[Under Currents] is brilliantly plotted and unrelentingly propulsive. It is a beautifully written story about the fragility of life and the power of the past and the need to fight back... a highly recommended novel for this summer.' The Washington Book Review
'...full of powerful, magnetic characters' - Publishers Weekly
Reader Reviews:
'started with a bang and was nearly impossible to put down'
'I read it in one sitting through the night'
'The story grabs you'
Every town has its ugly little secrets...
From the outside, the house in Lakeview Terrace looks perfect and the Bigelows seem like the perfect family: the respected surgeon father, the glamorous, devoted mother and two beautiful children. A perfect family, in a perfect house living their perfect lives.
But perfect surfaces can hide dark undercurrents and behind closed doors lies a very different story. Teenager Zane and his younger sister, Britt, are terrorised by their violent father and dysfunctional mother. Too afraid to speak out, Zane does his best to protect his sister and counts the days until they can finally be free.
One dark, brutal night when their father's temper takes a horrifying turn for the worse, the perfect facade is exposed for the lie it is and Zane and Britt manage to escape. With the help of their beloved aunt, they rebuild their lives a day at a time, creating new families and putting their past behind them. But a childhood like that can cast a shadow the length of a lifetime. Can Zane and Britt ever be free of their past? Or will those dark undercurrents rise to the surface, forcing them to fight for their lives once again...
Zane Bigelow discovers an unexpected romance and a surprising danger when he returns home in this adult suspenseful romance.
I have a contentious relationship with Nora Roberts. Her earlier novels were one of the main reasons I fell in love with the romance genre. Her later novels (mid-2000) did not impress me in the least. Now I’m in a good place with her books – I find them enjoyable, but I do not bemoan when they fail to “wow” me. This novel is a solid read for me.
Zane and Darby are enjoyable characters with compelling arcs. Darby shines with innate cheer and a passionate motivation for landscaping. The middle of the novel slows the pacing down quite a bit, but the end of it finishes strong. The secondary characters were disappointingly one-dimensional. More time should have been spent developing the supporting characters over fleshing out the setting.
tl;dr An enjoyable romance, a home town settings, and interesting first half hooked me into the story.
