Carmen has been married to Tom for two years. Tom is divorced and has three children by his first wife. That union was cut short after Tom's affair with a woman named Zena, a relationship that ended when Zena passed away. Tom told Carmen that Zena went swimming one night and drowned.

Tom is a fairly well-to-do businessman. He owns a bungalow in the small town of St. Jude, about halfway between where his children live with their mother and where he resides with Carmen in London. St. Jude also happens to be where Zena drowned.

"The story is told bit by bit, with several plots twists and feints, leaving readers wondering what will happen next and how it will all wrap up."

Quite by accident, Carmen discovers a piece of evidence that possibly links Tom to Zena's death. The implication is that Tom might have had a hand in the drowning, that it wasn’t accidental at all.

Now, little things that used to just nag Carmen take on new significance for her in light of this potentially damning evidence against Tom. But what is the truth? How can she find out? And if her suspicions prove to be well-founded, what will she do about it?

Author Elizabeth Heathcote tells a chilling tale of a woman who peels back the layers of her marriage and is disturbed by what she finds underneath. The story is told bit by bit, with several plots twists and feints, leaving readers wondering what will happen next and how it will all wrap up. I must say that the ending surprised me, and chances are you will be taken aback as well.

Please note that Heathcote is British, so there are a number of words and phrases that may not be familiar to readers on this side of the pond.

UNDERTOW is Heathcote’s debut novel, and I trust it will not be her last.