Rebecca finally lives the peaceful life in Nevada that she's always dreamed of with her perfect husband Tom and two adorable boys. Most importantly, Rebecca's past is safely behind her - where she left it.
Until one morning an old friend shows up out of the blue. Tom's making pancakes and the boys are playing nicely . . . This should be a happy reunion. But Rebecca's heart stops when she sees who's standing on her doorstep.
Danny disappeared the night of their high school prom. Now she's back. Where has she been all these years? And how did she find me?
Danny is nothing but a reminder of everything Rebecca escaped - and all the secrets she's kept hidden from Tom...
Danny claims she's just stopping by. Rebecca can't tell the truth from the lies. The only thing she can be sure of: Danny's arrival is going to ruin everything she's worked for - and she won't let that happen.
Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Lies Between Us was such a tense and addictive psychological thriller. The combination of cult dynamics, buried secrets, and a past refusing to stay hidden made this impossible to put down once I got into it.
Rebecca has built a quiet, happy life for herself with her husband and children, but the second Danny appears on her doorstep, the entire atmosphere changes. You instantly know something is wrong, and I loved the constant feeling of distrust and unease running through the story. I kept questioning everyone’s motives and wondering what really happened in the past.
I also thought the cult storyline was done really well. It was unsettling without feeling over-the-top, and the flashbacks slowly revealing how Rebecca and Danny got pulled into that world added so much tension and emotional depth to the story. The authors did a great job showing how manipulation and fear can completely change people.
The pacing started a little slower for me, but once the secrets started unraveling, I was completely hooked. There were several twists that kept me turning the pages, and I loved the mix of psychological suspense, relationship drama, and mystery throughout.
If you enjoy thrillers filled with lies, toxic secrets, cults, messy relationships, and that creeping feeling that the past is never truly buried, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up.
Overall, a gripping and bingeable thriller that kept me guessing until the end!
The Lies Between Us is a gripping, well‑paced story with a plot that genuinely kept me turning the pages. The tension builds steadily, the characters are layered in all the right ways, and the mystery itself is strong enough to hold your attention from start to finish.
But even with all of that, I couldn’t shake a feeling of discomfort — and that’s entirely down to the cult elements woven into the story. The writing handles them well, but there’s just something about cult dynamics in fiction that unsettles me on a deeper level, and I can never quite put my finger on why. It’s not a flaw in the book; it’s simply a personal reaction that made parts of the story harder for me to sit with.
Overall, it’s a solid, intriguing read with a compelling plot — just one that brushed up against a theme I find inherently uncomfortable. If you enjoy dark, twisty narratives with psychological tension, this one will absolutely deliver. For me, it lands at 3.5 stars.
The Lies Between Us is one of those psychological thrillers that unsettles you from the very first page, not with shock tactics but with the quiet dread of a past that refuses to stay buried. Rebecca’s life in Nevada is painted with such gentle warmth — the boys playing, Tom flipping pancakes, the soft hum of a family morning — that when Danny appears on the doorstep, the contrast is almost jarring. It’s the perfect intrusion: unexpected, impossible, and instantly destabilising.
The tension comes not from loud twists but from the way Rebecca’s carefully constructed world begins to tremble. Danny’s disappearance after prom has lived in Rebecca’s mind like a sealed box, and the author captures that sense of old fear beautifully. The questions — where Danny has been, how she found her, what she wants — hang over every scene like a storm cloud waiting to break.
What makes the story so addictive is the intimacy of Rebecca’s perspective. She’s a woman who has rebuilt herself piece by piece, and you can feel the weight of everything she’s hiding from Tom. Her fear isn’t just about being exposed; it’s about losing the life she’s fought for, the peace she’s finally allowed herself to believe in. Danny’s presence is a reminder of the girl she used to be, the choices she made, and the night that changed everything.
The author plays with truth and memory in a way that keeps you leaning forward. Danny’s charm, her evasiveness, her sudden reappearance — none of it feels straightforward, and Rebecca’s uncertainty becomes your own. The sense that something is deeply wrong grows slowly, almost imperceptibly, until it’s impossible to ignore.
By the time the secrets begin to unravel, the emotional stakes are so tightly wound that every reveal lands with real impact. It’s twisty without being chaotic, character‑driven without losing pace, and quietly gripping from start to finish.
A tense, addictive, and deeply human thriller, The Lies Between Us explores the cost of reinvention, the shadows of the past, and the dangerous power of the people who know who we used to be.
