What Lies Between Us
by John Marrs
Blurb:
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 Reaction:
This started off well enough, but by the end I was disappointed and just glad to be done with the sorry thing.
The premise is intriguing, and I was curious to see how it would all play out. I quickly developed some theories, and sure enough, they were correct. Ordinarily, that would leave me uncertain of whether to be proud that I'd been so perceptive or annoyed that it was too predictable (a sentiment amusingly shared by one of the characters as she ponders her own penchant for reading mystery-thrillers), however, after my "twist" predictions all came true (and yes, it was a bit annoying that they were presented as twists, when they were so obvious), there were a few more twists and turns waiting in the wings.
So, was that a positive or a negative? I just don't know! On one level, yes, it was unexpected. On another, some of it was unexpected because it was either straight out of Cuckoo Town, relying heavily on characters behaving stupidly. After a while you find yourself mumbling to the book, "Oh, come on!" Eye-rolling and sighing may occur. And in the end, you just kind of shrug. Okay, book, if you say so. Whatever, I guess.
Another reviewer described this book as simultaneously predictable and unrealistic, and that encapsulates my feelings completely. I found the reading of this book morphed from an interesting experience into one of frustration. And worse yet, one of the plot points I didn't see coming until it smacked me in the face is among my least-favorite things to read or think about. (It's health-related, and I'll leave it at that, to avoid a direct spoiler.) I just can't bear reading books about this topic. Because it cropped up so late in the book, I didn't want to just drop the book entirely, so I skimmed around those parts, to the best of my abilities, but it certainly didn't improve my enjoyment of the reading experience!
Ultimately, it wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a good choice for me. I found it very lacking in any sort of satisfying conclusion. Maybe that was meant to be "the point", but... Blah to that!
