3.5 stars

This Stays Between Us by Sarah Ochs is a thriller that forces a group of friends who met abroad to face their pasts and the death that occurred of one of their group members a decade before.

The tension of the story telling is amped up, not only by the group of friends trying to discover who really killed their friend Phoebe all those years ago – a killer that the police believe to be one of them – but also by the fact that the past is being told alongside the present from Phoebe’s point of view throughout the course of the book. This really added to the story because the reader is able to see the events leading up to her death play out in real time, showing those who might have had cause to kill Phoebe in the moment and allowing the reader to draw conclusions from the events as they took place. But at the same time, they get to see the investigation playing out in the present and the conclusions that the group of friends leap to in trying to uncover the truth from a fraught time in their life, when each of them had reason to hate Phoebe at the time.

There is also this air of mystery surrounding another member of their group, who appears in the past storyline but is only mentioned at by name and hinted at as far as what happened to him for an extended part of the book. This left me wanting to know what exactly had happened to Tomas and why the friends seem so reluctant to talk about it.

The characters themselves weren’t the most likeable which made it hard to connect to them as a reader. They all just seemed to be intent on being secretive for the sake of making them suspicious for the plot and were flawed without any real redeeming qualities. They went from unbearable young adults who only cared about partying, getting drunk, and hooking up with the person they wanted – heaven forbid anyone wanted the same person because REVENGE. Meanwhile in the present they were just kind of meh, suddenly having it all together but not really any more likeable. Even Claire, whose point of view the present storyline is being told from isn’t the most endearing character as she outright opens the book believing she is Phoebe’s murderer, and then suddenly becomes her biggest advocator in trying to find the true culprit to clear herself. Phoebe’s point of view also makes it hard to feel bad knowing her story can only end in death because she comes across as self-absorbed and good at nothing but making enemies.

Despite all this I did end up quite enjoying the story and it did keep me invested in finding the answers until the end. I found some aspects of the story and how information was presented or found as far as solving the mystery to be a bit farfetched and a stretch, but the story itself kept me invested in getting answers and I kept going back and forth with my suspicions on what really happened which made for a really quick and interesting read. It was a good book and I did blast through it pretty quickly so still recommend.

This was such a fast-paced thriller—I flew through it! The twists and turns just kept coming, and I loved all the back-and-forth between the main characters. I was constantly trying to piece things together, only to be thrown off in the best way.

It was one of those books that’s hard to put down because it always felt like something big was about to happen. I felt totally pulled into the story and right there with the characters the whole time.

Definitely recommend if you’re into thrillers that keep you guessing. Huge thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was hooked right from the first page, it is a very readable narrative and I found myself flying through this.
There was twist after twist that kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed it

This one delivered twist after twist, keeping me hooked from start to finish! The dual perspective—Claire in the present and Phoebe, the murder victim, in the past—added a compelling layer of tension that made it impossible to put down.

I especially loved how we got to truly know Phoebe, even with the looming knowledge of her death. It made the reveal of the killer all the more emotional and impactful. A gripping, emotionally charged mystery—highly recommended!

this was my first sara ochs book and 🫨📖🔥. the second i finished, i was already googling what else she’s written to add to my tbr. this one was so good.

i really felt like i was part of the 𝗠𝗢𝗕, tangled up in all the secrets and drama. there were so many moments that had me second guessing everything i thought i knew about what happened to phoebe. the way everything slowly unraveled was absolutely wild in the best way. at one point, literally everyone felt like a suspect.

i loved the dual timelines, the messy friendships, the “𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲?” vibes. if you’re into twisty thrillers with unreliable characters and secrets that don’t stay buried, you need this on your list.

This was very dumb, but VERY readable. I had one brain cell available and this was perfect for the time! I love a travel-set thriller and this follows a group of study abroad students who are reuniting in Australia many years later, and of course on their original trip there was murder and intrigue.

Nobody was well enough fleshed out, and there were soooo many stupid hookups that I found really frustrating.

This one kept the twists and turns coming throughout! Having the story told through both Claire's POV (present) and Phoebe's, the murder victim (past), really gave a unique edge to the tension and had me reading into the late hours of the night. I really liked that we got to "know" Phoebe even while knowing the whole time that she was already dead, and it added an extra emotional gut punch when the killer was finally revealed. A great read!

This book was okay. The suspense and mystery were okay but nothing that was Overly memorable. I never wanted to DNF but also looking forward to it ending.

Amazing! I truly didn’t ever have a solid guess for more than a few minutes about what would happen before I was changing my mind again. The suspense was perfect, and characters couldn’t have been better for this story. I loved the back and forth timelines - while I usually find them unnecessary or difficult to follow, it was excellent in this case and perfectly done. I would absolutely recommend this book!

Really liked this thriller but then feel like the twist at the end was rushed. The flash backs from past to present were very well portrayed and the array of characters really added to the story!! This will be such a great summer thriller read for some but overall I found it a little underwhelming by the end as the suspense lead up to not that much of a surprise. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

Sara Ochs' This Stays Between Us: Where Paradise Meets Paranoia

Six friends. One deadly secret. A decade of silence. Until now.
Sara Ochs drops us into the sun-scorched Australian outback, where a group of college students thought they'd found paradise during their study abroad program. Ten years later, one of them vanishes – and the remaining five can't hide from their past any longer.

The outback itself becomes a dark presence in this story, its raw beauty masking dangers both natural and human. Ochs, a law professor turned author, builds tension like a approaching storm. The story slides between then and now, each timeline revealing new layers of deception. Just when you think you've figured out who to trust, she pulls the rug out from under you.

