Beneath The Surface
Kaira Rouda
264 pages
Published September 5, 2023
Thomas & Mercer
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Under The Palms
261 pages
Published May 21, 2024
Thomas & Mercer
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The Kingleys is a new series by bestselling domestic suspense author Kaira Rouda, and is a good reminder to me of why itās always better for a reviewer to read by mood, rather than by deadline: I really didnāt enjoy the first one and had no intention of continuing the series, but forgot and requested the second one from NetGalley anyway – and ended up really enjoying it. Here are my thoughts on both – keeping my original impressions but removing spoilers for the second book:
Beneath the Surface is an American family drama featuring the most hideous cast of characters Iāve encountered in a long time. I requested this because I really enjoyed Best Day Ever by this author, and I liked the sound of a mystery set on a yacht. Unfortunately I didnāt enjoy it – the only mystery was which one of these revolting people would meet a sticky end, how and why, but by the time this was revealed, I really didnāt care.
Three Kingsley heirs are summoned to their ghastly domineering fatherās new luxury superyacht for an overnight trip to Catalina island, each hoping to be announced as his successor at the family company. They and their partners canāt stand each other, or the billionaireās much younger new wife, but each of them has their own agenda – and one is prepared to kill to get what they want.
This is narrated in clunky first person present from four different perspectives – Paige the neurotic wife of Ted, the charming younger son, Richard the controlling patriarch, Serena his calculating spouse, John the bitter eldest son, and eventually Sibley, the wild-child younger daughter. Theyāre all obsessed with status and their wealthy-folk problems – principally not having enough money to lord it over everyone else, and they wonder why no one loves them. While I donāt need to like characters to enjoy a book, they do need to have something to make them interesting, but this bunch donāt have a redeeming feature between them: even Paige, who works for a charity, does it to look good not because she actually cares. Their internal monologues are horribly repetitive, and the dialogue so banal I wouldāve bailed had this not been an ARC for NetGalley. Nobody gets what they deserve and the ending was most unsatisfying. This appears to be the start of a series but I will not be continuing it. Very disappointing.
Under the Palms is the second book in what I anticipate will be a trilogy (at least) about The Kingsleys, a hideously over privileged family of narcissists, all competing to succeed the ailing billionaire patriarch as the head of his corporation. I read the first instalment, Beneath the Surface, last year, and luckily forgot how much I had disliked it when this came up for request, as I enjoyed this one a lot more, which is strange as it has all the same elements: sometimes itās just a case of right book, wrong time.
Itās a year on from the disastrous cruise where arrogant controlling billionaire Richard Kingsley pitted his family members against each other for the presidency of his company, leading to a murder. Now heās regretting his decision, and is planning to announce a new successor at the corporate retreat in a luxury Oceanside retreat. This time thereās even more conniving and backstabbing, but who will go too far?
When I look back on my review of book one, my main complaints were about how unredeemingly awful all the characters were. Well the funny thing is they havenāt changed, but I guess because I was expecting it I didnāt mind and found them entertaining rather than irritating. Yes itās still in annoying first person present but the dialogue was much better done and there was more tension and suspense. This is high melodrama clearly inspired by Dynasty – I laughed when one character introduces herself (yes, showing my age here!) and not to be taken seriously at all, but I had a good time reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer both ARCs.
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