Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Amy  

fiction

The beginning of Under Currents was so difficult to read because it involved details about the spouse and child abuse happening in Zane’s family. It was brutal and terrible.  I had to put the book down for a while.  I just wasn’t sure I wanted to read something so depressing and hate-filled. But I re-read the book description and felt hopeful that I might’ve already gotten through the worst of it by the time I had to set it down. Thankfully, I was correct.

While I found many of the characters endearing and enjoyed the setting, and feel the premise is a worthwhile topic, this novel was odd. It was published in 2019 and Nora Roberts has written hundreds (!) of novels, but this felt very much like someone’s first attempt at a novel to me.  This is only the second book I’ve read of hers.  I really enjoyed the first one I read which was her most recent novel, Hideaway.  It didn’t feel like these two novels were written by the same person. The lines between the story segments were almost visible to me.  I could practically demarcate the riveting full-formed sections, the rushed half-assed sections, and the flimsy dialogue attempting to tie everything together. It just did not feel well crafted overall.  Parts were heart-felt and emotional and others were stiff and seemed slapped in there to fill gaps clumsily. Some segments had lots of attention to detail and others were just brief summaries.  There was this big character development and then the characters’ actions were quick and short-lasting. I guess the bottom line is that I felt the purpose of this novel was simply to cover the topic of domestic abuse rather than to create a meaningful character-driven, or even story-driven, narrative.  The story felt invented to make a point. I was never able to forget that I was reading a novel. It didn’t feel real. And the “mystery” was entirely predictable too.

The topic of domestic abuse is very difficult to read about. Heck, it’s hard to think about.  I would imagine that this book is triggering to some people and this needs to be noted. And, despite all my trouble with this novel, I do feel the topic of domestic abuse was handled well. It was raw and ugly but also sensitive, supportive, and hopeful.