From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes Under Currents, a novel about the power of family to harm–and to heal.Within the walls of a tasteful, perfectly kept house in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, young Zane Bigelow feels like a prisoner of war. Strangers–and even Zane’s own aunt across the lake–see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, making … successful surgeon and his stylish wife, making appearances at their children’s ballet recitals and baseball games. Zane and his sister know the truth: There is something terribly wrong.
As his father’s violent, controlling rages–and his mother’s complicity–become more and more oppressive, Zane counts the years, months, days until he can escape. He looks out for little Britt, warning her Be smart. Be careful. In fear for his very life, he plays along with the insidious lie that everything is fine, while scribbling his real thoughts in a secret journal he must carefully hide away.
When one brutal, shattering night finally reveals cracks in the fa ade, Zane begins to understand that some people are willing to face the truth, even when it hurts. As he grows into manhood and builds a new kind of family, he will find that while the darkness of his past may always shadow him, it will also show him what is necessary for good to triumph–and give him strength to draw on when he once again must stand up and defend himself and the ones he loves…
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Under Currents is a great read. The story brought out many emotions. Great story line.
All I can say is Wow! This book takes the reader on such an emotional journey with so many twists that when you think it’s almost over, another subplot is introduced. The hero and heroine of the book are Zane and Darby. Both come from a history of physical and mental abuse. Zane, at the hand of his parents, and Darby, from a spouse. Both end up in the small picturesque community of Lakeview NC. Zane grew up here and it is where the horrible abuse took place during his childhood. He is returning to be closer to the family and friends who delivered him from his nightmare. Darby, now divorced and mourning the sudden death of her mother, hopes Lakeview will be the perfect spot to heal and move on with her life, all while trying to start her landscaping business. Knowing all that has happened in their pasts, Zane and Darby’s love story is a pleasure to read. We want nothing but happiness for them. Of course, Ms Roberts has many obstacles for them to overcome: Zane’s father being paroled and seeking revenge on his son, the town hick who is just plain mean along with his yahoo family, and a mystery man who may be a serial killer. The buffer to all of this is the whole Lakeview community who gather around Zane and Darby as they fall in love and have to deal all of these obstacles before the HEA. Wonderful secondary characters and Zod the ugly dog who sneaks into everyone’s heart. Absolutely Loved Zane and Darby. Both are strong, confident, and don’t live their lives as victims. Darby is kick ass!! Warning to readers: this book portrays very frankly and sometimes graphically the physical abuse. Some may find these scenes disturbing, but I think necessary in order for the reader to truly understand the horror some women and children go through daily. Well done Nora!!
The Queen never disappoints. Another great one from one of the best there is!
Any kind of abuse is hard to read about; it is equally difficult to write about. I have been a fan of Nora since the very beginning of her writing career and have been impressed over the years at how she has handled a myriad of subjects, but never more so than how she crafted the story of Zane Bigelow and his young sister’s abuse at the hands of his violent and deranged parents. As the story follows them into adulthood, we witness the long term effects of physical and emotional abuse and how a strong will and true love can overcome even the most painful and difficult obstacles.
an
Got me crying, but the kick-ass heroine more than matched the hero & I did NOT see the twists coming. Surprised me in a good way.
Love to fall into a Nora Roberts any day! Love her characters and the real lives they face… as well as the empowered woman owned businesses they create!!!
Nora is my favorite author!
I love Nora Robert’s and try to get her books as soon as they are out. This one was a real page Turner and as always Nora Robert’s satisfies!
Another great read from Nora Roberts.
As like all of Nora Roberts books another winner!!
Love all her books and was not disappointed in this one. Great book!
Wow, just wow!
I have the audio not the book. I loved the story! Highly recommended it to Nora Roberts readers!
Nora Roberts writes a very intense story of childhood and domestic abuse in her novel, Under Currents. Zane and his sister, Britt grew up in a very abusive environment with a violent father and a very submissive mother. After living with this abuse until their parents are sent to jail, their aunt and grandparents show these two children what a loving family is all about.
An adult Zane, a Raleigh, North Carolina lawyer, moved back to his hometown, Lakeview Terrace. He meets Darby, an amazing landscaper, who has escaped an abusive husband and moves to this community. Their lives intertwine and an attraction between the two develops.R
There are so many emotions that I experienced while reading Under Currents. Hate and Disgust of the violent father, submissive mother, and the abusive husband who caused this to happen. Love of the aunt , grandparents, and the detective who saved the two children. Praise of the community, friends, and supporting cast that stands by the main characters. Very heartbreaking emotion while reading what all transpired, but also hopeful for the goodness of quite a few characters.
