Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nina keeps her mother, Maggie, locked up with a chain in the upper floor of their house. Nina has uncovered some things that Maggie did in the past that she feels are unforgivable and this is Maggie's punishment. Maggie has reasons for what she did in the past but she can't share those reasons with Nina.

I usually hate hostage books because I find them boring and the reasons for keeping the person hostage don't end up being that compelling. But I requested this one because the reviews on goodreads were so extremely positive. Well this book was a complete 180 from those boring hostage books. This was fantastic. I could not put it down. New info was being turned up around every corner and I went back and forth between who was really to blame for the mess that was these two women's lives. This was my first read from this author and it clearly won't be my last. This was so warped and nuts, and soooo good!

How moley! What a marvellously twisted and convoluted mind John Marrs has. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the moment I began reading. It's not for me now to spoil the reading pleasure for other but let's just say Baby Jane springs to mind. Talk about a dysfunctional family with co-dependency issue...and you're only then scratching the surface of this thriller. Yes, I will confess it stretched credulity at times and you will have to suspend disbelief while you read it. But that's why it's such a cracking good story. Highly recommended. John Marrs, you've done it again! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC - what a wild ride!

Fantastic read - another in long line from John Marrs. A daughter keeps her mother chained up in her attic but why? My sympathies constantly switched between them. Interesting questions on a mother’s love.

Some very bad decisions were made in a misguided effort to protect - probably summed up in this quote early on: “I thought that having a baby meant that I would always bei loved by someone until the day I died. I was wrong. Being a mother is no guarantee of anything”

Well John Marrs you are a little twisted aren't you :)
I have been a fan of this author for a long while now and this book doesn't disappoint.
It tells the story of Nina and Maggie - a mother and daughter living together in Maggies house - though things aren't quite as lovely as they seem - Maggie is locked upstairs in a room with chains at the bed - she is given food by her daughter and only has access to the bar minimiums in her room.
Why is Nina punishing her mother like this - what has actually happened to make her dislike her mother so much. This is a crazy twisted story - youll love it!

Looking for a dark thriller that will keep you turning the pages long past your bedtime? This is it. It’s a super dark story about a very disturbing and convoluted mother and daughter relationship. The chapters go back and forth in time and the narrator shifts between Maggie (the mom) and Nina (the daughter). You get little details in every chapter which flesh out how they got to where they are. Maggie chained to the floor in the attic. Yep, that’s right. Daughter keeps mom locked in her attic bedroom on a chain that doesn’t even reach the door. The best thing about this book is as it reveals details about their life together, you don’t know who the truly evil person is until the end, but don’t worry, you definitely find out.

This book is disturbing and a little icky in parts, but if you love dark and gritty thrillers, you will love it. I have another “mother/daughter” thriller on my shelf but I’m gonna have to wait on that one, because, ew, I just can’t. Gonna go read something happy now.

This was an incredible read! SO TWISTY AND DARK!!!!

The characters were complicated, complex and creepy!

The story is told in alternating perspectives, Maggie and her daughter, Nina, both in present time and in the past, I was hooked on this book from the first page until the last.

An incredibly twisty, dark, terror filled raed .

To say that What Lies Between Us is explosive would be an understatement. John Marrs took what I would consider a domestic thriller and turned it on its head. This book was incredibly dark and left you questioning everything you were told at the beginning of the novel.

I loved how Marrs slowly introduced the reader to the disturbing world of Maggie and Nina. What Lies Between Us starts out seemingly normal. However, pretty early on Marrs shows us just how not right this entire situation is.

What I loved about this novel the most were the characters. Both Maggie and Nina have done terrible things in their past. Neither one is better than the other which begs the question – do any of us have the right to punish someone else for perceived transgressions when you yourself are not an innocent party either?

Not everyone loves the unreliable narrator aspect in novels. That is one of my favorite aspects of a book and John Marrs gave me two of them. The book flips back and forth between past and present, in both Maggie and Nina’s perspective, so we could find out what exactly lead to the current events.

Maggie was constantly at odds with Nina. She struggled between wanting to continue loving and protecting her daughter and trying to save her own life. While we discover what Maggie’s past is, one thing is made evidently clear- she loves Nina. No matter what. This internal tug of war made this story more believable. Which was much needed as some of the plot points seemed a bit too unbelievable.

Nina on the other hand believes there is no love lost between her and her mother. She’s the type of women who bad things happen too not the cause of the bad things in her life. For her entire adult life she’s spent her time focusing on the past. How different her life may be if something had or hadn’t happened to her. All she craves a stable family and a comfortable life. But Maggie has seemingly got in her way of that.

