Beneath the Surface

by Fiona Neill

The stunning new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Betrayals and The Good Girl

After a chaotic childhood, Grace Vermuyden is determined her own daughters will fulfil the dreams denied to her. Lilly is everyone's golden girl, the popular, clever daughter she never had to worry about. So when she mysteriously collapses in class, Grace's carefully ordered world begins to unravel.

Dark rumours swirl around their tight-knit community on the edge of the Fens as everyone comes up with their own theories about what happened. Consumed with paranoia, and faced with increasing evidence that Lilly has been leading a secret life, Grace starts to search for clues.

Left to her own devices, ten-year-old Mia develops some wild theories of her own that have unforeseen and devastating consequences for the people she loves most.

Beneath the Surface explores the weight of the past upon the present, the burden of keeping secrets and what happens when children get caught in the undercurrents of adult relationships.

Praise for Fiona Neill:

'A novel made for heated book club debates' Stylist

'Vivid and insightful' Guardian

'No one writes about modern family with more truth or authenticity than Fiona Neill' Lisa Jewell

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Family, Contemporary, Audiobook, Family Drama, Literary Fiction

380 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2019

About the author

Fiona Neill is a novelist and journalist. She was born in 1966. Her first novel The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, based on her column in The Times Magazine every Saturday, was published in 2007. It was widely acclaimed and went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller that sold in twenty-five countries.

Brought up in Norfolk, she now lives in London with her husband and three children.

Fiona is presenting a five-part series on BBC Radio 4 called Famous Footsteps, starting on January 12th. Find out more about the series by visiting the BBC Radio 4 website.

Reviews

[Louise Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a dysfunctional family. The mother, Grace is hyper paranoid, the father, Patrick is ridden with debt. They have two daughters, Lily and Mia. Lily has had a seizure in class. This forces the family to take stock of the situation.

What an intense and emotionally charged read this is. It's beautifully written and shows how different people deal with the problems that life can throw at you. The characters are well developed but not all of them are likeable. The pace is slow. Quite an interesting read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Fiona Neill for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grace and Patrick seem to have a happy family life bringing up 2 Daughters Lily and Mia. Lilly is the intelligent one whilst Mia lives in her own dream world. Grace did not have the perfect childhood growing up so she is adamant her children will have the perfect childhood.

When Lily collapses at school, Grace realises that she knew nothing about lily having a boyfriend who she had been spending a lot of time with secretly behind their backs. What else has she been keeping secret? The gossips are our in full force speculating on what Lily has done or taken to cause a fit, worried that it might be contagious!!

Loved the way the characters were depicted making them feel very real. The whole family had their own secrets which they were careful not to reveal. It was like watching a house of cards collapse, 1 wrong move and the whole family structure collapses.

A must read family drama that had a surprising ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

[Danielle-Gemma💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second (I think) Fiona Neill book and I have to say I love her style. She portrays a family dynamic that is dysfunctional, true and honest but without being dramatic.
She creates a bond between the reader and the main characters that allow you to feel all of their emotions as if they were your own.

I really enjoyed this book but for me it ended way to abruptly without any resolution. This is I suppose more realistic to real life as things are never neatly packaged. But I did flick through the end blank pages like where is the end???

I will read more of her books and I do recommend x

[Anni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fenlands to the east of Cambridge make for a perfect setting to this story of a family whose secrets, lies and tensions lie barely hidden beneath the surface, reflecting the precarious foundations of land reclaimed from the sea. The precocious younger daughter Mia is a delightfully eccentric character who steals the show as soon as she appears, which made my interest flag when she wasn’t around, but thankfully the plot picks up towards the end.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath the Surface is a potent mix of psychological thriller and domestic/family drama, and once again Ms Neill has crafted an utterly breathtaking read. You may have guessed from the somewhat enigmatic title that the story concerns secrets, lies and skeletons in the closet just waiting for the perfect time to reveal themselves, and you would be right! The reason I enjoyed it so much is that there are so many different facets to it with each coming together to create a tense, nail-biting tale and one you will abandon life in favour of. The gossip that ensues when teenager Lilly unexpectedly collapses has the locals theorising about what has happened to her and why. You can feel the desperation and pressure felt by all involved to get to the truth of the matter. The way Neill keeps the cards close to her chest means we are never sure where this is heading.

