An original and unusual book focusing on a dysfunctional family forced to return to the fens where their Dutch ancestors once drained the marshes. Tethered to her past by a miserable childhood and the tragic death of her beloved young brother, Grace tries to break the abusive cycle by micromanaging every aspect of her children's lives. Terrified of being a bad mother, like her own, Grace clings to her "book of certainties ", a full fridge , swimming lessons , bedtime stories etc. It takes a near tragedy to make her realise that she is curtailing their freedom just as inexorably as young Mia is stifling her pet eel, the anthropomorphic Elvis . Very dark in parts, this is a well thought out, well written book . It felt claustrophobic, almost ,at times as their home and lives are beset by damp, dust and mired in worries . A very compelling book which I heartily recommend. Note for editor. A few minor but irritating inconsistencies which I'm sure proof reader will pick up on, but just in case- at one point Grace is walking Mia to school but in the next sentence they are driving before switching back to walking again. In another passage Mia is described as wearing thick grey knee high socks but in the following paragraph is wearing ankle socks

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I simply loved this book. The author writes so realistically and with such sensitivity. It really was a true depiction of how things can get so misconstrued. We think things might have happened in a certain way but the truth is so far from what we thought.

I highly recommend this book.

I found this difficult to read. It was a very well written story examining how the past informs the present.
Grace wants the best for her daughters. She wants life to be perfect but, unfortunately, it isn’t!
Compelling and compulsive reading.

The first time I’ve read Fiona Neill, and hopefully not my last. The story, set in the Fens, is one of what appears to be normal and mundane family life. It was a gripping read, I cared about the characters and wanted to immerse myself and get to the end. Though sadly when I did, it didn’t live up to the expectations I’d set myself (completely irrationally!)

Excellent twists and turns in this book. Kept me guessing till the end. Really fab read, would recommend

This is a tense and strained story about a family in crisis. The mother lost her little brother by drowning, and it has continued to play upon her mind. The eldest daughter has a seizure at school, and is rushed to hospital. No-one seems able to say what caused it, but it turns out to be emotional stress, particularly about school lessons, and exam results.
Then the youngest daughter engineers a seizure, but is found out by the headmistress. Meanwhile the husband seems unable to deal with any of it, especially as he has severe money problems. They are living in a house, which needs a lot of work doing on it, and which has mould, and rising damp.
The other thing that annoyed me, is the ending. It felt rushed, and not entierely satisfactory.

Well written but found the ending disappointing.

Patrick and Grace Vermuyden have two daughters, Lilly who is 17 and a top student hoping to get into Oxbridge and Mia who is 10 and a mercurial little girl in the shadow of her clever older sister. The family have had to move from the middle of Cambridge to a house in the fens that is badly constructed and needs a lot of work and money spent to keep it habitable. Unfortunately, Patrick has had his hours of work cut and is juggling debts by borrowing from his brother and not telling Grace about their monetary problems.

The whole plot revolves around secrets between all the members of the family. Grace has had a terrible upbringing with an uncaring, irresponsible mother. She is determined that she will be the total opposite for her own children but in trying to becomes so obsessed only alienating both her daughters.

Lilly is crushed when her first relationship ends badly and shortly afterwards suffers a fit in school and is rushed off to hospital. Grace has no idea why this has happened because Lilly does not confide in her, but Mia has found out what has happened or so she thinks. Yet again Lilly becomes the centre of attention and Mia, left to her own devices, tries to link her sister's illness with an Anglo-Saxon burial ground recently discovered nearby. Mia's theory is that by disturbing the remains on the site, a disease has been released, which has affected Lilly.

I enjoyed reading this book, there were so many twists and turns with the characters who all seemed to have their own secrets, but at the end of the book, nothing seemed to have been resolved. The ending was sudden, and I was expecting a further chapter to tie up loose ends and let me know the outcome of all the many bombshells that we were told about. I found myself not really feeling any empathy with the characters in the book, and this is why I have only given it 3 stars.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Beneath the Surface is a fantastically well-written story of a family of imperfect and very believable characters. The narrative feels richly layered with the complex histories and secrets of each character providing a perfect foundation for the events of the story itself as a mystery illness affects the eldest daughter. The story itself unfolds quite simply but there's so much more beneath the surface - childhood trauma, marital difficulties, financial problems, family conflict, unplanned pregnancy... It's all woven together beautifully by the author, making for a compelling, absorbing & ultimately satisfying read.

