June 19, 2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Thoughts

No one really knows why Suki Piper left town ten years ago.....and unfortunately nobody really cares, nor does anyone care when Suki comes back home. With no job, no close friends and a nonexistent family, Suki is depressed and spends most the book in this mopey cloud that follows her around. She has no place to live and hops around from from acquaintance to acquaintance until she wears out her welcome. When she does wind up finding a job through Pippa ( a gal who's family does become Suki's best friends) Suki spends her days looking after Pippa's mom and rebellious teenage son Caleb, as well as telling the reader past events in her life. As days go by and relationships form {one questionable in the crossing the line} Suki begins to work through her low self esteem and the horrible events that happened to her long ago in a creepy old air raid shelter. {insert shuddering}

The Girl Below was not what I expected, with almost a Gothic feel, Zander delivered a haunted mystery that until the last page (and maybe not even then) did I finally grasp what transpired. Its filled with a depth I did not expect and reaching into self discovery with pockets of smart writing. Suki was a somewhat challenging character to like due to her immature qualities and self deprecating attitude, at times I just wanted to buy her an ice cream cone and tell her to GROW UP then again sometimes I wanted to hold her and pat her backside telling her it would be ok. Something was off about Suki, something disturbing lurking under the surface, the subtle creepy factor simmering underneath the layers, until the end when it boils over.

A much darker read than I thought I was getting myself into but nonetheless a very bold debut. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy fragmented story telling with an eerie almost cold feeling. Perfect for your fall or winter reading list.

Rating

Recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence, mild language &Sexuality

3/5- Contemporary
Thanks to William  Morrow and TLC for review copy

About the Author

British-born Bianca Zander has lived in Auckland, New Zealand, for the past two decades. An established journalist, she has written for numerous publications, including The Listener, the Sunday Star-Times, and the Dominion Post. She has produced radio shows and written for film and television, including writing the dramatic short filmThe Handover, which screened in competition at the Chicago Film Festival. Bianca holds an M.A. in creative writing from Victoria University, Wellington.The Girl Below is her first novel.

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