Review: WHAT LIES BETWEEN US, John Marrs

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 2528 KB
• Print Length: 371 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1542017025
• Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (May 15, 2020)
• Publication Date: May 15, 2020
• Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07XDVHDH4

Synopsis (Amazon)

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.

My Take

This was a well deserved Amazon Best Book of the Month: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense.
There is plenty of mystery and hints at some dreadful events.

Maggie is the mother. She has access to the top room in the house and the bathroom and dining room below. Nina has rooms on the first floor, the kitchen and the basement.  It is the house that Nina has lived in all her life and she remembers fondly when her father was with them, before he left.

The construction is clever: chapters separately narrated by Maggie and Nina, at the present time and about 25 years ago. The first puzzle though is who is the narrator in the prologue? I have just read it again, and I think I know.

When Nina was at school Maggie worked at a local clinic as a midwifery nurse. Now she is retired and Nina works at the local library. Maggie is invisible to the world. No-one knows that she lives in the house because Nina has told them she has dementia and is living with her sister in the country.

Like the other books I have read by this author, a very good and highly recommended read.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read
4.6, THE ONE
4.8, THE PASSENGERS

Review: THE PASSENGERS, John Marrs

• this edition published by Penguin UK 2019
• ISBN 978-1-78-503888-4
• 406 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (publisher)

Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies? You decide.

When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.

The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?

My take

PROLOGUE
UK NEWS
House of Lords votes unanimously in favour of driverless vehicles on British roads within five years. Ban on non-autonomous vehicles within a decade.

Driverless buses introduced in Australia 2019

 

Within minutes of beginning their journeys in autonomous driverless vehicles, 8 Passengers notice that the coordinates of their destination have been changed, and a voice tells them that in 2 hours and 30 minutes they will very likely be dead.

Libby Dixon is not in car however. She is beginning the second day of jury duty with a panel that looks at vehicle accidents in which driverless vehicles have been involved. The previous day had made her very angry. The rest of the panel were permanent employees who all knew each other and were all dismissive of any contribution to discussion that Libby tried to make.

The panel uses video footage of accidents to make their decisions. Shortly after they begin on the second day, their video screens are taken over, and begin to show the 8 driverless cars on their way to the undisclosed destination, and a voice, the Hacker, tells they will need to decide who will live.

Video thumbnails from each of the vehicles are displayed on the screens and the Passengers are introduced.

An engrossing read.  Related to the role of Artificial Intelligence in our technologies. But also related to reality TV and the technologies like Twitter and Instagram that we use to assess public opinion.

There were several reference to the underlying theme of Marrs' earlier novel 4.6, THE ONE (that was the one about matching DNA) but that doesn't spoil the possibility of reading THE PASSENGERS as a stand-alone

My rating: 4.8

I've also read
4.6, THE ONE 

Review: THE ONE, John Marrs

• this edition published by Del Rey 2016
• ISBN 978-1-79-503605-7
• 405 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (author website)

One simple mouth swab is all it takes. A quick DNA test to find your perfect partner – the one you’re genetically made for.

A decade after scientists discover everyone has a gene they share with just one other person, millions have taken the test, desperate to find true love. Now, five more people meet their Match. But even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking – and deadlier – than others...

My Take

Match your DNA purports to be the world's first scientifically proven test 100%  guaranteed to match a person with the one and only person you're genetically designed to fall in love with.
The DNA test is free and, once a match is found, then for a simple one-off fee applicants get information that allows them to contact their Match. There are no guarantees about the character of even gender of the Match. Contact is usually by email, but some couples take the plunge and use the phone to set up a date.

This story follows 5 couples who are sent details of their Match. Details can be confirmed from FaceBook pages and in each scenario one of the people contacts their Match.

In some cases the person has family members who has already participated in the DNA testing and has discovered, even married, their Match. They see the scheme as a way of cutting short the tedium of dating and looking for the One, the person of their dreams. But what if the person has lied about themselves, or there is some other reason why the Match will not work?

An intriguing and engrossing read.

My rating: 4.6


About the author
John Marrs is a freelance journalist based in London, England, who has spent the last 20 years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines.
THE ONE is his third title.