
The characters are well etched out and there were lots of twists and reveals. The chapters are short and pacy, with flashbacks that had the narrative zipping along. If you love books about twisted mother-daughter relationships you’ll love this. It’s 5/5.

This is my first John Marrs books, but won’t be my last. Maggie can’t forgive her mother for their past. Told in the present with flashbacks, the whole twisted story unfolds. What seems predictable is not. This is one mother daughter relationship you won’t forget.

Oh boy, that was CRAZY!!! It's not usual that a book leaves me feeling crappy, but this one sure did (another book that left me with a similar sensation was "Behind closed doors" by B.A. Paris). This must be one of the most wild and disturbing stories I've read lately. Like mother, like daughter! Talk about dysfunctional families!

Nina has being keeping Maggie, her mother, prisoner in the attic for 2 years. Soon we learn about their strained relationship (in case the chain around Maggie's ankle wasn't clue enough), but why? What happened between them to reach that point?

Told in dual perspectives, Nina and Maggie, past and present, the story moves along nicely at a quick pace. Some times with these kind of narrative structures is easy to lose track of who's talking or what time is it, but in this case it was so well written we go back and forth between both temporal lines with no trouble at all.

Both main characters were so well drawn that my sympathies kept changing as all the twists were revealed one after the other and, although I managed to guess some of them early on, that didn't make the reading any less enjoyable.

I debated myself rating it 4 or 5 stars, but finally I decided to settle on 4 stars because there were several aspects that required a bit of suspension of disbelief (that town's police might be on strike!)

This was my first book by John Marrs but certainly won't be the last. Mr. Marrs, you've got yourself a new fan!

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My initial reaction to finishing this book is “That was fucked up”. Excuse the language but if you read this, then you know it’s incredibly crazy. I love crazy but this gave a whole new meaning to the word.

What Lies Between Us is a psychological domestic thriller about a mother and daughter relationship. It is told in dual timelines, past and present, to provide the reader with context on how the present came to be. I went into this one not really knowing anything about it. I loved John Marrs The One, so I knew this one was going to be good. I recommend going in blind and not reading too much about the plot, to get the best results.

This book was just insane. Both characters are extremely unlikable and at times I wanted to scream at them for the choices they made. I was able to kind of predict what was going on. Certain parts but not the full extent. It was a little over the top for me which is why I’m giving it 4 stars.

I recommend this if you’re interested in thrillers that have to do family relationships rather than romantic. I promise you’ll be left speechless!

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. What a mind twister! This started off a bit slow for me, but I am glad I stuck with it! Really makes you wonder what goes on behind closed doors.

This book has left me speechless (that’s not an easy task). Granted I’m currently reading during a global pandemic, so I’m finding darker books more disturbing than usual. But. This book was too much for me to swallow. I had a hard time reading it, but I know it was a well written psychological thriller. It was different and I wasn’t able to put the puzzle pieces together until the very end. •



Maggie and Nina are a mother and daughter that “live” together. They share a roof, sometimes they share a meal, but every night Nina has Maggie chained up in her room with the door locked. What could drive a daughter to spew such anger towards her mother? You know that there are secrets. You know that those secrets have been the lethal cocktail of hate that they can’t seem to get past. But you don’t know why. Who’s the actual big bad wolf? Is it the daughter that holds her mother captive or the mother that left her daughter with no other choice? •


This book was DYSFUNCTION injected with steroids. It’s set to be published on May 15, 2020 and if you like a rollercoaster filled with moments that you can’t believe what is happening.... this is 100% your jam. •


Also. Big news. Renee Zellweger’s Big Picture Co/ MGM TV production company bought the movie rights of this movie.

One thing I look for in a thriller is something new and unique, and John Marrs always delivers! I loved this family dynamic where the twists and surprises just kept coming!

Thanks to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved it!

Nothing more needs saying - but I will!

This is a mystery thriller with a difference. At the beginning of the book, it took me a while to realise the situation the characters were in. What is the relationship between the main characters? And what extraordinary circumstances are we reading about?Keeping the grey cells going, the same considerations are made throughout the book. Essentially who is the baddy? And are we a sum of our actions - or the intentions behind those actions?

The story unravels at an expertly timed pace. With extra mystery being added at exactly the right times - keeping the pages turning - and with enough spacing so that each mystery can be explored fully on the page and the readers mind. I love the way John Marrs writes as much as the premise of each book - and this new release is a perfect example of his excellent work!

This book is ideal for those who love a moral dilemma (and not just the one!), family dynamics and a fictional murder mystery with a dash of grit - this is your bag!

Wow seriously this author has the most dark and twisted mind ever to come up with this book. It really is a quite disturbing yet totally absorbing novel of a mother and daughter sharing a house but behind closed doors things are not as they seem. Everyone in the street believe Maggie has dementia and has moved away but the truth is much more sinister. Maggie is being kept chained up in the attic by her daughter. Nina can not forgive her mother for events in the past and is determined to punish her but as the secrets and lies start to unravel the lines are blurred as the truth about the past comes out and it all crescendos into an amazing read which I could not put down.

Wow! What a great read! What Lies Between Us is a multi-layered story that leaves the reader wanting for more. I simply could not put this book down! The relationship between Maggie an Nina continues to evolve as the story unfolds. Such great character development and plot twists!
Highly recommended for all who love a good psychological thriller!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

This book is in my top 5 favorite books, if not my #1. If you love a good psychological thriller this is definitely a must read. I couldn't stop reading and keep questioning, what in the world am I reading? But it is so good. I will definitely be reading other books by John Marrs. I will be purchasing a copy when it is released. Absolutely loved it!