‘I’ve learned the hard way that people – even loved ones – are transient souls.’
‘I have lost everyone I have ever loved and the common denominator in all of this is you.’

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs has completely left us speechless and unable to focus on anything but thinking what the hell did we just read. We can’t exactly say that we loved it, because of the content of this thriller, or that we even liked or rooted for any of the characters, well except for one honest poor bastard caught up in the messy lives of two quite frankly vile abhorrent women. There was literally no let up on the mood in this story. It was dark, twisted and a psychological torture from start to finish. As far as thrillers go, we can say John Marrs nailed it yet again!

‘And what will I have to apologise for when my day of reckoning comes? Will I be sorry for what I did, or for what I didn’t do, in the name of a mother’s love? Will I be forgiven for how I let my daughter down, for my sheer bloody ignorance? How can I ask for forgiveness when I truly believe that what I did was the right thing to do?’

So, how on earth do you recommend a story -especially at this point in our lives- which is going to break your human spirit, chill you to the bone and confront every single good thought you might have? Well, what we can say without a shred of doubt, is that this story compelled us from the beginning till the end. The writing astounded us. The characters hypnotised us. The outstanding John Marrs wowed us with his storytelling!

‘I often wonder if my best days might be the ones I can’t remember.’
‘She has turned me into this monster. I am an extension of her.’

What Lies Between Us is unlike any of this Author’s previous works that we’ve personally read. The intensity of focus on just two characters and their twisted psyche. Secrets, deception and lies. So exceedingly dark and so incredibly sinister in its truth of warped ‘good’ intentions acted out in a love so perverse. A torturous superbly written nightmare all the way through the pages with one disturbing twist after another, Nina and Maggie left us absolutely exhausted!

‘Whatever happens next won’t be down to the will of the girl I gave birth to, but as a result of the actions of her father, the man who robbed her of her childhood and set the wheels in motion for all that’s followed.’

Two women who hate each other live in the same house. Maggie loves Nina and would do anything to protect her, but Nina can’t forgive Maggie for what she’s done, so Nina does what anyone would do under those circumstances, she keeps Maggie prisoner in her own room. Their relationship is explored, and the situation is revealed slowly, building to unbearable tension. Both are unreliable narrators, or at least one is, the other one is just hiding many dark and disturbing secrets. The plot keeps throwing revelations that make the reader reconsider all assumptions until a shocking ending. I can’t say much more because of spoilers but the plot is very well-crafted. The characters are complex and border the extremes, but they are still more realistic than such a situation would make you assume. It may be my prejudice talking but I was surprised that a male writer could portray the inner lives of two women so realistically. My attention never lagged and I was surprised more than once. This is a great domestic thriller.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ Amazon Publishing UK!

Wow, what a gripping psychological thriller. What a roller coaster! The reader thinks they have it all sussed out and know what has happened between Maggie and her daughter Nina, and then it twists and everything is up in the air again!

I really enjoyed it - its impossible to say more without giving away a plot that is so unlike any other book I've read. The characters are well presented, and the relationship between mother and child is explored in many ways.

You can't help but feel sorry for everyone in this twisted tale, while your heart leaps and you want to try to warn one character what another is about to do... or you think they are about to do! Cracking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one! It was well paced, with great twists that kept me on my toes! I love John Marrs books and this one was another excellent one. Highly recommend!

A riveting and disturbing read that kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what had happened between Maggie and Nina in the past. A tense and terrifying story. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Another amazing book by john marrs, outstanding characters and great story, i guessed a couple of the twists but overall fantastic!

