This follow up to Both of You is a thrilling, gripping and engaging read. It can be read as a standalone but I strongly suggest you start with Both of You first. Both of You finishes ambiguously and like many of Adele Park's readers I wanted a definitive answer! Just Between Us delivers this and ties up all loose ends as well as giving the reader further characters and plot twists. I don't want to say too much or give any of the plots away but this is another epic psychological thriller from Adele Parks and had me staying up into the wee hours as I couldn't put it down!

3.5 rounded up The follow up to Both of You It’s 2020 and lockdown and the country is gripped with the scandalous case of missing, presumed dead bigamist Kylie Gillingham which DCI Clements is investigating. Both husbands come under suspicion, the weight of it hanging particularly over one of them. Meanwhile, Stacie Jones on the Dorset coast is recovering from cancer surgery and is living back home with her father. The story is told from several perspectives and all of them are interesting and serve to deepen the mystery and adds an emotional edge especially from the stepsons Oli and Seb. Stacie’s point of view is good as post operation her memory bank is empty and I like how this seems to mirror the solitary location of her father’s cottage. Here the author creates a really good atmospheric backdrop to the mystery of Kylie. Covid lockdown is used very effectively too as it adds an extra element with the timescale moving towards Freedom Saturday. In the first 60% or so there are some good twists and the situation definitely grows curiouser and curiouser. However, much as there are lots of positives and I do enjoy the book, I think the novel is overlong and thus it loses the impact of some of the plot nor does the last 40% or so have quite the same intensity. Some aspects seem to be rather predictable and yet conversely others seem a bit of a stretch! Overall, I enjoyed Both of You more than this follow up. This can be read as a stand-alone but it’s better to have read the first book.

As the follow up to ‘Both of You’, I’m glad I’d read that before this one, although I did get a bit confused at times reading this, having a bit of a sense of deja vu. The story centres around Kai/Leigh’s disappearance and the turmoil and grief that was felt by those close to her, who were also still staggering from the news of her betrayal. The husbands are both obviously suspects, and things are made more difficult by lockdown and COVID. Stacie has been ill, and is being looked after by her father, which, as she says, at her age isn’t right, especially as she can’t remember anything about her life or what happened to her. I liked the premise of this story, and really enjoyed the first parts, but as it became more predictable, I found myself getting impatient with some of the characters, especially Mark and Stacie, and Fiona almost became a caricature. I liked the DCI, she seemed more real, although normally a senior police officer would be unlikely to be so hands on. However, I was sufficiently invested in the story to see where it went. 3 1/2⭐️ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a great sequel to ‘Both of you’ that picks up exactly where it left off with the police still trying to track down Kylie and her husbands and children still left reeling. Fast forward a few months where she’s still missing, presumed dead but with one husband now accused of murder and one of her sons refusing to accept she’s dead they’re still desperate to find out what happened to her. This is very difficult to review without giving away any spoilers, I think for me it lacked surprise but I did enjoy catching up with the characters and seeing the story reach a definitive conclusion. It is fine as a standalone but personally I would read both books in order, ideally back to back to get a full feel of both stories and character.

I struggled to get on with this one and I almost didn't finish it. I like police procedurals and I was initially put off by the really poor research that had been done regarding police ranks and responsibilities- it was pretty basic stuff that was wrong, and that's irritating. However I persisted, and it turned out it didn't matter too much since the police characters are pretty peripheral to the story. I found it quite slow to develop and I couldn't really envision how a woman with two kids could be a bigamist, when does she even find the time? I didn't realise until I'd finished the book that it's a direct sequel to Both of You, which I haven't read. Perhaps I'd have enjoyed it more if I had.