A review by lilibetbombshell
Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda

dark mysterious tense

4.0

I am absolutely weak for the type of thrillers Kaira Rouda writes, because they are filled with people that possess either more money or the illusion of more money than anything else. They’re always absolutely deplorable people I wouldn’t let near anyone I love, but I will gobble up books about their dirty, shady dealings like buckets of movie theater popcorn with extra butter because I love to see these characters have their whole lives turned upside down, or to see them turn on each other. It’s an absolute mess and it reminds me of when I used to watch Dallas and Falcon Crest with my grandma when I was a little kid (except with no romance, but that’s okay because we get delicious, unscrupulous, violent, horrible rich people in exchange). 

I fell in love with Kaira Rouds when I read The Widow. I loved that book with my whole heart. When I say I love these characters, what I really mean is I love to hate these characters. I love to make fun of them, sneer at them, wish for bad things to happen to them, cheer when bad things happen to them, laugh when they cry, and genuinely rejoice in their misfortune. In Kaira Rouda’s books, I don’t feel guilty about hating the rich because they really deserve it. 

Beneath the Surface isn’t as intriguing to me as The Widow because I felt it was a little repetitive and I didn’t like flash-forward at the ending. Also, the family dynamic made everything more predictable and some of the characters were just too transparent. 

I picked this up as an ebook a few months ago as a Prime First Read, and since I’m about to read the ARC for the sequel now was as good a time as any to read this one. It was good fun. 

File Under: Book Series/Domestic Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller