The Silence Between Us: A Gripping Psychological Thriller About Love, Lies, and a Dead Man Watching

by Iris Holloway

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 8, 2026

Reviews

[Stacy Dunning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only have half the answers. I don't know anything about how it started.

[Tracy Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of The Silence Between Us in exchange for an honest review.

This was a difficult book for me to rate because I found myself both intrigued and frustrated throughout the reading experience. The story has an interesting premise and a mystery that gradually pulled me in, but it took a long time for me to become invested.

In the beginning, I struggled with the pacing and found the story confusing. Character relationships were not always clearly established, and the lack of quotation marks around dialogue sometimes made it difficult to distinguish between spoken conversations, thoughts, and narration. At times, the story felt like a series of disconnected scenes, which made it challenging to find the central thread of the plot.

Around the halfway point, however, the mystery started to take shape and I became much more interested in uncovering the truth. The book definitely kept me reading because I wanted answers, and there were several moments that made me eager to see how everything would come together.

Unfortunately, by the end, I still felt like some of my questions remained unanswered. While I appreciate an ending that leaves room for interpretation, I was hoping for a bit more clarity and resolution. The story has a strong foundation and some genuinely compelling ideas, but I think it could benefit from additional polishing to improve clarity, pacing, and overall flow.

Overall, this was an enjoyable enough read with an intriguing mystery, but it didn’t fully deliver on its potential for me. Readers who enjoy atmospheric, slow-building mysteries may connect with it more than I did.

★★★½☆

[Samantha Flory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great quick read—completely addictive and impossible to put down.

It’s one of those psychological thrillers where the tension just keeps building chapter after chapter until you genuinely don’t know who to trust anymore.

Marrying the man connected to your fiancé’s death… and then getting letters from the man you buried?? Yeah, I was hooked immediately.

The atmosphere in this book felt so unsettling in the best way. Every letter added another layer of paranoia and made everything feel more twisted and claustrophobic.

I also loved how much this played with perception and trust. Just when I thought I had things figured out, something else would happen that made me completely rethink everything.

The pacing kept me fully locked in and I flew through this way faster than I expected because I NEEDED answers.

If you love addictive psychological thrillers with unreliable characters, dark secrets, and twists that keep you guessing, definitely pick this one

[Rosy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC and was quite excited by the way it was sold, thriller not being my usual genre of choice,I have been getting into it more of late and thought this ARC sounded like it should be a gripping read, however sadly I was disappointed. The whole idea is great but the story definitely needed some better editing, perhaps some quotation marks to help with indication of the conversations that happen between Erena and Marcus. I didn't mind the short sharp paragraph format, this I actually enjoyed the concept of to keep you reading fast paced and keep up with the idea of plot unfolding. But the twists and turns and a few stumbles and holes where the story didn't match from one page to the next made it rather hard to follow with what actually happened. I feel like the mini cliffhanger ending would quite happily lead to the idea of more stories being told or diving more into Erena but sadly I am not sure I'll be reading anything further

[Hannah Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt very confused in the first 12 chapters. If you like a book that starts at the beginning and then you learn what happens then this book isn’t for you. I had no clue what was happening for a big chunk of the book. If definitely a book that develops as it goes. Making things clearer the further in you get.

I’m feeling slightly at a loss, this ending ! Where’s the rest?! Very cleverly written, I didn’t have a clue what was happening and having finished the book, I’m still not sure I know what happened!

If there is a second book, I want to read it
Was a quick read for me, the chapters were short and left you wanting to read another and another. Well done for completing confusing me from the second I started reading right the the very end

[Yvette · Rating 3 out of 5]

When reading the blurb from this book, I thought yay a thriller/suspense novel. It was mysterious but confusing at the beginning because I wasn’t sure who’s point of view I was reading from. Then I got it in my head to read it like a voiceover in an unsolved mystery story or a true crime story and it made a little more sense.
It was a quick read and I was invested and wanted to know what would happen and why. I didn’t quite get all the answers. It wasn’t a bad book and the ending is kind of a cliffhanger and could be open for another book(maybe) but preferably a few more chapter to tie things up. I’m sure we all would like to know who sent the last letter and what happened before the script that we read.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the author for my honest opinion.

[Leah Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good thriller, and the description of this book pulled me in. I was excited to dive right into it. The story follows Erena and Marcus, but it is quite confusing to follow. At first, the dialog between the two does not include any quotation marks, so I wasn't sure if they were thoughts that they were each having, or an actual conversation. This book is a great starting point for the story, but I feel like a lot of details are missing. It is quite confusing to follow, and even the ending does not clear things up completely. Adding more meat to the story could turn it from a three star to a five star.

