Do you ever get to the end of a book, just have to sit it down, and process it? Yeah, that's what happened with "This Stays Between Us". There were several moments during the book that I thought for sure I knew who the culprit was. Was I ever right? Absolutely not. Then we get to the last few pages, and my mind was blown. While Phoebe was the victim AND the villain in this story, I completely related to her as an introvert who was just trying to fit in during school. Overall, loved this book!!

A month studying abroad in the outback turns deadly. But who is to blame?

The book begins with a 10 year reunion trip. Claire does not want to go, to relive the trauma of her time there, knowing what she did to Phoebe. Then, a body turns up locked in a mine and she feels like to must return for the investigation.

I could not put this book down. Short chapters kept me intrigued and questioning everything I thought was happening.

With this group of college kids there are all the things you’d expect: sex, drugs, alcohol, mayhem!

This book is told in dual timeline from multiple points of views.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Look for it to be published on July 15, 2025!

A group of friends gets back together when their friend’s body is found. I got sucked in quickly to this book and couldn’t wait to find out what was happening. Good pacing and good character development. I enjoyed it!

This Stays Between Us is a standalone novel written by Sarah Ochs.

Expected release date: July 15, 2025

*Australia setting
*Murderer amongst friends
*Dual timeline

Ten years after a group of six students meet in Australia, one of the students is found dead. From there it’s a guessing game of who is to blame and who you can trust.

At times the story dragged, but overall I enjoyed trying to figure out who was the killer amongst the group. Claire leads the current timeline POV and Phoebe leads the POV timeline from ten years ago.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Format: NetGalley ebook
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Overall score:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level:🌶️
Characters: Claire & Phoebe

I loved Sara Ochs first book, so I was so happy to receive this one! I loved this book! The duel times lines, the Australia setting, all the characters and their dynamics. Lots of secrets and suspense in this story. This book is a psychological thriller done right with plenty of twist and turns. I never give 5 stars to thrillers but for this I do.

Wow! This was absolutely amazing! So many unhinged twists and turns! I was surprisingly shocked at each turn of events! I loved the cattiness and all the sexual tension between the group traveling abroad in Australia and I loved reading about the things they did in Sydney and in the Outback. The way Sara wrote the descriptions, I felt as if I was living alongside Ellery, Phoebe, Adrien, Kyan, Claire, Josh, Declan, Tomas and Hari. I felt everything they were feeling. Go into this blind because it is so good!

Sara Ochs delivers a gripping psychological thriller in *This Stays Between Us*, intertwining past and present against the backdrop of the Australian Outback. The novel opens with a group of university friends embarking on what they expect to be a life-changing adventure, only for it to lead to tragedy. A decade later, new evidence draws them back to Australia, forcing them to confront old alliances and buried secrets.

With a dual-timeline structure, the story builds suspense as the complex characters reveal their hidden motives. The vividly rendered setting—from the stunning coastline to the eerie Outback—intensifies the unease, while sharp pacing and unexpected twists keep readers guessing until the end.

For fans of psychological thrillers with morally ambiguous characters, *This Stays Between Us* is a compelling read that lingers long after the final page. Some secrets simply refuse to stay buried.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review; sadly this did not work for me. It’s everything I usually enjoy in thrillers, the band gets back together, adventure, island, etc. My main dislike of this book was the writing and how predicable the characters and the ending felt. It’s not a bad book by any means, it just really did not wow me and had everything in it that usually does. I don’t mind when I predict twists, at all, but there has to be other things about the book I enjoy and there just wasn’t in this one. If you want a quick, popcorn thriller, you will probably find this somewhat enjoyable.

This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs had me completely hooked from start to finish. I loved how the suspense slowly built as Claire returned to Australia to face the secrets of her past. The tension was so real, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the guilt Claire carried. It kept me guessing with every twist, and by the end, I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how everything would unfold. If you love psychological thrillers with deep secrets and plenty of suspense, this one’s a must-read!

I really enjoy books by Sara Ochs. Her latest, This Stays Between Us was a winner. I definitely recommend it!

A run-of-the-mill thriller.
Characters weren't interesting and Phoebe, the murder victim in this story, was really annoying that it was hard to feel sorry for her, though I did feel terrible for the backstory with her brother.
Claire tries to play detective but literally accuses every single person under the sun and has to have the murderer spell out the crime in the big reveal. Nothing different or interesting about this book that you couldn't get from other thrillers.

I just returned from a lovely 3 week long vacation to Australia and was deeply missing being on vacation. There was no better way to relive my adventure than with this addictive thriller. Sara Ochs has some of the best descriptions of settings that I’ve read. I especially enjoyed this because it took me through many places I just visited. Thankfully, I can safely say no dead bodies for me. The story alternates between 10 years ago and the now and the timelines are seamlessly woven together. It’s fast paced, adventurous, and riveting. Full of secrets, betrayals, tension, and shocking twists. Ochs is an auto read for me and this one did not disappoint!


Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark | Sourcebooks Landmark for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A group of co-ed university students from all over the world participated in an Adventure Abroad in Australia program a decade ago, but they didn’t all return home. Now they are gathering again in Australia following the news that one of the student’s remains have been discovered. The story is told in both Claire and Phoebe’s points of view – Claire being our narrator in the present and Phoebe as the narrator in the past. Phoebe is also the student who disappeared. Claire was closest to Phoebe, who seemed to rub everyone the wrong way. But Claire was patient and forgiving and saw a softer side to Phoebe.

Emotions ran high during the program, with casual and not-so-casual hook-ups and routine partying and drinking. Relationships were born and were broken and being together again a decade later is as awkward as Claire imagined it would be. But she’s not the only one who has been keeping secrets and who has an agenda for returning to Australia. But will she make it back home again?

Even though the characters may first seem cliché, they have more depth than I expected. Adrian didn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities and I wish she would have been put in her place at some point. There are plenty of twists, especially towards the end, but I think the author took it one twist too far. I was satisfied until that one, which was just too much. There are a plethora of references to ‘what she did’ in Claire’s internal monologues that get a bit repetitive, but overall the story flows well and I loved all the descriptions of Australia, having never been there myself.

I could easily pick up right where I left off each time and I couldn’t wait to reach the end. I would definitely read more by this author and this is a fun book that I recommend.

That LAST chapter twist always gets me! I live for it and This Stays With Us delivered. I couldn't wait to pick up this novel, then I couldn't put it down. The pacing was perfect, the POV's and timelines were synchronized beautifully. I've traveled with groups before and the bond really is forever no matter how much time passes so I understand how tight knot this friend group can be/was even though they "only" spent a month together.
Even if you think you have it figured out, there's more! I also loved that there were some possible ways and dead ends in trying to solving it. It came across as a realistic way to portray trying to figure something out.
I was gasping for air by the end. I would highly recommend.

This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs is a good beach read and mystery. A small group of university students from around the world come to Australia for short study abroad program over the month of December. It soon becomes clear that many of the students have decided to participate in the program for deep personal reasons.
The book has good character development and suspense. You do have to suspend logic for some scenarios but in my opinion not all mystery novels have to be as close to reality as possible to be a good read. Overall I recommend this light and fun mystery thriller.

This Stays Between Us follows Claire, who returns to Australia, years after her best friend on a summer abroad trip, Phoebe, disappeared during their time there. Now, Phoebe's remains have been discovered, and suspicion swirls among the once tight-knit group of friends from the study abroad trip - who did it?

I really enjoyed this fast-paced, shocking thriller. It kept me guessing until the very last page, literally, and I found the setting to be highly immersive. While I guessed some of the twists, this books packed full of them, so there were plenty I completely missed. The characters were multilayered and often morally ambiguous, which added to the tense nature of the story.

I highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick, atmospheric read with dark twists that explores the nature of friendships - especially female friendships.

I love thrillers based on longtime friends with hidden secrets, but This Stays Between Us really didn't click for me. There were too many characters introduced back-to-back and not enough suspense to pull me in. Also, some of the writing felt repetitive (for example, "smattered" being used twice in a span of about 100 words).

This book transported me on an outback adventure from the very beginning! A "who done it" mystery that takes place in Australia 10 years ago & present tense. A group of friends reuniting to help solve the murder of their friend, but who can you trust? Who isn't whom they appear to be? This thriller kept me interested the whole way through! Thank you for the ARC Netgalley & Sourcebooks Landmark!

Wow, Wow, Wow!
This novel has so many twists and turns with the ' who done it' feel, but also having you know EVERYONE is a suspect! If you liked the movie scream I really think you'll enjoy this. Sara does such a great job pointing you in all directions having you always second guessing yourself! We are following two POV's, Claire and Phoebe, from then and now. Both girls are recounting their time be it past or present for them respectively. As I said before the twists and turns make this mystery so suspenceful! This would also be very fun to annotate if you are into doing so. I need to read more of Sara's works and am wondering if she will be an autobuy for me... Chances are YES!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this arc from Bantam to read in exchange for an honest review

If you’re at all similar to me then you know there’s just something addictive about a thriller set in the Australian Outback, something about the vivid landmarks, the heat, the possibility of poisonous animals and the back packing travellers, I’d personally love to travel to Australia but the thought of the giant spiders deters me 😂

“This stays between us” divides its attention between two main characters, one from a past timeline who we know is currently deceased, and one in present day who is slowly unwinding the events of the past as its colliding with her present day.

Present day Claire finds herself having to return to Australia many years after studying abroad. The original purpose for the trip is a school reunion which quickly dissolves into a police investigation after Phoebes remains are found.

Although it seems to inform you of what happened at the beginning of the book we soon learn that the narrator is in fact unreliable leaving a few twists in store for the reader.

If you want to get a jump start on your summer reads and feel some sunshine whilst it’s cold out then this is a great book to ease you into a warmer climate.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Sara Ochs for the earc!

Publish date: July 15th 2025