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The best part about this book was the character of Mia. She put an interesting slant on the family dramas and the mystery illness. However, overall the book just didn't hold my interest and the ending was so abrupt, you wonder what the point of the story was.
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With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.
Grace and Michael Vermyden had been married for 18 years. They had two children seventeen year old Lily and ten year old Mia. Lily was the golden child, popular, an academic high achiever and talented swimmer. Mia was not as bright and was bullied by her classmates for her eccentricities. At home Mia was perceived as a problem child and often overlooked
Grace wanted to be the perfect mother and would encourage Lily in her studies and her swimming. However Grace was overbearing and wanted Lily to go to Cambridge University.
One day Grace had an unexplained seizure during an English class. At the hospital Mia let slip that Grace had been seeing a boy from school over the summer holidays. Grace didn't know and decided to look at Mia`s mobile. From there she found out that Mia had been keeping a secret life.
During the story we find out both Grace and Michael are keeping secrets from each other. After Michael's hours at work were reduced he had problems covering the mortgage. The family had to leave their city town house and moved to a new house that was badly built with damp. Unknown to Grace he had built up a huge credit card debt and the mortgage was in arrears. In desperation Michael had to borrow from his younger brother. Grace was still masking the pain from a difficult childhood.
beneath the surface was a slow but steady drama about the secrets within one family.
Grace annoyed me initially because I thought she was living vicariously through Lily. As Grace`s story came out I began to understand why she behaved the way she did. However Grace was like a little terrier and I could completely understand why Lily kept secrets from her mother.
I thought 10 year Mia was the star of the show. She was definitely on the spectrum, and felt so sorry her only friends in the world were Elvis the eel and a boy called Tes. I had to laugh at her matter of fact comments and her battle of wills with teacher Miss Swain. I was annoyed that Mia was often overlooked by her parents.
I also liked Lily and thought her seizures were intriguing. it is amazing how your mind can affect your body. I think Cormack was a nasty piece of work and she was better off without him.
My least favourite character was Michael. He was a good man but I thought he was weak and definitely lived in the shadow of his successful ancestors and younger brother. He preferred to put his head in the sand whenever they were problems with the kids.
Overall I enjoyed this book. However I was disappointed by the abrupt ending, and would of liked to have found out what happened between Grace and Michael.
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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed previous books by this author, so, was looking forward to reading this one. However, this didn’t live up to expectations.
I could not connect with any of the characters making this a laborious read.
I did manage to eventually finish it but was left feeling very underwhelmed.
I do appreciate having the opportunity to preview the book and wish it every success.
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Great writing and all the ingredients for a powerful story didn’t make up for the lack of excitement.
I was really excited about this book since I loved “The Betrayals” by the same author. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite have the same effect on me. It didn’t hook me enough, and there was nothing in the storyline I felt excited about. In the end, I kept reading but I was not in a rush, I could put down the book at any time and I’d struggle to get back to it.
The problem? It felt like nothing was really happening. There were hints at times that made me feel it’d be worth to keep reading to discover more, but at each reveal, I felt some sort of disappointment. The big final reveal was the one that disappointed the most. Overall, it all felt very anti-climax and uneventful.
Not all is bad though. I thought the first chapter was promising, even though it was a bit long and the following chapters didn’t manage to hook me. Bonus points for Fiona Neill’s writing style which is still as amazing as I remember, even with the occasional head hopping and PoV switch. Mia’s perspective was quite unique and I think the way the story was told enriched the reading experience, even if I didn’t feel much for the story itself. I also have to say that besides Mia, I didn’t feel too attached to the characters.
Since I felt there was nothing surprising happening, the pace felt slow and I felt I was dragging through the pages. Then when things start getting interesting – or so I thought, the ending didn’t surprise or added much. So it was a bit disappointing in that sense as well.
I really wanted to love this book, because I still think it’s thought-provoking and beautiful. But in the end, it’s about each reader’ experience, and mine was just not memorable enough.
