BELOW THE SURFACE

Author: Karen Harper ISBN: 0778324966 2/2008 SUSPENSE Publisher: MIRA

She surfaced from the depths of the sea... and was terrifyingly, inexplicably alone. Briana Devon knows her twin sister would never deliberately leave her—but when she emerges from underwater, Daria and their boat have vanished. Fighting rough waves and a fast-approaching storm, Bree doesn't have time to question: if she wants to survive, she has to swim. Exhausted and terrified, Bree barely makes it to a tiny barrier island, where Cole De Roca, who has also taken shelter, revives her. Bound to Cole by the harrowing experience, she turns to him as she struggles to understand what happened to her sister. What was her twin, whom she thought she knew so well, hiding? What really transpired that terrible afternoon? And what secrets lie dormant ...below the surface?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

"When Briana Devon surfaced, her boat was gone."

If you think the opening sentence of BELOW THE SURFACE is an attention grabber, just wait until you read more. Ms. Harper takes this romantic suspense from intriguing to terrifying in the course of a few pages.

Ms. Harper immediately plunges readers into a swirling, churning tale and keeps the pace relentless throughout BELOW THE SURFACE. Imagine surfacing from a scuba dive to find your boat gone, four miles out in the ocean. And, to top it off, your twin sister is gone with the boat.

From Briana Devon's desperate swim for safety, to the mystery of her sister Daria's disappearance and the aftermath of discovering Daria's fate, Ms. Harper expertly weaves an exciting, focused thriller peppered with some well-done red herrings. As with the well-crafted suspense, several of Ms. Harper's characterizations are real stand-outs. Added depth is given to a number of characters by painting them in interesting shades of gray... not many real good or real bad people here. What lies below the surface of these characters is sometimes a revelation. Readers will suspect almost everyone before the story ends.

In addition, the romance between Briana and Cole De Roca (one of the really good people) is another highlight of BELOW THE SURFACE. In the midst of uncertainty and despair comes a love story as richly told as it is, well, sweet. There is nothing sweet, however, about the heat these two characters generate.

The riveting BELOW THE SURFACE shines with imagination and depth. The suspense, the romance and the characters combine to entice readers to keep reading until the dramatic conclusion.

Debbie Jett