Under the Surface is a beautifully executed, subterranean adventure-gone-wrong, with a satisfying romantic angle and enough drama to keep the narrative hurtling forward.
Seventeen-year-old Ruby is in Paris with her class and, with the help of close friends Sean (who makes Ruby feel "warm and tingly") and Val, Ruby is looking for filming locations for her YouTube channel. When Val sneaks off to a party, Ruby gets worried. Despite her "tangled mess" of blonde hair and "jet-lagged" bloodshot eyes, Ruby slips away to bring Val back. She's caught sneaking out, though, by valedictorian Olivia and salutatorian/bestie-turned-nemesis Selena, who get pulled into the unfolding misadventure.
The girls find Val with "hottie" Julien, about to head off to a party in the city's catacombs, a perfect filming location. Most of the place is off-limits to the public, but Julien swears he's a "cataphile" who knows his way around the tunnels that house "the skeletal remains of six million long-dead Parisians." But Selena climbs down a broken ladder and, when the others reach the spot, the "only sign of Selena is her blood." The group gets lost and are chased by phantom whisperings, booming drums, and people in skull masks wielding knives. Meanwhile, at street level, Sean has discovered Ruby and Val are missing and desperately chases down any lead he can find.
Diana Urban (These Deadly Games) has found in Paris's catacombs the perfect setting for a creepy thriller. The nightmarish adventure plays out against a backdrop of high school intrigue, including the (possibly) budding romance of Ruby and Sean, shifting loyalties, romantic mishaps, and betrayal. This well-rounded, gripping survival story has as many twists and turns as the catacombs themselves. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author