Overall, even though this isn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t for me. I felt I kept reading in hopes to be surprised and awaiting a big reveal, but nothing impressed me or moved me.
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Beneath The Surface by Fiona Neill is about family with so many secrets, you never quite know what is going to pop up to haunt them next. What starts as an unusual find for ten year old Mia; a pregnancy test that shows positive, opens up a whole chasm of questions. Why did her older sister get rid of a baby she didn't want, when her auntie and uncle are trying so hard to make a baby of their own?
Sworn to secrecy, Mia is overcome with curiosity and well, kids being kids deal with things their own way. Especially when what they've been told is not exactly the truth. All these lies and secrets are just bubbling away beneath the surface, which, as you may have spotted, is an apt title for this book.
The mother Grace has a very sad upbringing, and when you discover why, you'll be forgiven if you found this neurotic and overbearing mum a bit annoying at first. She has her reasons. As the story unravels you'll see how scared she is of history repeating itself, and why she is the way she is. What if human behaviour is controlled by the subconscious and we are no more than our history, a blend of everything we have experienced, touched, seen and smelt throughout our lives? What if Grace's life goes round, full circle - because it is in fact inevitable?
Even though this story sounds quite full on, the subject matter is dealt with really well, and sometimes a kind of dark humour creeps in. It's subtle, but it's there. Particularly with Mia and her down to earth way of explaining things, when all the adults around her are making everything so much more complicated when left to their own devices! Luckily, Mia is there to step in and sort everyone out.
I'll be honest, the main reason I picked up this book is that the author, Fiona Neill, likes to write about my home town and areas that I know well... Well, it's not that often people want to write Cambridge, UK into their books! Don't judge me lol,. I mean, there's plenty for those living in NYC or London, but not in Cambridgeshire. I also have to admit, this made a very good book even better for me. I love it when I can say, I know that school, that road, that pub! I was already heavily invested in this story and the super plot, so it goes without saying that feeling so familiar with the setting, I really felt like I was there among the chaos of Vermuyden family life. And boy, were they keeping secrets from each other.
In addition, I really liked how there were several interesting facts and Anglo Saxon legends woven into the pages of this book, for example, when Lilly had a seizure her little sister Mia , (a wonderful character I loved) was sure she'd caught the Ague, (Marsh Fever) which dates back from when the Fens were still marshland. Why has it come up now? Because the body of a dead girl and her baby have been unearthed at a traveller site where her best friend Tas lives, and she thinks the spirit of the girl has been disturbed and is out to wreck havoc on her family, because of the baby her sister got rid of. If she can get them to believe this is true, then maybe Tas won't have to move away from the burial site, and things can stay as they are. Her only friend (other than her eel) won't have to leave her. Incidentally, when the eel was released I felt so sorry for Mia and the injustice she felt about it all. She was such an endearing character. My heart went out to her.
Then there's the topic of fake news, and how Catriona's husband works for a news organisation that specialises in spreading anti-climate-change propaganda. Is the water supply contaminated by pollution form the new wind farm out on Black Fen? Or is there another reason Lily had her seizure?
Unwanted pregnancies, unwanted travellers, anti-climate propaganda, a failing school system, an Anglo Saxon obsession, a captive (in a bucket) Eel called Elvis -- (take a breath) it's all here! After a slow start the story suddenly throws the characters in all directions. I felt as anxious as they were to see how things resolved for them. Beneath the surface of what this plot is about there's an underlying, undercurrent of how the secrets of the past may already have your life mapped out for you, even if you are determined that will not be the case. Riveting, true to life and so beautifully written.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for my copy. Will be sharing my review on my blo on publish day.
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I didn't actually actively choose to read Beneath the Surface, it was offered to me by the publishers via Netgalley and, because I'd had a spate of somewhat disappointing ARCs I almost declined. Luckily I pressed download instead and soon found myself immersed in Fiona Neill's beautifully descriptive world building.
