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!

5 out of 5 Stars!

Ten years ago, six college students went on a study abroad trip to Australia. This program is supposed to introduce them to the beauty and culture of Australia. But in reality, it turns into a nightmare. When one of the students, Phoebe, suddenly goes missing in a small outback town, everyone thinks she just ran off. So the group decides to pack up and leave. All of their secrets can stay in that town. But, 10 years later they all get a phone call that could threaten to unleash those secrets. Phoebe’s body has been found. Everyone is summoned back to Australia, confronted with their past selves and by the police. Slowly but surely, secrets are starting to unearth in that small outback town. Everyone knew something about Phoebe’s murder. And someone may not make it out alive…

After reading “The Resort” by Sara Ochs, I was really excited to read “This Stays Between Us”! And thankfully, this book did not disappoint! “The Resort” was one of my first Book of the Month boxes, so I still remember it to this day. I love Ochs' writing style and how she could create so many twists in one book. As stated in other reviews, I am a sucker for multiple viewpoints which “The Resort” and “This Stays Between Us” had.

The first chapter of this book really, really hooked me. If you are on the fence reading this book, I would recommend the first chapter to see if you get obsessed like I did! I don’t want to give too much away, but I think it would capture any mystery reader. Like I said above, there were so many twists and turns in the book. Not only are you trying to uncover what happened to Phoebe, who we know was found dead, but there are other mysteries that are uncovered along the way. You are really left guessing until the last page about what really happened.

There are multiple viewpoints in this book: one of Claire, our main character, and one of Phoebe ten years ago during the study abroad summer. I thought Sara Ochs did a great job of creating a craving between both perspectives. Sometimes I feel like books are one-sided, where you want to read one perspective more than the other, which creates boredom throughout the book. But, both Claire and Phoebe’s perspectives were very intriguing throughout.

The last 50% of this novel went incredibly quickly, which really made this a fast read for me. The first 50% was great too, but it took me a little longer to read with the plot setting up and the introduction of the characters. There were so many characters in this book, not enough to confuse you but enough to create so much doubt and twists. Claire, our main character, was really smart and had great development throughout the story. I liked hearing her perspective as much as I liked Phoebe’s.

“This Stays Between Us” will be coming out July 15th, 2025! If you are looking for a great summer mystery, set in beautiful Australia, I would highly recommend it!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, Sara Ochs, and Netgally for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC!

This book was so good! I literally never knew what was going to happen next. Just when I thought I knew whodunnit, I was wrong. I even tried to keep in mind that the author was trying to keep me guessing.
I also loved the setting - a steamy summer in Australia was the perfect environment for the shenanigans that occurred.
And I think Ochs did a great job of weaving the past into the present to present more of the story and increase our understanding.
I would absolutely read another Sara Ochs story!