This is a fabulous but crazy five star read. Full of mystery and intrigue. Mother and daughter relationship which is not as it seems. Amazing twist at the end. This book kept me captivated from the beginning to the end. This is the first book by John Marrs that I have read but it definitey won't be the last.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the ultimate crazy mother daughter story you need to read! I really don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything! I read this book in an afternoon because I couldn't put it down. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

What Lies Between Us was my first novel by John Marrs, and it's crazy that I haven't ready anything by him yet! Will certainly be reading other titles by him. All I have to say is "OMG!"

While reading this book, I continued to feel like all of the plot twists and turns had been revealed, but alas, there was still more to come up until the last chapter!

The novel goes between two perspectives, Nina Simmonds, and her mother, Maggie. From the first chapter, you find out that Nina's mother is locked up in their attic, but you don't know why. As the novel progresses, and you continue to read about events that happened twenty-five years ago, the reader feels like they've connected the dots, but BAM! Plot twist!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I needed a edge-on-your-seat kind of novel after my last few reads. What Lies Between Us was the perfect kind of messed-up psychological thriller that I didn't even know I needed.

I'm already recommending this novel to all of my suspense/thriller bookworms, and look forward to Marrs' publication date!

If you are a thriller lover, put this one on your list! If you are a fan of reading about dysfunctional families, put this one on the TOP of your list! The publishing date is May 15th, 2020. John Marrs has written a fascinating novel about the demise of a British family with all sorts of dark and sordid details.

Maggie is kept as a prisoner (literally) under lock and key by her daughter, Nina. Trapped and confined in her own home, she laments about what went wrong with their relationship. Nina has decided to keep her prisoner to make her pay for all the ways she wronged Nina during her childhood, meaning her “sentence” is supposed to last for 19 years or until she dies. Maggie is desperate to escape and live the rest of her life out of captivity as she is already sixty-eight years old. What happened to Nina’s father and Maggie’s husband? Why does Nina have her locked up? Will Maggie escape from her daughter? Read and find out.

I just got immediately sucked in through Maggie and Nina’s narratives. The story flips back and forth between the two women and past and present. The plot interweaves the timelines and strings the reader along as Marrs explains bit by bit where things went wrong between mother and daughter. The characterization was excellent as you can FEEL what Nina and Maggie are experiencing as you read. Some of the twists were a bit predictable for me, but Marrs makes sure to drop little facts that make you second guess yourself. Thank you @netgalley, @amazonpublishing and @johnmarrs.author for this wild ride!

Where do I even start with this one?! Honestly, this was a mind-blowing read. I am a huge thriller fan and this is up there with one of the best I have read!

The story is told from dual perspectives - There's Nina Simmonds, a librarian in her late thirties who lives in her childhood home and then there is her mother, Maggie, who Nina keeps locked in the attic and whose life is completely under her daughter's control...

I really can't say too much about this book without giving a lot away but lord, it is a rollercoaster! I love the way Marrs completely toyed with my emotions and made me feel sorry for one character and loathe the other and then completely flip it on it's head in the next chapter.

The twists are twisty and although at times predictable, I didn't mind because I felt almost vindicated in my guessing instead of feeling annoyed that I guessed right!

Yes, its far-fetched but you have to suspend your belief while reading the book because it is well worth it.

I would love to go in to an in depth review but I really don't want to take the enjoyment away from others who are beginning to read this book. It is a disturbing and dark book that explores the depths people will go to to protect the ones they love...

Thank you to Netgalley & Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic! Unreliable narrators (my sympathy switched between them many, many times) the slowly drip-fed facts and a dark, twisted tale of toxic relationships; guilt, hatred and where protecting those you love can lead to disaster - what's not to love?

John Marrs proves once again why he is one of my go-to authors - waiting impatiently for the next release from this 'evil genius' mind!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this corker of a book 4.5-5 stars

Interesting way of taking you through the story using the alternating voices of Maggie and Nina, while also going backwards in time and then back to the present. Nice pace to the book and the reveals of key parts of the tale throughout the book kept the story moving and wanting to keep going to find out what happened. I will certainly be looking out for more books by John Marrs in future..

Plenty of twists and turns to.keep you guessing
It's so fast paced you won't get bored nor will you want to put it down
It's an unique storyline, which is chilling and completely captivating
You'll definitely be reading long into the night
A must read

Thank you Netgalley, John Marrs and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me to read and review this book

This book just didn’t do it for me. I had such high expectations after seeing it all over the web and enjoying “The One” but this one fell flat for me.

It was the true definition of a slow burn, but any twists and revelations were few and far between. It is so long and drawn out and I felt like I could of gone without some plot points completely. I tried to like either of the characters and could not. They were both damaged individuals who acted poorly and made poor decisions.

I know I may have the unpopular opinion when it comes to this book but it just wasn’t there for me. Too slow, with poor characters and unbelievable plot.

This review is posted on my goodreads account.

Nina and Maggie share the same house, but they live very separate lives. Nina goes to work and lives an otherwise normal life, but she comes home every day to her captive. Because Maggie has done things that cannot be forgiven. Maggie has done things that she needs to be punished for. But Nina doesn't know the why behind Maggie's deceit and lies, and Maggie is willing to die to keep it that way.