If you are looking for a book that will keep you turning the pages well after your bedtime, What Lies Between Us is the book for you. This book starts out with a fast pace and keeps it up until the very end. John Marrs is a master at revealing new truths behind events we had already assumed the outcome of. This type of revealing reminded me a lot of Sandie Jones’ books. The best part was that it didn’t seem messy or choppy. It was all beautifully crafted to make a tragic story even more tragic.

There was only one event in which I wish Marrs explored more. He does lay out clues that can point a reader into the direction as to what really happened which I appreciated. But I just wanted a little more and I can’t say too much without spoiling things.

I wished the ending of this book had turned out differently. But the way John Marrs ended this novel is really the only way it could have ended to keep in line with the trajectory the characters were already on.

About: Nina has locked up her mother, Maggie in the attic because she has done something that is unquestionably evil. Maggie is up in the attic tied in chains. This is a story about a messed up family and the lies they tell each other.

Characters: This was a dual POV book and we get the thoughts of Nina and Maggie as well. The story goes into the past and tells about the present timeline simultaneously which helps with the character development of both mother and daughter.

My thoughts: This was a crazy read full of twists and turns. I wasn't able to figure out who to make the antagonist through the book because of the extreme plot twists! This was my first John Marrs read and I would definitely check out the author's other books too.

Recommendation: If you love a good page-turner, crazy psychological thriller then this is definitely the book for you.

Amazingly wicked. The plot had evil twists and turns that kept me turning pages. This book would make a great movie!

I’m a fan of John Mars but I really struggled with this one. I didn’t care for the characters and found it to move slowly. The book was well-written and had its share of plot twists, but as much as I tried I just couldn’t get into it. I’m still a Mars fan, just not a fan of this book. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was utterly amazing. The twists and turns kept coming. And that epilogue made me go what the heck?!??!?! Highly recommend for anyone who likes psychological thrillers!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

OMG! What a fantastic yet creepily disturbing read this is! I could not put it down! The book twisted about half way through and then again twice after this and each twist was believable and crazy at the same time. This is an amazingly constructed spine tingling read that will have you gripped way after you should have turned off the lights!

Twisted tale of a mother and a daughter which takes the definition of a dysfunctional family to another level.

To be true though, I did spot some of the plot twists miles ahead and dysfunctional family dramas are normally not my cup of tea. So I was in two minds whether I should rate it 3. That doesn't take away from the fact that John Marrs is a master story teller and managed to keep me engrossed till the very end, despite this not being not one of my usual genres.

Maggie is Nina’s mom. They still live together, even as Nina’s an adult, but the two of them hate each other. Sounds like a typical toxic mother-daughter relationship, but it’s far from it.

Nina is holding Maggie captive in their attic, shackled to her prison. Nina holds her mom responsible for the sins of her past, but Maggie has always had her daughter’s best interest at heart.

We follow Nina and Maggie (past and present) and see how one or both of them are seriously twisted.

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs is an addicting thriller that I couldn’t put down. I didn’t want to go too much into the plot, as I think this is best gone into blind. I’ve read two other books by this author—both sci-fi thrillers—but this was a domestic and psychological thriller hybrid. If you want to read something wild, definitely pick this one up! 5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, John Marrs and Amazon Publishing UK for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW what a great read! I''m loved every minute of the two point of view book. Nina's character was well developed and thought through and Maggie's character was just as thought thru. I had no idea 3/4 of the book through what was going to happen next! It was a great ride! Both characters are unlikable but the story meddled into a great dark thriller. Loved it.

Thank you to netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for my review copy.

This book takes us through the stories that bind Maggie and her daughter, Nina, together. Alternating between points of view, and jumping throughout the timeline, we slowly build a picture of how each character feels, and what’s happened.
I have to admit, this is not a pacey read (or maybe I’m just struggling because I’m on lockdown with an insane amount of children, and don’t have time for coherent thought), but that doesn’t detract from it all. Instead, it was a fascinating read, that built up gradually over time, and allowed you to fill in the blanks and marvel at precisely how sinister the whole thing was.

This is a family that definitely puts the fun in dysfunctional!

The main characters are so well written, and the associated issues well researched, I didn’t find any of the storyline too far-fetched. Whilst this is the first book I’ve read by Marrs, it most definitely will not be my last!

The Stars: A very rare, and brilliantly earnt 5 stars! I have nothing to fault.

WOA WOA WOA. WHAT THE FREAKING SH*T DID I JUST READ!!! I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO START THIS BOOK REVIEW BECAUSE IT JUST ROTATED MY SENSES AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO FEEL ANYMORE!!!

