Just Between Us

I guess you should probably get to know your friends better...

This was a wholly entertaining read, if you can suspend your disbelief just a tad and get into it. I'm not quite sure that a group of friends would get themselves in THIS much hot water for one other friend, but maybe I'm just missing friends like this.
BUT the friendships in this book - let's be HONEST - are built on lies and a lot of superficiality, and that's the point. In a tiny town where appearances matter, four friends start to have concern that one of them is being physically abused. Their natural tendency to gossip and gather around the friend with all the drama going on, ends up leading this little foursome into a very tense and complicated tangle of lies and deceit show more on behalf of their battered friend, and in the end, they're left wondering if it was worth it. And to a very unexpected ending.
Domestic and physical abuse isn't a subject to be trifled with, and in this novel in particular, the plot actually may make some readers who are extremely sensitive to how the topic is used in writing, a little unnerved and upset, so I just want to point that out. Other subjects that may be difficult to come across in this novel are sexual abuse and miscarriage, but these are not addressed in detail and are not the focus of the book.
The author Rebecca Drake cleverly uses the different characters' voices and perspectives for the chapters, alternating the viewpoints of the narrative for the reader. And then just when you think these girls are going to be able to roll out one more 'great idea', something else goes disastrously badly. One quote in the book is quite perfect, and they should have kept it in mind, 'But life so rarely goes according to plan.' You've got that right.
Overall, solid, nerve-wracking thriller!

*I was able to read an early digital copy of this, thanks to NetGalley. Thank you! show less

Four friends, with nice families, or so it seems. Heather apparently is being abused and it sends all these friends into high alert, as it should. They are constantly on the look out for new bruises and new ways to help her get out of this abusive relationship. But, how far will they go to protect Heather?

The story starts off pretty well. I was reeled in nicely. I liked all the characters in the beginning, then there is a phone call. This is when I began a split between me and the characters. These ladies are smart but they proceed to do something so stupid and out of character. It was almost a deal breaker between me and the book.

However, I am glad I finished the novel. I did have most of it figured out, that is, until the very end. show more Did not see part of it coming. I do enjoy being surprised and the author surprised me pretty good with the final twist.

Like I said earlier, these characters frustrated the devil out of me. This did taint the book for me at the first. (I rolled my eyes plenty). But, this a quick read with plenty of action and lots of emotion. And if you can’t trust your friends, who can you trust?

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review show less

I think what makes suspense novels such a thrilling read is when you can picture yourself in the story. Four suburban moms who meet every morning and afternoon at the bus stop become quick friends. Even though their backgrounds are a bit different, they soon become dependent on the friendship and support that each one offers. Julie, a high-profile realtor, and Sarah become friends first. Then Alison moves in. Even though she keeps her past a secret, she soon becomes friends with Julie and Sarah but always feels like the third wheel. Then Heather, a former model and wife of a plastic surgeon, seems like the perfect addition to their group. Soon their lives become intertwined and three of the friends begin to suspect that one of their show more friends is being abused by her husband. When they finally confront her, the ripple effects of that revelation result in a murder and a downward spiral that none of them would have expected.

Some of my closest friends are moms that I met because our children have been going to school together since preschool. While reading this book, I could picture myself being wrapped up in the care and concern of a friend being abused. But, would I have gone to the lengths that these women did to protect her? I can't say, but it did make for a thrilling page-turner.

The novel is told from the perspective of each of the women. In each chapter one woman shares just enough of their past, as well as their regrets regarding the decision they all made, to keep the reader guessing as to what that horrifying choice was that forever changed their lives. I appreciated that the top of each page-spread had the character's name since especially in the beginning, it was tricky to keep all the women straight. Even though parts of the plot are predictable, the author adds in just enough surprises and twists to keep the reader interested. Although some of the particulars made have felt a bit far-fetched and I had to keep reminding myself to overlook the details, I still became enthralled with the story. Once the twist is revealed, I did find some of the material a bit graphic, but I easily skimmed the details and moved on to the next chapter as I got the gist of what happened.

Fans of suspense novels and a bit of the unreliable narrator will be intrigued by the secrets each of the characters are hiding from their friends. Once doubt creeps into the minds of the women, the fear of what's to come grows among the pages. I believe that most of us feel like we would never be able to commit such a horrific crime, but that line that separates us from those who have committed a crime becomes blurred very quickly. You really have no idea what you would do if you were thrown into a situation of protecting your best friend.

Drake's fast-paced novel shares the lengths that women would go to protect their friends and their families, how secrets can creep into the psyche and affect the ways we interact with others, and the shame we feel when everything begins to fall apart.

Favorite quote:

There are no monsters, just deeply flawed people,
all of us given that power to choose,
some of us making choices so damaging that they ruin the lives of those we claim to love. show less

Talk about a suspenseful read with complex characters, a twisted storyline, and my absolute favorite quality in a suspenseful thriller, unreliable narrators. Four close friends leave behind their suburban wife titles when someone from their circle dies and letters start showing up in their mail boxes. With a storyline similar to Big Little Lies, Just Between Us is a domestic thriller that hooked me from the very first page.

"A part of me needed to believe her."

