We love to see a decades old mystery being solved!

I enjoyed the characters in this story, as well as the time jumps and multiple POV. I thought the story was well paced with each of the timelines flowing nicely back and forth. It was intense from the start, with never a dull moment.

Was it the most original? No. But the concept of a past mystery makes for a great setting and a fun read regardless!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs, and WOW — what a twisty, layered, brain-bending read! If you're into psychological thrillers that keep you questioning everything and everyone, buckle up. Because this one is a ride.

The story centers on a group of friends — Claire, Phoebe, Josh, Declan, Adrien, Kyan, and Tomas — who studied abroad together in Australia ten years ago. They were close… until secrets, tensions, and tragedy unraveled everything. By the end of that fateful trip, one of them was dead, and Phoebe was missing. Now, a decade later, her remains have been found — and the group, once known as the “Mob,” is called back to Australia as the investigation is reopened.

Sara Ochs delivers a masterclass in suspense, expertly layering timelines, perspectives, and motives like a mystery onion (you’ll see what I mean). We’re talking dual narrative, unreliable narrators, long-buried secrets, tangled friendships, messy love stories, and enough red herrings to start a fish market. Just when I thought I had something figured out, Ochs would drop a detail that had me second-guessing everything. Yes, I was suspicious of everyone. Yes, I changed my theory twelve times. And yes — I LOVED every minute of it.

The themes woven into the story are rich and resonant: the weight of guilt, the fragility of memory, the complexity of grief, and the blurred line between loyalty and betrayal. Every character feels real — flawed, layered, and deeply human. I found myself loving and loathing them at different points, sometimes simultaneously (which, honestly, is the best kind of character writing).

Also, can we talk about the setting? Australia shines in this novel — both as a paradise and a pressure cooker. The backdrop adds atmosphere, isolation, and even beauty to the unraveling mystery.

This was my first read by Sara Ochs, and it will definitely not be my last. While the novel is a little dense in detail (thriller lovers, you’ll eat this up), every piece of information matters. No plot thread is left dangling. Every question is answered. And the final payoff? Chef’s kiss.

Releasing on July 15, 2025, this book needs to be on your summer TBR. If you love stories that challenge your theories, tug at your loyalties, and keep you up reading past your bedtime — this one’s for you.

And that, my friends, is today’s tea on “This Stays Between Us” ☕️

This was an ARC from NetGalley. This is a dual timelines YA mystery that centers around a group of students participating in an Australian study abroad program. The plot follows a fairly standard execution. I did appreciate the location and being transported half way around the world. The twist was a bit of a stretch and caused the ending to fall apart a bit. Nothing inventive, but an enjoyable quick read. #netgalley #thisstaysbetweenus #dualtimelines #ya #mystery

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This was a edgy thriller novel, and I enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Ten years ago a group of students go on a trip .. one doesn't return.

Phoebe's body has been discovered and they are all summoned back by the police to aide in the investigation.

Secrets start coming out as everyone wonders .. what happened to Phoebe?

Dueling POVs of Claire (present) and Phoebe (past) make the set up of this book very interesting and enjoyable.

It takes awhile to get into the characters. They are both (I am guessing purposely) very unlikable. The beginning sets the reader up on a lovely little cliff hanger that lures you into a binge reading the whole thing. Which you could easily do.

This was a complicated web to unweave due to the amount of things unknown. I felt a bit (unfairly) misled in a few of the statements that the characters made. Which isn't fun reading an unreliable narrator if it's only done to confuse the reader. Although, I do enjoy this style of thriller that slowly reveals secrets every few chapters.

I wasn't a big fan of the ending ... Which I'm in the minority there.

Overall, a good nighttime thriller. I would recommend to my reader friends.

Amazon Link - This Stays Between Us By: Sara Ochs

Stats: 416 pages - Expected publication July 15, 2025

**Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one. The mystery of what happened all those years ago and everyone still seems mysterious in the present day. Lots of secrets and lies!! And revenge!!

