On the Surface by Rachel McGuire
Narrated by Frankie Corzo; Evan Sibley; Chanté McCormick; Savy Des-Etages; David Bendena

An outstanding performance by all narrators in this belter of a thriller! Oho, you think it is all going to be insta-glam when an influencer decides to create a channel based on sailing around the world with their gorgeous bf, but when the idea of "finding the foot" to make the channel lift off arises, things start to surface and roil

Not so much about seafaring, but a whole lot aout the effects of the search for insta-fame, greed and the lengths people will go to to get what they want

Brilliant characters, awesome mystery and mind-bending twists, a brilliant, brilliant listen - If you haven't got Rachel McGuire on your tbr, you are missing out

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Rachel McGuire and the very, very talented team of narrators for this Ahighly compelling ALC. Clear the decks, you are not going to want to put this one down! My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

When you tube wannabe influencers cruise around on a boat in the Bahamas and one goes missing. I zoned out a little bit in areas and had to go listen again when it did pick up and intrigue me in the mystery of it all. It was a fun and twisty summer thriller!

On The Surface explores the line between influencer as deceiver in this psychological thriller set in the sunny Bahamas.

I loved the cover of this book, which drew me in instantly. Unfortunately the story fell a little bit flat for me. I was hoping for a twisty thriller, but predicted the twists very early on. The characters seemed to vacillate between dark/sinister, and comedic/silly, which may have more to do with the tone of the narration in parts, but made it hard to interpret their motivations/intentions. The ending was very abrupt, and I found myself replaying the last chapter to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

Overall though, I enjoyed the writing style and the pacing of the story. It was an easy listen, and it kept me engaged. The Bahama setting was beautifully described, and really delivered the promise of the cover. I loved learning about the yachting/influencer life, and the commentary about the ‘court of public opinion’ added a sinister edge to the narrative. The narrators juggled a lot of different accents, and I found it easy to follow different characters as they shifted perspective.

While it wasn’t quite what I expected, I can see this book being great for someone looking for a read with a true crime/scandal feel, especially as a vacation read somewhere warm and beachy!

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this audiobook. Opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a fun summery thriller!

Dani Fox is a wannabe YouTuber, attempting to get her cruising channel with partner Sawyer Stone to go viral. The pair have anchored in the Bahamas and spend their days swimming and spearfishing, nights partying with other cruisers in the area, and hours upon hours editing their recorded footage. After a party one night, Dani goes missing, and Sawyer wakes up with no memory of the night before. Social media and the internet make the search for Dani go viral and everyone becomes an investigator, digging up the dark secrets Sawyer tried to keep in his past.

I binged this psychological thriller in a day. I was drawn in by the dark undertones, the multiple morally grey characters, the gossipy tone, and the underlying mystery. Twist after twist had me flying through the short chapters. I would have liked slightly more closure at the end, but that is just a personal preference where I don't prefer anything to be left open-ended.

The audio was incredibly well done, with multiple narrators taking on the multiple POVs included. It was incredibly entertaining to listen to and would be a great format choice for listening on the beach!

Read if you like:
⚓ Social media commentary
⚓ Dark and shady pasts
⚓ Morally grey characters
⚓ Twisty summery thrillers
⚓ Multiple POV
⚓ Beachy/ocean setting

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ALC. all opinions are my own,

How far would you go for fame? On The Surface is a twisty thriller where you’re certain no one is telling the truth and you never know who to trust. Full of social media thirst-traps, wannabe Youtube influencers, remote boating life in the islands, and a few possible psychopaths… what could possibly go wrong?

This was such a fun listen!! I really enjoyed the setting in the beautiful Exuma, Bahamas and murder! This was a unique and a really good psychological thriller. A social media influencer who suddenly goes missing but who is to blame! I couldn't get enough of it and when everything was revealed I was very surprised! I didn't see THAT coming!! The audiobook had a cast of narrators, and they were all very wonderful. The narrators, Frankie Corzo, Evan Sibley, Chanté McCormick, Savy Des-Etages, and David Bendena all kept me engaged to the story and they used a wide array of tones and inflections.
If you're looking for beach read with mystery and thriller vibes be sure to grab this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sawyer and Dani are living aboard his sailboat in the Caribbean. They are currently stuck in the Bahamas because Sawyer made a bad investment in crypto that they hope will turn around, so they have no money. Meanwhile Dani is trying to drum up interest in their youtube channel by posting content of their experiences. One night at a party with other cruisers, Sawyer gets drunk and Dani goes missing and of course all signs point to Sawyer.

I obviously loved the setting of this book. Who doesn't want to read a book set in a beautiful sunny climate? Overall I liked the book, but I didn't love it. Both main characters were not at all likeable. I think we found out what was really going on too soon and there wasn't enough mystery around it, it was more of waiting for it to play out. There were some reveals late in the story that were interesting and I didn't feel like we got enough resolution, but for a first novel, it was good. I would read more from these authors.