With thanks to Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Sara Shepard, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Huge thanks to Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Sara Shepard, Embla Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy of The Lies Between Us. This review is being left voluntarily and all opinions expressed are my own.
The prologue to this book grabbed my attention immediately and set the tone for a fantastic ride.
The cult elements of this story really attracted me as I am a huge fan of documentaries and podcasts that delve into this subject. The author clearly did their research and I could definitely see the parallels with some of the most notorious cults.
We learn early on that main character Rebecca's perfect life is built on sand that she is hiding some extremely dark secrets from her past. There is a significant period of her life that she is desperate to keep hidden from her husband.
There were multiple POVs used throughout the story and this kept the narrative flowing nicely. It also allowed for a number of character's to have well filled out back stories, which added to the intrigue.
There were some really good twists. Perhaps no the unbelievable, gasp-out-loud ones that you get in some thrillers, but big enough to throw the plot in a different direction and keep you guessing.
I enjoyed the pace of the story and the way it picked up as the book reached its conclusion. I found the ending interesting enough and would recommend this book, especially for those with an interest in cults.
A story about a weak, troubled, but clever man and the cult he forms that has taken some of its playbook from other well known organised religions… ( cough … Scientology ) At times it was a hard read due to the psychological abuse the MLC, Ben, was inflicting on his mainly female followers. I was ENRAGED!!! But! I stayed listening and am so glad I did .
When we first meet Ben he is acting as a Therapist that parents feel comfortable with leaving their teenage daughters with.
But as he gains their confidence and consent to film their sessions, his questioning turns more and more intimate.
“These are just for my records. No one else will hear, or see them.” Ben says …. “In fact, if it makes you uneasy, you can request them when we finish”
So, the girls tell him all their secrets, their troubling thoughts. “ Cleansing themselves of their negativity “
Only for this predator to manipulate them, and many others
Glad to report—-
These two female leads Dani, and Becca satisfyingly brought this one home 👏
Rebecca thought she had escaped her past for good. After fleeing a cult and building a new life for herself, she keeps every detail of her life before meeting her husband, Tom, buried including the truth about who her child’s father is. Everything changes when an old friend named Danny suddenly appears at their door one day, saying she grew up with Rebecca. Tom is curious to find out more, while Rebecca is desperate to get her out before she reveals too much. But, Tom is quick to realize his wife has been hiding far more than he ever imagined. As he begins to uncover the truth about Rebecca’s past, tension builds until you are left questioning who can be trusted.
This is a psychological thriller told through alternating timelines, the story slowly uncovers how Rebecca was manipulated to become involved in the cult, the disturbing choices she made while there, and the real reason Danny is paying her a visit after all this time. I really enjoyed this, it draws you in and keeps this hold over you until the very end. I love thriller mysteries like this and I definitely vibe with the cult aspect of things. Makes me want to go rewatch Waco. This is definitely a book you can read in a day because you won’t want to put it down!
🙏🏻 Big thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book from Embla Books via NetGalley. It is a pet peeve of mine when books have a whole explanation after the title. I prefer to decide myself if it's "gripping," etc.
This was a solid read and I would say 3.5 stars. I don't think the ending was particularly surprising or twisty, so I am not really sure what the title explanation is referring to.
I think the authors did a good job describing the cult and Ben's overwhelming influence on all his followers. Chilling, especially since I know this type of place absolutely exists in real life. I also enjoyed the development of the plot when Tom begins to find out about Rebecca's past and how it affects him. This seemed quite realistic.
At the very end, I didn't quite understand what Danny was doing. Almost seemed like leading to a sequel?
This is a story of a life once lived and trying to move on from it. Bex and Danny were friends from high school; they found their "place" in a group that turned out to be a cult. They both had left and disappeared, leaving their old lives behind them. Danny has surfaced again and is making a podcast about the cult. Bex is panicking because she is married and has children.
This is a good story, and for the most part, I did enjoy it, but for some reason, I couldn't really get that sense of not wanting to put it down. The authors give good back stories, histories and include details of what living in the cult was like and how they were brainwashed. But it just did not have the thriller impact I was hoping for.
This is a book that is for fans of psychological thrillers, and while I would recommend it, it just didn't grip me the way I thought it would.
I wasn’t expecting this to be a cult story but it was fantastic! That’s just one of the ways it surprised me. This story had so many twists that it felt like a school dance in the 60s!
I won’t provide a synopsis of the story, as that’s what the description is for. What I will say, however, is that I hated Danny for a good portion of the beginning of the story. I hated Rebecca a little bit, too. Ultimately, I ended up loving them and rooting for their friendship.