We watch as the Vermuyden family attempt to deal with everyday problems but they are all quite annoying as they act in ways that become increasingly frustrating to the reader. Grace lives her life through her daughter Lilly and is completely consumed by paranoia, her husband, Patrick, is the eternal optimist who sits back while debt mounts and mounts and teenage daughter Lilly probably behaves the most normal. She's rather selfish and there's increasing evidence that she's been leading a secret life. You do, however, warm to them and the reason they act the way they do is revealed later on. The vivid descriptions of the beautiful, vast surroundings of the Fens is my favourite part, though, and you can tell that the author knows this area well. Many thanks to Michael Joseph for an ARC.

[Hristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beneath the Surface wasn't as gripping as I needed it to be.
The writing was great, I enjoyed that. I'm not sure about the pacing, I picked up and put it down many times, and I didn't get a feel for it very well.
I think, for me, the characters were the problem. I didn't quite connect to them, no one was acting their age and I found those moments to be quite infuriating.
The story seemed to be an interesting one, but as I said, not as gripping as I wanted it to be. I think it's okay, it's just not my favorite.

*Copy received through NetGalley
*Rating: 3/5 stars.

[Nila (digitalcreativepages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a dysfunctional family with a paranoid hyper mom Grace, a meek debt ridden father Patrick, daughters Lily and Mia. A routine life till Lily was struck down by an episode of fits in class. She survived, and stress was found to be the cause of the brain short-circuiting. Mia on the other hand had her own theories. The whole story was to see how this family functioned and to find out the reason of the fits

My first book by Fiona Neill, I liked the book in most parts. The reasons and secrets in that family made me doubly curious to get to the end. The mystery was present at every corner, Mia and her theories enhanced it. An archeological dig and discovery of graves caused her to link the events in the most interesting manner. At some points, I believed it too.

The rest of the characters peeked in all the chapters, but it felt they needed to be given more substance. They felt ghostly, I wanted more of an interesting backstory. Past always has an effect on the present and the future, this book brought it to light in a subtle way.

The whole book got a special oomph due to Mia. She was one of the most interesting characters I have read in recent times. Her analysis and arguments were so logical that they bordered on illogical. She was different from any child I have known. All my love for this book was for Mia.

Overall, the book captured me, and I had a fun evening with it.

[ReadAlongWithSue recovering from a stroke★⋆. ࿐࿔ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kinda had high expectations for this. The reviews are all over the place and I wondered what side I’d be on.

What a great concept for a book, unfortunately for me, as a reader I wasn’t taken in so well. It was slow and sometimes a little boring.
I think personally it could have been made much more upbeat, interesting and throw something in there that grabbed my attention now and again it might have gone up a star or two.

This could have been oh so much better for the reader.

I’m glad I listened to it.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

After her troubled childhood, Grace Vermuyden wants a better life for her two girls Lily and Mia. Lily is a top student, expecting to go to Cambridge next year and Mia is a troubled child and always getting up to mischief. Her husband Patrick is in debt but hasn’t told his wife how much. Grace pushes her daughter Lily to do her very, very best at school. So much, that Lily has a fit at school. Her teacher must perform CPR to save her life. She survives and spends time in hospital. While her mother searches for clues to what causes her fit. Even hacking her phone to see what she has posted on her social media page. Whilst this occurs another child falls ill and rumours spread that it has something to do with The Fens or the wind turbines that surround he local area.
The rest of the story surrounds Mia her relationship with her family and her only friend Tas, a traveller for the local Traveller site and the disappearance of a ring from the local Archaeological site.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for a copy of this book. This is the second book of Fiona Neill and I am afraid that this book is not for me. I found this slow, especially about the first 30% of the book I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The only character I liked was Mia and her eccentricity and the what can I say about the ending. It was very flat and the whole story left me with unanswered questions.

[Mike Sumner · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.....

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

So pleased to have had the opportunity to read 'Beneath the Surface' by Fiona Neill. This is the second book that i have read by this author, having previously read 'The Betrayals'. If you ask me which i preferred, i would say this book.

An excellent read and one that had me gripped from the beginning to end. I loved the characters, who all had their own issues. My favourite being Mia, who managed to bring a smile to my face with her eccentricity. The ending was not what i was expecting, so that took me by surprise. It did make my heart skip a beat! I believe this is a book that is worth a read.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have freely given.

