The Ex Between Us by Nicola Marsh
Genre: Domestic suspense
Read: 10th August 2022
Published: 12th August 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
You can always trust your friends. Can’t you?
Abi is starting a new chapter of her life. Her son is leaving for college, she has her dream job and she is finally ready to find love again after her relationship with her ex Cal has ended.
Jo has been by Abi’s side for years. They’ve navigated all of life’s ups and downs together. Even when Abi betrayed Jo with Cal all those years ago, she forgave her and the three remain close.
So when Abi starts dating again, Jo and Cal begin to spend more time together. But soon Jo receives threatening messages telling her to stay away from him. And when Abi comes to her terrified, clutching a note that says “I want your life,” it becomes clear that someone wants to cause the friends harm.
Because in Jo and Abi’s close-knit circle someone has been living a lie for years and it’s about to come to light. But when it does, who will make it out alive?
An utterly addictive psychological thriller which is packed with twist after twist from the USA Today bestselling author of My Sister’s Husband. Perfect for fans of K.L. Slater, The Wife Between Us and Gone Girl.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicola Marsh's tense domestic thriller THE EX BETWEEN US.
I absolutely love domestic thrillers that are a little twisted and maybe even a tad deliciously disturbing with psycho toxic narrators. THE EX BETWEEN US is all this and more complete with unreliability, secrets and plenty of lies going on that the reader doesn't know who to believe. But I saw through the facade and managed to figure out who was doing what...and pretty much why. But this didn't deter my enjoyment one bit...I mean, this was like a Jerry Springer show! A car crash from which you couldn't look away. There were so many lies told that no one knows what to believe. Who is lying? And who is telling the truth? Or is anyone?
The story centres on Jo and Abi who have been best friends since high school and throughout the ensuing years they have been through a lot together, with a betrayal testing their friendship in the biggest possible way. But then after seven months of "coventry", their friendship is once again back on track when Abi gives birth to Robbie and asks Jo to be godmother, who falls in love with the scrunched up little baby as soon as she sees him. Their lives become intertwined as Jo follows Abi, Cal and Rob to Fort Chester three hours out of where they grew up in San Francisco. Jo becomes a fixture in their little family - a place where at last she is needed.
Eighteen years later and Rob is going off to college and Abi is fearing her nest becoming empty but knows she won't be for long with Jo to around to cheer her up. And then Abi meets Noah...and he's everything Cal's not. And soon she finds herself falling for him, and he her. When the time comes to introduce Jo to Noah, Abi can only hope she approves because Noah is everything she never knew she wanted or missed. He is kind, attentive, considerate, a gentleman even and loves her for who she is. But when Abi introduces them, Jo doesn't appear to be happy. Surely she can see he is practically perfect, can't she? But then she's also always been very protective of her...and maybe she fears Abi's relationship with Noah is moving too fast too soon.
But it's not until later that Jo confides in Abi that she has been the victim of vandals and someone has been threatening her, leaving her fearing for her safety. And then Abi begins receiving threats too. Her roses are destroyed, garden gnomes decapitated, a scorpion in her mailbox...but they don't stop there. Some strange things have also been taking place at her work for which she has been lumbered the blame. And then, a note arrives stating "I want your life" and Abi is terrified.
When Abi discovers one of "mean girls" from high school is in town, she begins to wonder if she's not the cause of the threats and unrest...after all, it only seemed to begin since she arrived. But Mandy isn't the only one from high school also in town. Abi's former friend Lara is also sniffing around and Abi is suspicious when she begins asking about Cal.
But the question is...who is out to harm Jo and Abi? And what is it that they want?
What a delightfully delicious toxic tale THE EX BETWEEN US is! It reminds me just why I hated high school (though I needed no reminding on that score). The gossip, the cliques, the lies, the pettiness and all the horrid things that teenagers do to each other in the name of popularity. Eighteen years later and it seems some of those haven't changed at all! The bitterness, the need for revenge, the bitchiness...thirty-six year old women are seriously old enough to know better. But oh, what a read!
This story played out like a bad soap opera with plenty of twists and tales of revenge. Or even the Jerry Springer show while we just sat back with the popcorn and watched it all play out.
Told through the alternating narratives of Jo and Abi, we get a glimpse into their worlds and how different they were but remained friends. I genuinely felt sorry for the hand that Jo had been dealt as a teenager - emotionally absent parents, bullied at school, friendless and alone. But then she meets Abi who sticks up for her against the bitchy bully Mandy and the two become best friends. But Jo also has a secret; one she keeps from everyone, including Abi. For this is something just for her that no one else can take away. She treasures it throughout the years and continues to keep it secret.
Until one day, Abi discovers that secret...
THE EX BETWEEN US begins as a slow burn told primarily in the present day with a few past chapters peppered throughout as the story unfolds and the tension builds. Then the twists begin...one after the other...and all the lies that have been told begin to unravel...as do each of their lives.
Who will be left standing at the end of it all? Who will survive? And who won't? And who has lived the biggest lie of all?
THE EX BETWEEN US is an addictive page-turning thrill ride that keeps readers guessing throughout, as we can sense something isn't quite right but can't put our fingers on it. I suspected and guessed and was right but it didn't deter my enjoyment one bit. It's the thrill of the ride that I enjoy, not the predictability or lack thereof. I don't care. I just enjoy a good tale if it is woven just right.
And then that ending. It was delicious, it was twisted and just oh so right!
Perfect for fans of deliciously twisted and toxic tales of domestic suspense.
I would like to thank #NicolaMarsh, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheExBetweenUs in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
She has published 68 novels and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. She currently writes rural romance for Harper Collins Australia, emotional domestic suspense for Bookouture and contemporary romance for Harlequin Dare.
She’s also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a RBY (Romantic Book of the Year) and National Readers’ Choice Award winner.
A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now writes full time, raises two dashing young heroes, shares fine food with family and friends, and her favorite, curls up with a good book!
Social Media links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads
No comments:
Post a Comment