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Lies Beneath

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Fans of Amanda Hocking's novel, Wake, will dive into this paranormal romance featuring mermaids—the killer kind—and won't come up for air!

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.
"Riveting! A cold-blooded tale of secrets, revenge, and forbidden love that will leave you terrified to go in the water."—Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess

"Scary and spooky . . . I really enjoyed reading this."—USA Today
"A haunting tale of revenge and romance."—Justine Magazine

From the Hardcover edition.
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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 9, 2012
      Brown debuts with a mermaid novel told from the perspective of Calder White, a gorgeous teenage merman, who is torn between his family's quest for vengeance and the girl he loves. Calder and his equally beautiful sisters have spent years seeking revenge for their mother's death; their intended victim is Jason Hancock, the adult son of the man responsible for killing their mother. When Jason and his family move to Bayfield, a Wisconsin town on Lake Superior, Calder is instructed to seduce one of Jason's daughters in order to lure him into the mermaids' trap. But as Calder gets closer to (and is attracted to) Lily, she begins to suspect his secret. The mermaids' plan is slow to unfold, and their de-termination to exact revenge for a death is somewhat puzzling, considering that they themselves kill humans regularly, feeding on human happiness to survive. Variations on questions common to paranormal romancesâwhy is Calder (who is actually several decades old) so taken with 17-year-old Lily? why is Lily so calmly accepting of Calder's murderous habits?âremain baffling. Ages 12âup. Agent: Jacqueline Flynn, Joëlle Delbourgo Associates.

    • Kirkus

      April 15, 2012
      Riding the wave of mermaid paranormalia is a young merman with a mission. For 18-year-old Calder White, family life is a little different. He spends part of his year living in Lake Superior with his three sisters, plotting revenge on Jason Hancock, the son of the man the merpeople hold responsible for killing their mother. Calder plans to lure Jason into the water by using Jason's daughters Lily and Sophie, but he does not count on falling in love with Lily nor on her learning of his true nature. When he is about to spring the trap, Calder finds himself out of his depth and drowning. Narrator Calder isn't particularly self-reflective, which ably conveys his emotional numbness but also makes him rather dull. There's little that's engaging about Brown's treatment of the mermaid mythology, the characters or the plot, making it an underwater retread of stories about sparkly creatures and dangerous love. Initially borrowing from Native American tales, Brown dumps the legends quickly into the inky depths. Astute readers will see the entire plot arc from the first few pages, which makes Calder and Lily's romance feel forced from the beginning. About as exciting as a handful of chum. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

      COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • School Library Journal

      August 1, 2012

      Gr 8 Up-Calder and his murderous mermaid sisters have spent years obsessing over a man named Jason Hancock, who was promised to their family as an infant after their mother saved his father's life. Finally Hancock has moved back to the shores of Lake Superior with his family to take up residence in his old house. Unfortunately, a lifetime spent listening to his father tell horrific yet improbable tales of "monsters" has made him wary of the water. Calder is dispatched, disguised in human form, to lure one of Hancock's daughters to the water instead, to be used as bait. Calder selects the elder daughter, beautiful Lily, and needless to say he quickly becomes distracted from his mission. The romance that ensues feels familiar, with a merman in place of other supernatural creatures du jour. Calder is amazingly handsome and alluring (due to his merman powers), while there is something different about Lily, who seems to have a special connection to the water. As narrator and romantic hero, Calder is problematic, not just because he is a self-confessed serial killer (though he feels bad about it, or at least he has mixed feelings), but also because he is a total wimp, constantly being bossed around by his sisters and whining about the cold water. A few plot twists keep the story going, and a sequel is in the works.-Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA

      Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • The Horn Book

      July 1, 2012
      Merman Calder and his sisters can dive deep to investigate sunken ships in Lake Superior or change into human form and meander the streets of Bayfield, Wisconsin. Charged with luring human Lily's father (who they think killed their mother) to the water, Calder grapples with his sisters' cruel intentions and Lily's lovely aura. Readers will appreciate the unique twists on relationships and acceptance.

      (Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.8
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

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