Book Review: Beneath Cruel Waters by Jon Basoff

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Firefighter Holt Davidson returns to his hometown in Thompsonville, Colorado after over twenty years for his mother’s funeral after she commits suicide by hanging herself from a tree. While sorting through his mother’s belongings in his childhood home he finds an old Polaroid photo of a dead man, an old music box, a love letter and a gun hidden underneath the floorboards of his mother’s room. His mother Vivian was a devout church-going woman and a kindergarten teacher who raised both her children as a single mother after Holt’s father abandoned them before he was even born. His older sister Ophelia who he has not seen for over thirty years had been institutionalized on account of mental illness when Holt was a child, though Holt does have some fond memories of her. His mother’s suicide and the discovery of these hidden objects raise questions in Holt’s mind. 

Who is this dead man and why does his mother have a picture of him? Who wrote that letter to his mother? What prompted his devout mother to take her own life? What happened to his sister thirty years ago that led to her being committed to a mental institution? As the story progresses, we see how Holt leaves no stone unturned in his attempt to unravel the mysteries surrounding his family. In the course of his search, as his own repressed memories slowly rise to the surface, he must also face his sister who now resides in a care home and wade through the sea of lies, deception and secrets that destroyed his family.

Beneath Cruel Waters by Jon Basoff is a dark, atmospheric and absorbing read. Though some content might be disturbing for some, the author does exercise considerable restraint in describing sensitive topics such as religion, suicide and mental illness. The well-paced and gripping narrative switches between 1984 and the present-day (2018) and takes us through Holt’s childhood and his mother’s life as a single parent and his present-day experiences in his hometown. The writing is crisp and concise without any unnecessary embellishment. Each of the characters in this story is immensely flawed, complex and battling their own demons and each of their trajectories are very well-structured. This is not a particularly ”twisty” thriller and even though it is not difficult to predict some of the secrets that are gradually unraveled, the author does manage to keep the element of surprise going till the end. I was hooked to the story from the very first page and finished the book in one sitting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the digital review copy of this gripping read. All opinions expressed here are my own.