Lilly is a golden girl. Oxbridge bound, elite swimmer she's her mother's pride and joy. But Grace can't see that her love is smothering her eldest daughter. Meanwhile Mia, the youngest, clumsy, intense and embarrassingly direct, is crying out for attention and Patrick, her weakly well meaning husband is sinking under the weight of debts he can't acknowledge to himself or to Grace, throwing more and more money into a house rotting with damp. When Lilly collapses into a fit, the whole family finds their secrets exposed, especially Lilly's summer of escape from the narrow confines of her life.
On one level Beneath the Surface is a look at the middle class dream gone sour; the aspirational pushy parents living beyond their means, a child pushed to achieve by a mother who sees only what she wants to see, but Neill is too clever to be so simplistic. The book is aptly named, there is something bubbling beneath the surface of every character, especially Grace, on one level unlikeably neurotic, on another deeply, deeply scarred from a past she can barely reveal to herself let alone the family she shows her love to through a perfectly organised fridge and swimming lessons.
The Cambridge fens are another character, alive with wind and dust, swelling rivers and damp which seeps into the house, the walls and the soul, a contrast to the old university city from which the family are exiled through lack of money. Beneath the surface is haunting, heartbreaking and unforgettable. Recommended.
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I loved Fiona's previous book The Betrayals so was delighted to be approved for this new novel Beneath the Surface.
Another tale of a dysfunctional family this time set in The Fens.
The Vermuyden family live in a rather run down house and the reader soon discovers that everyone in this family are keeping secrets and hidden truths.
Lily the eldest daughter has a seizure at school one day and while the hospital tries to work out what has caused it her mother discovers a secret life her daughter has been living. Younger daughter Mia is a strange character. Not happy at school and rather eccentric, a not entirely likeable character.
With mother and father also hiding things it seems nothing can go right for this family in trouble.
It is a slow moving book but well written with it's setting described superbly.
I didn't enjoy it as much as The Betrayals but found it a worth while read with an ending I didn't see coming.
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A slow burn of a novel but no less gripping for that. The characters- especially weird Mia - we’re well drawn, (mostly) likeable and utterly believable. The plot ground its way inexorably forward, taking me with it, and, if the symbolism was a bit heavy and final twists a bit (for me) excessive, it was nonetheless a tense, enjoyable and atmospheric read. I’d recommend it.
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I was keen to read Beneath the Surface as I had read and enjoyed two of Fiona Neill’s previous books. This one, unfortunately, did not live up to my expectations.
It is a story of a dysfunctional family living in the Fens. Grace, the mother, is a paranoid, obsessive parent whilst Patrick, the father, lacked any personality and seemed distant from the goings-on. 17 year-old Lilly collapses during a school lesson and it is a mystery as to the reason. Much speculation as to the cause is rumoured locally. Her younger sister, Mia is hard to understand; she is obsessed with the local archeological excavations and was not a likeable character.
I found it to be a slow read which did not really draw me in. The descriptions of the Fens and surrounding area were excellent. I do like the author’s style of writing and look forward to reading more of her work.
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This book has family saga written all over it. A clever tale told through correspondence, looking back over generations to explain a family dynamic that still haunts them today.
It is well written, although quite obvious what way the story is heading. A thriller it isn't I would say, but an emotional roller coaster of dominance affecting future lives. Abi is trying in her own way to get through the baggage and the description of her old relatives was stark and bare at times, not the most pleasant of characters were sometimes hard to read about and even harder to like.
It is quite a linear story, with not many bends to it, but a heavy holiday read if that's what you like.
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One second, Lilly Vermuyden is sitting in her English class, the next she is lying on the floor convulsing uncontrollably. What’s wrong with the 17-year-old teenager? The doctors take test after test but do not seem to come closer to the cause for her seizure. Rumours start spreading and Lilly’s mother Grace totally freaks out. How could she not protect her daughter? Only Lilly’s younger sister Mia seems to know what is going on: archaeological excavations close to their home must have evoked evil spirits who now haunt the living. Mia gets totally worked up in her theory and behaves even stranger than normal calling her teachers into action. Life in the well-ordered Vermuyden household is close to collapsing and thus, well-hidden secrets threaten to be uncovered.
