BENEATH THE SURFACE – FIONA NEILL

In the interests of disclosure, I was sent by NetGalley two novels to read pre-publication in return for a frank review. They were chalk and cheese. Not just the stories, which obviously were different, but the abilities of the authors. One had strong, totally believable characters, and an unusual setting, and was expertly written. The other was the exact opposite. Fortunately, ‘Beneath the Surface’ is the former.

The characters, both very young, and older, are each drawn remarkably well, as though the author is describing her immediate family. They live and breathe as real people do. You feel you know them, their desires and worries and aspirations. They live within a setting that is also an important aspect of the story.

Technically it is written with great assurance. We are shown what happens rather than told about it, and it builds over the course of the book to a riveting climax. Quite frankly this could become a one-off TV series. Unlike the other book I reviewed, for me, this is an example of how to write a book.

I shall look forward to reading her previous works.

A novel about a rather dysfunctional but engaging quirky family full of secrets and misunderstandings. I wasn't sure to start but actually soon became hooked as the character's strengths and weaknesses unfolded. The character's themselves were believeable and developed with a little background, in the case of the adults, how the family had got to where it was. The mother was the only person I couldn't take to but pushy controlling mother's with a favourite child I cannot like.

Easy to read with many twists and turns.with some unusual storylines.

This book reminds me of a book I read for my A'level English lit course. It demonstrates using the landscape of the Fens to chart the emotional and psychological implications a place can have on a person. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

If you like books about dysfunctional families and damaged people then this book is for you! It's also about damaged landscapes and the consequences of messing about with nature. The Vermuyden family, Patrick, Grace and their daughters Lilly and Mia have moved out from central Cambridge to a new build on the edge of the Fens because neither of the adults has a proper job and they are short of money. The house turns out to be a disaster full of damp as the Fens take revenge on Patrick whose ancestors helped to drain them. Patrick is dependent on his rich brother to help pay the bills, he keeps this from Grace so they never get to address their problems. Everyone else has secrets too. Grace was reared by strange hippies and cults and the damage and the scars from that are beginning to show. Lilly who, on the surface, is working hard for her A-levels at a highly competitive school in Cambridge also has a secret life and boyfriend and which has caused her significant problems as well. Mia is an undiagnosed sufferer with Asperger Syndrome which the family like to sweep under the carpet and ignore. There's also an archaeological site which Mia has become obsessed with and a traveller site adjacent to it where her best friend Tas lives, and his family are likely to be moved on because of the continuing dig. It's a car crash from the start!

The tensions come to a head when Lilly has a full-blown seizure at school. Grace flips as her desire to be in control causes her to behave disgracefully. Then, there is public panic, rather typical of Cambridge, with more people having seizures, wind turbines being blamed among other things and more relationships falling apart. It's one of those books where things just get worse and worse and the sensible voices don't get heard.

You could argue that it's all Grace's fault. Her dreadful upbringing explains her need for order and her ambitions for her children but the book's strength is that it is much more than that. The constant sense of impending disaster is reflected in the unstable, wet fenland and big grey open skies as well as the sinking house and sinking finances.

Does it end well? That's for the reader to decide but you don't really get the sense that the problems faced by the characters are being engaged with. Patrick ought to get a job, Grace should get some therapy, Mia should see a doctor and Lilly should apply to some less competitive university a long way away. None of that is likely to happen though!

It's the first book I've read by Fiona Neill and it's a read that holds your attention from the start. The authentic qualities of the young people come across a bit clunky in places and the diversion to explain Grace's problems has to sum up rather a lot in a short space but these things don't detract from an excellent read. Read it on holiday and you might be nicer to your family for a couple of days!

A fantastic story. I was completely gripped throughout. Fiona Neill is a fantastic author and I think this is her best one yet. Highly recommended xx

I am glad to have been introduced to this author through Netgalley as I wouldn’t normally pick this sort of book up.

It has a nice slow pace a builds characters really well and I enjoy reading books about the dynamics in different relations ships as it’s so relatable.

I enjoyed the book and would read more from the same author.