Such a remarkably good thriller. The plot is perfect, with youngsters on a big trip together and the aftermath from the turbulent trip ten years later. The characters are not as you think on the surface and Ochs does a splendid job of incorporating everything and still keeping the thrilling vibes throughout the book. Looking forward to reading more from this talented thriller author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

pretty fun and interesting thriller with sufficient twists and great setting. the writing is effective, the characters are cool... 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Title: This Stays Between Us
Author: Sara Ochs
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: July 15, 2025
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 416

This story is a mystery that takes place in Australia ten years ago.
Told from the POV of Claire and Phoebe - Present Day as well as ten –years ago.

Ten years ago, six college students are on an Australian summer study abroad trip.
The purpose of this or any study abroad program is to introduce students to the culture as well as the beauty of what another country offers. However, yes we are taking about the experiences college students want to have~ outdoor excursions as well as unsupervised drinking!

Phoebe, a troubled girl in the group wants to stay and disappears into the small outback town, The group is ready to leave and decide to pack up and leave the past behind. ~
However when Phoebe goes missing secrets seem to sneak out - someone knows what happened to her -did Claire have something to do with it?

I read and loved Sara Ochs]'Debut novel ": The Resort".. When I saw this I knew I wanted to read it – knowing nothing about it!!!
Hmmm unfortunately it wasn’t the big Wow I was secretly was expecting! But didn’t happen!
However, haven’t given up on this author and this little blimp ~ Looking forward to another story she writes!

Want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 15, 2025.

This book made me jealous for the type of trip they had! (moreso the itinerary than the experience). 8 students went on an abroad experience to Australia during college but only 6 of them came home. Now, 10 years later, Phoebe’s body is finally found and the case has reopened. What really happened back then?

This story is filled with unreliable characters with messy pasts. Everyone has secrets about that night and it was a fun ride trying to figure out the mystery. The characters were well developed and this book caught your interest right from the start. So many twists. Definitely an enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A group of people who went on a study abroad trip together ten years ago reunite in Australia to solve the murder of one of their cohorts. This story is told in dual timelines, then and now, to slowly reveal the truth behind Phoebe's murder. Everyone is lying about something, and although Claire the narrator repeats over and over how everyone is the best of friends, they don't treat each other well at all.

This was a decent story, although it started out pretty slow and I considered DNFing for the first 30%. There's a good amount of plot holes and extremely conveniently timed discoveries. There were some good red herrings. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, and the ending was pretty nasty. The book felt unnecessarily long at times with endless narratives of excessive drinking and stupid decisions, also featuring one of my least favorite tropes of all time (won't spoil). It was an entertaining story, I just didn't like it that much. I'd try another of this author's books, though.

I enjoyed the author’s first book, so I was very excited to read this one! Set in Australia, the story centers around a group of friends who met on a study abroad program in Australia 10 years prior. At that time, one of the group, Phoebe, went missing. Claire has been been avoiding traveling to Australia for the 10 year reunion, but is forced to when Phoebe’s remains are found- especially since she’s the one who killed her.

Set in dual timelines of then and now, this is fast paced thriller with quite few twists. The setting is great, and I enjoyed the writing style. Lots of characters and reasons to like and dislike them all. This book had me hooked all the way until the end, which was a bit predictable to me personally, but that’s my only complaint! Will recommend this as a quick, fun summer thriller.

Overall, 3.75 out of 5 stars (maybe still 4 stars? I’m rounding to 4!)

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book!

The writing style was really enjoyable to read, and the cast of characters felt well-developed, distinct and believable. I knew from the first few pages, that I was going to love this book!

A very immersive destination thriller felt like I was traveling around Australia again, I loved how this story brought back all those memories. The story is fast paced and suspenseful as you’re trying to figure out what happened to Phoebe the night she hadn’t returned back to her hostel with her new found friends.
Each chapter leaves you on edge while also going from past to present day I couldn’t put this book down. The twist in the epilogue I did not see coming, this is a perfect summer read and I will be picking up Sara Ochs other books.

