This Stays Between Us had me hooked from the beginning.

The book was fast-paced and the suspense kept me wanting more. Every time I thought I had even the slightest answer, I was wrong. The characters were super well-developed and each one made me feel a certain way. The dual POV between Claire and Phoebe was great, and definitely helped the story flow. I also loved the authors descriptions of Australia, they were extremely atmospheric and I felt like I was there.

The ending left me shocked! Definitely recommend this one if you're looking for a bingeable thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This twisty thriller had me hooked from the start! Ten years after a wild study abroad trip in Australia, a group of former students reunites when Phoebe’s remains are found and the mystery of what really happened to her finally resurfaces. Secrets, lies, and old friendships unravel as Claire, the narrator, tries to keep the truth buried… even though she knows she’s the one who killed her best friend. Fast-paced and full of suspense, this one kept me turning pages late into the night. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this exciting story!

I have LOVED the friend group with a secret trope but I have to say I'm feeling burned out on it for now. This past/present narrative book is about a group of friends who did a study abroad program together in Australia during which one of the students went missing. Now, ten years later, her body is found and the group returns Down Under. Which one of them did it?

For me, this got off to a pretty slow start and the past narrative featured college students who seemed like high school students. Some readers, including me, found this a bit off-putting. I think the story clearly needed the past/present structure but it took a while to get its rhythm.

I think it did pick up and became much more suspenseful at the end.

The overall conclusion was a little underwhelming BUT THEN there was a very last chapter that ended things on a shocking and disconcerting note.

Just finished reading my e-arc of This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs courtesy of @sourcebooks releasing 7/15!

I loved Ochs’ last destination thriller, The Resort, but I think this follow up is even better! An Australian study abroad group ends with one member dead and another member's disappearance. 10 years later a body is found and all the group is brought back together for the investigation. Told in flashbacks with dual POVs, I was sucked into the drama, twists, secrets, and loved this 'everyone is a suspect' thriller! Ochs perfectly captured the young carefree vibe of the study abroad group of friends who became romantically entangled over their summer together. I loved the flashbacks and then seeing how the characters were different in the present timeline of the murder investigation. There are immersive Australian settings from beach towns to the desolate Outback wilderness, and so many secrets and twists that I stayed up way too late to see this book’s conclusion. All the stars.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Absolutely amazing with the right amount of twists and a past and present timeline to have everything come together by the end. Phoebe and Claire were such good friends when they met studying abroad but a tragedy occurs and isn’t till a decade later that the truth comes creeping back and Claire is determined to keep her secret forever. The feelings of guilt and fear oozes from this book. Great summer read!

I absolutely loved this! It was a super fast paced read that I found really hard to put down. There were a lot of characters which sometimes was a bit hard to keep track of who was who but they were all written really well and had their own character development throughout the book. The only thing I didn’t like about this was the epilogue, I really wish that wasn’t there!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.

I was excited to read this book by Sara Ochs because I read her other book The Resort last year and it was my first Book of the Month. I ended up not super vibing with it because I had higher expectations. So I was looking forward to another change without expectations.

This ended up being a really fun read and I really enjoyed it, so I'm glad I did.

I loved the dual timelines and always seem to enjoy books told in the past and present. I really enjoyed the friend group too and the college study abroad setting. I remember going to camps and having people become like family like this so it was a fun nostalgic ride.

I did guess who did it early on, there was a glaring clue but it didn't ruin the ride because there were so many twists and turns I forgot again until the end. Every one really did have a motive and it kept you guessing still.

The only reason it's not a bit higher is the epilogue. I hated that. Literally ruined it. I'm just going to pretend it's not there.

Otherwise this is a really fun summer read and I was very invested in the journey.

I've been looking forward to read more of Sara Ochs ever since I enjoyed her debut The Dive, and I added This Stays Between Us as soon as I first heard about. I always love a story with a travel element, so the Australian setting was definitely a bonus... The premise only made me want to read it even more with that summer study abroad element, the travel within Australia and the promise of murder. I fully expected to have a great time with this story and I'm not sure if I simply set my expectations too high, but the fact remains that I ended up feeling rather underwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the premise itself. As someone who has studied abroad herself, I loved the idea of the group of students traveling to Australia for a short summer abroad program. Especially since it involved mainly a lot of travel and exploring the country as well as that instant bond that usually forms in situations like this. The idea of one of the group ending up dead, and the whole lot all having something to hide sounded like the perfect recipe for an entertaining and suspenseful thriller... But somehow I found the execution to be lacking.

I loved the Australian setting of course, and I could appreciate the descriptions of the different destinations along the way. Did I wish they were just a bit more extensive to fully set the scene? Most definitely. But I still felt that the whole student travel vibe was achieved. This type of travel doesn't go without the complimentary alcohol and plenty of drama of course, but I was a bit disappointed by just how much focus is on the alcohol use and drama instead of the actual travel.

Part of where it went wrong for me has everything to do with the characters. Every single one of the characters in This Stays Between Us is both unlikeable, considerably one-dimensional and riddled with cliches. This made it very hard to care about what happened to any of them... And the overdose of drama and bitching didn't really help either. To make things worse, they basically behave like horny and jealous teenagers most of the time, resulting in a lot of love triangles, hurt feelings and more drama. The fact that they all had something to hide was hammered into us readers over and over again, and this really got old fast.

