A zippy thriller that's also a pointed poke at social media. Dani, Sawyer, Inspector Veronique Knowles and Sonja, a fellow cruiser tell the story of Dani and Sawyer after Dani goes missing in the Bahamas. Did Sawyer do something to her? They've been cruising and posting to YouTube but things haven't been going so well lately financially. There's a darker underside to their relationship than anyone knew but now it's all coming out. I liked this for the atmospherics- and the Inspector is terrific. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

If you like unreliable narrators, you are going to enjoy ON THE SURFACE. Not only is there one unreliable narrator but there are two. Dani Fox disappears after a cruiser party and Sawyer Stone blacked out and doesn't remember what happened that night. Is he responsible for Dani's disappearance?

ON THE SURFACE is told in multiple perspectives and is part police procedural. There are a lot of unlikeable characters, and I didn't know what or who to believe. I found it interesting that there are people called cruisers that live on boats and travel the world. Once I picked this one up, I couldn't put it down. It is a quick read and is the perfect summer book.

There are so many great thrillers coming in July and you don't want to miss this one! Thank you @crookedlanebooks @rachelmcguireauthor and @netgalley for the ebook.

When one half of a boating couple goes missing after a night of partying on their friend’s boat in the Bahamas, the suspicion immediately falls on the boyfriend. Did he do it? Where is Dani? And what the hell happened that night?!

I love a book with unreliable narrators, and this one has TWO! You never know exactly what is really going on in this one! I loved reading through Sawyer and Dani’s perspectives! The pacing was a little off with this one, starts with a bang and the middle can be a tad slow, but that didn’t stop me from HAVING to know what exactly was going on with this couple!

On the Surface was immediately intriguing to me based on the blurb and it turned out to be an excellent popcorn thriller that absolutely kept me turning the pages.

I’m a huge fan of multi POV, and I loved that this gave so many perspectives. It was full of such good love to hate characters, almost everyone in this book was AWFUL and it made for an amazing read.
My favorite part was probably the social media aspect. This book really highlighted the terrible way social media can influence every part of life these days. The message boards were a lot of fun to read and I really enjoyed the unique vlogging storyline.
There were so many points in this book where things took such a sharp turn I thought I had brain whiplash. I especially loved the prologue directly connecting to the very last page ending twist. I can say I truly didn’t guess the final turn until the last couple chapters when things clicked for me.

All in all this was an utterly compelling debut novel and I’m so excited to see what the authors (love a good collab) do next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and the authors for this ARC.
Publication date 7/9/24

Although this novel started off with an intriguing prologue, it was still a slow burn of a thriller. The premise was interesting enough to keep me reading, but I still sit on the fence when it comes to rating scores.
The setting was one of the best parts and will ensure this book lands on many summer reading lists. You follow the trials and triumphs of characters living their best life of sun and fun in the Bahamas, sailing by day and partying by night - until the worst happens.
The major pitfall comes in the main characters. Two of them are so unlikeable that it's hard not to hope for their demise. The remaining POV, a female Bahamian detective, is likeable enough, but boring - which is arguably the worst sin in a suspense novel.
Not my favourite of the year by far, but I would still say it makes good poolside reading - light, easy to follow, with characters you can feel good about hating.

This book kept me reading, in spite of the unlikeable main characters. I was a little disappointed in the ambiguous ending, but I enjoyed reading about the Bahamas “cruiser” lifestyle. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book instantly attracted me to it! This was a fun, suspenseful summer read ~ sexy setting, fast paced lifestyles, beautiful people..& every bit of their lives are documented on social media. I loved the multiple POVs, as always! It was insightful to jump from one character’s perspective to another & slowly piece together more of the story. This book had a wonderful pace. A nice, slow burn. Sawyer was an easy MMC to hate! His character was despicable. Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of Dani either. She was unhinged. But as I read about her upbringing, I became sympathetic towards her traumatic past. The sinister yachting lifestyle that was portrayed kept me addicted. There were so many surprising side characters & twists during this read. IMO, this would be perfect for a series adaptation.

“There are plenty of people you’ll love to hate in the cruising world.”

Thank you to thrillerbookloversthepulse, Rachel McGuire, & Crooked Lane for this suspenseful ARC! I look forward to reading more from this duo.

This was a binge worthy thriller that ended up falling flat. There wasn’t enough to the overall mystery that I felt paid off in the end. I did like the setting and the set up to the mystery, I just wish there had been a bit more to it.

“I don’t like the idea of pleasure diving in someone’s watery grave.”


On The Surface by Rachel McGuire

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


This book started off with a bang and quickly lead to me slogging through characters I absolutely hated. I wasn’t shocked, I was annoyed. By the end I didn’t care who did it or why I was just happy to be done.

The rating I’m giving is because the author did such a good job creating characters I couldn’t stand that the credit is due.

Slow burner thriller for Ruth Ware fans. It reminds me of a thriller that falls into her category if you are into those kinds of thrillers. Board, water, couple, and a mysterious death. Great summer beach read!

A book about an influencer??? Umm yes please!! Sign this girl up!! 🙋‍♀️ Dani and Sawyer are killing it with their YouTube channel Sailing ⛵️ with the Foxes.. 🦊.. Dani is OBSESSED with social media. The men love her… and the women tend to… not.. 😬

Boat 🚤 hopping.. partying 🍹 with fellow cruisers… life is good 👍… well until Dani goes missing… 😳… She left a party… with Sawyer… and vanished into thin air… OMGGG you know it is ALWAYS the husband… or the boyfriend… YEP we are looking at you Sawyer… 😉

What did I love?

