This was a slow burn, character driven mystery that had many different layers and themes giving it tons of depth. It’s a quiet style of suspense, there’s not a ton of action but I still found the narrative to be compelling. I loved the themes of motherhood and the exploration of how far one would go to protect their children, this lead to so many secrets and fractures in both families and I was so curious to see how things would play out. You get two timelines, one in 2011 and one in 1987 and I was equally invested in both. The authors writing was strong and engaging and I’m impressed this was a debut, if you enjoy mysteries with some meat and substance with characters that will linger with you try this!

This complex look at motherhood wrapped up in an intriguing mystery is solid. There is a haunting quality to this one.

“The Undercurrent” by Sarah Sawyer is such an impressive and emotional mystery debut. I truly enjoyed the story and the mysterious writing. This is going to be one of those books that where you think you'll have figured out the twists and turns, but then a few pages later you’ll realize how wrong you are. I was very surprised by the ending!

The main themes of the book focus on the act of mothering, how far mothers will go to protect their children, family secrets, and sacrifice. I enjoy how it is told from two timelines and various points of view.

When 13-year-old Deecie disappears in 1987, Bee and her twin brother, Gus are 15. Their childhood friend and neighbor, Leo, is also 15; he lives across the street with his professor mother, Diana. Gus and Leo are best friends, both troubled in different ways, they seek each other out for friendship and understanding and push Bee away, genuinely to protect her.

As the story unfolds Bee and Gus mother, Mary, and Leo’s mother, Diana both know that the boys were in the field across from their neighborhood the night Deecie disappeared. Each mother makes assumptions that drive them to make secret decisions. They each think they are protecting their own.

I enjoyed how this book pulled me in; I kept turning pages wanting to know what we would uncover next. I enjoyed how I was suspicious and assuming with certain characters, only to have their actions explained in the next chapter. My curiosity was piqued all along.

Thank you to Zibby Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Undercurrent.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

Trigger warning: sexual abuse.

This book would appeal to readers who like literary fiction or character-driven stories. Bee and Gus are teenage twins, living across from friend Leo, when a young girl goes missing. The story is told from Bee's perspective, her mother's, and Leo's mother's. Many secrets are under the surface about what happened that night and what estranged Bee from her family. This is a sad book, so don't read it if you're looking for a happy story. But the writing is great and I didn't want to put it down.

Secrets, lies, and a past she didn't fully understand loom large for Bee a new mom living in Maine. It's her childhood in Texas however, that's important, with unresolved issues, especially the question of what happened to Deecie that looms large. Interesting characters but know that it's a slow burn. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Impressive debut. Emotional and I enjoyed the story and writing.Two of my favorite places Texas and Maine. As a mother this one hits home. The isolation of being a new mom can be haunting.

This book was not my personal taste. Too literary and too detailed to be a mystery for me. I felt like it drug on with little pay out.

Thank you Zibby Books for The Undercurrent, another strong book that captures subtle and hidden corners of women's lives, the challenges of memory and perceptions of past and present. Sawyer's work here is impressive for a debut, the writing creative and stylish in ways that reveal promise as a writer to follow. I really appreciated how Sawyer's leaned into, but in a balanced way, the experiences of postpartum life, new motherhood, for Bee as well as the all consuming experience of true crime, secrets, and the ways that the past sometimes refuses to stay quiet. My one quibble is at times the writing felt a little distant to me, it was at times hard to get into the characters and plot with highly descriptive and atmospheric writing but the story overall drew me in.

A surprising missing girl mystery involving two families. All the characters are enigmas and complex. The setting of Austin in the past and present is accurately depicted. The two mothers remind me of many women that I have known in my past, especially Mary, the mother of the twins. The character development of the talented female daughter finding her own demons is well paced and realistically presented. The ending is quite a surprise.

The Undercurrent is a multilayered story that spans from the Texas childhood of twins Bee and Gus, to 2011 as Bee navigates new motherhood with her husband in Maine. Drawn to reconnect with her past after a meeting with an old acquaintance, Bee returns to her childhood home and begins to unravel parts of her family's past. I enjoyed this book and found it to be a mysterious family saga, with each character not as I originally expected. Thank you to NetGalley and Zibby Books for this advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

A new mother gets tangled into a mystery of her past; a neighborhood girl who disappeared when her and her twin brother were children.

