After enjoying the author's last book, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of This Stays Between Us! ! A reunion held 10 years after a study abroad program in beautiful Australia where people kept dying... what a setting!

This was a wild ride! Multiple POVs usually aren't my favorite but I liked getting to know the characters through their own voices. I didn't particularly connect with either of them, but they were still integral to the story. Toss in a bunch of secrets, a remote setting, and a ton of red herrings, and I could not put this book down! The switching POVs/timelines was kind of annoying, as it wasn't always alternating chapters. The first half was a bit of a slow burn to set everything up, but the second half flew by. I guessed some of the twists and the ending felt a bit rushed, but the epilogue redeemed it for me. I gave this 3.5 stars rounded down, as Claire was so naive and gullible, it grated on me. I'd absolutely recommend this one when it comes out, and am excited to see what the author does next. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy!

Thank you NetGalley, Sara Ochs, and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some summers never end.. Some secrets refuse to stay buried...

What begins as a dream trip for six college students quickly spirals into something far darker in this compulsive thriller that sizzles with heat, secrets, and slow-burning suspense. One of them vanishes. Phoebe, the one with fractured friendships and festering jealousy, disappears into the outback.

They told themselves she ran. They left. But the outback never forgets.

Now, ten years later, her body is found. The past calls them back, not for answers, but reckoning!

Who really saw Phoebe last?
Who whispered the first lie?
Can six people carry the weight of a secret this heavy, without one of them breaking?

From the first page, the story hums with unease. The narrative unfolds between "then" and "now" blurring until the truth begins to unravel allowing just enough space for doubt to fester.

The characters are messy, flawed, and bound together by something darker than friendship. Every twist made me question what I thought I knew. As the the tension builds, you start to wonder just how far would someone go to keep the truth buried? And if someone was willing to kill ten years ago, would they do it again?

This Stay Between Us is a nightmare of betrayal, obsession, and guilt. A haunting exploration of what happens when the lies we tell ourselves become the stories we live by. And in the end, when the final truth is revealed I found myself asking: What really happened that summer? Can anyone walk away innocent? I guess you will have to read it to find out!!🤣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was pretty underwhelming. Sometimes it works when you know who the murderer is right off the bat, and sometimes it doesn't. While there is drama and background that you learn about the "friend" group and what occurred to lead up to the body being found, I found it quite dull and really just nonsense drama with no kind of twist whatsoever. The author's first book was a decent read for me, but this one just falls short. Not sure if I will read anything else by her.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ten years ago, six college students went to study abroad in Australia for the summer. A chance to explore the beauty and culture the country has to offer. But after drama and jealously lead to an accident of one of the students, everything changes. And then Phoebe goes missing. Now, their secrets are coming to light and someone knows what happened to Phoebe and will do what it takes to make sure that secret doesn’t get out.

I really enjoyed this thriller and how it kept making me change my opinion of who was behind it all. The ending though!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Thanks for the review copy. I struggled to finish this one. I didn’t care for any of the characters. They were all selfish. Maybe others will enjoy this one more than I did.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the eARC!

Ten years ago, six college students meet in an Australian summer study abroad, ready to enjoy the break from their studies and travel the country. Their program is meant to introduce them to the beauty of Australia and immerse them in an unforgettable cultural experience. In reality, it's a thrill-fueled summer of outdoor excursions, adrenaline rushes, alcohol, lust, and friendship turned wrong. When Phoebe, a troubled girl with jealousies and fractures spreading like wildfire between them all, suddenly disappears, presumed to have run away in a small outback town, the group decides to pack up and leave the past behind. All their secrets hidden for good. Or at least, that's what they tell themselves…

Ten years later, they each receive a call. They've found Phoebe's body. And now it's time to return.

Each of the friends is summoned back to Australia, confronted with their past selves and the brutal heat and sting of that summer. The police have questions, and the secrets they've been keeping buried deep in the outback start to slowly unearth. It soon becomes clear that everyone knows something about Phoebe's murder, and once again one of them might not make it out alive.

The switches between Phoebe and Claire were a little confusing but since I didn't like either of them, it didn't really matter. To be completely honest, I was quite bored with the plot and the ending was underwhelming. Her writing may not be for me since I rated The Resort similarly.

Exp. Pub: 7/15/25

A gripping and thrilling read--I loved bouncing between the timelines and that final twist was very surprising. There were a couple smaller issues I had dealing with POV and perception or how characters talked about things that later turned out to be untrue. Hard to explain, but overall a fun and twisty page turner.

A wild month long college adventure class across Australia leads to a reunion 10 years in the making when their missing friends body is found. The POV flips between two characters in the past and 1 POV from the present.

While the characters are all purposely flawed, it seems that's taken to the extreme. Everyone seems to be lying on this reunion while no one really wants to be there. Add in another death and multiple calls from the investigating police and it's not a fun time for anyone.

For the most part, the killer is predictable with a little extra twist of an accomplice. I didn't exactly think the characters were likable, and parts of the story could have been eliminated while other parts could have been more fleshed out throughout instead of just dumped at the reveal.

This stays between us by Sarah Ochs

I was scooped into the beginning but then this books fizzled for me. It was told from the POV of two friend past and present but it had multiple characters that made it somewhat confusing. The main best friends were Phoebe and Claire. Claire’s POV was as present view and Phoebe was past. They went to Australia for a study program abroad as college students. The other POV are the students in the program.

So 10 years later they find remains Freon the incident that happened, one student missing and one dead. They all go back to Australia to aide in the investigation.

The majority of the book talks about is a slow trickle of information that has you thinking you know who did it, when in reality you are sitting there watching a merry go round until the end and the info dump at the end. I’m was not loving this book. The situations seemed a little peculiar and not interesting. I loved this authors first book.

Above all it was entertaining and I think you have to be in the mood for this more of a mystery less thrilling book.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark

This was such a fun read. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This Stays Between Us hooks you from page one—Claire confesses to murder, but can you trust her? Told in dual timelines by Claire and the victim, Phoebe, the story unravels with tight, fast-paced chapters and just enough suspicion to keep you second-guessing everyone. Some character motivations felt a bit off, but the ending lands with a satisfying jolt. Perfect for fans of quick, binge-worthy thrillers.

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.