Another great book by John Marrs. A complex family story told from the present with flashbacks to key points in the past, gradually building a changing picture of the truth.
It's difficult to say much more without spoilers, so I'll just say this is a great read that had me hooked from the first chapter. Fantastic characters and a very clever plot - do read it!

"I remove a key from my pocket and undo the padlock attached to the clamp around her ankle. The chain falls to the floor with a heavy thump.I attach a second, much shorter clasp and chain to her ankle and lock it. This chain doesn't extend far from the spike. Once again, I have confined her to her bedroom."

If you are wondering if this book is as twisted and messed up as the synopsis sounds, then the answer is yes, yes it is.

Nina is making Maggie pay the price for the wrong she has done by keeping her prisoner. Little does Nina know, Maggie has many more secrets.

This story was beautifully crafted. The twists come and come often, right when you least expect them.

The ending was excellent. As I read the last sentence of the last page, I dramatically exhaled as if I was a child participating in a breathing contest in the pool.

John Marrs, you my sir have done it yet again. "The One" was one of my top reads for 2019 and I would be surprised if "What Lies Between Us" makes my 2020 list.

What Lies Between Us was unhinged, insane, screwed-up, and crazy good!

Maggie hasn't left her house since the day her daughter Nina confined her to the attic bedroom. She wears an ankle cuff attached to a chain, affixed to a metal spike in the centre of the room, and the door to the third floor is locked, and the area soundproofed. She is only ever permitted downstairs every second evening when she joins her daughter for dinner. Maggie hope’s that one day Nina will forgive her for her past actions, and set her free, but in Nina's eyes her mother is evil to the core, and deserving of everything she gets.

Gee Willikers, this gripping, addicting psychological thriller has left me reeling. A truckload of twists came at me, and every eureka moment I experienced then saw the author dropping another shocker of a bombshell, utterly ruining my theory, and sending me back to square one. I couldn't have asked for more. Be advised though, it was very dark. These sure were some damaged, disturbed and despicable characters, and the mother/daughter relationship was about as toxic as you could possibly get. But for those who relish sinking their teeth into disturbing, taboo domestic suspense, this work of fiction will satisfy you to no end. If you've read The Good Samaritan, you’ll have a pretty good idea what you’re in for.

Chapters alternate between Maggie and Nina with flashbacks beginning twenty-five years beforehand, and working forward. Parts of it had an Alfred Hitchcock – Rear Window feel, which as a fan of his genius and that movie I was delighted by. I guarantee this is going to be the thriller on everyone's minds from mid-May. I'll still be thinking about What Lies Between Us then.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and John Marrs for the e-ARC.

Publication date: May 15th, 2020.

What a read !!

I am speechless !

If only I could rate it higher than 5 !

Maggie and Nina give a whole new meaning to the mother daughter relationship . Nina has chained her Mum, Maggie to her, up in the attic.

I could not put this book down.

I yelled at these unlikable people to no avail.

Thought I knew where the book was going; WRONG !

This book will be the talk of the town. Cant believe this is my first John Marrs book, off I go to get the rest.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an unforgettable read !!

Maggie and Nina’s relationship could seem normal from the outside. Every other night they eat dinner together and then Nina helps Maggie to bed. The only problem is that Maggie is not sick. She doesn’t need help to bed. The only reason she needs help is because of the chain Nina has placed around her ankle keeping her locked upstairs. Nina has her reasons though, what Maggie has done is unforgivable, she must be punished.

Ok I rarely curse in my reviews, but holy shit this book was fucked up. If you want to read a story about some severely fucked up people, this one is for you! That being said, I could not put this down. I needed to know what had happened in the past between Nina and Maggie to lead to their current circumstance. This book jumps between 25 years ago, 2 years ago, and current day. I was on the edge of my seat to find out what had happened in the past, but just as on edge in the current day to find out if Maggie would find a way to escape. I have to say. THIS is a psychological thriller people. Heavy on the psychological!

