A really enjoyable read. Excellent characters that complement each other well. Plenty of twists and turns throughout. Excellent.

This is the 3rd book I've read from Sibel Hodge, and once again, she doesn't disappoint, she is so multi talented , as ,which ever genre she delves into , involves such detail and research , and each time she delivers a hard hitting storyline. This òne takes us into the dark, murky world of pharmaceutical companies, the depth they will go to , to get a medicine accepted, with total disregard for the innocent patient being prescribed it. What drives a young teen from a loving family, to brutally kill his parents?, this is what Holly, a journalist , recently returned to her home town, is asked to investigate.The victims are known to Holly, and she has no idea where her research will take her, or that she is putting her own life in danger, the corporate world, so ruthless, where money talks and profit is the goal, get in the way and you are collateral damage, This is such a heart pounding read, but then again, this is why I love Sibel Hodge, she writes about real life, issue's affecting the world, and though the storyline is fiction, one wonders just how much 'fact' comes into play.This is the 3rd book I've read from Sibel Hodge, and once again, she doesn't disappoint, she is so multi talented , as ,which ever genre she delves into , involves such detail and research , and each time she delivers a hard hitting storyline. This òne takes us into the dark, murky world of pharmaceutical companies, the depth they will go to , to get a medicine accepted, with total disregard for the innocent patient being prescribed it. What drives a young teen from a loving family, to brutally kill his parents?, this is what Holly, a journalist , recently returned to her home town, is asked to investigate.The victims are known to Holly, and she has no idea where her research will take her, or that she is putting her own life in danger, the corporate world, so ruthless, where money talks and profit is the goal, get in the way and you are collateral damage, This is such a heart pounding read, but then again, this is why I love Sibel Hodge, she writes about real life, issue's affecting the world, and though the storyline is fiction, one wonders just how much 'fact' comes into play.

I really loved reading the book and the few surprises that came my way. I did think there were too many things going on in the story. However, I would definitely recommend to a friend who enjoys reading this genre. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy - all opinions are my own.

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Greta Halliday's review Jul 12, 2017 · edit
it was amazing

In my opinion a number 1 best seller for this amazing author, who never fails to take you on a rollercoaster ride. Her attention to detail is second to none and the storyline is absolutely perfect. Fact + fiction = best seller. Brilliant book.
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From a slow start where I was unsure exactly why I was continuing to read, as I wasn't really liking Holly or her brother Miles, it suddenly became really good, and interesting at the same time, to the extent where I needed to know what would happen next.

The story starts with an awful situation when a teenager kills his parents and then commits suicide, and Holly used to know the family and couldn't believe the son would do such a thing. She promises the surviving family member that she would try and find out why, and from that she uncovers all sorts of information, mostly unpleasant and all rather unsettling.

At times I found some of the revelations and research into the reasoning of this crime a bit hard to take in, as its not a field I'm fully interested in, but equally I believe the situations outlined in the book could so easily be happening in real life that its eye opening too.

There are a good amount of characters to keep track of, and you are never completely sure if any of them are telling the truth. Occasionally between chapters there are messages between the villains, with no indication who they are, other than they seem to know a lot about what is going on from all angles.

At times a rather harrowing book, with a troubled main character, who can be viewed as an unreliable narrator. Oddly it was only as the complexity ramped up that I found myself really gripped by Beneath the Surface, and its true you never really know what is going on beneath the surface of anything.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I’ve been a Sibel Hodge fan now for a couple of years and always enjoy her books. Unfortunately I read a review prior to starting Beneath the Surface that contained a small spoiler so that ruined part of the suspense element for me, nevertheless I still enjoyed reading it.

Holly is a journalist and Dean Hudson is the son of a school friend of Holly’s. Although, Holly hasn’t seen him since he was three years old she doesn’t believe Dean could annihilate his parents in such a brutal way. As a journalist, she feels it is her duty to investigate the circumstances of the murder/suicide for the sake of her friend’s mother Barbara, who has lost her whole family. As Holly begins to investigate deeper into Dean’s behaviour, the more shocking truths she uncovers.

The novel explores some really interesting and contemporary issues and it is clear that Hodge has done her research. The main focus is big business pharmaceutical companies but she also touches on teen suicide and mental health issues. This book is not just your usual investigation-into-a-murder-case kind of book. It goes so much deeper and is more of a conspiracy story, think Erin Brockovitch. I loved the political layer, which is incredibly current, and the social commentary that punctuates the book. The theme of the pursuit of profit regardless of the cost is incredibly chilling.

