This debut novel expertly weaves together a mystery with a story of family, friendship and the meaning of home. The story is told in 2 different timelines, 1987 and 2011, and from multiple perspectives. The characters are drawn beautifully. They are relatable and real.

The book is definitely a page turner. The lives of the main characters, Bee, Gus, Leo, Mary and Diana are revealed at the same time the mystery of what happened to a young girl is explored. The characters evolve over the course of the book, and you learn that nothing is as simple as it seems. The book makes you realize that friendship is ever changing, but at the same time constant and reliable. Sawyer shows us that everyone's memory is fluid and our experience of the same event is colored by our won experiences.

In the end this is a book about relationships told in a masterful way so that the characters will stay with you for a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sawyer's debut kept me hooked from the start. Each chapter changing time line and perspective was such a great way to pepper in the facts needed to follow along as each secret unfolded. It is so true what they say everyone has secrets and sometimes they are located right next door.
When Bee can not find her footing as a new mom, and receives a phone call to drop everything to meet her old neighbor, crush Leo she jumps at the opportunity. The details that Sawyer intertwines of new motherhood are spot on, as a mother I found myself shaking my head. The mundane day to day, and obsession for something else to take hold of your thoughts. Remembering that summer long ago the one with the missing girl, ignites something inside of her to solve the case, while using her talents to do so. I read this so quickly, because I felt I needed to know what happened to each and every character. Sawyer does a wonderful job of reminding us, people go to great lengths to protect the ones they love.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars

From the publisher: An overwhelmed new mother gets entangled in the unsolved disappearance of a young girl from her Texas hometown—and unearths her own family’s dark secret. What sacrifices will a mother make to protect her own child?

The Undercurrent is a mystery-thriller debut novel by Sarah Sawyer. It moves back and forth in time between 1987 and 2011 and is told from multiple points of view. A young girl admires two older boys who hang out in a field that is scheduled to be bulldozed into housing. A new mother wrestles with her marriage, her newborn, and her past. Two mothers of teenagers agonize over their children and their own hopes and dreams.

I didn’t have much patience with Bee, the new mother. As described in the novel, she has a great husband, loving and supportive, and she seems to take him for granted and long for something “else” that she can’t even put into words. The most interesting characters to me were the two mothers, Mary and Diana. Their sons are best friends, but they aren’t best friends, and as we hear their thoughts we know how wrong their assumptions are about each other. (The two fathers/husbands are both vital to the story and almost irrelevant.)

Although I sometimes felt a bit lost, and thought the author assumed I understood things that I did not understand, The Undercurrent propelled me forward. I did want to know what was going to happen next. There are some contrived plot points to make sure the reader is suspicious and unsure about various characters and their motivations. I also didn’t love the ending. It felt flat and anticlimactic. However, I will read another book by Sarah Sawyer.

I read an advance reader copy of The Undercurrent. It is scheduled to be published on October 8, and the Galesburg Public Library will own the book.

There are several storylines that converge in this novel and lead to an unexpected ending. I love Bee and have high hopes for her relationship with Attie. I feel empathy for Diana who tries so hard and no one understands her sacrifices.

A really well written involving debut,I was immediately caught up in the characters the storyline. Sarah Sawyer is an author I will be following.& recommending.#netgalley #zibby oops.

What a beautiful debut book! This story drew me in as I love reading about complicated families and relationships. Sawyer does a wonderful job developing powerful characters and a plot that is fast-paced. It's a story I'll remember for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley and Zibby Books for the ARC.

"The Undercurrent" casts a powerful spell with themes of mothering, loyalty, sacrifice and misery. I was unable to do anything but read from the first page to the last in one sitting. Unnerving, suspenseful, tender and cathartic, it will be hard to find a read brilliant enough to top this! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
#TheUndercurrent
#NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow for me though. I also wish that some of the storylines were a little more fleshed out, and that some had a little less inane detail.