The story has a dual POV structure, switching between Claire in the present and Phoebe in the past. Claire's POV was highly frustating; not only because she makes the most stupid decisions and basically suspects everyone, but also because it is repeated over and over and OVER how she is the reason Phoebe is dead. This constant repetition and hinting at secrets, certain events and guilt in general was highly annoying, and even more so with all those secrets and twists being so incredibly obvious and predictable. Phoebe's POV, set in the past, wasn't much better as she is extremely unlikeable, but at least there is the travel to make up for things some.

I think the writing itself also wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. Like I said before, the constant repetition and hinting at certain events did not only come over as lazy, but also ment I started to feel more and more frustrated instead of curious about what happened to Phoebe (and Tomas for that matter). The many cliches also ment that the behavior of everyone involved as well as their secrets were extremely predictable, and the ending wasn't much better with everything being spelled out like that. I don't even want to mention the epilogue, because it most definitely didn't have the intented shocking effect.

I do have to say that it is a fast read at least, but it is also tedious at the same time? If you don't mind an overdose of what feels like teenage drama, betrayal and secrets, like a travel element and don't mind a predictable plot, This Stays With Us might just work better for you though.

This is my second time reading a Sara Ochs book and she’s quickly become an auto read author for me. This Stays Between Us kept me engaged and guessing from the start. Every time I thought I had it figured out something happened to change my mind. There are a lot of characters so it took me a bit to keep them straight but that ultimately added a great whodunnit factor. It was the perfect thriller for summer.

Sara Ochs writes a hell of a popcorn thriller. Friends reuniting years after one of them was killed, and they all have secrets. It was twisty and kept me guessing the whole time!

After ten years listed as a missing person, Phoebe's body has been found. Each of her six college friends are summoned back to Australia to answer questions about the summer study program they all attended together. Can the group keep their secrets or will someone let something out?

I knew this was going to be a juicy one the moment I started. I love the kind of books that have you gasping as we are given a little tidbit of a revelation each time. Secrets always make thrillers exciting and this one had plenty of excitement. Fast paced with constant twists, I loved the journey. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. Oh and being Australian, I loved the Aussie setting too!

I really enjoyed the suspense of this one. It kept me engaged and pretty consistently changing my thoughts on who was to blame. It was easy to read, but also well developed.

Sara Ochs’s “This Stays Between Us” was the first book I read of hers. A group of college students (Claire, Phoebe, Adrien, Ellery, Declan, Tomas, Josh, and Kyan) met ten years ago in a month-long Australian summer study abroad program. By the end of it, the group is down to six students because of an accident Tomas had and Phoebe’s disappearance.

The story alternates between narrators. Claire in present day and Phoebe during the summer in question. In present day, “The Mob” is looking to have a reunion in Australia at Kyan’s house. Claire wasn’t going to attend, but changes her mind when she’s summoned back to Australia. Phoebe’s remains have been located and the local authorities have questions.

I found the book to be mostly a fast-paced and enjoyable read. I could’ve done without the Epilogue, though. It took away the closure the author had just given the reader in the past few chapters leading up to it.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

A group of friends has secrets from their past that are coming to light years later. I changed my mind so many times as to what was happening. A very fun read with good twists that keep you on the edge of your seat!

Very fast thrilling mystery.

Returning to Australia 10 years after their summer abroad, 6 friends find themselves reliving— and uncovering— the secrets of their trip. The body of their classmate has been recovered and the police have just as many questions as they do, as they try to finally move on.. but some secrets don’t stay secrets forever.

Very twisty with 2 POVs and 2 timelines, This Stays Between Us has all the makings of a great mystery. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded in pieces and loved the very last twist. Will keep this author on my radar.

A fast-paced thriller about a group of friends on a study abroad trip to Australia. The book alternates between two perspectives: Phoebe, who went missing in the Australian Outback 10 years ago, and present-day Claire, who feels the pain and guilt of what happened on that fateful trip. Several good twists that kept me guessing — I couldn’t put it down!

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

You know, I believe I'm done with the 'reunion' trope in mystery/thrillers.
I used to love it, but lately I can't seem to really enjoy a book with that trope.
I was initially invested in the story and the characters' development. but then I wasn't. Too much mystery, too many questions and doubts, and too slow burn.
I've enjoyed this author's previous novel, so I was eager to read this new one. But it didn't work for me. The pacing, the characters, the atmosphere - which lacked of it, in my opinion. The setting was great, but I didn't feel anything towards it.
I'm sure this book will work much better for other readers, especially the ones who genuinely enjoy slow burn mysteries.

I wanted to love this one, I really did. There was just something about the writing style that I did not enjoy. This happened to me with the author's debut novel as well. I also thought the characters didn't have the kind of bond that I was hoping to read about. It just seemed on the surface for some reason. 3 stars

3.5⭐️
I flew through this book, I just had to find out what happened Told in two different timelines and by Claire and Phoebe's POV. A really enjoyable thriller and I will continue to read this authors work. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for ARC.

Ten years ago Claire joined a study abroad program in Australia, now se and the people from the program are getting together for the ten year reunion,not just for a reunion, but also because Claire roommate Phoebes remains had been found.

What truly happened all those years ago, and who played a role in her death?

Told as Claire now, and Phoebe then, leading up to her death, we watch truths unravel. Everyone has suspicion, everyone has guilt, and I kept interested wanting to know the truth of that fateful day. Who could Claire trust, if anyone.