Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - What Lies Between Us

A parent. Overprotective in a behind-the-scenes way. One of their relationships gives their life meaning and they don’t really know who they are without that person.
An adult child of the above-mentioned parent. Also overprotective. One of their relationships gave their life meaning, and they don’t really know who they are without that person.

Atmosphere 👍: Mysterious, menacing, and uneasy. Created through timelines and dual perspectives to gradually unravel why our MCs seem so “off” in their reactions to the dysfunction around them.

Set in the UK in a townhouse and the surrounding neighbourhood

Cred Rating 👍👩‍👧👩‍👦: Plausible with realistic true crime undertones

Realistic to plausible family dysfunction and personality disorders that could be a true crime case, with a touch of OTT flair.
Realistic portrayal of how family dynamics can devolve into dysfunction and the creation of adult monsters because of seemingly innocuous protective reactions.

Growls and Howls 🐺:

The mix of “past” and “present” chapters are titled and served in a way that is engaging and flows well with the reveals and twists. We don’t have to wait a long time for our predictions to be validated (or reshaped!) as we get more information about the past and present.
Prepare to mentally scream at the MCs. I didn't mind, because we get lots of insight into their minds and it was consistent with how they perceive and rationalize.
Repetitiveness on some of the current events in the last half of the book that I think could have been trimmed. The “higher stakes” discussions felt like they were drawn out for too long and I had to hold back from skimming. However, this may have been my own bias because it all involved medical content that was terrifying to me, so I may have been a little too aware of every time that topic came up.
early signs of treatable cancer that are being denied treatment
Very twisty-turny plot. Not from being unfairly “tricked” (no Scooby Doo mysteries here) or excruciatingly suspense-baited (minimal “if only they knew what I had done” writing). I predicted a handful and was stunned by a handful. It didn’t feel OTT or overdone, and even as things escalated the characters stayed true to their perspectives, so it didn’t disconnect me from the story (it drew me in…even when I did NOT want to be there!)

Reading Journey 🫢: Following some recent acquaintances in a car on a day trip and you discover they don’t check their blind spots, meander on the highway, drive way too fast on the side streets, and navigate twisty roads by speeding-braking-barely making ‘em. You are grateful to be safe and sound in your own little car the whole time.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Twisty-turny thriller/suspense plots
Following a parent-child relationship over multiple decades
Exploration of the theory of genetic sexual attraction (not actually this but like, adjacent to or echoes of it), mother-child relationships, nature-vs-nurture, obsession, and family dysfunction
Coming-of-age elements (the dark side!)
Fight-for-your-life survival plot with a side of Stockholm syndrome

Vibes: 🤯🫢😵

Content Heads-Up: Confinement. Familial obsession. Hints of pedophilia, adult/minor relationships, and dissociative disorders.

Format: Kindle Unlimited

Content Warnings

emeraldsanto's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well, I don't think I've ever read a story with more twists and turns than this one.

I'm usually a fan of the confined space genre (shoutout to "Never Lie" by Freida McFadden) which mixes very well with mysteries/thrillers, but this one definitely takes it a step further than most.

There's just so many layers to this plot, each one unravelling itself before you in a precisely timed manner, leaving you absolutely no time to get bored.

Marrs manages to explore the many different storylines without losing the reader in the details. This mission is especially well supported by the author's writing style, which I found to be more straight to the point than others.

Content Warnings

aspyfinny's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

hollyxbeth's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I found the book started off a bit confusing to read and understand the storyline with the constant changes between Nina and Maggie narrating chapters while the also changes in time periods, but once I got into it I was hooked and didn’t want to put the book down because I just wanted to know what happened with these characters.

There were twists and turns round every corner, and John Marrs didn’t disappoint with a great thriller.

Content Warnings

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