A family drama suspense novel. Billionaire Richard Kingsley invites his dysfunctional family of two sons and their spouses and ahis daughter to spend a weekend on his luxury yacht with him and his latest young wife Serena. The plan is to decide who will succeed him to the vast empire. What follows is the expected family drama. An easy summer read for fans of family drama. Supposedly part of a series, do check out this one if you have been hooked to the HBO show Succession.

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and Kaira Rouda for the ARC

This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be checking out her backlist. I loved all the dysfunctional family values. The story was quick and easy to follow. The craziness that happens in this book is just 🤯 and I enjoyed it.

Fans of succession will absolutely devour Kaira Rouda's latest novel, Beneath the Surface. Siblings vying for their father's affection (and wealth) while hiding secrets ... but as we know, what lurks beneath always comes to the surface. With multiple perspectives and short chapters, coming in at 269 pages, this is a fast read that will hold your attention!

3.5 stars

Thank you to Amazon for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

BOOK: Beneath the Surface
AUTHOR: Kaira Rouda
PUB DATE: 9/5/23
PAGES: 264
RATING: 2 stars
GENRE: Mystery/Thriller
Thank you to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this gifted, advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

SYNOPSIS: Billionaire Richard Kingsley is the CEO of his company Kingsley Global Enterprises (KGE), and along with his 5th wife Selena, he has invited his two sons (John & Ted) and their spouses aboard his mega yacht, The Splendid Seas, for what is supposed to be an overnight voyage to Catalina Island. That is until his estranged daughter, Sibley, and her unappealing boyfriend crash the party and arrive the vessel uninvited via helicopter. Richard is aging, and his plan for the trip is to choose who his successor will be at KGE. Each sibling, as vile and hideous as their characters are, is angry that the other one is there, as they were under the impression the invitation was a private getaway with their father. No one can stand each other and each of them (John, Trey and Sibley) have skeletons in their closet that aren’t as secret as they may think. This makes for a lot of tense backlashes as everyone is vying for their father’s position & the exuberant money that comes with it.

REVIEW: This is the 1st book in the Kingsley series. This story is told in multiple points of view. It started off pretty well for me in the beginning. I’m a big fan of the show, Succession, so I was attracted to the synopsis and it’s why I requested the ARC. It gives almost identical vibes except that this all takes place in a short amount of time on a mega yacht. Instead of Logan Roy, you have Richard Kingsley. Instead of Ken, Shiv and Roman, you have John, Sib and Ted. Unfortunately, the writing fell very flat for me & was very simplistic. I almost DNF’d it, but I was determined to finish it so that I could give a complete, honest review and fulfill my commitment to NetGalley. I don’t mind unlikeable characters, but I do need to find them to have some depth and not so one-dimensional. The writing was severely lacking, and everything felt very repetitive. Unfortunately, I will not be continuing the series. There was no anchor keeping this story afloat, I’m afraid.

I really loved this family suspense novel which is told in multiple points of view about a billionaire that brings his three adult kids (from three different women) aboard his yacht for a family weekend sail to decide who will take over his company.

His newest wife, Serena, is a perfect hostess for a trip that is full of drama and backstabbing as each sibling tries to get their face time in with dear old dad.

I won’t say too much but the number of people that start the weekend and end the weekend aren’t same.

This is a new to me author so I’m excited to go back and read some of her previous novels.

I’m a sucker for a good family drama. This one was pretty good. It was a fast read and kept my interest. It dragged a little bit, but otherwise was good!

Thanks to NetGalley & Thomas&Mercer for the ARC!

I love me a good family drama, especially when the family is SUUUPER rich! This one was mainly about two sons fighting to become the next CEO of their billionaire father’s business. The two sons will do just about anything to win over their father, even if it means ruining the lives of other family members. There were TONS of secrets, tragedy, and a surprise twist.

I hated just about all of the characters, except for one and I loved the ending of this one.

