Beneath the Surface cover art

Beneath the Surface

The closer the family, the darker the secrets

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Beneath the Surface

By: Fiona Neill
Narrated by: Emilia Fox
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Everyone is talking about Grace Vermuyden's family.
Once it was for all the right reasons - now it's for all the wrong ones.
Grace wants the world for her two daughters - especially after her own dysfunctional upbringing.
Mia is wonderfully one-of-a-kind, even if her imagination does run a bit wild. Lilly is everyone's golden girl, with a glittering future ahead of her.
Then Lilly collapses suddenly at school, and Grace's carefully-ordered world is turned upside down.
Lilly was the one she didn't have to worry about. But as dark rumours swirl around the school gates and things start to spiral out of control, everyone in their tight-knit community has their own theory about what happened.
Grace is shocked to discover her eldest daughter had a hidden life, and begins obsessively looking for clues.
Which is when she takes her eyes off Mia.
Grace thought she had a happy family.
But what if she never really knew her daughters at all?

 Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Fiction Crime

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Critic reviews

A sophisticated parable of modern family life . . . Well-paced and intriguing
Neill describes human dysfunction with such compelling empathy . . . richly tense and deeply satisfying. I didn't want to finish!
With her trademark dark humour and incisive observations of family life, Neill takes the reader on a fascinating, moving and intelligent journey to the truth
A rich, dark and satisfying read about the complexities of modern family life. I adored it
One of the most intelligent, engaging and perceptive writers about family life . . . beautifully told with great suspense. It is impossible not to become engrossed in the trials and tribulations of the Vermuyden family as secret histories unravel
This deft study of family dynamic sees Grace wanting to give her two daughters a better life than she had
An acutely observed story of the complex dynamics of family life and the challenges of navigating young friendships and relationships. Neill has created utterly believable, flawed yet likeable characters and a gripping drama
It's a tense, intricate and whip-smart drama that peels back the lid of a seemingly 'perfect' family and reveals the dark truth underneath. The characters are brilliantly drawn, the bubbling undercurrent of foreboding is palpable and there's a slam-dunk of a twist too. The perfect read to lose yourself in on holiday this summer
Praise for Fiona Neill
Exquisitely drawn and perfectly realised, no one writes about modern family with more truth and authenticity than Fiona Neill (Lisa Jewell)
All stars
Most relevant
Emilia Fox at her most gifted - she is gorgeous to listen to - never hurried, every different character's voice perfectly pitched and recognisable. Male, female, children, teenagers - she does them to a tee. The story unreels languorously, it is so beautifully written, deeply descriptive, often amusing, but at bottom heart wrenching with the most exciting finale. Every little clue counts, the Anglo Saxon history is fascinating, really, and getting to know Cambridge and the countryside around was a bonus.

I fell in love with ten year old Mia and felt enormous sympathy for her and her nearly adult sister Lily. Mia has a best friend Taz from the traveller community but she loves her pet eel Elvis as much as anyone. I was concerned for him in his bucket! The issues of bullying and loneliness, academic pressure and first love are very well covered. I was occasionally irritated by Grace but once in Part II, when you get her back story, her obsessive behaviour is perhaps understandable. It seems she may have made a poor marriage although Patrick has his moments. His brother Rob is more successful but he and his wife are childless... There are contrasts and sliding door moments galore.

I chose .9 speed, one down from the default setting and it suited me well. I am new to audible books and am now reliant on them as I live alone and miss the human voice during this crisis. Of all the books I have recently down loaded this is the tip top choice. Emilia reads so attractively, her voice is sweet, soothing and kind. Just lovely.

Superb lockdown listening experience

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The story is long & involved, I felt it could have been edited down a bit.
There are hidden depths to all the characters, but I found it hard to feel a connection with anyone except Lily.
I felt rather sorry for Mia who seemed to have missed out on the qualities that her sister had (swimming, intellectual ability, friendships) & felt that she must have some kind of undiagnosed learning difficulties.
Their mother Grace irritated me, somewhat less once her backstory was explained.
A feeling of dismay at the human condition came from the sadness of the different plot lines; Patrick & Grace’s marriage, that of Tom & his wife whose name I can’t spell; Lily & Cormac (although a fairly typical first love story which no doubt Lily would get over) and Mia’s rather bizarre existence.
Emilia Fox narrates well and made the story more enjoyable.
Recommended for anyone interested in human life stories, psychology & the fens.

Fen waters run deeper than I imagined

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very weak with no conclusion to story lines. The only positive it's that it's read by Emilia Fox

poor story line

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Mia’s character is amazing. I love her. The story is a sad one but reflects the mess we get in to as adults, as teens, as children.

Grace was frustrating and annoying at times but I felt a sense of sadness for her too.

Just as a side note. There is no such thing as BPD only trauma. The mum was portrayed as mentally ill when in fact she was damaged. Yes she made terrible mistakes and was a dreadful mum but not because she was mentally ill; it was because she didn’t know any other way, didn’t know how and couldn’t function as an adult.

Fantastic.

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Fox does an excellent job reading an interesting enough story with likeable characters. Like all the historical and geographical references a lot.

Very well read

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