[Dimitris Passas (TapTheLine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a truly well-written account of dysfunctional; familial relationships and their consequences for each member. "Beneath the Surface" is a book resistant to a single genre categorization as it is partly a crime fiction novel as well as a social commentary and family drama based on the -many- secrets and lies that lie at the core of disrupted parent-children relationships.

For my full review, visit https://tapthelinemag.com/post/beneat...

[Mridula Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

|3.5 ish|
Grace, a mother with a troubled childhood wants her daughter to fell nothings of that pain and suffering and grow up as overachievers. She is blessed with two daughters- Mia, the mischievous, eccentric kid who always lands right in the middle of trouble, and Lilly- the perfect child, with good grades and best manners.

But Grace can be overbearing at times and one day when Lilly mysteriously collapses during school, hushed secrets take turns. While Lilly is recovering, we get to know that keeping secrets comes naturally to this family. Grace has a secret to protect, whereas her husband Patrick has a different kind of a mess.

Being a character-driven book, we are given enough information to empathize with each character and that helps build a connection with them. Even though this book isn’t relatable, I understood the circumstance and the choices each character made.

The heart of the story is Mia- with her eccentricity and chirpy and sometimes improper statements. She isn’t paid much attention to and her view of the world is mostly amusing. The problem is that the author doesn’t tie all the loose strings up at the ends. I have unanswered questions and they bother me so very much.

While the concept of the story is pretty mainstream, the characters bring the situation to life. The words felt a bit burdensome at times and slowed me down immensely, especially the first 30%. But the story picks up soon after that and it’s all good.

‘Beneath the Surface’ is how secrets can cause irreparable damage to her family. It’s mysterious, slow-paced and enjoyable.

[Karen Pincher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but, perhaps not as much as some of the other Fiona Neill books I have read. For me, some of the characters lacked a little depth. The plot was well worked. I found Grace's motivations a bit 'overdone'. I did enjoy Mia's character and overall, as with a lot of this author's books I felt I came away having learned something (the drainage of the Fens). Overall, this is an enjoyable read.

[mylogicisfuzzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beneath the Surface is a family drama in which a seizure suffered by the elder daughter, 17-year old Lilly, in school becomes a catalyst for secrets, some long buried and some more recent, to come to the surface. It is also a character drama about Grace, a mother whose own unhappy and difficult childhood leads her to become an obsessive and controlling parent. While dramas about dysfunctional families with secrets are not really something I’d pick up, Fiona Neill is a good writer and Beneath the Surface is a decent book if somewhat long.

Before her seizure, Lilly was seen as a golden child, best student on track for Cambridge, competitive swimmer and popular at school. After the seizure, it slowly becomes clear that Lilly’s achievements are more to do with neglect that Grace suffered from her own parents and her subsequent projections onto Lilly. It also slowly becomes clear to Grace that Lilly, for reasons of her own, kept various elements of her own life private and this is not something that Grace can accept. At times, I found Grace in full Stasi mode (as she tries to discover her daughter’s secrets) blackly comic, which I don’t think was intentional. Meanwhile Patrick, Grace’s husband is much calmer, at least on the surface but he also has issues that greatly affect the family which he doesn’t share with his wife.

And then there is Mia, the younger daughter who is 10 and seemingly on the spectrum. She finds it hard to make friends in school so when her one friend might have to move away, she looks for ways to both keep her friend and help her sister. Because both of her parents are preoccupied with what’s happened to Lilly, parenting Mia becomes an afterthought and a bit of a chore. It’s not as if she’s neglected exactly but neither Grace nor Patrick really pay much attention to her. Throw in the setting, Cambridgeshire Fens and the family’s new house full of damp and builders; the theft of an Anglo-Saxon ring at an archaeological site nearby; the reaction of other parents to Lilly’s seizure and the worry (and subsequent media frenzy) that it might be something contagious and altogether, I thought it was a bit too much. These outside events dragged the story out somewhat and I think the main plot suffered.

Beneath the Surface made me think about the importance of trust, openness and responsibility in relationships and how Grace and Patrick, the wife and the husband, managed to be married for 18 years and have two children, without much trust (Grace), openness (both) and responsibility (Patrick). In this sense, I thought both were somewhat underdeveloped characters, I’m struggling to define Grace as anything other than obsessive and Patrick as anything other than bland and irresponsible. Still, overall, Beneath the Surface is an engaging read and a good exploration of obsessive parenting.

My thanks to Penguin and Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read and review Beneath the Surface.