I can’t even describe the ending chapters, except to say I couldn’t stop reading unless I had to, and my eyes were rivited till the last page. I consider this was the best book Nora Roberts has ever written and I have read many of her books!
Hero Zane and his sister come from what appears to be the perfect family. But abuse happens. The siblings survive, and because they are fortunate enough to have backup support, they grown into adults with heart and soul and the need to help others. Heroine Darby has also escaped an abusive situation. She needs a total change in her life, and it comes when she moves to a lake resort town in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The psychology and reality of abuse are handled thoroughly and well. The characters are brave and resilient. The detail to the art of landscaping is incredible. I always enjoy Nora Roberts’ work, and her romantic suspense stories are my favorites. Another winner from this author.
Loved it. Nora Roberts always delivers a wonderful story
I read this book slowly because the content was hard to take at times. With a theme of spousal and child abuse, there was a great deal of violence. Since I have been a victim of the same, it was hard for me to read the descriptions of the events in the lives of Zane, Britt and Darby. The theme is that everything looks fine on the outside, but on the inside, the part that no one sees, there is danger and emotional destruction. This is the “undercurrent.” I did enjoy reading this book that is the story of survival, redemption and the triumph of love in the face of many obstacles. Nora Roberts definitely knows how to tell a story that will pull you in and not let you go, like a rip tide of strong feelings and deep involvement in the lives of the characters. The story seemed a little long to me, with all of the details about Darby’s landscaping, but for those who enjoy gardening (I don’t), this may add to the book. My favorite character was Darby who was quirky, independent and resourceful. Zane was the best foil for her since he had learned to defend himself when attacked, whether the attack was verbal or physical. The book has four parts and each part begins with a quotation that gives the reader a clue about what will happen in that section. There were many parts that I was able to guess what was happening, so there was not a lot of mystery to the story, but there was definitely a lot of drama. This book would make a great movie for TV, on a channel like LIfetime. Readers of women’s fiction will enjoy this book, but all readers should be aware that there are descriptions of a lot of graphic violence.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Excellent read!
I couldn’t put this book down! This father was so frightening, my heart pounded out of my chest! Really good read!
I don’t know if this is a trend, but the last few books that I have read, have all had characters that were either, verbally abused, physically abused or both. Some of the characters repeat the behavior and some find the strength to combat it and then help others who are abused. Both types are in this book.
By all appearances siblings Zane and Britt Bigelow had a wonderful life, with a father who was head of surgery and society mother in a beautiful home on the lake in Lakeview NC, but behind closed doors their father was a monster and their mother got off on it. Zane always tried to protect his sister, but after be brutally beaten by his father he started keeping a journal of all the brutal actions. He was a star baseball player and was counting on that to get him out of their clutches. But one night when he was a few minutes late his father beat him badly, ruining his arm and trying to have him arrested, with his mother lying about how she and Britt were hurt. With the help of their Aunt Emily, his best friend’s father and Detective Lee Keller, the tide is turned and it is Graham and Eliza Bigelow who end up going to prison. Britt and Zane live with their aunt, who eventually marries Lee. Time does not heal all wounds, but life does go one. Since a baseball career is no longer an option, Zane goes into law, first as a prosecutor in the big city, but eventually decided to come home and open his own law office in their small town. Britt went into counseling.
After Darby McCray’s mother was killed by a hit and run driver, she sold their landscaping business in Maryland and picked out Lakeview NC as a possible place to start a new life and business. She had been married to an wealthy man, who first tried to isolate her and then became physically abusive. But Darby fought back and had him arrested. She is a charmer and very talented. Sometimes when I am reading a Nora Roberts book, I don’t know what I find more fascinating, the artfully developed characters or the fascinating details of some of their professions. This is not the first book that Ms. Roberts has had landscapers as main characters, but I am always envious of their skills and the details of the descriptions are masterful. While neither Darby or Zane are looking for a relationship, it sneaks up on them. Unfortunately, so does the evil from their pasts.
Not only does Nora Roberts create appealing characters with snappy, witty dialogue and an intriguing story, but entices the reader into discovering the “pleasure of planting”.