Well, John Marrs now has a place on my favourite authors list! I can't get over this one! This was such a captivating, gripping, jaw-dropping read that had me flying through it. There were no lulls or boring moments in this one. I had an inkling towards two of the bigger twists in the book, which turned out to be correct, but there were so many other things I didn't see coming that really kept me on my toes. My emotions were all over the place and I really wasn't sure how it was going to end, but I never could have predicted that ending!

Whew, what a ride! This novel explores the heartbreaking decisions that some make in order to keep others safe and happy. Weaving between now and then, we learn how a tragic and dramatic past has impacted the relationship between a mother and daughter. I found myself loving and hating each at different times. While the two women go to extremes in the name of love, I couldn’t decide which one was more evil. Full of twists and turns, it is absolutely brilliant. A heartbreakingly thrilling rollercoaster of emotions, I couldn’t put this one down.

Actors I envision in these roles:
Nina: Jennifer Lawrence
Maggie: Meryl Streep

I am officially hooked on John Marrs books! I first read The Passengers about a year or so ago and then What Lies Between Us came up and I grabbed it.
This was another page-turner that did not disappoint. Interestingly though, it is a very different thriller than his previous books. There is nothing futuristic or Science Fiction feeling in this one. It is a pure domestic thriller, but different from others in this group, because the tension is between mother and daughter.
For reference, I did not read (and have not read) the blurb about this book so I went into it without a frame of reference. This added to the suspense, in my opinion. This begins as a mother/daughter pair who live in the family home together in England. The daughter works at the library and appears to be caring for an ailing mother at their home. The story quickly becomes twisted as you realize that Mummy Dearest is not just a recluse (I was initially thinking The Woman In the Window), but actually something more sinister. As you turn the pages, the story is told in both dual POV and dual timelines. This backstory alters your impression of these characters as well as your understanding of events.
The chapters are short and page-turning. The story moves with twists and turns and is well worth the ride.Another terrific story from this author.
Highly recommend.
#Netgalley #WhatLiesBetweenUs #AmazonPublishingUK

3.5

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for early access to this much anticipated arc. John Marrs is one of my fav authors, I’ve only read 2 of his books before this one but rated them both 5 stars so I was anticipating much of the same from this book but it was very different to his other book’s.

The story follows Maggie and Nina who are mother and daughter and live together. It’s told in multiple past and present timelines and is a bit confusing to follow at first. For the first 40% I spent hating one character and sympathises with the other and then did a full 180 and started hating the other character and feeling sorry for the other one. (Sorry if that’s confusing but I don’t like spoiling thrillers)

This book was a rollercoaster! I hated it at first and then I became obsessed. This book was so messed up that it gave me restless sleep and bad dreams!

So much happens and it’s such an intricate storyline and really well done but it just wasn’t what I was expecting from this author. I enjoyed it as I do many mystery thrillers but this was too much in parts, the brutality and the cruelty made it hard to read. That scene at the birthday party took me 40 mins to read as I was so tense!

All in all a really good read

What Lies Between Us is the first book that I have read by John Marrs. But I expect that I will read more of his work after this, as this book was quite the page turner!

The story begins with a great, albeit dark, premise: an adult woman is keeping her mother chained as a prisoner in her attic. But why? What has happened in these women's lives that could lead them to such a terrible situation? I was compelled to read the pages of this book as fast as humanly possible to find the answer to this question.

The story jumps around from the current situation with Nina keeping her mother Maggie locked up in her own home and then back in time to when their troubles started twenty five years earlier. It's a bit of a wild ride because these characters are CRAZY! But it was also unputdownable. I just had to know what happened.

Obviously, this is not a light and happy read. It's dark and devious and extremely twisted. But sometimes I just love a good crazy story, and this one was definitely that! A solid four star thriller!

John Marrs is getting better and better. He never fails and I am always surprised that he can write male's and female's POVs. Honestly you can't make out the difference.
This story is about the life of two women, a mother and her daughter, living in the same house. Their relationship can be described as... well... unique and so freaked!!!
And what about the twist? There is one indeed. And what a twist this is! Half way through I was not sure how this story could ever end but finally all worked out ;)

thank you #Netgalley and #Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC

Yet another great book by John Marrs. Compelling, loved it couldnt put the book down, needed to read what happened next, learn why , there were lots of twists, it was moving, for days after i couldnt stop thinking about Maggie and Nina.

Absolutely bloody brilliant. No idea how, but Mr Marrs does it again.

A must read for intelligent book worms. Lockdown or not this will have you in your comfy chair for a couple of hours.

