What Lies Between Us - Book Review

I loved Naomi Munaweera's first novel Island of a Thousand Mirrors. It was one of my very favorite novels in 2014. So, when I saw that she'd written another novel, I was thrilled to be able to read it. What Lies Between Us takes the reader back to Sri Lanka, where a young girl grows up surrounded by the tenuous love of her parents. Her relationship with her mother is at times loving caresses and tenderness but often her mother withdraws and is distant and emotionally unavailable. At the same time, the girl loves her homeland--the lush surroundings and dear friends. However, under it all, she hides a terrible secret that is threatening to destroy her entire family. When disaster sends them to America, she must now try to fit in within a completely different society and culture.

In What Lies Between Us, Munaweera again delights with stunningly beautiful language and haunting imagery. I was enraptured as she wove her tale of familial love and its power for complete destruction. The narrator is a sensitive character who endures so much and has a way of observing and describing situations that shows her keen insight.

Munaweera exposes parts of human nature that we wish to hide and wish they weren't true. It is at times uncomfortable and yet so very valuable to recognize and understand. She never lets the reader off the hook and doesn't shy away from painful topics. She writes a novel that will make you feel and think and maybe even squirm. What Lies Between Us is an unforgettable novel.

What Lies Between Us by Naomi Munaweera is published by St. Martin's Press and released on February 16, 2016.

**I received a complimentary copy of What Lies Between Us. All opinions are my own. No compensation was received.**