A slow burning but good read. A family saga of a pushy mother, a disengaged father, an overachieving older sister and a quirky younger sister. The Fenland setting was bought to life and was a great background for this slightly dark story dispelled with some good humour. A satisfying read.

Parents with two children all living , to outward appearances , as one happy family whist each one exists under the daily burden of hidden secrets waiting for the dam to burst and knowledge of exposure drown them. The catalyst occurs when Mia accidentally finds a hidden object locked away in the garage. Although only ten years old, Mia is wise beyond her years and although never spelt out to the reader it appears she is on the autistic scale with a highly intelligent mind and active imagination often causing problems at home and school. Lilly her 18 year old sister, the academically gifted and always easy non problematic daughter finds herself on the brink of sexual awakening whilst still treated like a child. This is compounded by the intense focus of her mothers own thwarted ambitions whilst she Is struggling to deal with a sexual relationship kept hidden from the family. The mothers life and very existence depends on keeping a stabilising and successful persona as the confident and loving mother, something she was denied in her childhood along with several other secrets from her past. Then there is Patrick the husband and father, jealous of his successful brother, spiralling into debt, unemployment and reluctance to admit or take responsibility for the problems and secrets in his life notwithstanding his inability to discuss or deal with family issues. The explosion when it comes results in each family member conforming to their own tried and tested ways and means of dealing with adversity. Silently, secretly and each with their own focus and agenda. The author weaves the secrets of a complex family into a compelling mystery to a conclusion that unfolds the tangle of hidden truths and untruths, but cannot stick a fractured family together as easily as the old tried and tested ending, " and they lived happily ever after". If only family life was that simple. A truthful and honest ending to a most unusual and satisfying story. Really enjoyed this book although totally out of my comfort zone as not the genres i normally read.

This is the first book I've read by Fiona Neill so wasn't sure what to expect. I'm still undecided. The ongoing issues with the house lent nothing to the book except to further demonstrate that the father is an ineffectual man. The family is clearly dysfunctional and both daughters are struggling with growing up. Mia is a great character, who I presume to be on the spectrum.. She has some of the most entertaining lines! But the 'eel in the bucket' storyline was a bit pointless. Lily struggles against an overly suffocating mother until all the secrets start spilling out. It's a pretty good read but, in my opinion, not a great one.

Thank you for the opportunity to read 'Beneath the Surface' which I enjoyed. I thought the Mia was the most interesting character who, although it is never mentioned, is clearly on the spectrum and has insightful and humorous comments on everything. I wasn't convinced that Lily would tell her sister about an abortion and thought Grace's history could have been brought into the story earlier. Overall though, an easy, read with an interesting story.

My thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my ARC of Beneath the Surface. Three stars for some laugh out loud moments (were they intentional I wonder) but otherwise I was not enthused with the Vermuydens - a dysfunctional family without many if any redeeming qualities. Apart perhaps from 10-year-old daughter Mia. (She puts me so much in mind of Karen from the TV series Outnumbered). Parents Patrick and Grace, whose marriage was boringly monotone, and elder daughter Lilly, a high achiever at school until the day she has a seizure in Mr. Galveston's class:

'"They say to try chest compressions" Freya shouts back. Mr Galveston breaks into the chorus of 'Staying Alive' by the Bee Gees...!' Visions of Vinnie Jones... There are several more very humorous moments in the book - just as well because there was little else to entertain me. Small things concerned me, like - Mia keeping an eel in a bucket, an eel that has no doubt made the journey from the Sargasso Sea only to be marooned in a muddy backwater in Cambridgeshire - where Mia finds it. This was not a rescue - it was unnecessary and cruel and bothered me the more I read about it.

I could drone on about un-achieving Patrick and paranoid Grace - but I won't. I am beginning to feel over-generous with three stars.....

This is a story about the impact on today of historical happenings and family dynamics.
I found it an ok read but was not gripped by it. It seemed to me to be an idea which was lacking a real story. This is really a story about a disrupted family and some of the events would be very distressing for family members but there seems to be a lack of empathy with the difficulties they are facing. the problems that they younger child has are unrecognised by the parents, the parents barely communicate but the story seems to indicate that they are a unit.
There are huge problems within the family set up which are never addressed and the final dramatic life saving scene suggests that everything will now be fine.
Sorry but I was disappointed.

