What Lies Between Us - John Marrs

Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she did. And she can never let her leave.

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.

 

What did I think?

My name's Michelle and I'm a John Marrs addict.  WOW!  What Lies Between Us is another absolute belter from the dark and twisted mind of John Marrs.  I'm gradually making my way through all of John Marrs' novels and What Lies Between Us is classic Marrs with a tense, addictive storyline that blows the reader's mind.

Maggie and Nina have a very unconventional mother/daughter relationship and I didn't know whose side to be on: the one who has been lied to and irrevocably damaged or the one who was incarcerated in the attic.  With two incredibly unreliable narrators the reader is in for a real treat in this impossible to predict, unputdownable novel.

I simply couldn't read it fast enough and it's not only a fantastic fast-paced rollercoaster ride, it's like visiting a whole fairground with a perplexing house of mirrors, a chilling ghost train and a twisty helter skelter.  As fast as I was reading it, What Lies Between Us is also a ride I didn't want to get off.  I absolutely LOVED IT!

Shocking, twisty and deliciously dark, What Lies Between Us is an unmissable book for fans of dark, domestic noir.  An easy five stars - I really can't recommend it highly enough.

I received a paperback for the Tandem Collective Readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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The Temp - Kelly Florentia

 

What if your dream job became your worst nightmare?

Bella seems to have it all – a beautiful home, a brilliant career, a loving husband and teenage daughter, and supportive family and friends. The only thing missing is her body confidence.

So, when her PA goes on maternity leave, she decides against hiring a temporary assistant and employs a personal trainer instead. Why squander hard-earned cash on a temp when she could put the money to better use? Surely, she deserved some happiness after years of being a mum, wife, and housekeeper.

But little did she know Frank would want more than tightening her glutes and toning her biceps. Angry and frustrated for making the wrong choice, Bella sacks Frank and hires a temp, Daisy.

Daisy has settled in nicely. She thinks she’s landed a great job. But if Bella thinks she can happily move on, as if Frank never existed, she may have to think again…

What did I think?

Oh what a tangled web you weave, Ms Florentia!  The Temp had my brain twisting and turning so much it's a wonder I wasn't dizzy!

Bella appears to have the perfect marriage but it's a slippery slope when you start hiding things from your other half.  Tom is a bit of a scrooge when it comes to the family finances so Bella has to hide the fact that she has hired a personal trainer at the gym.  Bella wishes she hadn't hired Frank when he won't take no for an answer and she can't get rid of him.

As if Frank appearing everywhere Bella turns isn't enough to drive her mad, she now has to hire a temp to cover her assistant's maternity leave.  It just so happens that the perfect candidate turns up without Bella having to advertise the position.  Uh-oh the alarm bells were positively deafening in my head when Daisy turns up out of the blue.

The plot twists and turns as the reader tries to work out what's going on with both Frank and Daisy but I would have never worked it out in a million years.  Reading books such as this is the one occasion when I'm more than happy to be wrong!

Compulsive, twisty and incredibly gripping, The Temp is a fantastic thriller that entertained, shocked and surprised me.  I absolutely loved it and would definitely recommend giving it a read.

I chose to read a digital ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: The Stranger Beside Me - Caroline England

When no one is what they seem, who can you trust?

Katy Henry is lost and lonely. A single mother, plagued by fatigue and anxiety, she rarely has time for friends. But when she encounters Sibeal Matthews, all this changes. Sibeal is everything that Katy is not: assured, headstrong and charming.

Katy soon finds herself pulled out of her isolation into a fierce friendship. But Sibeal is not all that she seems. Tragedy haunts her, and for all her feistiness, she is startlingly dependent on her brother, Gabriel. And when her life begins to spectacularly unravel, Katy is swept up in the storm.

As Katy fights to protect herself and her son, it's not just Sibeal who threatens to endanger them - Katy's own past starts to rupture. Who can Katy trust? Can she even trust herself?

 

What did I think?

I have been a fan of Caroline England's books for a while now but she has totally knocked it out of the park with her new novel, The Stranger Beside Me - it is FANTASTIC!!  I was completely drawn into the web that Caroline's sublime writing created and I was totally blindsided by the stunning plot.

The characters are beautifully drawn and I loved Katy and her inquisitive son Milo.  There is a vulnerability about Katy and I was worried that she was heading into dangerous waters when she befriends Sibeal Matthews at her father's funeral.  Sibeal has an air of danger about her and it just feels like something is off with Sibeal and her brother Gabriel.