[Anita Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is not an easy pick up put down book but it is fascinating and well worth reading.
It mainly revolves around two characters Erena and Marcus and there does need to be a bit of concentration to understand what is going on. If you’re willing to put in the work you will be well rewarded as the book not only tells a story but causes a lot of self reflection. Well worth reading

[Jea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silence Between Us is a psychological thriller, with twists and turns and secrets that unravel as the story unfolds. Erena has been married to Marcus for three months, after the devastating loss of her fiancé, when strange things start happening. Letters begin to arrive, saying things that no one should know. If you enjoy dark thrillers that crawl into the deepest crevices of your mind, you'll enjoy this book.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of Advanced Reader Copy gifted by the Author. I am leaving a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

Great short read that can be read in a day over the weekend. It was an interesting story that grabs you since the beginning. At times I was a little bit confused and the ending was predictable, but, I was never bored and enjoyed the story. Erena truly was a complex character and I wished there was just a little bit more of a backstory.

[Nikki B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Silence Between us is a twisty psychological thriller.
The story is short and the plot is intriguing. However, I found the change in pot to be quite confusing at times. It's a quick read with a plot written with twists that keeps you hooked. The story also has an open type of ending where it leaves the possibility for another book. I'm invested enough that if there was another, I would still definitely read it!

[Taylor Lebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So.. I just want to start with I think this could have used a little more love. There could have been more detail. The way they were talking was confusing. It was a lot of he said/ she said.

I feel like this book could still have potential if the author did a little fixing. Maybe make it more suspenseful and not obvious off the bat?

Please read the book and support her! It’s not a bad book! It just needs more attention!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confusing in the beginning had to read it a couple times to be sure I was with it. In the end its a great psych thriller. A short and easy read. I would say read it if you like thrillers. It didnt keep me on the edge but was very interesting, just a bit confused mostly. I like the book ill read it a couple more times as I do most books.

[Dan Mckeithan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thriller that keeps you on the edge. Iris brings us a taunt psychological thriller about a girl who gets together with the possible killer of her fiancé and then they get letters from him after his death. It starts a little confusing with the multiple POV's, but the mystery picks up as you read and it makes it hard to put down. Can't wait to see what Iris has in store for us next.

[Stania Lucien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a great story. However, the way it’s written might throw readers off. I have to read some parts multiple times to make sense of it. Like I’m missing something. Then i started to enjoy it and the finale blew it for me.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silence Between Us is a short psychological thriller that had a very interesting premise. The story pulled me in right away with its eerie and chilling vibes and I enjoyed much of the story. At times, I was a bit confused and would have loved more details. Definitely an interesting short read!

[The Book Ssirren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great short story. It was definitely an interesting read. There were a few places that I was confused, like I had skipped a sentence or two and would have to go back, but that wasn’t the case. I think with some editing, this could be an amazing story.

[Lizzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that leaves you thinking what have I just read!! A book that keeps you guessing. A great read!!

[Diana Dunlap-lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. I did get a little confused reading it, but I quickly caught up. I won’t say I was surprised by the reveal, but I wasn’t 100% sure.

[Tammy Ashley Guerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short read. Was confusing at times and I had to re read sentences to make sense of it

[Angie ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

✨ARC review ✨

A psychological thriller, this book focuses on, Erena, a woman grieving her past fiancé and Marcus, the man she ended up marrying in the months following her fiancé’s death.

I was beyond excited to be able to read an ARC like this one, I don’t often read from the thriller/crime genre and wanted to expand my areas of reading to see if I found anything new I enjoyed.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t become something I loved, let alone something I even understood. The way it’s written is different to what I’m used to reading, I couldn’t tell at some points if I was meant to be reading a story that was happening as I read or if it had already passed.

The point of view changed quite often, swapping between Erena and Marcus with very little warning, it also swapped to focus on two other characters who weren’t the main two, and that was confusing as well. It also swaps between past and present a few times without warning, leaving the reader confused. I found myself struggling to figure out what was going on at a lot of points throughout the book.

Grammatically, I feel this book also needs a lot more editing. Conversations just weren’t clear to me as there was no use of “” anywhere in the book. I’d realise after reading the paragraph a few times over that the characters were actually talking to each other.

As for the plot, the way it was advertised was a very great idea. It’s really what drew me to this book, but there were so many clashing points and plot holes within the story, it felt as if the author had forgotten what she’d written or just had rushed through certain points.

For example, it’s advertised as “she lost her fiancé, marries the man who killed him.” But in chapter 2, it shows that Marcus watched what occurred the night of Leo’s death accidentally because he was intent on finding Leo for his own reasons. At the cliff side he was unsure if he’d watched Erena push Leo or if Leo had slipped and Erena had been reaching for him to help.

Overall, I feel that there were two plots trying to be written at the same time:
She marries her fiancé’s killer and he realises his wife is a murderer and has lots of secrets.
The advertised plot was not what the book was actually about, not even close and will definitely have future readers confused when they compare the blurb to even just the first two chapters.

Also the ending was just outright confusing. I’m unsure if that was meant to be a cliff hanger but it didn’t really feel like one because I didn’t understand the letter or the extra plate or honestly anything other than the fact that obviously Erena had moved and managed to escape consequences yet again.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t it for me. I really appreciate the author allowing me to ARC read this, and I wish her all the best in her future work.