Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Under Currents was the June read for the Page Turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  We had a lovely lunch time meeting this month in the library garden.

Zane Bigelow is abused as a child by his domineering father. Unfortunately, his mother is in denial about the abuse that she also receives and calls it love.  A tragic event changes the trajectory of his life.  As an adult, Zane has moved back to his small town.    He meets a beautiful and mysterious landscaper, Darby, and is ready to start life afresh.  Forces work against the two of them to make their lives very difficult.  Will they be able to move on from the past?

I enjoyed this book, and we had a good discussion about it.  The toughest part for I think everyone was reading the horrific child abuse at the start of the novel.  Warning that if this is a trigger point for you, this would not be a good book for you. Abuse was an experience that Zane and Darby shared and understood about each other. The first part of the novel set up the villain for the novel, the middle part of the novel Zane and Darby fall in love, and in the last part of the novel they battle the forces working against them.  My one downfall for this novel was that there was not one, not two, but three different villains in this novel to contend with.  It seemed a bit over the top to me.

It was a fun part for the novel for me that Nora Roberts made Jane Austen connections.  The bad ex husband was named Trent Willoughby and the characters point out that he is Willoughby like in Sense and Sensibility.  Unfortunately, this meant when another character showed up with a Jane Austen villain last name later in the book, I knew who he was instantly.

I liked the small-town setting and how Darby’s business was able to grow through word of mouth.  I also loved how friends and family came together to help everyone out.  It was refreshing to read about.

Favorite Quotes:

“Nice to live where people knew you and took time to say hello.”

“She couldn’t think past the two children, living in cruelty and fear and violence.  And somehow surviving it, not being dragged down by those ugly currents.

Overall, Under Currents is an enjoyable suspense novel that has a few too many villians.

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library – Thank-you!