John Marrs does it again - another 5 star read! I don't know about you guys, but I love me a messed up book, and that is exactly what this is. I love to be able to see the good in the "bad" characters and the bad in the "good" characters, and this gave me all of that and more. The official synopsis of the book doesn't give much away, and I'd like to keep my review in a similar vein, to keep the twists and turns... twists and turns, but this would be a great book to read and discuss. So read it & let's discuss! I will follow John Marrs to any depths he chooses to go at this point. That's how impressed I am with his writing.

John marrs is by far one of my favourite authors and this book was absolutely fantastic. It was gripping, shocking definitely not for the faint hearted! Very twisted but throughly enjoyable 10/10

I would like to thank NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and author John Marrs for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

I have never read John Marrs, but I can see what all the hype is about. This was an absolute experience that I so enjoyed. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. These are dark and messed up characters that I enjoyed watching develop throughout the reading process. I felt like I was a part of this story, and I didn’t want it to end.

Thank you to those named above for the chance to read and review this ARC!

Really a great read! Creepy and lots of twists I didn't see coming. All of the characters are compelling, and I found myself reading faster and faster, trying to get to the end. Definitely recommended.

This book has left me speechless (that’s not an easy task). Granted I’m currently reading during a global pandemic, so I’m finding darker books more disturbing than usual. But. This book was A LOT. I had a hard time reading it, but I know it was a well written psychological thriller. It was different and I wasn’t able to put the puzzle pieces together until the very end. •

Maggie and Nina are a mother and daughter that “live” together. They share a roof, sometimes they share a meal, but every night Nina has Maggie chained up in her room with the door locked. What could drive a daughter to spew such anger towards her mother? You know that there are secrets. You know that those secrets have been the lethal cocktail of hate that they can’t seem to get past. But you don’t know why. Who’s the actual big bad wolf? Is it the daughter that holds her mother captive or the mother that left her daughter with no other choice? •

This book was DYSFUNCTION injected with steroids. It’s set to be published on May 15, 2020 and if you like a rollercoaster filled with moments that you can’t believe what is happening (#%?!) this is 100% your jam. •

Another great psychological thriller from the pen and imagination of John Marrs. Well I hope it's his imagination !

I don't think I have ever read a book with such unlikeable, and dysfunctional main characters, whilst still feeling compelled to keep reading. Though out the book I grew to hate the two main characters equally while learning what has driven them to be living such a nightmare.

It's hard to say more about this book without giving away spoilers, so all I can suggest is to read it yourself and discover the lies and truths.


Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for a free copy in return for an honest review.

I am still in shock over this book. It was an awesome book. I could not put this book down and would stay up late because I just wanted to read one more chapter. Very well written with a shocking ending. At first I did not like the ending but after awhile I understand why it ended the way it did. There was one thing that did not happen in the book that I would had liked to seen happen. Although it did not happen it did not ruin the book for me. This is my second read by John Marrs and I am not disappointed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers or books written by John Marrs.

A dark and richly layered story that was almost impossible to put down (well, sometimes I need to sleep). Just as you think you are getting the story, there is a new relevation. Maggie and Nina are both very strong-willed characters, and although they are both not very likable it was often easy to understand why they did what they did. John Marrs shows an excellent insight in the human mind in this story.
I hope this book will be turned into a movie soon, because I saw Maggie, Nina, the other characters and especially the house clearly in my mind. There would be no need to rewrite the story for that; it is perfect for a scary movie.

Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.

The ending knocked me for six! What a deliciously dark disturbing story filled with lots of twists to keep you in your toes! John Marrs knows how to write a suspenseful story. The ending will definitely leave you thinking holy guacamoly what just happened?!

I’ve been a fan of John Marrs since The One and The Passengers! Can’t wait to read more by him!

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Bloody brilliant. Its currently 2.03 in the morning and i had to finish this book. So much going on with the plots but at the same time the stories interweave perfectly. Nina wants to punish her mother for taking away her chance at motherhood in multiple ways but maggie done it as a way of protecting her family as she doesnt know what else nina could be capable of. Now maggie lives in the attic chained and under complete control of nina. She thinks of escaping all the time and the complicated relationship of the mother and daughter becomes more apparent as the story evolves. The author has an excellent way of producing characters/plot twists at the right time for the suspense given to the reader. Although frustrating for the reader now emotionally involved the ending was right. Final revenge for maggie

What Lies Between Us is a fantastic psychological thriller straight out of a 60 Minutes special. The twists and turns keep coming, with some well-placed foreshadowing and perfect dropping of hints throughout. Told in 2 POV's (Nina and Maggie) you come to learn about the warped relationship between the two, and what happened to arrive at this situation. There a flashbacks that are actually necessary, and give much needed context to each character's mind sets when everything is happening.

There is definitely a Mystery aspect to this novel, but it's not a whodunnit. It's more trying to figure out who did what, and WHY. Each new bit of information sways the blame in one direction and then back. There's no knowing everything that happened until the very end. There were some minor mysteries I figured out, but Mars did a great job of burying the lead with all the major questions.

The characters were also written so well. Maggie adjusting to her imprisonment and accepting her sentence (but not completely) and Nina rationalizing her decision to chain her mother in the attic for 2 years. Neither character is very morally grey. Both have made serious mistakes, and it's so fun to to see the relationship between them change and warp and grow. However, the ending absolutely stunned me. You'll have to read it to find out what happens!

Trigger warning: abuse, neglect, physical violence, domestic abuse, elder abuse