Holly has trouble getting people to take her suspicions seriously though, she is drinking too much and is under a lot of emotional strain after a miscarriage and relationship break up. In classic unreliable narrator style, Holly fears that someone is following her and monitoring her communications, leading to heightened paranoia and mistrust. Holly’s own demons are an underlying theme in the book however are instrumental in the lengths she goes to prove she is correct.

With a few twists and turns and a couple of red herrings thrown in, Beneath The Surface keeps the reader on their toes, and whilst lacking the typical thrilling edge to it, the sheer volume of information the author has intricately researched and put into the book is enough to send shivers down anyones spine. The power of knowledge itself is a thrilling thing.

Beneath The Surface is a fast paced page turner that will keep you gripped from the beginning. Highly recommend to those who are fans of medical thrillers and big business cover up stories. Thanks to Sibel Hidge, Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for my review copy.

After the breakdown of her marriage, a failed career and the loss of her pregnancy, Holly returns to her hometown to work for a small-town newspaper and mourn her losses. Defeated and ashamed of her thwarted ambitions, she does not make contact with many of her old friends, keeping to herself and plugging away in her joyless job with little hope for something better to happen in her life. She is shocked and saddened to hear of the murder/suicide of one of her former best friends at the hand of her friend’s own teenage son, unwilling to believe that the sweet little boy she knew in the past could do such a terrible thing. Reaching out to the victim’s mother Barbara, who used to be a mother figure to her in her childhood, Holly learns that Barbara also finds it impossible to believe that her grandson would be capable of such a horrific act, and begs Holly to investigate, hoping to be able to clear his name.

Beneath the Surface has been touted a “gripping suspense thriller”, which is usually something I cannot resist! Not having read any previous books by Hodge, I was also curious to explore a new author and was thrilled to have been granted a preview copy of the novel on Netgalley. Hodge’s writing drew me into the story very quickly, and I was intrigued by Holly’s damaged character and the unspeakable crime, which took up the first chapters of the book. Who would not be shocked and saddened to hear that their best friend had been murdered, especially at the hands of her own son? I could imagine the grief that rocked the whole community, and understood Holly’s desire to investigate.

However, it was after this point that things started to bug me. Despite admitting to having been a journalist working for a fluffy women’s magazine, Holly makes some vast leaps of imagination and deduction to very quickly come up with her conspiracy theory into what had caused young Dean’s descent into madness and murder, which seemed a bit far-fetched to me. For a person without any medical background, or previous experience of the field through investigative journalism, some of Holly’s convictions didn’t ring true to me. I would have preferred if more time had been spent on Holly investigating the crime and finding a lot more clues before being convinced of her (at that stage rather far-fetched) theory of what had caused Dean’s murderous rampage.

I am trying to tread carefully here, so as not to give anything away, so will only say that the author spends some time later in the book explaining her theory – and she has obviously done her research into the topic at hand – but to me it felt a bit too conspiracy-theory like all the way through. Perhaps I am just the wrong audience for this type of book, as I felt that the background conspiracy got in the way of being able to engage with the main characters, and I totally lost any emotional connection with Holly in the process. The ending also seemed rushed to me, tying all ends just a bit too neatly and quickly, and I turned the last page feeling rather let down by the whole story. There just wasn’t enough tension or mystery in it for me, and I certainly wouldn’t call it a psychological thriller, as it is pretty obvious from the start where the book is heading. The story didn’t mess with my mind nearly enough to justify the tag in the genre, in my opinion. However, I am sure that a lot of readers will enjoy the fast-paced last third of the novel, and concede that if I had known the focus of the book I would not have chosen it, as I am well aware that I am the wrong audience for this type of story.

This book is engaging and complex but it is a great read! It starts with the death of the key character's friend and ends with taking on pharmaceutical companies in this fast thriller.

It was a good thriller that informs the reader about the dark side of the pharmaceutical industry

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. An excellent thriller about a report called Holly Gold, this kept me in suspense the whole way through with its up and downs. Well worth a read.

Really enjoyed this book even though I guessed early on what was going to surface the depth of corruption was too deep to identify the good guys from the bad.
After a miscarriage and a broken relationship Holly returns from London to her hometown in Ashfield. Feeling a failure in life as well as her journalism career she shys away from resurrecting her childhood friendships until a traumatic event involving her once best friend Jess and her family stuns the whole town.
Holly turns to offer support to Barbara, Jess's mum, and soon finds herself embroiled in the biggest corruption racket.
The plot unfolds at a steady pace with lots of twists and thrills along the way.

