About Books: ‘Undercurrent’ highlights the complexities of motherhood

Sarah Sawyer is an English teacher at a boarding school in western Massachusetts. This is her debut novel. It is a character-driven mystery with many layers that explore the complex trials and tribulations of motherhood and the destructive secrets carried by two families.

Deecie, a teenage girl from the neighborhood, disappears in 1987 in Austin, Texas when Bee and her twin brother Gus are fifteen. Their mother is Mary, who feels trapped at home in an unhappy marriage, but finds enjoyment performing in community theater. Gus’s best friend Leo lives just across the field with his mother, Diana, who is aspiring to be a college professor. She and her husband have recently separated. The story is told in two timelines: 1987 and 2011. Deecie has never been found.

In 2011 in Portland, Maine, Bee is a new mom struggling with exhaustion and all the challenges that come with caring for a newborn. She hasn’t been in touch with Leo or her brother Gus in many years, although she thinks of them often and tries to research their whereabouts on the internet. After a surprise call from Leo, she is reminded of Deecie’s disappearance and becomes obsessed with her case. She decides to take her baby Attie to meet her mother back home in Austin, and much to her surprise, finds her brother Gus staying with their Mom. What are the connections between a missing girl in 1987 and a frazzled new mother in 2011?

Back in 1987, Leo’s mom, Diana, and the twin’s mom, Mary, know that Gus and Leo were in the field the night that Deecie disappeared. They make assumptions and secret decisions to protect their sons. Bee also is convinced that the boys know something, which would explain their silence for so many years. Every character is carrying something that they are afraid to share. The weight of these secrets has sadly affected the lives of every member of both families.

The ending unravels the family secrets as well as what happened to Deecie.

The story is less about the missing girl and more about the complexities of motherhood and how far a mother will go to protect her children. I sympathized with Mary the most. Her life was full of sadness and sacrifices. A heartfelt family drama that will remind you of the importance of family and how destructive secrets can be.