Fiona Neill’s novel sounded intriguing and actually it mixes quite some enthralling aspects: a family in which everybody seems to be on the watch in order to keep their secrets, a young girl totally immersed in Anglo-Saxon history and fascinated by spooky tales, and a medical incident that seems to be too complicated to find an easy explanation. Yet, somehow I couldn’t really connect to the story.
The story mainly lives on the characters who were multi-faceted and interestingly drawn. First and foremost, Lilly who is a typical teenager who hides her private life from her parents since she does not want to destroy the picture they have of her. She tries to please her mother und fulfil the expectations but can only fail here. There is some mystery about what happened that made her collapse that keeps suspense high throughout the plot. Her mother, on the other hand, is quite unsympathetic since she is a total control freak who does not grant her golden girl one millimetre of free space. There is a reason for her behaviour, yet, this is only inserted in a very brief excursus and thus remains too superficial to make her a really remarkable and complex character. Admittedly, I soon got totally annoyed with Mia. For quite some time I was wondering if she is somehow autistic since she doesn’t seem to understand how she tramples on the other characters’ feelings. Then, I thought she was rather precocious before I came to the conclusion that she is simply an entirely malignant egoistic young person. The father, Patrick, ended up deeply in debt and so weak that the story could have been told without him.
There are some major questions raised about family life, parenting, growing-up and how much privacy is healthy for people close to each other. It all adds up in the end, yet, somehow, I had the impression that a bit more focus on one or a maximum of two characters would have been better.
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A dark family drama story.
They initially appear to be quite a normal family.
Then lily has a seizure.
There are debts and secrets.
Keeps you guessing what will happen next .
The book is quite slow paced but keeps you interested and wanting to know what happens next.
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This story is about a dysfunctional family. The mother, Grace is hyper paranoid, the father, Patrick is ridden with debt. They have two daughters, Lily and Mia. Lily has has a seizure in class, this forces the family to take stock of the situation.
What an intense and emotionally charged read this is. It's beautifully written and shows how different people deal with the problems that life can throw at you. The characters are well developed but not all of them are likeable. The pace is slow. Quite an interesting read.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Micheal Joseph and the author Fiona Neill for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quite an interesting read.
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I loved Fiona Neill’s novel The Betrayals, so I had high expectations for Beneath the Surface, another family drama. It’s set in the Fens, where Patrick and Grace Vermuyden and their two daughters, teenager Lilly and ten year old Mia, are living in badly built, damp and draughty house. Grace says it’s because the marshland beneath is reclaiming the land. It’s not just the land and the house that cause the problems the family face. They’re a dysfunctional family, all of them keeping their secrets well hidden from each other – as the subtitle indicates: Everyone Lies.
Patrick’s in debt, Grace keeps the tragedy of her childhood to herself, wanting her daughters to have the happy childhood denied to her, Lilly seems to have everything going for her, a clever girl who looks set to do well and go to university, until she suffers a seizure and collapses at school. Whilst Lilly spends time in hospital as they try to discover what is the cause of her illness Grace discovers to her great dismay that Lilly has been living a secret life.
As for Mia, she is a problem child and always in trouble at school. Her only friend is Tas, who lives in a caravan on the Travellers’ site. She’s an eccentric child with a vivid imagination, who keeps an eel she calls Elvis, in a bucket in her bedroom and she has a knack of saying the most inappropriate remarks at the wrong time. At times I really didn’t like her much – especially for keeping the eel in captivity and also because of the barefaced lies she sometimes tells. And it is Mia’s actions, for ever wildly thinking up reasons for what is going on around her that add to their problems. Even as she tries to put things right everything just seems to get worse.
