Beneath The Surface

I really wanted to like this book – an intriguing story line for sure – but ultimately I didn’t like it enough. I found the characters to be unrealistic. I have personal experience with mental health issues and the depiction in this book reveals the author does not. I don’t want to say more and spoil it for some. I also found the Eleanor character bordering on unbelievable and very one-dimensional. None of these people seemed real to me nor did they behave like real people would. I can’t imagine leaving a 15 year old girl to fend for herself – or the the police, school, someone would be aware and see that she was taken in. It had some good elements but overall I really can’t recommend it.

This may be cliche to say, but the words on the last page stuck with me the most. I couldn’t believe it ended like that!

Going back to the book, it tells the story of Abi, Kathryn, and Hannah from their alternating perspectives. Some of the story can be guessed as you go along, but in the end it has a satisfying ending as it’s not all of a sudden daisies and sunshine for all those involved. My main complain about the book is how one dimensional certain characters are, such as the grandmother (her name escapes me now). It always seems so easy to me to have that one character who is just outright nasty and evil without showing any other side to them. This story shows that no one is really innocent though when it comes to the events of the story (with the exception of Hannah and Lauren though, they’re just kinda dragged along and have to deal with the consequences of everyone). While Kathryn’s motivations are explained later in the book, I still don’t 100% buy why she does what she does, with regards to Abi when she was a teenager and how she treats the twins now.

I was very interested in this storyline and the characters introduced. The grandmother character reminded me of the old “flowers in the attic” series. Great development of all the characters but she was especially vivid, and it worked well for the story. Many interesting twists and great attention to detail. Often modern fiction pretends there is not an internet, as it would move a story too quickly, but this author used it as an asset here and made everything come together.
My only complaint is the wrap-up comes together all at once, like an Agatha Christie novel. While the individuals all have their own endings, these things do not need to all happen simultaneously. The surprises are just that, very surprising. all in all a very satisfying read.

Sad story that deals with abandonment, deceit, unforgiveness, mental illness, and depression…Yay, not the happiest book to read. It isn’t hard to figure out the book’s plot twist, so you keep reading to see the “why” of that twist.
Overall this book was a downer. Sad to see a family so ripped apart by circumstances and a controlling matriarch. No happy endings for this one, so reader beware. My personal choice is to read books that bring me joy, so if you are like me, I’d skip this one.

It’s the first novel I can remember that didn’t tie things up neatly and yet I still enjoyed reading. Well, maybe enjoyed is not the right word. There are deep relationship issues dealt with here, namely motherhood that goes terribly wrong and the consequences of mistakes and manipulations that can affect a child’s life in terrible ways. But this novel is not written with hopelessness. It deals with the very real issues addressed with honestly without being tiresome about outcomes. A few plot twists I didn’t see coming, right up to the end, earned my admiration for Hedi Perks’ skill as a writer. I will look for future books written by her. She is a very good writer, with a skill for character development and dialogue and plot weaving that doesn’t get bogged down halfway through the book. This novel held my attention to the end. I love when that happens.

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