I was surprisingly disappointed by this book, I did have high hopes from previous reads and the intriguing synopsis.

However it was exaggerated in almost every way - the problems with the house were so over the top, the disparity between the brothers portrayed as prince & pauper, and the younger child was just a caricature of a child with emotional/behavioural issues, and keeping an eel in a bucket as pet... if that wasn't bad enough we were subjected to its decline in condition and despair being kept captive.

The story had real potential, I enjoyed aspects and if it was toned down a bit I think it could have been great.

Neill always brings something new to the family saga and this is no different. I loved the characters and the setting of the oppressive and substandard new home where they live was well evoked. A few aspects of the plot were far fetched but on the whole this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Fiona Neill and Penguin Michael Joseph for my arc of Beneath the Surface in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: after a traumatic childhood Grace is determined that her own family will have the best chance in life she can give them. Even if that means pushing her eldest daughter Lilly too hard. So when her popular, clever daughter collapses in class and has a fit, Grace is determined to find out why. Consumed by paranoia and finding evidence that Lilly has been leading a secret life, Grace goes on a quest to find out exactly what’s been going on. Meanwhile her ten year old daughter Mia begins to develop wild theories of her own that have devastating consequences.

This book contained some of the most annoying characters I have ever come across. Patrick the father was an absolute avoider and needed to grow some balls quite frankly. The mother, Grace was overbearing and forcing her daughter to study to breaking point while ignoring the fact that her younger daughter clearly needed help and support because she’s definitely on the spectrum somewhere. Said daughter got away with murder (almost literally) and came across as annoying because her family viewed her as such, it was not a good representation of autism in that it did not endear the reader to the child or her family. Also she was allowed to keep an eel in a bucket in her bedroom which was just downright cruel and irresponsible of her parents to allow it. Plus she was always doing stuff and then lying about it but the shoving her misguided moral code down everyone else’s throats. Finally Lilly was probably the character I empathised with the most because her bad decisions and crappy attitude could at least be explained away by the fact she’s a teenage girl and I remember being one and my own crappy decisions.

I loved The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy and Friends, Lovers and Other Indiscretions but recently Fiona seems to be trying out a new genre in a sidestep into this kind of family drama and I haven’t really enjoyed any of them. I probably won’t read anymore now after this one.

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I wasn't entirely convinced by this. The characters were not well developed enough for the complexity of the story in my opinion and I felt a number of underlying story lines were not fully explained. The ending was very abrupt and i was left wondering why I had spent that time reading it.. It is shame as I think it could have been a good book, it just didn't get there.

I have given Fiona Neill's new book FIVE STARS!!!


I loved this......every single word!!!

This is the second book I have read by Fiona Neill, having read The Betrayals and I can definitely say that Beneath the Surface is my favourite so far.

This story focuses on a family of four, who from the outside look like every other normal family but they are each hiding their own secrets.

I love this author's complex style of writing and found myself hooked from the very beginning, she has not disappointed with her latest offering. Beneath the Surface is a slow paced , edgy read that will have you on the edge of your seat and if you have read any of this authors books before the ending won't come as a surprise but it is especially fitting given the nature of the book.

This is a well observed and relevant novel that builds on family tension and dynamics and looks at the consequences. I read this in less than 24 hours, such was the quality of the writing. My only complaint was that the ending seemed a little rushed and somewhat abrupt.

I found this book a good read, with interesting, believable characters. However, I found the story a bit thin, and unsatisfying, and felt a real sense of "so what?" at the end. Slightly disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley.co.uk for gifting me a free copy of this book in exchange for a free and honest review.

This is my second book by Neill after reading The Betrayals and I'm pleased to say that I was not disappointed. This is definitely a novel that had me gripped to me from beginning to end. I loved each character's development throughout the storyline. The characters were brilliant and well written, and I felt like I really cared for the different characters. Neill is a brilliant writer.