Spoiled rotten rich kids on a high dollar yacht on the high seas jockeying for position as the successor of real estate empire - what could go wrong? Everything. I was not really sure what to expect about this book, so I have to confess I was a little surprised. You are provided the point of view from every family member on the boat. Each chapter is told from a character's point of view. Richard Kingsley has built an empire from the company he inherited from his family. He is a sharp businessman, but he is a terrible husband and father. Now he has a dilemma. He needs to name a successor for his company upon his death, but none of the kids are really fit to run the company. They each have some good qualities, but they also have a lot of dirty laundry. His failure as a father has come back to haunt him, and he knows it.

I really despised every character in this book except for Paige. She is one of the daughter-in-laws. She is the most innocent one on board this ship of horrors. You will understand as you meet each character. I think my least favorite character was the new wife, Serena. She is wife number four or five. I am not really certain. She was the epitome of a trophy wife. She was a snake in the grass, but I guess she fit in with the rest of this band of greedy, deceptive, rotten characters. The title was aptly named because in the case of the lives of this family, you never knew what was just beneath the surface. There were a couple of shocking revelations that I did not see coming. This book could have probably been shortened by a few pages as there were times that I feel we received a little too much information, or it was repeated, but it was still an enjoyable book.

Thank you to Thomas Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Dark Family/ Business Drama. This is one of those books with a wildly atmospheric setting - a short sail on dad's megayacht over to Catalina Island and back, during which storms both literal and personal envelop the entire family. If you need likeable characters or levity... there isn't any modicum of that to be found here. This is dark, gets darker, and right when you think it can't possibly get any darker... goes nearly as dark as it can without involving kids or genocide or some such. It is a story where yet again Tony Stark's like about Nick Fury in The Avengers comes to bear: "his secrets have secrets"... and this is true of pretty well every single person on the boat, as we'll find out by the end of this tale. This is absolutely one where your own feelings about dialog and situations may vary, but I for one didn't see anything "objective-ish" wrong with them, so I'm not going to fault the tale or the author here. I'm simply noting I've seen that complaint in other reviews, and I could see where that argument could potentially be made, but I personally didn't feel they were. Ultimately an interesting tale, one near perfect for a dark stormy night where you don't want an actual horror-type tale, but you do what to have a minor sense of suspense and foreboding, perhaps with a nice wine or beer. Very much recommended.

3.5 Stars

The Kingsley family is over the top rich, headed by Richard, ruthless, loves to show his wealth off and dangles it in front of his children like the prize that it is. Each of his 3 children have issues of their own, many demons to face. Richard is getting older, he invites his children for a weekend on his yacht to figure out his replacement. The fun and games begin.

The family is totally unlikeable, seriously no redeeming value. Seriously though, who doesn’t like unlikeable characters, especially if they get what’s coming to them. This book was not what I expected. The cover led me to think of an ominous, stormy trip with high seas, capsized boat, lifeboats, helicopter rescues. This has more of a Dallas-esq feel to it. Told in 4 voices we see a different perspective and personality of each participant. This family will stop at nothing to get what they believe they so rightfully deserve. A little slow moving at times, one little twist I didn’t see coming. First in a series, not sure I want to get totally vested in a series, but will see Book 2 takes me. I do enjoy this writer’s unsavory characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer. This is my honest review.

Rich and greedy children are bad enough on dry land, but put them on a yacht with their gorgeous step-mom they hate, and their wives in the middle of the ocean then someone is likely not to make it back.
Richard drops bomb after bomb while at sea which was not surprising. The shocking part was how far one of the sons was willing to go to secure his position at his dads company. The only decent human being is Ted’s wife.
If you are looking for a book with a lot of family drama and secrets then this is it!
I can’t wait to see what book #2 is about.

Billionaire Richard Kingsley invites his sons, Ted and John, and their wives to join him and his newest young wife on his recently-purchased yacht for a weekend trip to Catalina Island. His offspring suspect that Richard plans to announce his successor during the trip. Let the games begin for a family who has everything money can buy, and has used lies, deception, and more to keep it. Although not an original premise, this is a pretty good story and I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would at the beginning. Unfortunately there's far too much repetition or maybe the characters drink so much champagne they forget that they already had that thought! If a lot of the repetitiveness was eliminated, the book might be less than 200 pages but it'd be a more interesting cohesive story and you would feel the tension more.

