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    Just Between Us
    Just Between Us
    Just Between Us
    Audiobook12 hours

    Just Between Us

    Written by Rebecca Drake

    Narrated by Stina Nielsen, Morgan Hallett, Jeanine Bartel and Nina Alvamar

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Four suburban mothers and friends conspire to cover up a deadly crime in this heart-stopping novel of suspense in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and Lisa Unger. Alison, Julie, Sarah, Heather. Four friends living the suburban ideal. Their jobs are steady, their kids are healthy. They're as beautiful as their houses. But each of them has a dirty little secret, and hidden behind the veneer of their perfect lives is a crime and a mystery that will consume them all. Everything starts to unravel when Alison spots a nasty bruise on Heather's wrist. She shares her suspicions with Julie and Sarah, compelling all three to investigate what looks like an increasingly violent marriage. As mysterious injuries and erratic behavior mount, Heather can no longer deny the abuse, but she refuses to leave her husband. Desperate to save her, Alison and the others dread the phone call telling them that she's been killed. But when that call finally comes, it's not Heather who's dead. In a moment they'll come to regret, the women must decide what lengths they'll go to in order to help a friend. Just Between Us is a thrilling glimpse into the underbelly of suburbia, where not all neighbors can be trusted, and even the closest friends keep dangerous secrets. You never really know what goes on in another person's mind, or in their marriage.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 15, 2018
    ISBN9781501946141
    Just Between Us
    Author

    Rebecca Drake

    REBECCA DRAKE is the author of the novels Don't Be Afraid, The Next Killing, The Dead Place, which was an IMBA bestseller, and Only Ever You, as well as the short story "Loaded," which was featured in Pittsburgh Noir. A former journalist and native New Yorker, Rebecca currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband and two children.

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    Reviews for Just Between Us

    3.5/5

    56 ratings13 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This book kept me reading. At first it seemed like Big Little Lies, but then it thankfully carved it's own story. It was confusing at times with the 4 narrators but I liked all the women narrating. Overall a good read, not a thriller, but a good suburban mystery.
    • 3/5
      While I stuck with it until the end (mostly to confirm I was right in my guesses), I can’t say it particularly pulled me in. The women weren’t especially sympathetic. They made so many unbelievable mistakes and false assumptions just to advance a weak plot line that you just wanted to give it up as too ridiculous. Their husbands seemed like Princes, though. Albeit totally clueless ones. Sigh. I‘m usually sad when a book whose characters I enjoy comes to an end. Here, it was a complete relief.

      The book wasn’t awful but rather just okay. Some may like it but there are so many better than “just okay” books to enjoy out there so why waste your time on a subpar experience? My recommendation is to find a great book and spend time with one of those.

      Happy reading/listening.
    • 5/5
      Amazing in my opinion. This book surprised me more than once and in ways I didn’t expect at all. It seems to be one of those books you keep coming back and thinking about unintentionally.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      “What if?”A question that is human nature to ask, to think, normally followed by worrying, scary scenarios! And this is where this story begins, with Alison playing the “what-if” game. What if they hadn’t moved to Sewickley? What if she had never met Julie at preschool drop-off? If that hadn’t happened then the four women would likely to have never met and that one question that started it all would never have been asked “How did you get such a nasty bruise?”Told from the four women’s points of view Alison is positive that Heather is being abused by her husband and raises her suspicions to the other women of their little group who remain unsure until things begin to escalate leaving no doubts. As Heather’s bruises and “accidents” become more serious they all become frightened for Heathers life, unless she left him the only other ending would be her husband ending her life.As each woman lives in fear of receiving that phone call or that knock on the door informing them of Heather’s death, when it does come it is nothing like any of them had been expecting and changes all their lives in ways none had seen coming.Heather isn’t the only member of their group that has been keeping secrets, they are all harbouring secrets that they would like to remain just that, a secret, but as things begin to spiral out of control secrets are dragged out into the light bringing suspicion and doubt with them.How far you will go for those you love?Brimming with suspense that increases with the plot twists it is a story of friendship, trust and loyalty asking the questions “How well do you really know those you love?” and “How far you would be prepared to go to protect those people?” This book will keep you turning pages to find out the answers to the main question, “What happens next?”A really great read for fans of Liane Moriarty and B.A. Paris.Grab your copy now from Amazon UK or Amazon.com Glass of wine optional ??Many thanks to the author Rebecca Drake, publishers St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest, independent review.
    • 5/5
      Wow. Just finished reading this and I am blown away. What a great story and so well-written! I loved how the friendship between the four women was described, how they felt they were incredibly close yet really didn’t know each other as well as they thought. It touched on friendship, betrayals, loneliness, fear and so many other emotions. I would definitely recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      Four suburban moms outside of Pittsburgh form a friendship while their children attending the same school. Alison, Sarah, Julie, and Heather often get together for coffee after dropping off their children. One morning Alison becomes concerned about Heather after noticing a bruise on her arm. Heather claims that she bumped into something in her home. The other women soon become concerned that Heather is being abused when they spot more bruises on her body.At first, Heather denies any physical abuse by her husband. Weeks later a troubling situation occurs at her home that sparks the women’s concern. Heather is very upset and reveals physical encounters with her husband. She confides that she cannot leave her marriage and is stuck due to financial reasons. The women continue to worry about her safety until one night when Heather calls for their help.“Just Between Us” is about a rash decision testing the bonds of friendship. This was an entertaining, suspenseful book filled with twists and tension. This was the first novel that I read by Rebecca Drake.
    • 3/5
      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. 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
    • 3/5
      Just Between Us by Rebecca DrakeI saw the blurb for this book and thought it sounded worth reading so “wished” for it through NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Griffin bequeathed me a copy. I wish I had known in advance the book was told in first person from the viewpoint of four women…that got confusing at times and I found I really could not connect with any of the women telling the story. I am not sure if it is because of their stories and how dissimilar they are to my own or if it is their age – much younger than my own – or if it is something else but I ended up skimming rather than reading in depth, got the gist of the story and had no desire to go deeper. It could be that this book is just one that does not appeal to me at this moment in time and perhaps it would at some point in the future BUT I doubt I will pick it up in the future to find out. I am sure that it will appeal to others and there are reviews that indicate that is so…just not for me.This is my honest review. 2-3 Stars
    • 4/5
      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 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!