This novel grabbed me and didn’t let me go until I’d finished. A story of a family, told from varying viewpoints, which effectively helped the reader to understand the different dynamics. I especially enjoyed seeing things from the secondary and primary school girls, Lilly and Mia. Mia in particular was a quirky character whose thought processes were fascinating.

As I saw I was reaching the end of the novel I didn’t know how the author was going to wrap it all together. The denouement was fast and startling and mostly satisfying.

One I’d recommend.

I don't really want to post a negative review but I read half of the book and never really got into it. Thanks to Netgalley and PenguinUK/Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read and review Beneath the Surface,

Not really sure about this book personally, I found it hard to get into and I didn't particularly like the characters.

I ended up doing a fair bit of skim reading and was glad when I got to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK (Michael Joseph) for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story felt unsure, the narration uncertain as a reader. It kept making me ask myself if this is just another dysfunctional family or a mystery or what exactly is it.

I found this a difficult book to engage with as none of the characters were particularly nice people. A complex story of family dynamics and flawed personalities.

As a child Grace battled constantly to keep herself and her younger brother safe in the chaotic household her narcissistic hippy mother called their home. By the time she met and married Patrick she knew she wanted the kind of safe family she’d seen her schoolmates growing up in and foolishly thought steady reliable Patrick was the man to provide it. Until he loses his regular teaching job and has to rely on casual teaching hours she seems to have succeeded. Eldest daughter Lily is pretty, hard-working and with the right amount of extra work, which Grace makes sure she dies, destined for Oxbridge. Youngest daughter Mia isn’t quite so straightforward, probably somewhere on the autistic spectrum, and prone to obsessions, but she will do anything for her beloved sister.

Grace is unaware that Lily has started to rebel against her regimented life until Lily collapses in school with a mysterious illness that’s soon causing panic in their community. Mia is convinced the way to help Lily lies with the body of a pregnant Anglo Saxon girl she’d send on a school trip. Grace is too busy searching Lily’s things for evidence that her secret boyfriend is to blame to realise what Mia is up to and Patrick just wants all their problems to go away and give him his easy life back.

Enjoyable mix of family mystery and ghost story, perfect for the beach.

Beneath the Surface is an interesting family drama which makes good use of the backdrop of The Fens to add to the air of suspense and drama.
Grace is an overprotective mother to Lily (17) and Mia (10). Her husband tries to balance her parenting strategies by being laid back with the girls, but he has his own failings, not least allowing the debts to mount, leading the family to make the move from the centre of Cambridge to a new build house, with damp problems, in a less salubrious part of the area.
Both Grace and Patrick carry problems from their respective familial relationships.
Lily has always been popular and top of the class. Mia is the opposite, she has some undiagnosed condition which has traits of being on the autism spectrum, she has only two friends, Tas, a young boy who lives on the nearby travellers site, and Elvis the eel. Mia is a shining star and my favourite character in the book.
The family’s troubles deepen when Lily has a seizure during an English lesson. This brings to the surface a whole heap of problems for all of the family.
Whilst I enjoyed this book on the whole, I found the pace of it just much too slow at times (hence the rating given).
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a read, great charecters a great story that kept me gripped from the start, bit of a fast heartbeat reading that last chapter

A slow burner but a insightful read into a dysfunctional family

They move to Cambridge and the mother rules the roost, saying what they can and can't do etc. This is all sue to her traumatic upbringing and we see the results of her life on those around her now.

When a 'mysterious illness' affects one of the girls, Grace finds that her grip on her past, the control and of course reality starts down a slippery slope.


Not one for me ultimately. There's a lot about illness and trauma in a family but those fans of family dramas and character insights will like it.

Well written book that is quick and easy to read. I was intrigued as to what would be revealed but felt a bit let down by the ending. It felt a little rushed and I wasn't blown away by the revelations. However, it would make a great beach read as it's not too taxing and is relatable if you have children as I could empathise with the playground politics and the pressures placed on teenagers.

' Human beings are nothing more than layers and layers of secrets...'
This novel is about a family who, due to financial difficulties, move to a new development on the outskirts of Cambridge. Due to a traumatic upbringing, which she has hidden from her family, Grace is controlling with her children and wants to ensure the very best for them. When a 'mysterious illness' affects one of the girls, Grace finds everything spiralling out of control and secrets are ultimately revealed.