I thought my family was “crazy” but this story right here makes mine look like the family from Leave it to Beaver!
This book is intense, dark and quite disturbing. There is a creepy vibe that is off the charts and I could not put it down. It’s told from 2 POV’s - Maggie (mom) and Nina (daughter) going back and forth between 25 years and Marrs does a great job of weaving it all together to where it’s not confusing. It loses a star because it has parts that I just couldn’t get past on the realistic scale. Usually I can put those thoughts away but I couldn’t with this one. That being said, overall it was still a great book and I highly recommend it!

A gripping, twisty & twisted thriller that was absolutely unputdownable!

Thanks so much to John Marrs, Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this fabulous book!

Oh my gosh! There isn’t a John Marrs book I haven’t loved! He’s so good at making genuine characters! And I love the multiple points of views and how they all come together. He writes short chapters that leave you hanging’

This story follows the two main characters, Nina and Maggie. In the past, Maggie betrayed Nina so severely, that she is locked away in the attic where Nina can keep an eye on her at all times. But, Nina doesn’t know the real truth of why Maggie did what she did, and she’s determined to keep it a secret. Because sometimes, the truth is far more dangerous than the lie is.

The pros:
-I honestly wasn’t expecting this book to be as good as it was. I read the Passengers last year, and I did enjoy it, but this book feels so much more different that what he’s written before.
-This book reminds me so much of the book, “Behind Closed Doors,” which happens to be a favorite of mine.
-The connection that I felt from both of the characters.
-The twists got me even very early on. The first one I was so shocked by, I went back and reread a few of the chapters. My advice: try to go into this one as blind as possible!

Cons:
-it’s a little more of a slow burn type of thriller than I anticipated. The beginning had so much potential, but the middle of it feel a little flat for me. Though I do feel that it’s because it’s focusing so much on the storytelling for the characters’ pasts, which is entirely necessary for this story. Don’t give up though, it speeds up again!

I recommend this one to fans of domestic type thrillers and to fans of John Marrs as well!

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Review
Genre: Suspense⠀
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Wow! This is one dark and twisty relationship between a mother and daughter corrupted with years and years of deceit, hurt, lies, betrayal, pain, secrets and self-sabotage.

Pros:

🏡 It's John Marrs. He can do no wrong in my eyes.

🏡 This plot is one freaking onion with layers upon layers of plot that just keeps thickening. Just when I think I have it figured out, another layer is revealed and my anxiety spikes for the two characters.

🏡The continuous jump between past and present definitely contributes to the suspense of the story as the complexity of the relationship between mother and daughter takes on new levels with each chapter.

🏡The writing is superb. John has a way of ensuring each word written is a word of importance and significance to the story.

I just kept turning the pages to see what would happen next, it's that addictive. Slow clap! ⠀⠀
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Go into this blind as that is the best way to enjoy this compelling read. ⠀
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Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an arc to reveiw.

I put off reading this book for a little while when lockdown kicked in. Reading a tale of isolation, toxic relationships and someone confined to an attic room seemed like it might be a little close to home while locked down in my own home. But, it turns out it was a pretty perfect tonic – you know how sometimes reading or watching people who have it worse off than you can make things seem a little better? Yeah, that. Because the two protagonists in this story have some serious problems.

Maggie and Nina’s relationship is complicated. As the book opens, we meet Maggie who is kept under lock and key in chains in a small attic space. The person keeping her there is her daughter, Nina. Their relationship simmers with resentment, bitterness and just a touch of insanity. Marrs weaves between past and present, taking us back 25 years to reveal how a relationship which should be filled with love became so twisted. The entire story is narrated by Maggie and Nina in alternating chapters, two unreliable narrators whose many wrongs are gradually unveiled.

The atmosphere throughout is tense, almost claustrophobic as we cycle between Maggie’s time in isolation and what came before. Whilst the two live as silent enemies, it’s clear that neither of them have little in their lives aside from each other which just adds to the warped feeling their relationship has taken.

This book was gripping, entertaining and hard to put down, but it was also dark and a little disturbing. There’s plenty of trigger warnings here, including child abuse, mental health, miscarriages and more. Sometimes it was a little too dark for me – you might want something light and fluffy on hand to read after to balance it out – but I just had to keep reading to know where this twisty-turny tale would end up. And the ending was just as crazy as the rest of it.

Rating: 2.5

I didn't really like the characters and the story was kind of boring, especially in the beginning. I thought that the plot twists were predictable. I didn't like the way that mental illness was used as a plot twist. I did like the flashback chapters a lot more than the present day ones, though.