This is a stylish thriller that I really, really enjoyed. It’s well-written, pacey and packed with great characters. Just out of a traumatic relationship, Holly has returned to her hometown and a dead-end job. She’s drinking too much and wallowing in the past. And then she finds a cause. Suddenly she’s pitted against a mighty pharmaceutical company in a David and Goliath-type battle - and her life, and those of her loved ones, are under threat. Beneath the Surface is an intelligent, wonderful read with several surprises. Sibel Hodge really has a knack of creating characters that stay with you, no matter how small a part they play. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

This was an excellent book, the first one I've ever read by Sibel Hodge and I will be on the lookout for more.
This book was scary because it *could* be true. This will be a story that I will continue to think about even though I have finished reading it.

Holly Gold has been through a lot. She left her magazine job in London and is hoping to start again in her hometown. But when her childhood best friend and her husband are murdered by their son, Holly decides to find out the truth about what happened.

I enjoyed this thriller, even though I figured out what was happening almost immediately. There are a lot of unsavory, and unreliable characters in this book, but Holly is likable and the plot moves quickly. The novel itself is based on real-life events, which, sadly, isn't surprising. I appreciated that Sibel Hodge provided extra reading material in the afterword, for those readers wanting non-fiction accounts.

I felt some of the dialogue was a little shaky, especially between Holly and her brother. Her brother is often trying to degrade her, gaslight her, or otherwise belittle her, which is definitely interesting - but the exchanges between them are clunky and awkward. That between Holly and her sister, on the other hand, are much more believable.

I also wanted to stay more with the plot line about Holly's friend, the family that was murdered. Ultimately, however, this was more of an action-fueled book than a character sketch, and we zip frenetically through events. It was highly readable, and I do look forward to picking up another books written by the author.

*Much thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing a copy*

I really enjoyed this book. I very much enjoyed the style of writing and how the story unfolded. A great read that comes highly recommended to others

Another gripping read from Sibel Hodge. The second book of hers I have read and totally different but equally enjoyable. The rest of this lady's books are most definitely on my 'must read' list. Highly recommended.

Another good thriller from Sibel Hodge.
This was a good story, but not as tense as some of her previous works.

Unfortunately I was left quite disappointed by Sibel Hodge's Beneath The Surface. Excited by the synopsis of a teenager killing his parents and himself, and main character's Holly's insistence that she needs to get to the bottom of exactly what happened to lead Dean the teenager to commit this most heinous of crimes, I started reading this book with fervour. What I was left with however, was a plot line focusing mostly on the scandals of pharmaceutical companies and the cover-ups they use to continue to churn out their multi-million dollar campaigns.

Halfway through the book it was evident that the blame of this incident lay at the foot of a new medication being publicised by one such pharmaceutical company, but I hadn't expected this to be the main focus of more than half of the book. My attention was held and gripped for the first half of the book as I was desperate to know why Dean had commit this murder-suicide, but once the focus of the plot changed to the medication I lost all interest. The book began to read like an attempt to tar all these industries rather than a fictional novel, and so this just did not to it for me. I must admit I had to skim-read the last few chapters as I had lost all interest by this point.

I feel that on the whole the synopsis of the book promises something which is not actually delivered, and this is why I am only scoring three stars. Had there been some mention of the pharmaceutical element of the plot, I would have know what to expect and perhaps wouldn't have chosen this one to read.

Beneath the Surface is a well written suspense novel that focuses on corporate greed. Sibel Hodge obviously researches her topics well, as I found the novel informative as well as entertaining. Perhaps entertaining isnt the correct adjective. The story itself was quite riveting, and I found myself caught up in it easily. The characters arent as complex as I would have liked, but they were interesting and Ms. Hogdge managed to make ne care about them. I thought the story was fast paced, well woven, and the conclusion satisfying.

3,5 Stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the first half very much. But as soon as the main topic began to unfold I lost interest. I don’t like kiss-and-tell-stories. And I was not aware that this book was that kind of book. I expected something else or maybe a different handling of the topic.

In the first half we meet Holly. We get to know her and learn about her problems. I liked reading the book although I was a bit annoyed by everybody telling her she was paranoid and a crazy drunk. But then the story turns into an action thriller. The exposure of the criminal doings of pharmaceutical companies became more important than telling a story. The author did a great job with her research and the topic is shocking and has to be revealed. But it did not work in this book for me. I don’t know how I can explain it. But I think telling this story, revealing everything, became so important for the author that she missed to form it into a harmonic story.

I am sorry to say that the book did not work for me. It felt like something was missing. I liked the writing and the first half was very well composed. But then it turned into a kind of story I don’t like to read. If I had known that I would not have requested it from NetGalley. But because this is just me and my personal taste I round it up to 4 stars.