Sawyer and Dani are cruisers who live on their boat full-time, which Dani describes as "RV living on the ocean". Sawyer's crypto investments haven't worked out, so Dani seeks to bring in some money through a monetized YouTube channel.

David finally hits her monetization goals, but then disappears from a party -- a night of which Sawyer has no memory. Sawyer comes under suspicion, especially when Dani's pre-scheduled start to drop with details that point to Sawyer as an abuser.

With unlikeable main characters and a trail of incriminating videos, this debut novel felt like a modern update on Gone Girl. The book provides multiple points of view, including from the main characters and the investigators on the case. The audiobook provides different narrators for each character, which is something I always enjoy and I'd employed to great effect here.

The ending of the novel comes quite abruptly. I understand that the authors want to leave things ambiguous (again, ala Gone Girl), but the ending here is so sudden as to be jarring.

This book would make for a great beach read for anyone who likes a mystery and enjoys morally dubious characters.

This review week be posted to Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on Monday, July 15, 2024.

I ended up DNFing pretty early in the book. I hope to pick up a written copy but I just couldn’t continue with these narrators. They seemed monotone and completely uninterested in their storyline.

I failed to really get into this one. I never connected with the characters on a deeper level, not enough to make me care or be invested in the plot, which wasn’t as twisty and thrilling as I’d hoped. I also don’t typically enjoy reading from a detective's perspective, for whatever reason. I wasn’t feeling anything new, fresh, or exciting for the genre. It just all fell a bit flat for me. I was hoping for a perfect summer vibes thriller with the setting, but it was all a little underwhelming. It wasn’t bad, but I was left feeling rather apathetic about everything, and that’s not great either.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook of On the Surface, by Rachel McGuire and multiple narrators. Such a fun listen!!!! Lots of twists and unreliable (and thoroughly unlikeable) narrators-which I love! So, there wasn't much to like about this book (regarding characters)- but there was a lot to love about the full picture. Does that make sense? If it does, then I highly recommend you download On the Surface immediately!!!! Such an entertaining read!!!

Not a likable character to be found but I was hooked on the twists snd the story. This book reminds me of another hit bestseller (made into a movie) from years ago. I certainly thought this would be a 4.5 read but then I got to the end of the book, and like WHAT?

The narration was good but the story just did not work for me. I tired it in book form too and I just could not get into it. I think it might be that the protagonists are so awful. I just did not like them.

I have a feeling I know who this story was based on...
And I think it hit a little too close to that story.

3 ⭐️ for fans of influencers and true crime. It was humorous, entertaining, but some parts I didn’t care for or were slow. My husband guessed the inspiration for this story.

Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this arc!

Thank you @crookedlanebooks @dreamscape_media @katerockbooktours
@rachelmcguireauthor for my complimentary digital and audio copies. My thoughts are my own.

Dani and Sawyer are YouTube influencers, who host a struggling show called Sailing with the Foxes. When Dani disappears after a boat party, her boyfriend, Sawyer, has no idea of her whereabouts. He becomes the number one suspect when Dani’s pre-scheduled videos appear on YouTube and she describes abuse at his hands. The interest in Dani’s disappearance causes their YouTube channel to gain thousands of followers. However, Dani is nowhere to be found and the search for her continues for days as more and more twists are revealed.

The fast-moving suspense in this one kept me thoroughly engaged. Sawyer and Dani proved to be totally unlikable and self-centered characters. I had to keep reading to see what would happen next! The twists kept coming and the final reveal was jaw-dropping!

I highly recommend this for thriller lovers.

3.5 rounded up. I enjoyed this audiobook for the most part. I do like when an audio book is read by different narrators. The story was good and relevant in todays world. A couple nice twists and I really did like it up until the end. Underwhelming. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the chance to review the ALC

Thanks NetGalley and Rachel McGuire for the chance to listen to this ARC!

On the Surface fell a little flat for me. I did like the writing style and all the details. I could picture everything and felt like I was there in the ocean on the boats with the characters. However, I didn't like or connect to any of the characters. I feel like the ending was partially predictable but then also left us with more questions than answers. There were a couple decent twists here and there though, and I did enjoy those!

Utterly phenomenal!
Just a couple of sociopaths living their best lives. What's not to love?

Set in the Bahamas which makes for a spectacular backdrop as well as adds some complications -US citizens on foreign soil. The boat life and all the differences that come along with that. So absolutely fun. Honestly I don't want to say too much because I don't want to ruin a spectacular read that I would recommend to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advance copy of this audiobook

the audiobook has good acting and it reminds me of gone girl, you dont know what happened to her, it was like a 'page turner' but with voices.
Dani just cares about her tiktok and how she will get followers, her boyfriend was such an asshole always talking bad about her what she wears what she does he was really annoying in the story.
Set in the bahamas it was a good thriller you find out in the end what happens.