The real magic here is how Ochs plays with memory. Each character remembers that fateful semester differently, and as their stories unravel, so do their carefully constructed lies. The legal threads woven throughout feel authentic rather than forced – a refreshing change from typical thriller fare.

By the time you reach the finale, you're racing through pages, desperate to uncover what really happened during that study abroad program gone wrong. Ochs delivers a conclusion that's both shocking and inevitable, like the best mysteries always are.

For readers who loved Lucy Foley's atmospheric thrillers, this book hits all the right notes. Sure, juggling the dual timelines requires some concentration, but the payoff is worth every minute spent piecing together this dark puzzle.

Think twice before packing this one for your next vacation – or better yet, bring it along and let the paranoia sink in.

4.5/5 stars. A masterful sophomore novel that proves Ochs is just getting started.

This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The story revolves around a deeply unsettling friendship between two women, where secrets, lies, and hidden motives threaten to unravel their lives. Ochs expertly builds tension, creating an atmosphere of suspense and mystery that will have you turning pages late into the night.

The characters are complex and layered, and the twists are unexpected, making it hard to put down. While the pacing can be a bit slow in some areas, the emotional depth and intrigue more than make up for it. If you love dark, twisty thrillers with plenty of psychological tension, This Stays Between Us is a must-read.

This was another decent thriller, your typical beach read in the sense that while it may be nothing particularly special or out of this world, it is still compelling and engaging enough to keep you turning the pages and looking forward to finding out what’s going to happen.

One of the things that I am the most picky about when it comes to my thrillers is the predictability factor and the way that things come together in the end. For things to and satisfactory for me I need for there to be some cohesive line throughout the story where the reveal or the twists makes sense in the story, and this was the case here. There’s nothing that I despise more than a cheap thriller ending where the author simply presents you with an ending that completely contradicts things that were said before. Sort of like a big sike! Where we are forced to believe that for some reason everything that happened before was just a big lie that was going on for absolutely no reason as we are mostly supposed to be an implied omniscient presence where we see and understand everything but are not a known presence for the characters in the books, so when they expect us to believe that a character has been lying in her own mind for absolutely no reason other than the author needed a twist at the end those are the thrillers I can’t stand and thankfully this was not one of those. This books greatest strengths lay in the way the story made sense and the Twist Fell in line with what was sensible and believable.

Again this was still a bit derivative, and I personally don’t generally enjoy the vacation thrillers, that is a trope that is just tired for me and is not the setting that I generally want to read about when I choose to pick up a Thriller so I was taking a risk with this one but I do think that it Turned out well enough as I had a pretty positive reading experience and although there was nothing novel about this book it was entertaining which is all that I can ask for in a thriller.

This book was just a mess.

The author had no sense of place with her descriptions - it was so confusing to try to figure out where the characters were in each scene. This took place in Sydney, but also in the outback? Maybe? There’s an abandoned city out there but also it’s big enough for two hotels? But it’s in the middle of nowhere, but also there’s a hospital right there? And it was a 20 hour drive from wherever they started but they were going to fly, but then there were fires so they drove after all? Overnight? Seriously I had no idea what was going on at any given point.

I didn’t care about any of the characters. They were all flat; no one had any sparks or chemistry.

The writing was also just dumb. Every chapter ended with some melodramatic line that should have been accompanied by “dun dun DUNNNNNNNN” or the dramatic chipmunk meme.

All the plot points were so stupid. I lost track of all the places where I thought “okay this is just ridiculous” because every single thing that happened was just ridiculous. The whole thing. Just a mess.

This Stay Between Us is a tense, twisty thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The dual timelines added great suspense, slowly unraveling the mystery of what really happened in Australia ten years ago. Claire is a fascinating, flawed narrator, and watching her return to the scene of the crime made for a gripping, emotional ride. While a few plot points stretched believability, the story’s dark secrets and final reveal made it well worth the journey. A great pick for fans of slow-burn psychological suspense!

FIVE WHOLE STARS! I genuinely could not put this book down! This was my first book by this author and I was NOT disappointed! The character development, the atmospheric vibes, and the questionable entaglements! If you are looking for a ride of a thriller where everyone is a potential suspect, do not skip this one!!

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs is a fast-paced, twisty thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. The dual timeline, weaving between a sun-soaked study abroad trip and the tense present-day aftermath, is executed brilliantly, keeping the suspense high and the pages turning. Ochs does a fantastic job of peeling back the layers of each character, revealing secrets and shifting loyalties in ways that felt fresh and unexpected. Claire’s voice is compelling, and the Australian setting adds a vibrant yet unsettling backdrop to the story. With its engaging plot and well-timed twists, this is a highly entertaining 4-star read perfect for fans of atmospheric, character-driven thrillers.

I enjoyed this book more than the author's previous book. A lot of twists and didn't know who actually murdered Phoebe until the end.

Study abroad gone wrong...This Stays Between us is a twisty tale of deceit and ulterior motives and hidden strife. When a group of students venture into the Australian Outback during a summer study abroad program, one of them doesn't make it out alive. Years later, the students are summoned back to Australia for a reunion as well as a break in the case. When more students from the group are targeted, uncertainties begin to surface about whether the incidents are coincidental or if there is a murder among them.

Ochs delivers a book with a unique concept and setting. My only complaint was some of the character build up fell a little flat, making their relationships seem unlikely. I did enjoy the twist at the end and liked the way the story came together after a wild ride across the entire continent.,

This was a little bit of a predictable thriller for me.
While it was good, and having the perspective of both Claire and Phoebe, I feel the writing style let this one down.
It could have been more suspenseful... the killer could have remained a secret until later in the book and overall there could just have been more!

Not a bad read, but sadly not an exciting one for me either.