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.

This book was deliciously suspenseful. The slow reveal of what really happened during that study abroad trip kept me totally locked in. Ochs has a way of making even small moments feel ominous, which had me constantly second-guessing everyone. The setting added a fresh, eerie vibe I loved. While some character choices were frustrating in a “why are you doing that?!” kind of way, it totally worked for the tension. A juicy, binge-worthy read.

This story depicts the dark side of friendships and wanting to fit in. The author does a good job keeping you on your toes about who the killer is. Ultimately I just felt bad for all these characters and their sad stories. If you like dark mysteries, this one is for you. Trigger warning: sexual assault

I was attracted to the idea of a sun-soaked vacation thriller, which seems to be this author's specialty, set at a short study abroad program in Australia with a wild group of friends with murder in the potent mix of sex and substance abuse. Unfortunately the writing just really missed the mark for me.

I was prepared for toxic, unlikable characters and alcohol-fuelled debauchery, but I found the friends to be shallow and not very well developed. I never saw the chemistry between their friendships or romantic entanglements and they all seemed to actively dislike each other, which made it hard for me to stay interested in them as characters.

The writing style was also kind of bland to me.

As a thriller I found it boring and predictable. It was easy to read in an afternoon but it was kind of a slog to get through. Alas this one was just not for me. This has received many other great reviews however. So it could just be a me thing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the eARC of this twisty title!**

So this one was definitely TWISTY. If you like breakneck pacing and dual timelines - you will enjoy this one.

My complaints with this book are just the far fetched aspect of everything. I can suspend disbelief just as much as the next person but I had a hard time grasping the development of this group of friends over the course of 1 month. I know at that age feelings and friendships can forge fast but ultimately a month is such a small drop of time.

For these characters to reunite 10 YEARS later and still be acting the way they do towards each other was just bizarre to me. It took me out of the story in a lot of places.

Overall though - I did enjoy this one!! I couldn’t put it down and needed to know what happened next. If you can not overthink this one I think you will enjoy it if you like thrillers, chaos, and drama!

I picked this one because of the setting in Australia . Unfortunately it ended up being too predictable and I struggled to connect to the characters.

Adventurous, dark and chilling!

This book really took me off guard. I really wasn’t sure what would happen next, and I actually didn’t guess who killed Phoebe which is a rare occurrence for me and thrillers. The Australian setting was so fun to explore, especially since I’m not super familiar with the country which added to the mystique. This was a fun whodunit with friends turned foes, found family that didn’t know each other as much as they thought they did.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though I’m not shocked, considering I really enjoyed The Resort by this author. This one was also less far fetched than that one hence the higher rating!

Lastly, thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
3 stars

As is the way with me, the synopsis drew me in. A small group of college students winds up in Australia for a short study abroad program. The program ends with one student dead and one missing. Ten years later the body of the missing student is found and those left of the group travel back to Australia to aide the authorities with their investigation by completing interviews. As the investigation unfolds we find that everyone is harboring secrets.

There are a slew of characters in this story but it fluctuates between the POV’s of Phoebe (10 years ago,) and Claire ( present day.) Through the story telling it becomes clear that each student on the trip found themselves participating in the program for deeply personal reasons. These are young twenty something kids so the pettiness and drama run strong. I hate to say this but I found every one of the main characters insufferable (with the exception of maybe Tomas but he didn’t really play a big part.)

The majority of the book is a slow reveal of secrets that are intended to keep you circling around the characters trying to figure out who the culprit is. Like the author wants you to be convinced that you know who it is, only to have you change your mind with the next chapter reveal. Except it didn’t work like that for me. The secrets and the character responses to events and situations were predictable. I often found myself rolling my eyes. Learning who the murderer was felt rushed through and was anticlimactic. At the end, each characters story time of what they spent the last ten years doing and how they were going to move forward was kind of boring, an info dump if you will.

That big reveal at the very end was sinister but not surprising at all.

Overall, it’s not a terrible book. It just didn’t feel well executed. It wasn’t riveting to me, less psychological thriller and more corny…mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Phoebe and Claire look forward to joining their student group for a month-long study abroad in Australia. Soon after their arrival, signs of trouble interrupt their days and evenings of partying when Phoebe suddenly goes missing.
Ten Years Later
Claire gets the call she has been dreading. Just as the group was planning a return trip to Australia, she was informed that her best friend Phoebe’s body had been found. The group returns for their reunion visit. Claire spends her time on the return trying to put together the pieces of her time with Phoebe all those years ago. She soon finds out she is not alone. The entire group is also holding back their secrets.
Only Claire knows what happened to Phoebe, but she must prevent the others from knowing the truth.