This was an interesting read, with characters that didn’t fully reveal themselves. It was dark and damp, it was clear there were further stories to uncover. I continued to read it, but did get frustrated with how many untruths there were going on.

A totally compelling gripping story about a family with its share of past and present dramas! Such well written characters so well written and I couldn’t put it down! Thank you

I loved this book, the setting of the Fens was fantastic and I liked both Lilly and Mia, I thought they were both excellently written kids in a book for adults. I loved the story, I really thought it was unexpected but good.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this,wonderful book, it was amazing.
Grace wants to be a perfect mother to her two daughters.
They are both so different but such engaging characters.
I loved the story of there,family,
But I must admit I loved Mia, what a character, she had,such an amazing personality and a zest for life and her pet eel.
Can’t wait for the next book by Fiona Neill.

Beneath the Surface is a very appropriate title for this book for this is what, as a reader, one needs to do. I delayed writing this review partly because at first it it was not a book I would normally select. Maybe this is because I am old with a wife and two adult children but no grandchildren. So the family in this book is of a different generation with different individual lives and (in)experiences. to my own. But reflecting on the book, one recalls the levels of trust among members of the family, the deceits and reasons for them, some to protect others some because of personal embarrassment. The tensions and levels of support within peer groups and between parents and children. Perceptions of 'what is for the best' and at times recognition that others can see things quite differently. For example, are children ungrateful when rejecting insistent help (control) from a parent?

Today's challenges and opportunities are very different from my day but are certainly no less demanding, needing to be faced with a healthy mix of self confidence and self doubt. All of this is'beneath the surface' in this book which is very well constructed and encourages you to read more.and think about '... but what if..' and 'did they really say/do that?

I recommend this book to a very wide audience. Go for it, you wont regret it.


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Fabulous book! I was drawn in immediately by great characters and plot, and rushed through it to see how everything unfolded. Highly recommended and I'll definitely be lookkng out for other books by Fiona Neill.

Grace Vermuyden is desperate to be a good mother. She has married a man she thinks will make a stable husband - one who will stick around and provide for his children. The weight of her chaotic childhood is heavy upon her and she will do everything within her power to make sure her own daughters never experience the horror she has had to hide. For Grace has secrets...ones she has kept hidden, even from her husband, Patrick.

Grace intends that her own daughters will fulfill the dreams that were denied to her by the events of her childhood.
Lilly, popular and clever, has never been a worry to her parents and at seventeen, she looks sure to have a golden future.
Ten year-old Mia, is the little oddball of the family - for ever in trouble and misunderstood, but with a loving heart - she is the one that Grace worries about.

Then Lilly mysteriously collapses one day in class and Grace's carefully ordered world comes crashing down. When she uncovers clues about Lilly's secret teenage life and heartbreak, Grace becomes consumed with paranoia and cannot settle until she knows the truth. Who is Cormack? How can she have let this happen? Has she failed as a mother after all?

As Grace's mania takes over, Mia is left to her own devices and starts to develop some quirky theories of her own about Lilly's illness, related to the Saxon burial site nearby. Her attempts to put everything right for those she loves, will have unforeseen and devastating consequences.

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This is a story about what happens when the burden of keeping secrets becomes too much: when people get caught in the undercurrents caused by these secrets, especially children trying to come to terms with what they have found out by accident - or what they think they have found out.

So many characters in this book are keeping secrets from one another and it soon becomes clear that trying to keep these hidden is slowly tearing them up inside and having a terrible effect on their relationships with each other. Can you ever know the whole truth about someone? Are they really the person you think they are?

This was such a delicious and emotional book to read. The title Beneath The Surface is so fitting and works on more than one level - as the story unfolds, you can see that the thread of secrets being hidden under the surface is reflected so beautifully in events tied to the waterways of the Fens and the archaeological dig taking place near-by. The hidden secrets and dangers under the water and the earth, must eventually come to the surface - as must the human secrets too.