What Lies Between Us
By: John Marrs
Pub. Date May 15, 2020

Can you saw twisted?? This thriller took twisty, dark, and crazy as f%^& to the next level! Can’t do a synopsis because I will spoil it and then no one will like me.
Soooo, we have Maggie and Nina that live together BUT the HATE they have for one another is mind boggling. How they got to this point is the crux of the novel and the story can only be described as deranged!
There was so much going on that I couldn’t just fly through this one. I wanted to but I needed some time to absorb this story. It was tense with twists around every corner but it wasn’t an easy read. It is heavy, with ongoing family dysfunction, co-dependency, and such poor communication that it sometimes frustrated me. These characters were developed bit by bit from the present to the past and back again. Telling the story this way was crucial to the development of the characters but I think this is the one aspect that bothered me.
I loved this book and give it a 4.5/5 stars BUT someone needs to check on John Marrs. Is he ok? Does he have all of his mind? I don’t know how he wrote this book and is still a competent/sane person….Just sayin!

Thank you @Netgalley and @amazonpublishing for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Great psychological thriller with enough turns to give you vertigo! This is definitely my kind of thriller. Hope to read more John Marrs soon!

*Many thanks to John Marrs, Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
This novel has won hearts of readers, not mine, alas.
Incredibly complicated relationships between a mother and a daughter were brought about mainly by the events which took place over two decades earlier. As the story unfolded, I was trying hard to understand motifs behind Maggie's (the mother) actions, and, unfortunately, I did not find them either justifiable or plausible. I would not like to go deep into the plot, however, I was unable to comprehend Maggie's attitude to everything NIna (the daughter) had done or did. Having said that, I admit that the book is full of twists and turns that kept me interested but I sighed much too much while reading to say that this offering by Mr Marrs was a winner for me.

Nina keeps Maggie chained in the attic as punishment for things that happened years earlier, but even Nina doesn't know the full truth that Maggie is keeping from her. This was...a quick read, but I didn't really like it. Everyone on Goodreads seems to be blown away by this, but I didn't like the characters (who are both terrible in their own ways) and I really wasn't shocked by any of the big secrets from the past. I am hard to please when it comes to books like this, I admit that, but this one didn't really do it for me. 2.5 rounded to 3 stars.

3.5 stars

This author is definitely a master of end of chapter cliff hangers. It makes you say, just one more page long after you should have stopped reading.

The story is told in alternating chapters, Nina a daughter taking care of her aging mother and Maggie the mother that at first glance seems to be a secluded elderly woman who is hell bent on making her daughter’s life difficult.

But why would you keep your own mother in chains? What could she possibly have done that was so unforgiving?

As the story progresses your impression of who is more unstable ping pong from one to the other and for the first 50% I was not sure who to believe and who to give my sympathies to.

There are lots of twists and secrets revealed and I enjoyed most of them however towards the end it got a BIT much and the one little twist feels like a plot hole to me.

But overall, this was great escapism.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, John Marrs is amazing!

What Lies Between Us is an absolutely incredible rollercoaster of a book.

If you've read The One and The Passengers, you'll know that it would be a mistake to assume everything is as it seems; because you'd be wrong. And then when you think you've cracked the code, you'll be wrong again. And again.

I'm so pleased to have been able to access this book early via Netgalley, and I'll definitely be picking up a hard copy once it's released.

Clearly anticipating a time when people would be quarantined in their homes, unable to go out, chained to their homes, Marss offers us a fast-reading domestic thriller. In it, he explores the often difficult relationships between a mother and a daughter. Here, a rather twisted relationship that has them bound together shut-in dark to the rest of the world and haunted by their memories of things that happened and what could have been. A domestic thriller like this is not my usual genre, but this one is rather unusual. Indeed, it would do Norman Bates proud.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I received this as a ARC from NetGalley.
I don't even know what I just read, but it was so good. The twists and turns were unexpected and the story building kept me on the edge of my seat. While both Maggie and Nina are in the wrong, it doesn't mean you don't side with both of them throughout the book. Fabulous ending. Highly recommended!

Another fantastic read from John Marrs, who never fails to deliver something twisty and unexpected. This time we follow mother and daughter, Maggie and Nina, in a dual narrative which switches between the present day and flashbacks which show us how the pair got to the position they're in at the start of the novel. As each character reveals more, the reader is taken on a rollercoaster of emotions as sympathies are won and lost and either character could be 'the bad guy'.