This is an author I’ve been meaning to try for a while and finally was able to through Netgalley. Definitely well worth the wait and I say this as a reader of entirely too many dark psychological thrillers. Any genre that reaches these levels of popularity takes a risk of being stale, trite or generally unoriginal, but this demented slice of life will most likely stick in your memory if only for just how demented it is. In the traditionally alternating chapter style narrative the readers get introduced to Nina and Maggie, the pair shares a living space and we soon find out are mother and daughter with so much ugly truths and well meant lies between them that it can’t possibly be a normal relationship. The thrilling aspect of this thriller is finding out just how abnormal their relationship is. And it really is a doozy. The premise is disturbing enough, Nina has Maggie locked up and chained as a punishment for crimes initially unspecified, but the author ratchets up the madness slowly and consistently throughout the entire novel until its explosive (and in a way, tragically inevitable) conclusion. There is a scarcity of genuinely likeable characters here, but it isn’t that kind of a book anyway. Likeability isn’t a necessary factor, there’s too much going on and the thing of it is, everyone in the book is in their own way a victim, there’s no inherent evil, no genuine wickedness, just messed up individuals doing their best (like Maggie) and their worst (like Nina) to cope with their lives. The only detractor here was how easy it was to figure some things out, in fact reading the book I remember distinctly thinking oh I know just what’s going on and I checked and it was only 32% in, way, way too early to clue the audience in. It still worked out, because Marrs threw in enough additional surprises and twists, but it stands to be mentioned. And yes, it was very reminiscent to me of Bates Motel dynamic. Not derivative, though, not by any means. This nightmarish mother/daughter relationship is very much its own beast. The main thing is, though, as far as thrillers go, it was genuinely thrilling, disturbing, terrifying and, most importantly, had a distinct unputdownable quality. I mean this book draws you in with a potent gravitational force and hold you there orbiting, disturbed yet unable to get away. It’s peculiarly mesmerizing in its hideousness and that ending…the ending alone will sear itself into your psyche and your memory in the most terribly awesome way. Can’t wait to read more by this author, because this was just…wow. Really something. Recommended for anyone who can handle this kind of literary darkness. Thanks Netgalley.

What lies between us is a gripping and addictive domestic thriller full of secrets and unexpected twists and turns... whatever could have happened for things to become the way that they are between Nina and Maggi?... read and you will find out, I really enjoyed the alternation between the past & present to give an understanding and insight to why Nina feels the way she does about her mother Maggie. I devoured this book and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of reading it.

A big thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to net galley for an advanced readers copy. I could not put this down. It was a page turner from the first chapter. The flashbacks helped to keep the momentum. I really enjoy reading this author, and each book is so very different. This book is definitely dark and twisted, and wonderfully written. I will continue to read this author.

John Marrs just gets better and better and better!
If you haven't read anything by him yet, why not?
This book was full of everything I love, secrets and lies, darkness and mystery.
John Marrs is in my top 10 of favourite authors!

Oh my word, what a fantastic book! This has got to be one of the best psychological thrillers I have read. Ever. It is so cleverly written and although I guessed a couple of the twists, there are so many in here it's impossible to work the whole thing out. And the ending was just perfect. I enjoyed the alternating storytelling from the two main characters, both of whom appear to have done some dreadful things and my sympathies swayed backwards and forwards as each chapter gives the reader a new nugget of information. Some of which is assumption, some fact, meaning that you never know until right at the end what the real truth is. A compelling story masterfully constructed round a hell of a premise. Hats off to you Mr Marrs!!!

Well, this book was a bit of up and down for me. I found myself during some portions devouring each word, unable to put the book down. Then I would get to points that would cause me to stop reading and not want to pick it back up. Honestly, the Nina chapters were really hard to get through as she was unlikeable to me from the beginning regardless of what Maggie did or didn't do. I ended up finishing the book, but overall it was just okay.

3 out of 5 stars.

This is the first book I have read of John Marrs and wow what a read. Gripping and dark the story about the relationship of mother and daughter... Wow really enjoyed this one.. Thanks netgallery for the advanced copy of this.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this immensely. It is the first book John Marrs and will definitely not be the last. I’m not putting any spoilers in here but safe to say this storyline twisted and twisted again, then you thought you had it - nope twists again! The vivid description of each character with their individual story and then an altogether story was genius. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Once again John delivered an absolutely chilling and full of suspense novel about crazy, crazy, crazy people and their relationship. I try not to give away any spoilers.

