They say every marriage has its secrets.

But no one sees what happens behind closed doors.

And sometimes those doors should never be opened…

Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.

I was really pleased when my request for Between You and Me was approved on Net Galley as this was a book I was very keen to read. I found it to be an engrossing novel – it was one of those books that I kept thinking about when I wasn’t reading it and I wanted to get back to it to find out what would happen next.

I absolutely applaud the author for tackling domestic violence in the way that she did – there are no holds barred in this novel, leading to some of the scenes being quite difficult to read because of the intensity of the abuse and the way it takes place. The descriptions are so realistic at times, but it’s obviously been well researched and is very sensitively handled. I think issues like this being handled in this way in fiction is important as it really helps to give an understanding of how people end up in abusive relationships and why they stay in them.

I did have a few niggles with the first person narration in this novel as there are occasions when a character tells us that they don’t see another character doing something, and this was jarring because if you don’t see someone doing something, how do you know they were doing it? You need an omniscient narrator for that. It jolted me out of the story when I wanted to be kept engrossed. It bothered me enough that I felt a need to mention it but it wasn’t so bad that it spoiled the book.

I didn’t see this novel as having a twist as I happened to read the book in the ‘twisted’ way from the start. I have to say that I still enjoyed the book despite this because the issues in it are handled very well. Even though the twist wasn’t there for me, it’s still a novel that gave me real pause for thought. I think for readers who don’t see the twist until it happens, it will really cause you to catch your breath! On the whole though, I commend the author for writing the novel in the way that she has, it must have been tough at times and for the most part it’s done well.

Between You and Me was a really good read; for the most part it kept me hooked, and the tension gradually builds throughout the novel and it left me almost holding my breath with nerves at times! It’s a gripping, page-turner of a novel and I look forward to seeing what Lisa Hall writes next!

Between You and Me is out now and available from Amazon.

I received a copy of this book from Carina via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.