Beneath the Surface

The closer the family, the darker the secrets

By: Fiona Neill

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

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?

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)