Lies Beneath

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Expected Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Young Adult, Ages 12+

ARC copy used for review.

Personal Ranking 2.5/3 out of 5

Murderous Mermaids

Promises are sacred to mermaids. Jason Hancock has no clue that his father made one to a mermaid, and then broke it. Now, the mermaid's children want to collect on Jason's father's debt: with Jason's life as the payment. Calder White and his sisters have thought of nothing but killing Jason Hancock for as long as they can remember, and now they finally have him in their sights. Calder's mission is to get close to the family, especially Hancock's daughter, Lily. But the closer he gets the deeper he falls, and wonders if he can fight his nature, and his sisters, for the girl he loves?

First it was vampires which morphed into werewolves before shifting into zombies who are becoming mermaids. It is refreshing to be under the water with a different type of mermaid then what I grew up with. It was also an excellent choice to have Calder as the narrator. The male point of view is exciting, especially when they go through such a psychological journey. Calder's decision to fight his nature and his sisters, was what finally drew me in. At times, Lily and Calder's conversations reminded me of Bella and Edward's since Calder knows that he is a monster and at first refuses to believe that he can change. The title is also excellent, there are so many layers of untruth that in the end is was like peeling an onion.

I only gave Lies Beneath 2.5/3 stars because while there were several things I loved about the book, there were a few things that bothered me. First, it took me forever to get into the story, much longer than normal. But I felt the need to keep reading, and I am glad that I did. Once I was "hooked" that was it; I was in hook, line and sinker. Then there was the ending, everything was great until the last two pages and then I was let off the hook with such force that I felt abandoned. Even though it was a happy ending, it left me feeling empty. But maybe that was the point after all, this was not a fish, I mean, fairytale.