WHAT LIES BETWEEN US (Thomas and Mercer 2020) by John Marrs is an extraordinary, chilling, suspenseful and constantly surprising psychological thriller that almost defies description because of the sheer number of twists and turns in the plot. Almost nothing of the narrative can be revealed because there is a twist early on, and then another, and another, and they keep coming thick and fast, and to say much at all about the plot would be to give away secrets that are revealed all the way through the novel.
I can say that this is a story about two women, Maggie and Nina, who live in a house full of secrets. I can reveal that every second night, the two women have dinner together. And I can say that every night, one of these women chains the other up and confines her to the attic. Creepy, right?
From the opening pages, we think we know who is villain, who is victim. But as the narrative progresses, every chapter reveals something new about each of these women, something they did, or did not do, in their past, that casts them in a new light. Our sympathies swing from one to the other like a pendulum. Just when we believe we know the history of this house and its secrets, some other terrible atrocity is revealed, and our empathies shift again and again from Maggie to Nina, from Nina to Maggie, and back again. Both women have done unforgiveable things. And yet both have also carried unimaginable burdens. Neither can ever leave this house.
Marrs writes pacy dialogue and evokes the atmospheric and haunting environment of a locked room scenario. Time swings from the present to 25 years ago, to two years ago, when the most dramatic of actions occurred. In this way, he brings us up to speed on the lives of these women and how they have come to be in the situation in which they find themselves. They are bonded, connected and loyal, yet also broken, torn and desperate to be free. A remarkably great thriller that surprises at every turn. Just when you think you know everything, you realise you had no idea of historical events.