Beneath the Surface is an emotionally charged novel about the burden of keeping secrets and the effects that misunderstandings and lies can have. In parts I found the story weighed down with words, but I was gripped by it and anxious for all the characters as it seemed they were in an ever decreasing spiral of disastrous events. After quite a slow start it gradually builds to a dramatic climax that took me totally by surprise.
Many thanks to the publishers, Penguin UK – Michael Joseph, for my review copy via NetGalley.
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A thriller set in the Norfolk fens – the geographical features of dampness, mist and water providing plenty of atmosphere and adding to the drama of the story.
Patrick, Grace and their daughters Lilly and Mia seem like an average family, but there are debts, Lilly’s mysterious collapse, Mia’s obsession with the local Anglo Saxon archaeological dig, and a positive pregnancy test…
All combine to produce a compelling story, with a cast of characters with which to empathise. I enjoyed this.
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A well written family drama filled with secrets and suspense. An engrossing and thought provoking read.
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Beneath the Surface is a family drama in which a seizure suffered by the elder daughter, 17-year old Lilly, in school becomes a catalyst for secrets, some long buried and some more recent, to come to the surface. It is also a character drama about Grace, a mother whose own unhappy and difficult childhood leads her to become an obsessive and controlling parent. While dramas about dysfunctional families with secrets are not really something I’d pick up, Fiona Neill is a good writer and Beneath the Surface is a decent book if somewhat long.
Before her seizure, Lilly was seen as a golden child, best student on track for Cambridge, competitive swimmer and popular at school. After the seizure, it slowly becomes clear that Lilly’s achievements are more to do with neglect that Grace suffered from her own parents and her subsequent projections onto Lilly. It also slowly becomes clear to Grace that Lilly, for reasons of her own, kept various elements of her own life private and this is not something that Grace can accept. At times, I found Grace in full Stasi mode (as she tries to discover her daughter’s secrets) blackly comic, which I don’t think was intentional. Meanwhile Patrick, Grace’s husband is much calmer, at least on the surface but he also has issues that greatly affect the family which he doesn’t share with his wife.
And then there is Mia, the younger daughter who is 10 and seemingly on the spectrum. She finds it hard to make friends in school so when her one friend might have to move away, she looks for ways to both keep her friend and help her sister. Because both of her parents are preoccupied with what’s happened to Lilly, parenting Mia becomes an afterthought and a bit of a chore. It’s not as if she’s neglected exactly but neither Grace nor Patrick really pay much attention to her. Throw in the setting, Cambridgeshire Fens and the family’s new house full of damp and builders; the theft of an Anglo-Saxon ring at an archaeological site nearby; the reaction of other parents to Lilly’s seizure and the worry (and subsequent media frenzy) that it might be something contagious and altogether, I thought it was a bit too much. These outside events dragged the story out somewhat and I think the main plot suffered.
Beneath the Surface made me think about the importance of trust, openness and responsibility in relationships and how Grace and Patrick, the wife and the husband, managed to be married for 18 years and have two children, without much trust (Grace), openness (both) and responsibility (Patrick). In this sense, I thought both were somewhat underdeveloped characters, I’m struggling to define Grace as anything other than obsessive and Patrick as anything other than bland and irresponsible. Still, overall, Beneath the Surface is an engaging read and a good exploration of obsessive parenting.
My thanks to Penguin and Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read and review Beneath the Surface.
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Not my cup of tea. i couldn't connect to the characters and the book fell flat.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
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Tense family drama filled with characters who have secrets. The main theme is parenting: what makes a good parent and a happy home? Despite the majority of characters being hard to like, the book is very readable. Poignant.
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This was not the book that I expected. It took quite a while to humanise the characters of this dysfunctional family and I felt that it ended too abruptly and left me hanging mid air. The fact that everyone lies was very apparent throughout but the truth of what the lies were only really came out at the end. The story was well written, flowed well and had many unusual aspects. I loved the historical descriptions about the land reclamation and the naming of Ely.