This is an incredibly cleverly crafted novel with a large number of intertwining threads all brought together in the story's climax. Your attention is grabbed right from the start and it keeps its hold on you through to its unexpected and brilliant conclusion. Aside from the ending, there are a few other twists in there which will make you gasp and keep you guessing right to the end. The best part, for me, was that none of it seemed all that far-fetched; you could imagine this happening in your own street.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fans of Marrs' earlier work will not be disappointed with this new offering. Anyone who enjoys well-crafted thrillers will find something to love here.

WOW....am not sure where to start.
At the beginning it took me a while to get into the book, I got a bit confused when it skipped from one part to the next but I eventually got used it.
Once I got into the book it kept me gripped till the very end, I thought that Maggie had done something seriously wrong to be chained up like that and thought, at first, she was in a prison and not her own home, I really warmed to Maggie and was so looking forward to her getting out.
Nina took a really disliking to her mum whom she only addressed as Maggie and I wondered what she had done to her that made her hate her so much but all she did was try to protect her in her own and strange way.
I know it was sad that Maggie and Dylan (Bobby) did not get out but they had no life really with the way Nina treated them and she fell that was her only option to get away from Nina, I feel if Maggie had known Dylan (Bobby) was in the house too I don’t think she would have set fire to the place. In the end Nina ended up how she made her family, alone and a prisoner. It is surprising what people do for love.
It was a great book with great twists and turns, once I got into it I loved it.

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs....
I give this book 4.9 out of 5 stars 🌟...
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Nina can never forgive her mother Maggie for what she did. And she can never let her leave. They say every house has its secrets and the house that Nina and Maggie share is no different.
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A hard hitting and gripping suspense tale of abuse and secrets buried deep ready to emerge. This is definitely a WTF did I just read book 🙈! It was almost as messed up as Verity which is why I couldn’t give it a full 5 out of 5 as some bits were difficult to read.
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The whole way through the book you are questioning what is the terrible history behind Nina having to keep Maggie chained up in the attic. And let me tell you the reasons behind it are so disturbing and really give you an insight into what humans can be capable of. Thankfully it all culminated into a semi-satisfying ending!
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This was my first John Marrs book and it won’t be my last! Thank you to @netgalley, @amazonpublishing and @johnmarrs.author for this incredible ARC 💕. Publishing day is 15 May 2020.

Oh my goodness this book takes creepiness to the next level and talk about disturbing characters well you certainly have them here. As always with a John Marrs book when you start to read you know you are in for one hell of a ride as every book of his is so well written and all are very different and this one is no exception it’s all of those things and more.
Twisted, dark and unique this is one special read, told alternately by Nina and Maggie and in different timelines it ramps up the tension as more and more secrets are revealed and there are some big surprises in this devilish story and it takes the words psychological thriller to a new high.
I loved the book, it’s shocking and thoroughly entertaining, dark and spine tingling creepy it’s a sure fire hit.
Can’t praise it enough so please don’t miss out, I hear it’s going to be a film and I can’t wait !!
Many thanks John Marrs for a wonderful read that deserves more than 5 stars.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had a hunch about the plot the minute I started this book, and with each revelation we received, I realized I predicted the whole thing very early on. Given that the only book by John Marrs I'd read before was The One, and that book surprised me the whole way through, I was a bit disappointed by this. I think that if you're familiar with the thriller genre, you'll easily be able to predict the course of this as well... the characters are pretty much what you get, there's no cat and mouse game going on. Nevertheless, I was completely unable to put it down - the author writes in such an exhilarating way that I just wanted to devour this whole thing. And the ending was quite explosive as well, it really upped the whole experience for me!

Overall, a nice, quick read, but not one that's life-changing. I'm still excited to check John Marrs' other works though!

A disturbing tale of love and hate and everything in between!

A mother and daughter, two utterly dysfunctional characters, trapped in a twisted game of life and death. Who’s done who wrong? And who’s to blame?

I did manage to figure out all the major twists and yet, the impeccable writing kept me turning the pages, begging for more.

I would definitely recommend.

I would like to thank the Publishers, NetGalley, and the Author for sending me an ARC of this book.