Is 'What Lies Between Us' Based On A True Story?

I just finished reading 'What Lies Between Us' and it's definitely fiction, but it feels so real because of how well the author crafts the psychological tension. The story about a mother and daughter trapped in a toxic relationship doesn't mirror any specific true crime case I know, but it echoes real family dynamics gone wrong. The way the daughter keeps her mother chained in the basement is extreme, but the emotional manipulation between them is something you might see in real abusive relationships. The book's power comes from taking ordinary familial love and twisting it into something monstrous, which makes it feel uncomfortably plausible even though it's not based on true events. If you like this kind of domestic thriller, you should check out 'The Push' by Ashley Audrain - another fictional story that digs into disturbing family ties.

As someone who reads both true crime and psychological thrillers, I can confirm 'What Lies Between Us' is pure fiction, though inspired by universal human darkness. The novel's central premise—a daughter imprisoning her mother—isn't lifted from any documented case, but the psychological warfare between the two characters reflects real patterns found in toxic relationships. The author John Marrs has stated in interviews that he wanted to explore how love can curdle into something dangerous over time, which is why the story resonates so strongly despite being invented.

What makes it feel true is the meticulous attention to emotional detail. The slow burn of resentment, the way small betrayals accumulate, and the justification of extreme actions all mirror how real relationships fracture. The book doesn't need a true crime backbone because the character psychology is brutally authentic. If you enjoy stories that blur the line between fiction and emotional truth, 'Sharp Objects' by Gillian Flynn does something similar with its portrayal of mother-daughter dysfunction.

The absence of supernatural elements also grounds the horror in recognizable human behavior. While no one has actually replicated the novel's extreme scenario, the underlying themes of control, revenge, and twisted devotion exist in milder forms throughout real family court cases and psychological studies. That's what makes the fictional premise so compelling—it takes latent human tendencies and pushes them to their logical extreme.

Having analyzed countless thrillers, I can say 'What Lies Between Us' isn't based on any single true story, but it synthesizes real psychological concepts into its fiction. The confinement narrative taps into documented cases of familial imprisonment, though the book's scenario is more symbolic than literal. The mother-daughter power struggle reflects actual attachment disorders and intergenerational trauma patterns seen in clinical psychology.

The genius lies in how the author transforms these real psychological principles into narrative tension. The daughter's justification for her actions mirrors how abusers rationalize behavior in real life, making the fiction feel uncomfortably familiar. Unlike true crime adaptations that stick to facts, this novel explores the 'what if' of human darkness with artistic liberty.

If you want something similarly gripping but rooted in fact, 'If You Tell' by Gregg Olsen documents a true case of familial abuse. For pure fiction that feels just as real, 'The Silent Patient' explores psychological extremes with the same intensity.