Book Review: "What Lies Between Us" by John Marrs

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As you probably know, I've read plenty of books by John Marrs and that is not changing any time soon. Kindle Unlimited is a god-send when it comes to paperback thriller and yet, I am going to definitely make Amazon regret the unlimited idea that comes with that. I've read books like Keep it in the Family, which was a crazy psycho-drama that keeps twisting and turning. But the best book was still the first one I read by him entitled The Good Samaritan. If you want a thriller that is different and mind-blowing then I would definitely recommend that one. You will not be disappointed. Oh, and I was not disappointed by this one. What Lies Between Us is one of those books that keeps you swapping sides until you don't know who to believe anymore...

This book deals with a woman called Nina who works and lives her life, she also wishes she had a child - but we're about to learn some crazy stuff about Nina because she has someone chained up in the attic. The woman in the attic is called Maggie, and Maggie is Nina's mother. Some time ago, Nina told everyone that her mother had quit her job because of suffering from a horrible disease but then again, nobody has seen her. Nina blames this on the fact that someone else looks after her mother. But people state that they've never seen Nina go to visit her. It's all looking a little off. John Marrs initially puts us firmly on Maggie's side, believing she is being held for wronging her daughter in some arbitrary way and that Nina's lies and violence means she is overreacting. But then again, John Marrs takes us into the past, behind the curtain, having a look at what happened back there.

Once upon a time, Nina was a teenager and her father leaves the family, Nina blames her mother for driving him away. Sporadic memories looking at the way in which Nina would help her father bake cakes and bread are special. But, the teenager turns rebellious later on and ends up getting pregnant too young. Her mother crushes up drugs and puts them in her food, convincing her that she's had a miscarriage and won't ever be able to have a healthy baby. This leads Nina to believe that any baby she has will be deformed. But she continues rebelling, now having lost one of her children and her father. She starts a relationship with a rockstar. She's 14 and he's 22. Her mother at first, believes she's going to her friend's house for the night when in fact, she's spending time with the rockstar. John Marrs weaves an even more terrifying story when not only does Nina get pregnant again, but so is another girl claiming to be the rockstar's girlfriend too. It's terrifying because Maggie is about to do something she will regret, but when Nina goes into labour she knows she might be too late.

And then Maggie has the baby in her hands.

And now the reader is scared beyond belief.

John Marrs leads us not only down a winding rabbit hole which sends the rockstar to jail but now there's something in the basement. There's something on fire, there's pins stuck in the locks of chains around someone's ankles and, someone has been killed. As we visit Nina's want to become a mother over the course of a long, long time, we also get an insight into her psyche. The narrative trips between Maggie and Nina, the past and the present, the good and the terrifying. Oh, and did I mention that there's a child being abused across the street? This is one of those books where you have to dig deeper to get out - it is like a thrilling roller coaster of a ride, it isn't over until it's over. And when it's over, even the reader will be sorry it happened at all.

One question you will keep asking is why you can't see the whole picture. You won't guess exactly what's happening but it is a brilliant winding web of lies. John Marrs has written something very special here and dare I say it, it is just as great as The Good Samaritan...

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