Beneath the Surface

Rouda’s background in business reporting and real estate undergirds her pitch-black latest tale of psychological suspense (after 2022’s Somebody’s Home). On a steamy summer Friday, Orange County’s wealthiest citizen, Richard Kingsley, takes his viperous family on a weekend cruise to Catalina on his luxury yacht. Richard’s sons, John and Ted, are both gunning to be named the successor to their father’s massive real estate empire. Their wives—Rachel, a lawyer, and Paige, an inveterate do-gooder—are thirsting for power by proxy, putting them at odds with Richard’s fourth wife and black-sheep daughter, the latter of whom crashes the cruise at the last minute. Naturally, each family member harbors grim secrets. As a raging storm rocks the yacht over one of the Pacific’s deepest trenches, those secrets start to come out, launching a ruthless game for control of the company. Alternating points of view among family members, Rouda successfully conveys the corrupting influence of excessive wealth, but her characters are paper-thin, and her themes a bit superficial. This Succession meets Agatha Christie mash-up fails to stay afloat. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Sept.)