With a cast of characters you love to hate, a peek into the lifestyles of the rich and famous and of course a nausea-inducing storm at sea, the pages flew by. This is #1 in a series and even though I have no interest in continuing to read about The Kingsleys, I probably will because it's Kaira Rouda after all! 3.5 stars rounded up for that very reason!

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication: September 5, 2023

Juicy and fast paced! This is the story of a greedy and unlikable family traveling to beautiful Catalina Island for the weekend on a decadent luxury yacht into an impending storm. What could possibly go wrong?! I enjoy Kaira Rouda’s books, they are always quick easy reads with a fun thriller plot. Thank you Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on September 5, 2023

Family dynamics on an ocean voyage. Here are reasons to read this thriller:

Yacht Trip - The Kingsley family is taking a little weekend Yacht trip

Family Reunion - and head of family, Richard has entitled his children and their spouses for a little family reunion

Catalina - they are headed for Catalina, where a storm is brewing, and not just the one outside the boat

I have never read anything by this author before. But I have to say this thriller is very slow paced. Besides the intensity of how the family all felt about each other, it was about 60% of the way through the book before it got thrillery. It also has many points of view, and due to the cattiness and greed of these characters, only 1 in my mind was even one I could root for. This book is great if you LOVE domestic thrillers with a slow burn.

This book was extremely slow and very repetitive. The characters are awful and the plot did not keep me interested at all. Wish I would have DNFed.

Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda is the first in the killer "The Kingsleys" series. After zipping through this suspenseful locked-room family drama thriller, I am very curious to discover what will happen next, so much scope for bad blood and poor-mannered antics. Unexpected twists are pretty wonderful and the writing is compelling.

The dreadful Kingsley family is aboard the patriarch's luxury yacht, Splendid Seas. Aging billionaire and CEO Richard has invited his family to join him and his wife Serena for a weekend on the water. But family members are suspicious of each other's motives, correctly surmising Richard's pending announcement of the next CEO and heir of his vast fortune. Of course the knives come out and family members show their true colours. Sons Ted (wife Paige) and John (wife Rachel) are very different from each other but when daughter Sibley and her boyfriend Colson arrive they seem almost tame. Sibley's constant barrage of insults is infuriating to those around her, including me. Waves of secrets expose uncomfortable truths and tragedy strikes.

If you seek a suspenseful book with characters you want to strangle, this may be for you. I couldn't stand them but don't need to love characters to become immersed in a good plot. Infidelities and other deceptions reign and this dysfunctional family is jam packed with nefarious goings on. Observing how the characters observed each other was great fun.

My sincere thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this enthralling novel. So many reasons to anticipate #2 in the series.

This was a great family drama! Sons fighting to become the next CEO of their billionaire father’s business. Secrets come out. A tragedy unfolds. A surprise twist. This was a great one! I devoured it over two days! I really enjoyed how it was told through all main characters’ pov, and realized I hated most of them.🤣 Paige was the exception, I only disliked her a little. But I can get down with unlikeable characters in a book!

This story is very much like the messed-up family dynamics and power machinations in the hit show Succession, which is probably my favorite series to date. I found the characters and their relationships to each other very complex and interesting, but I was bothered by the dialogue, which was often too on-the-nose and honest to what the character was actually thinking and feeling, and the moments of repetition within the prose.

3.5 ⭐️ A billionaire invites his dysfunctional family on a luxurious yacht for a weekend getaway. Everyone has secrets and a great dislike for each other. I enjoyed reading the different viewpoints and manipulations of each character as the secrets are slowly revealed. Suspenseful and kept my attention til the end. #BeneaththeSurface

Billionaire Richard Kingsley has invited each of this children on his new yacht for a trip to Catalina Island. His children all hate each other but are competing to run his company.

This is a fun fast paced read good for a vacation read, especially if you love family drama with gossip and badly behaved rich people. The first half of the book is getting to know all the characters, so stick with it while you get to know them and their immature ways. It’s definitely a fun read but takes some time to get into.

“Nothing like family togetherness to bring out the worst - I mean, the real - character in a kid.”

Beneath the Surface comes out 9/5.