[moonlit reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The great writing and all the right ingredients for a powerful story weren’t quite enough to make up for the lack of excitement.

I was really looking forward to this one, especially since I loved The Betrayals by the same author. But unfortunately, it didn’t have the same impact on me. There wasn’t anything in the story that made me feel genuinely excited. I kept reading, but I was never in a rush. I could put the book down at any time and had a hard time picking it back up.

The issue? It felt like not much was actually happening. There were moments that hinted at something deeper or more intriguing, but every reveal left me underwhelmed. The final reveal especially fell flat. Overall, it all felt anticlimactic and a bit too quiet.

That said, there were still some positives. I thought the first chapter showed promise, even if it was a bit long. And while the following chapters didn’t quite draw me in, Neill's writing is still as beautiful as I remembered.

Because nothing truly surprising happened, the pacing dragged, and I found myself flipping pages without feeling much. When things finally started to pick up, the impact just wasn’t there. The ending didn’t land the way I hoped, and that added to the overall sense of disappointment.

I really wanted to love this book. I still think it’s well-written and thought-provoking in many ways. But in the end, it comes down to the reader’s personal experience, and mine simply wasn’t memorable.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t for me. I kept hoping to be surprised, to feel something, but nothing ever really hit.

[Jo_Scho_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a story about families, secrets and lies. Neurotic and hyper vigilant Grace is mother to Lily and Mia. Lily is 17 and stepping out into the world whereas Mia is the younger child and a bit of a loner, happy to do her own thing whatever the consequences. As a result of Patrick, the girls' father and Grace's husband, spiralling into debt they have had to move to a house that is racked by damp and water problems, being so close to The Fens. When Lily has a fit at school she is taken to hospital and as a result events spiral and it becomes evident that this is a family steeped in lies and deceit.

This was definitely a slow burner of a book, I really struggled with it at first and still feel it could be condensed a fair bit. However the claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere of the marshland did grow on me and I was glad I stuck the book out. I really enjoyed the ending and it was interesting to consider the relationship between Grace and Lily - I could totally relate to the feelings of terror Grace had worrying about her eldest daughter and the urge to protect her no matter what.

Overall a broodingly dark book which was both interesting and thought provoking.

[Sara Oxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Susan Atkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to pack it in. I was already annoyed with the characters in the first few pages. A 10 year old does not talk in the way she did for a start. And her 17 year old sister confiding in her that she had an abortion? Oh come on get real. Stuck it to page 100. Hated it.

[Skyesmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has taken me a long time to finish, I found it quite slow and although I liked a few of the characters in the beginning, by the end they were quite laborious.
I did like the setting as I know the area.

[Nick Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another interesting novel by Fiona Neill, the third I have read, which focusses on family dynamics and does a very good in doing so. Here, the life of a married couple with two daughters is thrown into chaos when the elder daughter collapses at school, and the worries and tensions of the parents (and also how the younger daugher copes) are explored. Put like that, it doesn't sound too promising a read, and I did in fact find two of the main four characters slightly irritatingly OTT - but overall it had something that worked for me and was written with a skill that raised questions and weaved a compelling story without ever getting tedious, unbelievable or feeling staged.

[Christina McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow burning family drama about a dysfunctional family with various secrets and how things don't always appear as they seem.

After a fairly messed up childhood, Grace is determined to make sure her daughters have a better life than her. But while she's trying to fix Lilly's problems, she takes her eyes off Mia, and problems abound.

My favorite character was far and away Mia, who has such a vivid imagination and lack of social awareness it often gets her in trouble. But I found her authentic and funny, and she was such a wonderful addition to this novel.

[Rachel Bridgeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Beneath The Surface' has so many rich layers to it that it is difficult to know where to start. It's a literary exploration of the lives of a family-2 brothers married to very different wives, Patrick, teacher, scholar, hider of secrets is married to Grace, who struggles with her own troubled background,is a journalist which is not meeting her expectations of a dream job.Patrick's brother, Rob and his wife,Ana, are unable to have children, something loudly aand explosively revealed at the very start, at the barbecue from hell where Lilly and Mia, Patrick and Grace's children are hiding in the garage with secrets of their own.

This one scene perfectly places all the players in the novel, the reader immediately gets the sense of the role each one occupies and then  Fiona gradually strips away layer after layer as events surround and consume them all.

