Whilst the story is about Grace and Lily, their mother daughter relationship and Graces past – it felt like it was more about Mia. Even Patrick, Graces husband felt like a non character. Lily is a top student, her mums confident she’ll go to Cambridge next year, shes smart, and dedicated and is going to have the life Grace never had. By contrast Mia is almost a problem child, questioning and very open, blunt even, and has struggles at school. Shes also superstitious and a little scared that the myths of the fens are real.

The background is that the family moved to a new home in the fens because of money problems, into a new build thats full of damp. Grace thinks the builders are fixing it, and Patrick is finding the money from his brother. The girls are in the garage when Mia finds a pregnancy test, which Lily takes responsibility for but when Lily has a seizure at school, unexpectedly Mia wonders if she should tell everyone her sisters secret.

The book runs slowly building up information, the more we learn of Graces past the more you understand her behaviour as a parent. Its easy to understand Lily aswell, we’ve all been teenagers and needed to be our own person, found a first love.

I really enjoyed the book, It created questions that I needed answered. It had characters that were real, and understandable – and right down to the last page I was gripped. I would have liked a final chapter, I feel like we’re missing a wrap up, and it makes me feel a little cheated!

To begin, I’d like to thank Penguin UK for sending me an ARC of this book, and to NetGalley for facilitating. And thank you to Fiona Neill!

No spoilers as usual in this review.

For me personally, I could have gone without reading this book. It didn’t grip me or move me. Mia was an interesting character but there was no point where I felt I couldn’t put the book down. I predicted the big reveal as soon as the story began and as that was the entire basis of the ending it was a bit of a let down.

Each of the main characters have their own issues, secrets. And each of the characters is developed in just enough detail for you to empathise with them, but not enough for you to emotionally invest in them.

And this isn’t a book that wraps everything up at the end. There is much left unresolved, questions where the subject was focussed on quite heavily were forgotten about for the ending and after the “big reveal” there was nothing. No description of the consequences. Just “this is the truth. The end.” It would have been good to have explored some of the aftermath of these secrets once they were revealed, because I was waiting on the inevitable confrontations that never appeared. So in many respects it seems to have ended in a rush, a bit prematurely. Which incidentally is exactly what I felt after the previous book, The Betrayals.

So in all, I finished the book so it wasn’t terrible, but it’s not one I would personally recommend. It built up to go nowhere - It was too much of an anti-climax.

This story is based around a family of four: Grace, whose hugely unstable background has driven her to seek a better, more solid life for her children; her husband, Patrick, who tries hard, but often has his head in the sand until it's too late; Lilly, their older daughter, an academic high achiever who is keeping secrets, and Mia, the younger daughter, who is clearly intelligent and incredibly creative, but who struggles with many aspects of everyday life. When Lilly has a seizure at school, it forces everyone to reconsider their choices and priorities, to face up to past mistakes and current problems.

There is a good story-arc here and Fiona Neill creates everyday, complex characters. The writing is sympathetic and understanding to all the main characters while acknowledging their weaknesses. I found Mia the most interesting character, despite her being a child - although at times I felt her behaviour and thought-processes were unlikely for her age. I would have liked more character progression for Lilly, and while I could relate in some ways to Grace and Patrick, I found it more difficult to connect with them.

There are parts of the book which are not especially relevant to the story and don't seem to propel it forward, but overall I found it enjoyable and engaging.

I'm a real fan of Fiona Neil's books. I loved The Betrayals which was her last book and the first of hers that I read and I subsequently went on to read all her earlier books which I also enjoyed very much. She has a knack of describing family life in a very realistic way and in bringing to the fore the worries that parents have about their children in the modern world. In The Betrayals she gave a very good portrayal of a teenage girl with OCD and once again in Beneath the Surface she has managed to get into the mind of a child who is different.

Grace has two daughters, the younger Mia is constant source of worry. She has an undiagnosed developmental disorder which sets her apart in her class at school. She finds it hard to make friends - the other children find her weird and too blunt - and her only friend is the other outcast in the class, Tas, a boy from a travelling family. Lilli on the other hand is Grace's pride and joy, an able girl in many areas, she is set to go to Cambridge. When Lilli collapses in class with what looks like epilepsy, Grace's life starts to unravel. Not only does she discover that Lilli has been deceiving her but with two other children closely following Lilli to hospital the national media mills round speculating as to the cause of the mystery illness. Meanwhile, Mia obsesses that everything is going wrong because archeologists are digging up an Anglo Saxon burial site.

All in all, a really good read with a riveting finale. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed previous books by this author, so, was looking forward to reading this one. However, I’m afraid, for me, this was just an OK read.
I just didn’t care enough for the characters and found it too plodding a storyline. Sorry!

I do appreciate having the opportunity to preview and I wish it every success.