by Nora Roberts
About this book
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.
But the perfect facade hides dark undercurrents. Teenager Zane and his younger sister, Britt, are terrorised by their violent father until one dark, brutal night when their father’s temper rakes a horrifying turn for the worse.
Over time, Zane moves on and builds a new life for himself but a childhood like that can cast a shadow the length of a lifetime. Can Zane ever really be free of his past? Or could those dark undercurrents rise back to the surface, forcing Zane to fight for this life once again…
Book review
Very fitting title indeed for this story, which feature a strong theme of undercurrents throughout – never trust what you see on the surface.
The story is well developed, with clear structures delineating the different phases:
- Where it all began – how the seemingly perfect family hid such violence underneath. Domestic violence is always horrifying, but there is an added twist of the unbelievable betrayal of the parents towards their children, especially the role of the mother who is typically seen as a nurturing figure. The strength of Zane and Britt can already be seen early on in how they dealt with these horrors.
- The meeting of Zane and Darby, who was also a victim of domestic violence herself. Despite the rough childhood, it is nice to see Zane and Britt now grown up, turning into great people without much baggage from the past.
- Development of Zane’s and Darby’s relationship and closure for Zane with Graham released from jail and failed attempts at revenge.
- An added mystery at the end which ended up being closure for Darby’s past. There is also a little story of them helping an abused woman weaved in, which brought back old memories for Darby.
As always with a Nora Roberts novel, this was a gripping story which developed at a good pace and included strong elements of love, family, crime, mystery, along with deeper issues of domestic violence. What else could we have expected from a bestselling author right?
Rin Ranger 