**REVIEW** Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

 

Killer Mermaids?  Yes please!!  Don't let their beauty fool you because these are the
Mermaids/Mermen that we were taught to fear!  Remember stay out of the water!!

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually, they select their victims at random, but this time around, the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother's death.
It's going to take a concerted effort to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder's job is to gain Hancock's trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love--just as Lily starts to suspect there's more to the monster-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between them and the girl he loves. One thing's for sure: whatever Calder decides, the outcome won't be pretty.

Release Date:  June 12, 2012

Published By:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Review Copy:   Hardcover, 303 pages

**provided by Random House Canada for Review

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Video

Once again I don't do this often but it just felt right.  

Came on while I was writing the review.

Review

  The addiction I have with Mermaids continues to grow with Anne's killer Mermaids.  Though many novels glamour up Mermaids and make them to be the kind and beautiful creatures we want them to be, with Lies Beneath we get the killer and self advancing Mermaids of legend.  Not that other authors don't do the killer thing but Anne well... Killed it.  For these Mers killing is just a part of life and a way to survive, the only way they know.  They are empty and require us to fill that emotional void. What had started out as a barter of a life for a life turned out to be a deadly game of hide and seek and the debt must be collected.  Taking us on a deliciously dark and  complex emotional ride.

  Calder doesn't want to be pulled back to Lake Superior every year but he is.  In this tale Mermaids have a special connection and the one running the show in the family is the one that calls the shots for when it is time to come home.  The only thing that made it a little less painful for Calder was the thought of revenge on his mothers death. His mission is to attract one of the sisters and get to the father.  Problem is Lily isn't what he expected and he finds himself is a situation he never expected to be.  The story really just pulls itself from there and keeps a steady and interest grabbing pace.  

  Deceptive, dark and unique Calder is an interesting character that I immediately found myself drawn to.  Though he does not quite embrace the life sucking nature as his sisters and the rest of his species do there is no doubt that he is every bit as capable. Once he is knee deep in his mission he struggles with feelings and thoughts he knows he is not supposed to have.  The most catching thing for me with Calder was he had such a strong and memorable voice.  Not to mention his different sense of humor that I kind of adored.  Lets also face the fact that he was a bit stalker like when it came to Lily but the thing was in his stalking and creeping ways he accepted that, that's what he was and despite not really enjoying the title he accepted it.  

  The relationship part of this really did unroll until the end.  I have to admit that it was nice when Lily didn't just fall head over hills into Calder's gorgeous Merman arms.  No this girl used her head and thought about what she was doing.  When she caught him following her she tried to avoid him and didn't just get flattered and fall all over him.  When she felt that maybe something was a little off she trusted herself.  Though he did wear her thin and win her over little by little, causing himself to even feel more than expected.  When it came down to it she also didn't fear Calder's Merman side but instead she questioned it wanting to know more.

  This one will keep you on the edge of your seats in the end and then leave you grabbing for more.  Different Mermaids/Merman than you are used to make it easy to fall into love with this series and I am eagerly awaiting the moment when I can pick up Deep Betrayal and dive back into the world that lies beneath (yes I just did that).  Wonderfully written and filled with turns that I'm not sure who wouldn't enjoy it.  I know this that: if you are a fan of anything Mer and enjoy reading from a male POV you are missing out not picking this one up!!

Quotes

I hadn't killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that.  Sure, I'd wanted to, but too many suspicious drownings got people talking.  Fearful townspeople were the last thing I needed.  Besides, I was getting a sick thrill out of denying my body what it craved.

If I let my emotions take over my body, I could make a tree spontaneously combust  just by leaning against it.  It was my least favorite aspect of my makeup.  Any resemblance to eels disgusted me.

  I'd known this feeling before.  Way too many times before.  It was only a matter of minutes before the depression grew so thick it would overtake any sense of reason I might have left.  I wondered what would set me off this time.  A smile?  A laugh?  I just hoped, whoever it was, they wouldn't be too young.  Children were harder to get over once the initial high wore off.

  But it seemed I had fallen for a human - and not just any human, the worst possible human out of all seven billion possibilities.  I dissolved into hysterics and lay down on the front seat of the car, holding my sides while my body shook.  It was beyond ridiculous.