The story follows six college students on a study abroad trip to Australia.Ten years after a student mysteriously disappears, their lives are rocked when the body is found. They are forced to confront the secrets and truths that have been buried for a decade, with one of them potentially facing consequences for what happened years ago

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Publication date :July 15, 2025

I really enjoyed the previous thriller from Sara Ochs and I think I liked this one even more. I love the travel aspect of her novels and liked the dual POV between the main character now and her missing roommate from 10 years previous. There were a lot of twists and one I did not see coming at all. I will continue to look forward to books from Sara Ochs. I want to thank NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Sara Ochs first thriller, so this was a highly anticipated release for me.

This Stays Between Us is about a group of people who met while they were on a month long study abroad program in Australia. Unfortunately, one of their own went missing and they all had to return home.

But ten years later they reunite in Australia when a body is found. They must work together with the cops to figure out what happened in the Australian outback.

The story is told through two perspectives and I had to question who I could trust. It became clear early on that these students were hiding a lot of secrets.

I liked the story a lot, but the ending also felt a little random. I would have liked for there to be more clues leading up to who did it.

If you like thrillers that take place in other countries, I’d recommend this one. It kept me interested up until the very end.

I was accepted to read this book before official publication through NetGalley and below is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was full of suspense. I kept changing my mind throughout and the plot twist at the end confirmed I was wrong the whole time 😂 a fantastic twist.

It’s a fast paced, intriguing read and it has you guessing constantly. The characters are well written and portray many different emotions. You just don’t know who to trust.

With it being set in the Australian outback, I think that added to the creepiness/suspense. It’s not somewhere I’d want to be stuck in dangerous circumstances!

The only let down was the ending, I found it very so so. Other than that, a brilliant read.

Overall, I give this book 4 stars.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Students spending a month abroad in Australia to get a quick crash course in the history and geographical splendor of the continent. Sounds like a dream, right? More like a nightmare for those involved. 10 years passes and the body of one of the students who had gone "missing" is recovered. The remaining members of "the Mob" reunite to try and figure out what happened to Phoebe. Is a friend among them a killer?

Contrary to other reviewers I did not think this started out quick. I found it hard to get into the story with the constant bouncing back and forth between Phoebe's POV in the past and Claire's POV in the present, especially since Claire's personality changed rather dramatically once the group reunites. Neither girl was written with a distinct voice so distinguishing their differences was tough in the beginning. At about the 50% mark the story did start to pick up for me as more action started to happen. The cast of friends is decidedly unlikable, so for the reader the killer could be anyone and the author makes sure to throw doubt on all the major players. I did find the motive of the "killer" kind of far reaching but ultimately the betrayal is what seals the deal at the end of this story.

I'm sure this is being marketed as a summer thriller, a beach read, and I can get behind that. Once I made it to the last 1/3 it was hard to put down.

Wow. This was such a fun book to read. It was exciting and it was very hard to put down because you keep wanting to know the sequel! The story lines from before (Phoebe) and now (Claire) were easy to follow and the story itself was very interesting. I am very curious to read other books by this author

🤯 M A Y H E M M O N D A Y review 🤯 featuring “This Stays Between Us” by Sara Ochs!

10 years ago, six students from all over the world come together for a study abroad program in Australia. What was supposed to be a once in a lifetime cultural experience and break from their studies, turns into a nightmare that will follow them forever.

So when the police come calling 10 years later about finding the body of one of the students that was presumed missing from the outback, they are all summoned to return to Australia for more questioning. Everyone has something to hide and has gone great lengths to hide the truth for 10 years. The secrets of the past get shaken up in a whirlwind of lust, jealously, betrayal, guilt and lies!

I love a a gripping atmospheric thriller, especially one set in Australia! The pieces start to slowly unravel through the dual timelines and the array of messy characters who have changed significantly over time … for better and for worse!

Thank you kindly to @saraochsauthor @bookmarked @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on July 15, 2025!