This book kept me attached to my Kindle during all train rides to work, made me think about its characters and made me stay up at night, just to finish the last chapters to find out the truth.

From the start of the book I felt sympathy towards one of the characters, felt so sorry for her and completely understood her behaviour and what was happening with her. But…(of course there should be but)….John demonstrated that not everything is as it seems. Nobody’s perfect and often people’s destructive actions directed by good intentions.

I liked absolutely everything about this book. The pace, the language, all the twists, characters that were realistic and natural. It was John Marrs at his best.

One of the best topics of the novel for me was parent – child relationship, and in particular, between mother and daughter. The questions like how to protect your little girl from all the dangers of the world, how to teach her what is right and what is wrong, how to make her listen and how to try not to strangle her with your motherly love, limiting her freedom. It was absolutely horrifying to read about things that were happening in the book, but at the same time made me think about the reality of raising a teenager which I will experience in 10-13 years.

I would recommend this novel to all readers of thrillers and suspense, twist lovers and John’s fans.

Fast paced. Kept me guessing right until the end. I kept finding myself be like no way! 😱😱 not surprised really because this authors books are always brilliant! You always think you know what’s happening and then BOOM, new twist!

**I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Maggie and Nina live in the same house. They eat dinner together every few nights and discuss Nina's work day as a local librarian. Then after dinner Nina brings Maggie back up to her soundproof room. She makes sure the chain around Maggie's ankle is nice and tight and securely attached to a metal post in the middle of her room. Maggie has done some terrible things and Nina wants to make sure she pays for it every day for the next 21 years.

This was my first John Marrs book and I'm just wondering if they're all as good as this one?? This book hooked me right from the first chapter and I had to keep reading until I got to the end. There were some twists I saw coming, but then those twists had twists that kept me guessing up until the very last page. I'll definitely be reading more from Marrs. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Awesome page turner by John Marrs. I would recommend to anyone who loves twisty roller coaster rides of a story. I never knew from one page to the other which one of the alternate narrators was lying: Maggie, the mother, or Nina, the daughter--you feel for them and find them frightening at the same time because at first glance they SEEM normal. I felt it was a great ending and the real monster in this family dysfunction was revealed earlier so no loose ends or confusing threads.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this gem.

I have read all of John Marrs previous books and they have all been five star ratings from me. There was just something about this book that just didn't live up to his previous books in my opinion. I guessed certain things quite early on and that sort of spoiled it for me.

Having said that though it is another well written, dark disturbing tale that had me gripped from the start to the end.

If you are looking for a 'can't put it down' psychological thriller then this will appeal to you.

I was extremely lucky to be given an advanced copy, for an honest review..

Wow, just wow. I completed this book 10 minutes ago, and yet here I still am, sitting in shock, trying to understand how one man can write such a fantastic novel.

Nina & Maggie have a complicated relationship. A parent should always protect their children, but at what cost?

I’ve read numerous John Marrs books, so I knew I would instantly love this, and I wasn’t wrong. I love the style of Johns writing and the pace in which he sets his books.

As soon as you think the plot has thickened, something even more explosive happens. Each character and their past is described thoroughly and I went from loving, hating and wanting to help each one of them.

A well deserved 5 stars from me!

Five stars! I still haven't recovered in my race to finish this book last night. My heart was in my mouth as I turned the pages. This book was packed full of unexpected twists. Just brilliant writing by John Marrs, yet again.

Maggie and Nina are hiding a lot of secrets from each other and it is these secrets that have Maggie where she is today, chained up in her own attic for the past two years. Mother and daugter are living together in a love/hate relationship. The story unfolds with the author bringing us back 25 years when the events happened leading to Nina imprisoning her mother Maggie in her own soundproofed bedroom for the past two years.

Captivating storyline and amazing character portrayal. I didn't want it to end.