✅ Unlikable characters are my FAVORITE!! These two were so self centered!! BUT I loved it!! It just made them more interesting!! 🤷‍♀️

✅ Holy Hell of a twist!! I literally said OH NO WAY!! 😳 Which just opened it up for ALOT more questions! 🤔😂👏
✅ Fast paced… edge of your seat… EVERYONE is starting to look 👀… suspicious 🤨…

This thriller had me questioning… who is telling the truth??? What the HELL is actually going on?? 😂 I thought I knew… but .. I was SO wrong!! Bravo 👏 Fantastic debut!!

3.5/5 ⭐️
Dani and Sawyer are a cruiser couple - as in they live on a boat and sail around the world. Dani is also trying to become a YouTube influencer when one day she disappears. The Internet and police are convinced Sawyer is to blame, especially as new videos keep being released that make him look guilty. Did Sawyer kill Dani or is something else going on?

*Spoilers below*
This was like Gone Girl on the water. Even early on, I was like I bet she is alive. I kept waiting for another huge twist, and while there was maybe one at the end, it didn't feel surprising to me. This was a quick read though. There were a few other things too that threw me off - there is a character named Brendan Weatherby who is called both names interchangeably, by the same character, on the same page, like literally from sentence to sentence. That was just strange and seemed like an accident (there was no explanation or reasoning I could find)? Additionally, the end felt unfinished/abrupt. I was like wait, we are done now?? I think I was waiting for some sort of epilogue. Overall, a decent thriller, but not one that surprised me.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

On The Surface had lots to like with lots of action and twist and turns. It also had lots of unlikable characters who got on my nerves a lot at times including social media influencer Dani.
Set over dual timelines it was engaging and kept me reading to find out what did happen to Dani after she disappeared. A good solid thriller that I am sure will be gobbled up on its release.
Thank you to NetGalley for this early reading copy it was a great read.

Dani and Sawyer are a gorgeous young couple that are “cruisers” currently docked in the Bahamas. They spend their days sailing around the world and Dani shares their adventures on social media. Sawyer doesn’t love that, but it makes Dani happy so he goes along with it. Their life appears perfect … on the surface!
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One morning, after a night of partying with other cruisers, Sawyer wakes up with a killer hangover and no memory of the night before. He realizes Dani is missing.
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Videos start appearing on their social media which make it seem Sawyer was abusive to Dani. This, mixed with other things discovered by the police, make Sawyer their number one suspect.
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The dual timeline gave some glimpses in the past and the dual point of view always tells more of the story! The characters were all perfectly unlikeable. And while I guessed some of the twists, I still loved every minute!

Thanks to Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, Rachel McGuire and Crooked Lane books for a gifted ARC.

This one gave me strong vibes of a long ago popular thriller. I won’t mention any names because I don’t want to influence anyone else, but it never left my mind.

Now that we are almost officially in summer in the Northern hemisphere, this is definitely a summer read. A thriller in the water with an unreliable narrator. No spoilers here since one of our narrators was blackout drunk or high at the time of the incident.

Honestly it was the cover of this one that grabbed me. Look at it. But if you are a fan of influencing or boating, then this one will grab you for the story. There is a lot of intrigue with the main characters. One is missing. The other one can’t remember what happened and has the death of his first wife still looming over him.

I had never heard of cruisers so it was enlightening to read about this boating community. I didn’t really like anyone but that is sometimes a plus for me in a thriller. It gives me extra reason to not trust them.

This is a slow burn, almost a drama at times, with a little police procedural thrown in. It’s highly entertaining and I flew through it. Can’t wait to see what these authors come up with next.

On The Surface is a twisted thriller. It's hard to know which characters are trustworthy and which are not when trying to unravel the mystery of Dani's disappearance. I also enjoyed the concept of sailing Youtubers with the intrigue of the events happening on the water with no one around to witness anything. If you're looking for a quick read to devour on the beach, this book is perfect.

This book was interesting and kept me guessing. Multiple times I thought I had it figured out and I was wrong. I’d recommend this book to lovers of thrillers.

Sawyer Stone III and Dani Fox are a young couple cruising the world aboard their sailboat and documenting it for their YouTube channel. While anchored in the Bahamas, Dani goes missing and Sawyer has no memory of what happened. With the cruiser community against him, Sawyer must prove his innocence while trying to figure out exactly what happened to Dani.

If there ever was a couple that deserved each other, it’s this one! Neither Sawyer nor Dani were likable, and I loved to hate them! Reading about the cruiser lifestyle was interesting since I knew nothing about before. Imagine giving up everything and just cruising the world?

I enjoyed this popcorn thriller that totally gave me Gone Girl vibes. The characters were so deplorable, and I didn’t know who I could trust. Although some parts were predictable, I didn’t want to put this book down. My one complaint was the ambiguous ending, but overall, I thought this was the perfect summer thriller that will keep you on your toes.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

✨️ The team at @thrillerbookloversthepulse are reviewing On The Surface and were thinking it's the perfect read to throw in your beach bag this summer 🌴 You'll definitely want to check it out on release!

On The Surface is a slow burn, addictive, drama filled thriller that'll keep you flipping those pages. The setting was amazing, perfect to bring with you to the beach. The descriptions were vivid and easily imaginable in my mind. I liked how it was fleshed out and how it played out.

The characters were highly unlikeable, which in this particular book worked for me. I just loved to hate them. They live for the drama, the secrets and the lies. I liked that I didn't know who I could trust. The multiple POV's gave insight into different characters which I thought added an extra layer. Some twists were maybe a little predictable but truly for me it didn't take away from my enjoyment, the rest made up for it.

This is definitely a highly entertaining thriller. It's fun, it'll keep you hooked and it'll keep you invested in the drama and wanting to know who's telling the truth.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @crookedlanebooks & @rachelmcguire for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well that was a wild sail. I love unreliable narrators and this one had two! The story was well written and the characters were entertaining. I love how the author left the ending. 4.5 stars