Caroline England has plotted this novel to perfection and it's a bit like a boxing match with punches and feints coming at you from all directions, until you're on the ropes and your opponent moves in for the killer blow.  BAM!  It's most definitely a knockout novel and I didn't see any of it coming.

The Stranger Beside Me is dark, tense, a little creepy and completely awesome; it's one of the easiest five star ratings I have ever given.  Very highly recommended and completely unmissable.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: Homecoming - Isabel Ashdown

Welcome to The Starlings... sun, sea and neighbours to die for.

Security, a sparkling sea view and the best kind of neighbours - The Starlings gated community has it all. Here, doors are left open, children run free, and at the heart of it all is the entrepreneurial Gold Family, who first dreamed up this aspirational vision of 'Dorset's Safest Community'. To the outside world the popular family appears glitteringly blessed... until an idyllic party takes a dark turn and one of their number is found slumped at the foot of the clocktower. Who knows what really happened? And what answers are harboured within the old building, the former Highcap Mother and Baby Home?'

A mesmerising, character-rich thriller with a long-buried secret vibrating at its core: this is Isabel Ashdown at her heart-stopping best, for readers who enjoyed Big Little Lies, Dr Foster or Little Fires Everywhere.

 

What did I think?

Isabel Ashdown is an author whose books I always enjoy and her latest novel, Homecoming, is no exception.  The format of the book creates unbelievable suspense with a short, disturbing present day prologue before the story takes the reader back to one year ago.  

The Gold Family are very well named; they seem to have the Midas touch.  Katrin, her husband Bill and brother-in-law Hugo are property developers who have renovated an old workhouse that later became a mother and baby home.  The Starlings is named after the birds that nest in the clocktower, but its previous incarnation as Highcap House still has secrets held within its walls...and it looks like someone will kill to keep them buried.

I'm not going to mention any more about the story as it could spoil it for other readers.  Needless to say, with so many secrets I was suspicious of all the characters and thought I had guessed all of the secrets but I was completely wrong.  I love being wrong about a book as it means it has been written so skilfully that it misdirects me completely, which is exactly what Isabel Ashdown does so very cleverly in Homecoming.

Hauntingly atmospheric, Homecoming has a simultaneously idyllic and sinister setting as past and present events collide and secrets that span decades are about to be revealed.  I read Homecoming with a constant feeling of unease and I loved every minute of it. 

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: The Perfect Neighborhood - Liz Alterman

 

Think you know your neighbors? Think again.

When actress Allison Langley leaves her former rockstar husband in the middle of the night, her sudden departure becomes the talk of upmarket Oak Hill. But the relentless gossip comes to an abrupt halt when five-year-old Billy Barnes disappears on his walk home from kindergarten. Is there a predator lurking in the leafy suburb? Weeks later, three-year-old Amy-Pat Davies vanishes from her backyard. In addition to sharing a zip code, the missing children have another thing in common – their babysitter, Cassidy McLean, who has a secret of her own.

What did I think?

I really enjoyed my visit to the fictional town of Oak Hill in The Perfect Neighborhood.  I love books filled with secrets and I couldn't read it fast enough to discover what the residents of Oak Hill are hiding.

There is a lot of speculation about actress Allison Langley as she is very private so none of her neighbours know her that well.  When she disappears from her perfect marriage in the perfect neighbourhood, the question on everyone's lips is 'where has she gone and why did she leave?'  Then a small child disappears...

The disappearance of five year old Billy is completely heartbreaking to read, especially seeing the devastating effect on his incredibly dysfunctional family.  Billy's mother is inconsolable but there's clearly something amiss in her marriage as her husband and stepson react completely differently.  I think I had pretty much everyone marked down as a suspect in Billy's disappearance over the course of the book.

When another child vanishes, the spotlight is turned on to the babysitter.  Cassidy was looking after both children when they disappeared and she's hiding something too.  I felt really sorry for Cassidy as she becomes an easy target for bullies at school and she wasn't completely to blame for the circumstances of each child's disappearance.  Yes, she did things wrong otherwise the children wouldn't have vanished, but other factors and people were to blame too.

This isn't just a peep through the curtains of your neighbours, it's a full on nose pressed against the glass glance into their lives.  All their thoughts and feelings are laid bare and my feelings towards certain characters changed as more of their story was uncovered.  It's very well written and I could totally imagine watching it on TV as either a mini-series or film.

Incredibly intriguing and completely compelling, The Perfect Neighborhood is filled with so many secrets that I couldn't put it down until every single one had been revealed.  A recommended read.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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