The Undercurrent: A Novel

An overwhelmed new mother becomes obsessed with the unsolved disappearance of a young girl from her small Texas hometown-and unearths her own family's dark secret.


It's 2011 and Deecie Jeffries's missing person's case in Austin, Texas, is still cold. New mom Bee, struggling with postpartum depression, is living in Portland, Maine, having left Austin-and those memories-far behind. Until Leo, her childhood crush and her estranged twin Gus's best friend, suddenly resurfaces, drawing Bee back into their shared past.


Bee's predictable life is upended, pushing her to return to her childhood home and piece together a neighborhood's shattered history. Bee becomes consumed with a need to uncover the truth about Deecie's disappearance and what happened to the families who lived across the field from one another-Gus, Leo, and their mothers: Mary, a homemaker, whose only escape is the local community theater, and Diana, a serious academic dedicated to her studies.


Told in multiple perspectives with two different timelines, The Undercurrent is a gripping portrait of motherhood, obsession, broken family bonds, and buried secrets.

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The Undercurrent: A Novel

An overwhelmed new mother becomes obsessed with the unsolved disappearance of a young girl from her small Texas hometown-and unearths her own family's dark secret.


It's 2011 and Deecie Jeffries's missing person's case in Austin, Texas, is still cold. New mom Bee, struggling with postpartum depression, is living in Portland, Maine, having left Austin-and those memories-far behind. Until Leo, her childhood crush and her estranged twin Gus's best friend, suddenly resurfaces, drawing Bee back into their shared past.


Bee's predictable life is upended, pushing her to return to her childhood home and piece together a neighborhood's shattered history. Bee becomes consumed with a need to uncover the truth about Deecie's disappearance and what happened to the families who lived across the field from one another-Gus, Leo, and their mothers: Mary, a homemaker, whose only escape is the local community theater, and Diana, a serious academic dedicated to her studies.


Told in multiple perspectives with two different timelines, The Undercurrent is a gripping portrait of motherhood, obsession, broken family bonds, and buried secrets.

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The Undercurrent: A Novel

The Undercurrent: A Novel

by Sarah Sawyer

Narrated by Sara Sheckells

Unabridged

The Undercurrent: A Novel

The Undercurrent: A Novel

by Sarah Sawyer

Narrated by Sara Sheckells

Unabridged

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Overview

An overwhelmed new mother becomes obsessed with the unsolved disappearance of a young girl from her small Texas hometown-and unearths her own family's dark secret.


It's 2011 and Deecie Jeffries's missing person's case in Austin, Texas, is still cold. New mom Bee, struggling with postpartum depression, is living in Portland, Maine, having left Austin-and those memories-far behind. Until Leo, her childhood crush and her estranged twin Gus's best friend, suddenly resurfaces, drawing Bee back into their shared past.


Bee's predictable life is upended, pushing her to return to her childhood home and piece together a neighborhood's shattered history. Bee becomes consumed with a need to uncover the truth about Deecie's disappearance and what happened to the families who lived across the field from one another-Gus, Leo, and their mothers: Mary, a homemaker, whose only escape is the local community theater, and Diana, a serious academic dedicated to her studies.


Told in multiple perspectives with two different timelines, The Undercurrent is a gripping portrait of motherhood, obsession, broken family bonds, and buried secrets.


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Sawyer constructs a spellbinding mystery as she toggles between timelines and the viewpoints of three very different mothers. This one leaves a mark.”
Publishers Weekly

The Undercurrent is a mystery of remarkable scope, bristling with intelligence, beauty, and humanity. It is, quite simply: stunning.”
—Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

"A stunning, achingly beautiful and gripping mystery. Full of page-turning suspense, intrigue, and secrets, The Undercurrent is also a heartfelt story of family, childhood, and the nature of obsession. I loved it.”
—Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colors of the Dark

“Brilliant…I read The Undercurrent like I was under a spell, accompanied only by my own goosebumps. It’s a book about being a mother—in all the dull, punishing, and stunning ways—but then there’s also a...chilling mystery at its core. Pure glinty, flinty, propulsive perfection."
—Catherine Newman, author of We All Want Impossible Things

“With The Undercurrent, Sarah Sawyer puts a spell on her reader. The story is immersive and taut, with an increasing sense of unease that kept me turning the pages. I wanted to know what happened next because of the mystery at the center of the book but also because I came to care deeply for these characters—a testament to Sawyer’s lyrical and tender depiction of them. I read the last chapters with my heart in my throat. Readers of Tana French will love this literary page turner.”
—Kate Hope Day, author of In the Quick

"Sarah Sawyer takes us on a gorgeous, twisting voyage through a shadowed landscape of memory and mystery. The Undercurrent truly carried me away. This is a shimmering debut."
—Debra Jo Immergut, author of You Again

Library Journal

08/01/2024

DEBUT When new mother Bee's childhood crush and neighbor Leo contacts her to tell her that her estranged twin, Gus, wants to see her, Bee travels from Maine back to her Texas home. She's seeking reconciliation and answers for why Gus vanished from her life. Bee also ponders the unsolved 1987 disappearance of a local girl and finds what might be a clue at her own mother's home. Set in 2011, with short flashbacks to 1987, the narrative follows three women: Bee; Bee and Gus's mother; and Leo's mother. The leisurely paced writing is oblique, with the plot unfolding slowly from different directions, coming into focus in the latter part of the novel. The last chapter will satisfy readers with the answer to the mystery of the girl's disappearance, but Gus's disappearance and reappearance are never fully explored, and the choice to have a certain villainous character never appear in person might be unsatisfying to readers. VERDICT Although the men in this book are underdeveloped, debut author Sawyer writes well-fleshed-out, dimensional women characters, in a novel that focuses on parent-child relationships.—Sonia Reppe

Product Details

BN ID: 2940191512082
Publisher: Zibby Books
Publication date: 10/08/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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