Wow, what a gripping read. From start to shocking end. Maggie and Nina, are mother and daughter. Who live in the same house together. But this is not a healthy relationship. Maggie is being held prisoner in the house, chained to a metal bar on the attic floor, with a short chain which keeps her in her room, and a longer chain which is attached allowing her to have a bath, and to go on the floor below and join Nina for dinner a few nights a week. But why is Maggie chained? Nina has kept her this way for 2 years, after finding out secrets she was never meant to discover, now she is determined to punish Maggie. What did Maggie do that is so bad?

Told from the viewpoints of Nina and Maggie, how reliable are the narrators, which one can the reader believe? The story goes back 25 years in some chapters, explaining how Alistair had walked out when Nina was a teenager. After that Nina had gone off the rails, at 14 she was pregnant but lost that child, at 15 she was drinking, dabbling in drugs and sleeping with an upcoming rockstar, by the time Maggie found out Nina was pregnant again it was too late as Nina was in labour. But Maggie promised she would take care of Nina.

Now in her late thirties, Nina has so much anger, and wants revenge. But what does she want revenge for? Gradually the secrets are revealed, with some shocking truths. How far would a mother go to protect her child?

This is a well plotted, well written story, I did guess a couple of the things quite early on, but there were still other twists and turns to keep the reader engaged, needing to know how this was going to end. A read I would highly recommend.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Thomas&Mercer for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I was lucky enough to be sent an advanced copy of ‘What Lies Between Us’, John Marrs’ new psychological thriller, before its publication date for an honest review.

This is a tough review to write because I adore John Marrs’ writing and past books, especially The One and The Passengers - two futuristic/SCI-FI themed psychological thrillers which I absolutely LOVED. So I was pretty excited about receiving the arc for his new book….

THAT was one of the most disturbingly dark and sinister books I think I’ve read for a very long time. *shudders* It was filled with dysfunctional and extremely unlikeable characters, lies, secrets and evil. ‘What Lies Between Us’ had a real malevolent feel to it, the story got under my skin, leaving me feeling anxious and irked.

Similar to John Marrs’ previous books, he kept the chapters short and suspenseful with end of chapter cliff hangers that engage the reader so hard, you keep reading when you should have put the book down aaaaaaaaaages ago. He is the master of holding your attention with his intense writing.

I found it incredibly difficult to root for either of the two main characters, and as the story developed I didn’t find any of their actions justifiable, or at points, believable. I’m all for an evil protagonist… but Jesus Christ. And although the book is full of twists and turns, I.JUST.COULD.NOT.GET.MY.HEAD.AROUND.THE.MAIN.CONCEPT.OF.THE.STORYLINE. I’m definitely in a small minority of people that feel this way as it has seriously a large amount of people falling in all kinds of love over it. SOoooOOOOoo I would 100% encourage reading and experiencing it for yourself. ESPECIALLY MY TWISTED SISTERS THAT LIKE THEIR PLOTS VERY FUCKIN DARK AND WANT A CRAZY READ OVER A FEW DAYS.

Now, can someone please give me a hug?

Trigger warning : kidnapping, mental health issues, suicide references, pedophilia references

What lengths would a mother go to protect her child and keep them safe from harm?
Addictive but completely bonkers that’s all I can say as I don’t want to spoil it. Enjoy 😃

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-copy of this book to read. The opinions given are all my own. I didn't really know what to expect from this book other than I have read this author in the past and have enjoyed his writing. This book starts out with a bang. We have two women living in the same home and sharing dinner together, but after dinner Nina helps Maggie back up to her room where she is shackled at the ankle and kept captive. Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she has done to her, but does she know the whole story? And does Nina have secrets of her own? This book is told through the points of view of both Nina and Maggie, both present day and flashing back to 25 years ago when all of the secrets started. I could not read this book fast enough as I needed to know what happened next. I so enjoyed how the secrets slowly unfolded. And while both of the characters are seriously damaged, I think that only added to the emotion they evoked (whether it was pity, sadness, sorrow or anger). I truly felt sorry for each of the women in different ways. And while I guessed a few of the secrets, there were some things that happened that I did not see at all, and I love when an author can surpirse me. This is a very twisted and crazy psychological thriller, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending to all my thriller-loving friends.

I always get so excited when I start a new John Marrs book as I know I am in for a treat, and this book is no exception. The book alternates between mother and daughter and events that are happening now and 25 years ago. There are a few red herrings thrown in before the reveal but to be honest I sort of got where this was heading, but that did not spoil anything or even the ending of the book. Once again John Marrs has written a corker of a book that I devoured in 1 day, it is that good.
Can't wait for the next book. If you are new to this author I can promise you, you will not be disappointed and that goes for all his books not just this one.