Lilly collapses at school, laving her family and medical staff confused at to what the cause was-Grace, on going through Lilly's phone looking for clues to a hidden relationship with a boy she was unaware of, finds herself further away from younger daughter Mia and her husband Patrick. Whilst Patrick is burying his financial worries ever deeper, Grace and her dissatisfaction with the life she hoped to build for her family, is becoming ever more volatile.

The title is absolutely perfect, it neatly reflects the allegory of the English Fen location of the book, where Mia's obsession with ancient history,such as the tale of 'Beowulf' and the malarial sickness, Ague, reveals that plagues were rife until the marshlands of the Fens were drained. What is then exposed may not be pretty -the plotline about the archaeological dig is simultaneously heatrbreaking and educational-but is a neat allegory for this family in crisis. Lilly is keeping a secret that has literally made her sick. Grace has overlooked Lilly because Mia is such an odd and demanding child and is struck with guilt about this. Patrick is borrowing increasingly large sums of money off his childless brother, Rob, to keep his perception of what should be a good life afloat. All these lies are making them sick and as with the cure for the Ague, they seem to sleepwalk soporifically through their existence.

I did find it hard to believe that when Grace has to attend yet another parent conference for Mia, that a 10 year old would say the following to their teacher-

''We've been talking a lot today about the importance of honesty,haven't we Mia?'she says all kindly tone and steely glare.

'You have,'says Mia.

'And what did we learn?'

'I learnt that you think my truth is a lie,'says Mia flatly.'I don't know what you learnt,Miss Swain.''

Mia is a mix of odd contradictions for a child her age, she is forthright and very intelligent yet still believes in superstitious routines such as praying to ancient gods to help her traveller friend Tas. As the archaeological dig continues to expose ancient relics , it is encroaching on the land that the travellers use to camp on and she is massively concerned that Tas will have to move.

Lilly has been lying to her parents , her parents have been lying to each other and themselves over and over, until it becomes impossible to hide the truth any longer .And at the sidelines are Ana and Rob who see first hand the cost of parenting whilst desperate for their own child.

A searing portrait of a very modern family with such a precise and well rounded sense of location, history and place , it shows that what may be hidden will always find a way to come up to the surface and reveal its secrets. It's a stunning and very moving, almost hynotic read that pulls you under and is completely engrossing.

My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph and Netgalley for my gifted ebook copy of 'Beneath The Surface'.

[Victoria Frow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Intense and thought provoking. This is a story of one family and how lies can break through and when they do how it affects not just the individual but the family. Thank you Penguin via Netgalley for the proof copy.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Grace and Michael Vermyden had been married for 18 years. They had two children seventeen year old Lily and ten year old Mia. Lily was the golden child, popular, an academic high achiever and talented swimmer. Mia was not as bright and was bullied by her classmates for her eccentricities. At home Mia was perceived as a problem child and often overlooked

Grace wanted to be the perfect mother and would encourage Lily in her studies and her swimming. However Grace was overbearing and wanted Lily to go to Cambridge University.

One day Grace had an unexplained seizure during an English class. At the hospital Mia let slip that Grace had been seeing a boy from school over the summer holidays. Grace didn't know and decided to look at Mia`s mobile. From there she found out that Mia had been keeping a secret life.

During the story we find out both Grace and Michael are keeping secrets from each other. After Michael's hours at work were reduced he had problems covering the mortgage. The family had to leave their city town house and moved to a new house that was badly built with damp. Unknown to Grace he had built up a huge credit card debt and the mortgage was in arrears. In desperation Michael had to borrow from his younger brother. Grace was still masking the pain from a difficult childhood.

beneath the surface was a slow but steady drama about the secrets within one family.

Grace annoyed me initially because I thought she was living vicariously through Lily. As Grace`s story came out I began to understand why she behaved the way she did. However Grace was like a little terrier and I could completely understand why Lily kept secrets from her mother.

I thought 10 year Mia was the star of the show. She was definitely on the spectrum, and felt so sorry her only friends in the world were Elvis the eel and a boy called Tes. I had to laugh at her matter of fact comments and her battle of wills with teacher Miss Swain. I was annoyed that Mia was often overlooked by her parents.

I also liked Lily and thought her seizures were intriguing. it is amazing how your mind can affect your body. I think Cormack was a nasty piece of work and she was better off without him.

