What Lies Between Us by John Marrs #BookReview @johnmarrs1 @AmazonPub

They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.

Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price.

But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way—even if it kills her.

Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.

I bumped this one up my readlist the minute I got my hands on the ecopy. Honestly, I didn’t know what this novel was about anymore when I started reading it, I trust this author enough not to care, and I can only recommend doing so because I was in for a surprise real soon this way. The only thing you need to know is that Maggie and Nina live in the same house and that Maggie never leaves the house, so the only hobby she has is spying on the neighbours and reading the books Nina brings her. Don’t be mistaken though, there is a constant battle going on between them and Maggie thinks twice about every word she says to Nina. This resentment also created a tug of war in my feelings for both of them. In what they say and do they both seemed very reasonable women at the start. That really wasn’t the right conclusion to make though.

I strongly felt for Maggie in the beginning, only to feel some understanding for Nina after a while too because of all she went through in her reckless teenage years, until that was overshadowed again with pity and sympathy for Maggie… They both made mistakes in the past, because Nina was young, because Maggie loved her daughter and wanted to do what she thought was best. It is debatable if that was the right thing to do but all I do know is that it backfired in the most horrible way. She is treated horribly by her daughter and there’s literally little she can do about it. She could tell her the truth but even in her most ugly predicament Maggie still doesn’t grab this opportunity. Maybe that is something I didn’t agree upon but I can’t argue the deep love for her daughter.

Nobody lives happily ever after at the end of What Lies Between Us and it won’t come as a surprise either when you read the novel that it does not have this all American ending but in its own way the author wrote a rewarding closure to this sad and tragic story.

I held my breath quite a few times while I read this novel, fearing the worst and hoping for the best. The action and reaction between mother and daughter was relentless and I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that a third person was getting closer to them without knowing what was going on in that house. What Lies Between Us is a very dark and gripping story that will leave nobody unfazed. The novel was built on plenty of deceit, secrets, love and revenge, abuse, loss and obsession. All the best ingredients for an amazing page turner and that is exactly what this is!

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley. This is still my honest opinion.

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