This is a very interesting portrayal of the relationship between mothers and daughters. It explores Grace's desperation to be a good mother, unlike her own, but also shows that she has no idea how to do this. Her frantic efforts to succeed take her way beyond what is proportional and she often ends up alienating those she loves by doing this. Grace is damaged by her childhood, and by hiding her experiences away, she has not healed from them at all. They have always been there, eating away at her heart and warping her thoughts.

The characters of Lilly and Mia are also beautifully drawn. Lilly's angst, her feelings of first love, infatuation, hurt at being rejected, trying find her on place in the imperfect world around her....these are all so palpable and they will take you back to those awful, heartbreaking teenage years so clearly. She is struggling and so badly needs a hug and some understanding, but is unable to find this in Grace, because of the pressure Grace unwittingly puts upon her.
Mia is such a caring little soul. She does not understand the ways of the world at all, and is actually outrageously funny, sometimes without meaning to be, because to the uncompromising way she looks at the world. Yes, she is frustrating and is determined to go her own way, but she cares so deeply for the few people she loves that she will do anything to make things right, if she can. I loved her.

I have to say that the men in this story do not come out of it well. Patrick is an excellent example of how not to be a husband! He has his own secrets, which he must realise will eventually be impossible to hide from Grace and he does not ever seem to have made an effort to really get to know his wife - everything with him is on the surface and he is happy to keep it this way.
As for Cormack, well he is the epitomy of everything you do not want for your teenage daughter - vain, selfish, manipulative and caring only for himself. Typical bad boy material, that you can only hope your daughter will eventually see through. God, those teenage years are tough!

As the emotional turmoil of the story builds to a climax, the tension is reflected in the weather, as a massive storm unleashes itself on the Fens. Harsh truths must be confronted as our characters battle against the weather, and like the quiet that comes after the storm, they can only start to move on once their secrets have been laid bare - however, painful this is.

This is an all-consuming tale of family, which I found hard to put down and I absolutely sobbed at the end. You will not be sorry that you gave Fiona Neill's Beneath The Surface your time.

This is a beautifully written book about a totally dysfunctional family who all have secrets they feel unable to share.
Grace is a damaged perfectionist who wants the best for her children, Patrick can’t face the reality of his financial predicament, Lilly is the teen breaking free from her mother’s binds and Mia is the ultimate plotter and dreamer, with an imagination her school find hard to handle.
All of their secrets start to unravel and lead up to a finale that is poetic and emotional to say the least.

I was sent a proof copy of Beneath the Surface by Fiona Neill to read and review by NetGalley.
I absolutely love this book! Beautifully written and totally engaging it tells the story of a family seemingly drowning in its many secrets. I love the way the novel is written as a whole, with every chapter giving voice to several of the characters rather than the current trend of ‘one chapter one voice’. This style of writing immerses you in the story completely making everything seem much more real and as such compelling you to keep reading on and on – well it did me anyway! This is the first novel that I have read by Fiona Neill but I will be searching out her other titles in the hope that they are of the same captivating quality.

Thank you to Net Galley for kindly sending me a free copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.

I previously read another book by this author which I didn’t enjoy but I thought that I would give this one a go to see how it compared. I wasn’t overly impressed. The story didn’t draw me in and I became bored in parts. I don’t think this author is for me.

A thoroughly enjoyable read following the highs and lows of a modern family. The characters are all very relatable and believable. Grace is the flawed mother whose past is continuing to haunt her and shape her relationships, despite her best efforts to leave it behind. Patrick is a middle-aged dad whose life didn't turn out quite the way he planned and is still living in the shadow of his brother, the successful music producer. Lilly is the teenage daughter grappling with the intoxicating emotions and bitter heartache of first love. I particularly enjoyed the quirky and socially awkward youngest daughter, Mia, whose insightful and often highly inappropriate comments had me in stitches.
I've read several of Fiona Neill's other books and this one was completely different and a pleasant surprise.

This was a brilliant read. I've been a big fan of Fiona Neill since the start and she just gets better and better. This novel has ripples of unease from the beginning - the uncertainty of the land and weather mimicking the uncertainty in the Vermuyden family. I loved Grace - and Lilly - and their mother. This is a story of the ties that bind and the strength of a mother's love - and what feeds our parenting approach. And how sometimes when we are caring as much as we can, it can look like we don't care at all. Bloody loved this book - to the point that I choked up at the end (you'll see why when you read it)