A review by connorjdaley
What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

I read this one as May’s pick for book club. I started this one on a high, working through it fast, but then I petered out taking almost the entirety of the month to complete. 

The novel features Nina, the daughter, and Maggie, the mother. The two live together, and hate each other, in perfect disharmony. The novel is always a back of forth of who is and is not telling the truth, who has the most trauma, and who is only doing what’s right. They are both withholding incredible secrets, and the novel ends every chapter with a cliffhanger of a reveal. 

At first, that was what dragged me in so hard, but I feel like over time, it honestly kind of felt like someone throwing every single idea they had ever thought of into a single novel. Every twist, betrayal, misdirect, red herring, and deception ever created under gods eye is used in this one. It just started to trip me up. I also feel as if some serious condensing might actually have amped up the pressure and pacing an incredible amount. The ending is stressful and seriously packed, but it does feel tacked onto what is probably 150 pages too long. 

I’m not sure how else to feel, because neither main character is right or “good” by any means. Nor is there any kind of winner, truly. 

Personally a 3/5*. 
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