Undertow

DEBUT Carmen has been happily married to Tom for two years. She met him soon after Zena, for whom he left his first wife, drowned near their beach home. Zena's tragic demise and Tom's affair with her, were a part of his past that Carmen had accepted. But while visiting their beach house, she overhears a rumor that leads her to believe that maybe Tom hasn't been completely honest with her about Zena's death. Carmen begins to dig into the fatal drowning and uncovers evidence that tells a very different story. But why would Tom lie? Carmen must decide if confronting Tom about his past is worth the toll it will take on her life. With gothic hints of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, Heathcote's first novel features a fast-paced, twisty plot. Much of the suspense is built through key players' inability to remember past events. While some of the relationships seem a bit stilted at times, the resolution will leave readers shocked and satisfied.