First of all I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for approving me with this book. I will forever be grateful that I am introduce to this wonderful author that has a great way in messing me up so bad. (Of course in a good way.)

This is the first book that I have read from John Marrs and I am so obsess! Why the hell did it took me too long to find him? Like whyyyyyyyy?????

First, let’s talk about the synchronization of the POV’s and the two POV’s that I am so grateful for! It’s such a great effort but thank the heaven’s for the villains POV. This book reminds me a lot of VERITY. It was the first book that introduced me into a villain’s POV but I am not even sure about VERITY since it messed me up also. However, this book has two POV of people whom the reader will think as villains. I am just so messed up with this. It’s just the way these POV’S make the readers dive intimately inside a person’s mind is the best thing for me than any third POV can even express. It’s just a different feeling when it’s a first POV, not to mention two. My gosh what a great treat!

Then let’s talk about the twists. I am never going to spill any spoilers in my reviews. But… THE TWISTS OMG! They said the best writers are the ones who gives a shock to a reader. Well hey I’m here! I have anticipated a lot of things as to what happened and the truth always turns out to be a thunderbolt. A literal one that will disperse your whole being into the things that really happened. I am literally struck! These truths are more horrifying than I can ever explain and it always scatter my emotions! I don’t even know what emotion to feel on the truths revealed while reading. Though each truth have some relation but the emotions will always be different on so many levels.

The setting is not a unique one since there are many movies about things like this. Still, I can’t imagine about this situation. It’s just so horrible locked up in a room with little access to freedom or even none!

Maggie. Maggie. Maggie. I can’t express how utterly shock I am with the truths. I have a lot of why’s more than anything else. I think I will never understand the things you do. How can you be like that? Why did you choose to be like that? I am so heartbroken, full of pity and sadness. I can never freely express what I feel about you since I don’t want to spoil anything with the people reading my review. (Only if there are people who read them.) Nevertheless, you broke my heart Maggie, more than anything else. You know the truth, but why? Love will always have depths in them that I can never understand.

Nina! NINAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! I am sincerely mad of you. I need a book two of this because of the ending. I am totally more shock of you more than Maggie. If Maggie broke my heart, you ruined me! I can never understand you even though I have been into your head. How can these things even happen? How can you define love that way? How come you still haven’t figured it out? Why can’t you try harder in figuring it? Why does being stuck there gives you satisfaction that this is what life is suppose to be? That it’s what love is suppose to be? You were a teenager then, you despise Maggie but why to that extent? I will never understand it. NEVER. It left me a lot of question marks about the cruelty, compassion, numbness, care & love you’ve shown. I’m speechless and I give up understanding.

This book has given me a roller coaster ride. It’s confusing, surprising, shocking, nerve wracking, hurting, heartbreaking, just everything! I’ve seen love, care, pain, solitude, desire, sacrifice, & death! Like literally! The ending tightens my chest. I am left speechless. How can the ending be like this. I am left unsatisfied. Though I think it is a proper ending for a tumultuous story like this. No further explanation, just that.

John Marrs has a great way in playing with your emotions and anticipations. I have no idea a book can even do that to me! This book gives a humungous impact. The heaviness of the emotion especially at the end will always remain in me. I think I will always be reminded of this story and how it stirs all of the emotions I never imagine would occur all at the same time. It’s just great. Standing ovation.

Thank you @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for this ARC.
PUB day: May 15 2020 🎉
Wow this book by @johnmarrs.author is amazing!! ❤️❤️ It’s a fast paced book with chapters alternating between the mom and daughter in the past and present. They have a messed up and dysfunctional relationship. It’s a disturbing and dark read but at the same it kept me intrigued on what is going to happen next. I couldn’t put this one down and I am in shock on how it ended. I have seen so many good reviews on this one and it definitely deserves 5 stars. If you like a good thriller with many twists and turns. This one is for you! I’m looking forward to read more from this author soon. This is definitely a five star read for me.

I might be a little bias when it comes to the books and writing of John Marrs. He is one of my favorite authors when it comes to thrills and suspense. Andddd he has done it again with What Lies Between Us. I mean the first page is so engaging like, 'GASP, what did I just read'!! The story is really who is right and who is wrong during any particular circumstance of what life throws your way. You can see each side (at times) of the way the mother helps the daughter and what will be good for her future. But things are never what they seem, right? I highly recommend this book! 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author John Marrs for an advanced copy for a honest review.

Wow, John Marrs has once again delivered a knockout book. He has a way of writing makes you second guess yourself constantly. I'd say that it's more of a thriller than a mystery, featuring more tension than twists, but goodness me was it addictive!