A shocking headline of a missing woman who lived a double life is made more scandalous when murder accusations start to fly. As the police try to find the killer, the people around the murder victim deal with secrets connected to her. Author Adele Parks does a remarkable job with a sequel that can also stand on its own in Two Dead Wives (U.S. title.) Everyone in England is talking about the bizarre case of Kylie Gillingham aka Kai Janssen aka Leigh Fletcher. Kylie is presumed dead, but her likely murder isn’t the reason why people are up in arms. Kylie was a bigamist—she lived two separate lives with two husbands in the same city. Now that she’s gone, the police are wondering if one of her husbands killed her. The husbands in question are hurt, confused, and angry, but they’re both proclaiming their innocence. Mark Fletcher had been married to the woman he knew as Leigh for 12 years. She was the perfect stepmother to his two boys, and the boys adored her too. Leigh was the only mother they remember, but Mark is struggling to reconcile Leigh with the woman the media are calling Kylie. In the Netherlands, Daan Janssen is equally stunned. He thought Kai, his wife of four years, was the perfect partner. She graced his arm at all the high-society affairs and made the perfect hostess. Why wasn’t he enough for her? DCI Clements has been troubled about the case from the start, but she’s not going to let that stop her from finding justice for Kylie. The police decide to charge Daan with Kylie’s murder. The woman broke the law by being married to two men at the same time, but no one deserves to be killed. Despite the start of the Covid pandemic, Clements is determined to solve her case. Never mind that Daan managed to escape to his home country just before lockdown. Clements will find a way to make sure he pays for his crimes. Meanwhile, outside the small seaside town of Lyme Regis, Stacie Jones is fighting back after her devastating brain tumor. She has no memory of her treatments or anything leading up to the surgery that cured her. Her father has been caring for her since she came home from the hospital, and he’s been a godsend. The longer Stacie spends recuperating, though, the more she gets the uncomfortable feeling that something isn’t right. She starts mining the few memories that have returned for more information about her life and herself. Stacie is impatient to get back to a normal routine, and she’s living with growing unease that she’s missing a big piece of a puzzle she didn’t know she was supposed to solve. Author Adele Parks offers readers this sequel to her previous book Woman Last Seen with a plot that is slow to start. About a third of the way through, the book picks up and then continues to move at a steady pace. Readers will no doubt guess one or two of the major plot twists, but others will be completely unexpected. The strength of the book lies in its ability to be read as a standalone. Parks offers enough back story so those meeting Kylie, DCI Clements, and everyone else for the first time will have all the information they need to understand the mystery of the missing bigamist wife. The book might feel a little light on Kylie’s motivation for her bigamy, but the focus on the narrative is the fallout from it. Parks gives all the main characters time on the page. This splitting of narratives occasionally works against the book. The author lets seven narrators step forward throughout the novel, which often means examining a scene or memory from multiple points of view before moving on. The tactic also slows down the pacing; it may have been better served if readers got to hear from less characters who spoke more frequently. Nevertheless, Parks does an admirable job of building a compelling story that connects to a previous one and yet has enough strength to stand on its own. Anyone brand new to Parks’s work or these characters will have absolutely no trouble picking up the main events from the previous book, a lesson writers would do well to study carefully. Those wanting a slow-build novel with lots of excitement toward the end will enjoy this one.

Just Between Us by Adele Parks I give this book 4.25 stars Lost. Missing. Murdered? Until I was a quarter of the way through I didn’t realise this was a sequel to Both Of You,while it can be read as a standalone l personally enjoyed it more knowing the full backstory. Set during covid which adds an extra element to the plot and following on from the ambiguous ending in the first book this story is filled with realistic but flawed characters something the author excels in creating.Told from multiple perspectives as the secrets are revealed,so are the motivations.For me it personally tied up everything in a satisfying conclusion. Overall an absorbing tale of deception & mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I had read the first book about these characters, but initially hadn’t realised that this story follows on. It was intriguing to discover what had happened to everyone, but this can also be read as a stand alone book. Chief detective Clements and her second in command are investigating a woman who has gone missing. I like the banter between the two police, the older, wiser chief and sharp deputy. The story is told from several perspectives, flipping between different timeframes. Stacie is recovering from a brain operation, and being cared for by her dad. The story is set during the Covid pandemic when people were confined to their homes. Her days are spent on the beach, with no access to the internet. At first you don’t realise the connection to the main story. The various chapters written by different characters help to give depth to the storyline. The plot is complex, gripping in places, with several twists and turns as the story unfolds. But, I feel that at times, the pace slows down and can seem drawn out. Character driven, this is a skilfully written, intriguing plot, exploring the lighter side of our psyche, along with its darker depths. The ending was amazing, bringing everything together in a totally unexpected way. #JustBetweenUs #NetGalley

Oh how this book made me realise how much I missed reading crime fiction. Parks has pulled me back into the world of crime with this nail biting suspenseful thriller. Just Between Us is a follow on from the Both Of Us (though I think it can be read as a stand-alone as I haven’t read Both Of Us and I didn’t realise it was a follow on till I finished Just Between Us). I really loved the characters and I found each one interesting (apart from Mark, sorry Mark but you’re dull), it was nice to be invested in the story and all of the characters instead of just wanting to race to the narrative that I liked best, which is usually the case when it’s more than one narrative. Murder, amnesia, bigamy and just nutty characters in general - it had the whole lot! So many morally grey characters but i couldn’t help feel bad and kind of root for them. I honestly didn’t know what the hell to expect at the end, there was so much going on (in a good way) and I loved that it wasn’t a cliche ending. Just Between Us is out on August 17th and it’s definitely a crime book you’re going to want to pick up

This is an excellent book. Having no impact on my rating I did not realise until the very end of the book that there is an earlier book. Although it is suggested you go back and read the former I would have far preferred to read them in sequence. I loved the approach where each chapter is one of the main characters. At the start you are presented with a death but no body and a probable ultra-rich murderer who has retreated to the Netherlands. You also have a woman recovering from cancer living in Lyme Regis with her Father. You wonder how the stories inter-relate and gradually you begin to understand. There are some good surprises along the way. The main reason for me not giving the book a 5-star rating is that I found the book quite wordy and lacking movement. This is a subjective comment and many readers will not feel the same. I had no idea how the book would end and I'm not saying anything except the last few pages are an excellent read and understandable. Definitely a book not to be missed.