I felt so awful for Tom, he deserved the truth. However, he was also a bit at fault for marrying a woman he knew nothing about. That’s a risky move and he made it. I’m so so glad it ended the way it did and I would love a follow up on where the characters ended up after this horrible ordeal.
The writing was great and easy to follow and enjoy. Definitely a good, quick read with lots of twists!
When Rebecca's old friend Danny shows up unexpectedly in Carson City, where she lives with her husband and young family, she is dismayed. Because the two of them used to be friends in high school - but they were also both members of a cult operated by a man who Rebecca has gone to great lengths to escape from.
And whatever Danny's cover story, Rebecca knows that her arrival probably has more sinister reasons behind it...
This book gives the reader a chilling insight into how cults function and the extent that people will go to either to escape or to defend their reasons for remaining. An interesting read - it gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Title: The Lies Between Us Author: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and Sarah Shepard Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Publication Date: May 12, 2026
Who doesn't love a story about someone escaping from a cult?? It always amazes me how people can get sucked in to the cult life. Manipulation and brain-washing at its best!!
What starts as two teenage girls just wanting to be seen, heard, and cared about turns into something far more sinister.
Even though I was able to correctly predict some important facts before they were revealed, I feel as though it didn't take away from the storyline and suspense.
I loved this book and I highly recommend it! Just know that there are scenes that include sexual assault.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.
Rebecca's peaceful life with her husband Tom and children is threatened when Danny—who disappeared the night of their high school prom—reappears, threatening to expose secrets from her past.
Definitely a must read mystery/thriller. This story's a real page-turner, with cults and hidden pasts that come back to haunt you when an ex-best friend shows up at your door, lying about why they're there. It uncovers a lot of unwanted truths, with plot twists and a cult leader you'll want to strangle. Friendships are lost due to trust issues but regained through women's empowerment, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the end. Definitely a must-read mystery/thriller.
I struggled a little with the start of this book and it didn't hook me the way I had anticipated it would. I really liked the way that the characters were developed and the changes between the timeframes and how the past and present linked was very well done. The overall plot was interesting and, once I was engaged, I was really interested in seeing how things would develop.
The issue I had was that I just felt like that was a lot of background before things started to make sense and the pieces started to fit together. Once they did, it was an overall good read. I just struggled with how long it took for me to feel like I was enjoying it.
Rebecca is happily married with her two gorgeous boys but no one knows about her past and what happened back then until one fateful day when a blast from the past turns up on her doorstep. But can Rebecca hide her secret from her family or is this stranger going to watch everything come tumbling down? it was an on the edge of your seat kind of read, I was hooked from the first chapter in this tense thriller. I flew through this book as I needed to find out what Rebecca did in the past and how this person turning up was going to shake things up for Rebecca and her family. It was totally immersive and thrilling read. I loved it.
A surprise visit from an old friend upends Rebecca's life with her husband and family. There are truths, landmines, that she would prefer remain buried, that her friend is threatening to blow up.
I couldn't even tell what was going on at the start, and even after the backstory has been explained, I still couldn't predict what was going to happen next. The story is written in third-person present tense, which enabled me to be right there with the characters. And it was such a compelling cast of characters, even the antagonist, who made my skin crawl numerous times.
Only complaint I have is that some of the character motivations were a bit iffy near the end.
4 stars. A gripping, secret-heavy thriller that keeps you questioning everyone. I loved the way this story balances out past and present, slowly revealing the truth behind Danny’s appearance and Rebecca’s carefully constructed life. The tension is steady, the characters are layered, and the sense of unease never lets up. A solid, addictive read for thriller fans.
I wanted to love this book but for me it just missed the mark. Yes it discusses a pretty heavy subject but I just didn’t feel drawn into the plot and for me it wasn’t an utterly addictive psychological thriller. Sorry but it wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley, Embla Books and the author for the chance to review.
This was an excellent, fast paced and gripping read. It was so addictive I honestly couldn't put it down and I finished the whole book in one day!! Well written, fascinating characters with interesting relationships and honestly the whole thing just flowed so well. Highly recommend!!
THE LIES BETWEEN US BY MILES JORIS- PEYRAFITTE AND SARA SHEPARD. 4 ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨s. Love this cover. Talk about a suspenseful book. If your looking for suspense then look no further. A really good thriller I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing what these authors write next ☺
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I really enjoyed this book. I definitely like ones that talk about cults because you know it's going to be good! This was thrilling and very twisty.