REVIEW: Undertow – Elizabeth Heathcote

Publisher:
Harlequin/Park Row

From the Publisher
They said her death was a tragic accident. And I believed them…until now. 

Carmen is happily married to Tom, although she knows she’ll always live in the shadow of another woman—the mistress who ended his first marriage: Zena. Mercurial, mesmerizing, manipulative Zena—a woman who, Carmen begins to discover, had the potential to incite the darkest of emotions. Zena, who drowned in the sea late one night.

Zena seems ever-more present, even in death, and when Carmen unknowingly stumbles on evidence that her husband has not been telling her the whole truth, she can’t shake her unease. As she uncovers documents and photographs, a very different tale than the one Tom has led her to believe begins to unfold, and she finds herself increasingly isolated and paranoid. As the twisted events of that night begin to come to light, Carmen must ask herself if it’s really a truth worth knowing…even if it destroys her and the lives of the people she loves most.

Between the Covers
Elizabeth Heathcote’s Undertow is a quick, compelling read. I couldn’t put it down and I flew through it in no time at all!

I appreciated that the protagonist was proactive in uncovering the truth rather than just taking on a “poor me”/helpless perspective. She was not whiny or needy but spoke her mind and didn’t just blindly accept what she was being told once she had reason to question things. Let’s hear it for a main character who doesn’t cry or drink at every turn when faced with challenging situations! This tends to be one of my major pet peeves with how female characters can be written, at times.

Even though I connected the dots and figured out the truth behind Zena’s death before it was revealed, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.

That being said, are you kidding me with that ending and key decisions that were made?! I can’t say that I agree with or approve of this ending, at all. There were a few major criminal events that she just let go that I think she clearly should have handled in an entirely different call-every-badge-wielding-law-enforcement-person-you-can-think-of sort of way! No doubt, book clubs will be emphatically debating this one!

Fellow book nerds who have read this one: What did you think of the ending? I’d love for you to leave a comment and share your spoiler-free thoughts!

NOTE: I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row Books for granting me an eARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.