My least favourite character was Michael. He was a good man but I thought he was weak and definitely lived in the shadow of his successful ancestors and younger brother. He preferred to put his head in the sand whenever they were problems with the kids.

Overall I enjoyed this book. However I was disappointed by the abrupt ending, and would of liked to have found out what happened between Grace and Michael.

[Lianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Kay Cugini · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was odd, kept wondering where it was going, and in the end it fizzled out with so much not tied up or unexplained I was left irritated by it, I didn't like the characters, you are invited to empathise with Mia, which I did, but I didn't like anyone but Elvis! And even then, although I cant say Ive ever met an eel, I don't think they behave like your average cat?? it was a little all over the place for me and far too much left unexplained, Im all for subtlety but this one just left me miffed.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to feel really absorbed in this book but once that happened I absolutely loved it.

Essentially, this is a story of a family that is falling apart, not just in the obvious, everyday ways but in subtle ways too. It starts with a family barbecue and an argument between two couples which is witnessed by the daughters of one of them. One of those girls, Mia, has recently found a used pregnancy test kit and discovers during the course of the argument that her teenaged sister Lilly has had an abortion. Mia, who is 10, is sworn to secrecy and this sets up an important story arc; we are left wondering whether the youngster is capable of keeping such a secret and whether the obvious tensions between the adults are somehow related to Lilly”s situation.

During the ensuing chapters the author unravels a web of secrets and lies within the family and of a heart-breaking backstory for Mia and Lilly’s mother., Grace. Lilly becomes ill and during her hospitalisation, Lilly’s own secrets are uncovered and this creates tension between the parents and between the family and the immediate community. Rumours abound and when other children become ill, including `Mia’s Traveller friend Tas, Grace’s sense of perspective diminishes and her troubled relationship with husband Patrick deteriorates even further. Mia, feeling ignored by everyone, embarks on on a plan of action which is well-intentioned but potentially very dangerous.

As if this wasn’t enough we discover that Patrick has concealed huge debts from his family, debts that he cannot repay without help from a younger brother he has previously dismissed as a lightweight. Over the course of the story my opinion of Patrick completely changed. Initially he seemed to be a competent but hen-pecked man who was having some serious money problems; but over time it became clear that he was weak, feckless and lazy, doing everything to avoid conflict and honesty with Grace. The damp, draughty, badly built Fenland house the family lived in was a great metaphor for the family itself - built on weak, questionable foundations the marriage was bound to sink in the end and fail.

I loved the characters of Grace and Mia. Grace, in the way she is portrayed, is not actually very likeable, but I was drawn in by her determination to do her best for her family, given the circumstances. Mia was a young, vulnerable misfit who was failed by her parents, her sister and the school system that should have protected her from bullying and derision. Her only friend, another Traveller boy misfit, and a pet eel are the only positive aspects in Mia’s life and the sense of injustice she feels in having to let them go was heart-breaking.

A great story, beautifully written and plotted, which deserves much success. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for allowing me to read an ARC of the novel.

The plot cleverly intertwines storylines which are both diverse and descriptive of modern family life -

[Suzanne Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Human beings are nothing more than layers and layers of secrets, she decides." This is the truth that this story dwells on. Grace and Patrick are married with two daughters Lilly and Mia. Grace has never told Patrick the truth of her past life, she has spent all her life trying to avoid her past. She is living her life through her daughter Lilly and spends her time pushing Lilly to great heights as she believes a good mother would do. Patrick has his own secrets, not least that they have severe financial problems which has meant that they had to move house into a house that is falling down around them. Lilly, although doing well in school, has her own secrets, mainly revolving around a secret boyfriend and her relationships with her friends. They are doing things that her mother definitely would not approve of. Mia has her own life, she is an odd little girl that suffers in school because she doesn't fit in with her class mates and her teacher has no clue how to handle her.
The book begins when Mia finds an old positive pregnancy test and Lilly lies about who it belongs to. Mias overactive imagination makes her think mad things relating to an archealogical site and a skeleton that has been found there. Lilly then becomes ill and all the stories begin to intertwine. There is a sense of doom hanging over everyone
I really enjoyed this book, the characters are fascinating and their interactions are very interesting. Fiona Neill delves into family relationships and explores them deeply. I really enjoyed Mia, she obsesses about subjects to a point where she is nearly living them and yet there is a great innocence about her. Her relationship with Tas and her pet eel Elvis are lovely. This book is a great read.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review