You always know, the minute you pick up a book about a set of friends or a cute, suburban area, that there will be plenty of secrets and lies within its pages. At first, nothing seems that outrageous, any person would want their friend out of a harmful relationship, but it gets show more increasingly more complicated when the four women join together to hide something. The book is written in the perspectives of Alison, Julie, Sarah, and Heather. In many ways they are similar women; they are mothers, they are wives, and they share a passionate love of coffee and girl time. While I didn't connect with the women ever, I was immediately drawn in to their individual stories and their varying perspectives on the situation they found themselves in. It was very suspenseful, with several plotlines that I could definitely see happening in real life and twists that upped the intrigue. Though parts of the novel didn't seem plausible, I easily passed over those moments due to my curiosity and the desire to know whodunit. I never could have guessed the end, not until every hand was revealed, so that was certainly the best part of Just Between Us.

"There are secrets in every marriage. This is my secret."

Just Between Us is made for those readers who are fascinated by the mysteries that can haunt the everyday person. The wives, the unsuspecting husbands, the secrets between friends are all the things that made this book so interesting. The character interactions in this book and the backwards character development, discovered by the unraveling secrets, will keep any reader turning the pages.


ARC provided via Netgalley. show less

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Alison, Sarah, Julie, and Heather, four mothers and friends living in the suburbs, seem to have perfect lives. But underneath each of their veneers are secrets and lies, hidden until one becomes too big to handle and envelops them all. Each must decide how far they are willing to go to protect their friends and the lives they have created.

This is a very suspenseful book. There's a slow, chilling build up that keeps you flipping pages, knowing something big and terrible is coming. Drake does a very nice job with foreshadowing, dropping little bits of information throughout the text that makes show more you think you know what's going on, before she turns it all on its head.

I had a hard time really liking or connecting with the main characters. I just got really frustrated with some of the choices they were making, and with what I was guessing about their true characters and motivations.

This is definitely a gripping story with a lot of suspense, twists, and turns. I may not have loved the characters for the people they were, but I was caught up in their story and had to find out what was going to happen to them. show less

Heather, Alison, Julie, and Sarah are suburban mothers and wives living in Pennsylvania. Their children attend the same school and they become close over weekly dates at the local coffee shop. When the three friends start noticing bruises on Heather, they quickly become suspicious. Is Heather's handsome doctor husband, Viktor, hurting her? Reluctantly, Heather slowly confesses to the abuse and terror she experiences due to her spouse. Her friends feel helpless, however, as Heather refuses to leave him and the violence escalates. Then one night, they receive the call they've been dreading. But it's not Heather who is dead: it's Viktor. Suddenly, the foursome has a choice to make--one that will set in motion a series of events that will show more change their lives forever.

I've never read anything by Rebecca Drake before, and I chose this because it sounded interesting and suspenseful. When I first started reading it, it immediately had a very [b:Big Little Lies|19486412|Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492239430s/19486412.jpg|27570886] vibe, and I was a little curious how the book would differentiate itself. It eventually did, but I'm not sure it did so favorably.

I'll preface my review by saying that I seem to be in the minority with my opinion, and I certainly didn't hate the book, I just didn't adore it as much as so many of the reviews I've been reading. You'll find a ton of people who loved this one, so certainly read those reviews before you make any decisions.

Drake's novel is told from the different points of view of all four women in an odd past tense--this tense lets you know bad things have happened, but you don't know what, leading you to wonder and speculate. I won't lie - I almost put this one down as a DNF for a while, but I kept going out of a morbid curiosity. After Viktor's death, I just found the story so completely implausible that I had a real tough time suspending disbelief. That these four women would do all these things, not get caught, and things would unfold the way they did... I'm sorry. I just had a hard time buying it. At the halfway point, I had no idea where the book was going, or where I wanted it to go. Yes, the various twists were surprising at times, but they were just so hard to believe.

The book is suspenseful, I will say that, as you wonder what will happen to the women, and what insane thing they will do next. There were certainly several plot points that caught me by surprise; honestly the whole thing was sort of baffling. It's definitely not what I was expecting. Still, as I said, the whole book gets increasingly preposterous (my favorite was when they considered hacking the DMV).

In the end, this was a very meandering book about four women I never really cared about or grew attached to in any way. You get confused about who is narrating in each chapter and perplexed as they act in completely implausible ways. Still, I kept reading because I was bewildered and fascinated about their actions and the secrets that were motivating everyone at their core. I can see why so many people enjoyed it, but it just wasn't my favorite.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 01/09/2018.

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This is tense psychological thriller about friendship between women and how far they'll go to protect their friends. It's also about those secrets that we even keep from our closest friends. You never really know what goes on in another person’s mind or in their marriage.

Alison, Julie, Sarah, Heather are friends. They met in the drop off line at their children's school, started to have coffee and became best friends. They all appear to have great marriages and be happy with their lives. Until one day, they notice a bruise on Heather's arm and wonder if her husband is abusing her. She denies it but none of them believe her until she finally admits that she's an abuse victim. They try to help but she refuses to listen until one night, a show more terrible crime is committed and the three women help Heather cover it up. Will they get caught or will their conscience cause them to tell the truth - or the truth as they see it?

This was a well written novel about suburban moms who get put into a difficult situation and how they react. I had a bit of trouble with some of the situations that I wouldn't have handled like they did but this is a book and once you quit thinking about what you would do, it goes back to being a tense thriller. I definitely enjoyed reading this and recommend it for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All Opinions are my own. show less