A slow and quiet mystery of the past, it was hard to believe this was a debut. There are multiple perspectives and this shows us the misperceptions and secrets that we keep. The story does not come together until the very end but it is satisfying when it does.

“People don’t just disappear. Of course they don’t. They take up so much space in the world. They are pounds of flesh, gallons of blood. Teeth, bones, fingernails. It all has to go somewhere.

The Undercurrent comes out 10/8.

Zibby books is fast becoming a tried and true publisher.

The Undercurrent is a literary mystery wrapped up in a family drama and this is a mash up i thoroughly enjoy. Sawyer did an excellent job in pacing and intrigue but the parts that really shined through for me were the themes around motherhood, they were raw and affective.

The writing was a tad over written in sections and was on the verge of being repetitive but for a debut it was a really strong and solid story, look forward to what this author explores next.

This is a slow burn twisty thriller about motherhood and what mothers are capable of while trying to protect their own. Bee and Gus are twins and their neighbor Leo all grew up on the same street and each had their own problems. The boys push Bee away to “protect” her and many years later when she is a mom herself she is reminded of the boys and their secrets and the young girl who went missing in their youth. As an adult Bee is looking for answers that could upset her life today.
Thank you Netgalley and Zibby publishing for the digital ARC.

3. 5 stars for me.

This was an entertaining read that held my interest throughout, but I struggled at times to connect with the characters. I did relate to the themes of motherhood and loss. All in all, I say this was a good read. A solid debut.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Undercurrent is a mystery in genre but much more an exploration of family dynamics - weaving back and forth from the late 1980s in Austin Texas and the earlier part of the 21st century in Portland. Bee, her twin brother Gus, and their friend Leo are living a strange adolescent existence on a quiet street in a neighbourhood undergoing change and growth. Their moms are polar opposites - Mary stays at home and Diana goes to work but each woman is grabbling with her own difficult marriage and thwarted ambition. Several things happen all together, dramatically cleaving apart Bee and Gus's family and ultimately estranging the friends and siblings. In 2011, Bee is a new mom struggling through that fever dream of time with a newborn, when Leo abruptly re-enters her life. Rather than saying much more, I would suggest that this is a taut, poetic and slow burn of a novel, that is perfect for lovers of literary suspense and family drama. Thank you to Zibby Books and NetGalley for the e-Arc.

"The Undercurrent" is an engrossing contemporary mystery.
A missing girls cold case comes to light as Bee, a new mom, starts to put together the pieces from her past.
The novel moves between two timelines to resolve these long hidden secrets.
This is a moving and complex book that I highly recommend.

A mystery buried in time only to be revealed decades later when a woman in the throes of early motherhood reconnects with a childhood friend. It’s a fantastic premise! However, I had a hard time connecting with this story. The descriptive writing was gorgeous, but at times it slowed me down instead of propelling me forward. Sawyer depicted her characters with empathy and tenderness, so this would be a great pic for readers who appreciate a slow burn type of novel. I look forward to seeing what Sawyer does next!

Really enjoyed this, interesting tale told from two perspectives. I liked how the author wove in complicated family details.

The premise for this one truly got me, but unfortunately this one was way too much of a slow build. I had a hard time wanting to pick it up, and getting immersed in it due to the pacing. I was a little annoyed with some characters and sometimes I was a little lost, information popped up that I had never seen and the author was telling me I was aware.. so that was a little confusing. I felt like I was missing some parts.

The Undercurrent is a slow building literary mystery, but I did not connect with the main characters. Two families live in the same Texas neighborhood, Mom Mary, with her trucker husband, Leroy, and twins Bee and Gus on one side, and across the street we have Diana, aspiring college professor in a failed marriage with one son, Leo. Leo and Gus are best friends, and Bee is always in their orbit. When the boys are in their teens, another neighborhood girl, Deecie, disappears. The novel is told through several viewpoints of Bee, the now grown up and married mother with an infant daughter, her mother, Mary, and Leo's mother, Diana. Secrets are gradually unearthed, and the bonds of motherhood, protection, and loss are all explored. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.