The characters are well developed, and though I didn't like all of them, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book at all. My favourite character was Mia, I liked her eccentric nature and the humour she brought to the story. Despite her and her sister being very different personalities, they still had a close relationship.

This book is an engaging, enjoyable read. I would recommend it and will certainly look for more by this author.

I really enjoyed this book, I do love a good family drama where nothing is as it seems!
Grace, and Patrick are on the surface a happy couple, with their teenage daughter Lily excelling at school and 10 year old Mia, while quirky and eccentric, appears to be happy enough. However, we soon find out that they all have their secrets.
I felt so bad for Grace, when her past is revealed it goes some way to explain her anxieties as a parent. Some of Mia's antics are really funny, and I loved her show and tell scenario! A lot of the family's problems are caused by none of them being honest about anything and some major misunderstandings, I felt like sitting them all down and making them talk to each other.
Very enjoyable, I would certainly recommend this book.

Beneath the Surface by Fiona Neill a four-star read filled with drama. This is all about lies beneath the surface, but its also filled with family politics and family drama. We all know family drama is the type of drama that scratches the surface and unravels so much, its complex and thrilling, much like this story. The writing is great, and will keep you hooked for the most part, there are a few dips but overall very well done.

I’d like to thank Penguin UK-Michael Joseph and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Beneath The Surface’ by Fiona Neill in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Patrick Vermuyden is debt-ridden and has been forced to move with wife Grace and daughters Lilly and Mia to a house in the Black Fens which is permanently damp and covered in red dust. Grace wants Lilly and Mia to have a better childhood than the one she experienced and pushes them to achieve the best grades at school. When Lilly has a seizure and is kept in hospital, secrets are discovered that could change the family's lives forever.

Fiona Neill has produced a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel of a family and their secrets. The further I got into the story the more I was captivated by each individual character, their strengths and weaknesses, their hopes and dreams, all of them coming across as unique individuals. ‘Beneath The Surface’ has been written with compassion and empathy and I can thoroughly recommend it.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

scratch the surface of any family and will you still like them...this is very much a story about a family of four, mom and dad and their two daughters lilly and mia

dad lies about their debt
mom lies about her childhood and has dreams that her daughters will have better childhoods than she did

lilly the eldest daughter who is a teenager and studying to go to cambridge
and mia who always seems to get into trouble and doesnt have any friends

lilly has a seizure in school and this leads to the collapse of the family around her,with mom and dad pulling themselves apart and mia gets up to all sorts of trouble

not many redeeming features with this family and i did struggle in places with this book but loved the mischief that mia got up to....

Beneath the Surface is a story about a Family with hidden secrets and lies ,set in he Fens which is beautifully described.I felt the story was a bit of a slow burner but ultimately it was a good read.Many thanks to the Publisher,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Having loved The Betrayals, I had high hopes for this one but I was a little disappointed. The intrigue carried me along, the fen-land setting was well drawn and I thoroughly enjoyed any scenes which featured Mia but I found all the other characters to be either intensely irritating or utterly implausible. It was a solid enough domestic thriller but didn't stand out in a crowded market.

A very enjoyable book. I have to admit the story line is not one that normally grabs me but I have to congratulate the author as the words and way it is written kept me hooked throughout. The ending seemed somewhat abrupt and, for me, did not close off all the threads sufficiently but it did address what had happened when Grace was a teenager. Definitely worth reading

The book starts off with a bang and keeps you hooked through out. It is a story which every person with a family can relate to. Everyone in a family has their own quirks and imagination dn coping mechanisms and sometimes these may not be the most conducive to the entire family as a whole. Quite an interesting read.

Grace Vermuyden has two daughters Lily and Mia. Grace is determined that they will have a better life than she has had.and when Lily collapses she is determined to get to the bottom of it.
They live in the Fens and soon rumours begin to circulate about the reasons why it happened. Grace sets out to find out what Lily has been up to and why she hasn't told her parents.
Mia gets left to her own devices and soon has her own theories which have devastating consequences for her family.