What Lies Beneath: A gripping and tense Christmas psychological thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️ psychological Christmas thriller
What Lies Beneath by Maureen Myant

Alright, picture this: I pick up What Lies Beneath expecting a mild family drama with a sprinkle of festive cheer, and instead I’m dragged into what feels like a Christmas reunion hosted by the Addams Family’s slightly more functional cousins. I mean—why do snowed-in cabins bring out the absolute worst (and secretly the best) in humans? Something about isolation, twinkly lights, and mulled wine apparently turns everyone into a walking, talking secret vault.

And let me tell you: this family has… layers. Like a spiteful onion. Every time I thought, “Ah okay, we’ve reached peak drama,” the book whispered “lol no” and threw another mini-twist straight at my forehead. Honestly, it started to feel like I was participating in a twist marathon where every chapter handed me a new emotional sprain.

Yet—I couldn’t stop.
This dysfunctional Christmas crew somehow held me hostage. Maybe it was the lies. Maybe the simmering tension. Maybe the whole “we’re stuck in the snow together with absolutely nowhere to run so let’s emotionally implode” vibe. But there I was, cozy under a blanket, thinking I should probably sleep, while flipping another page like a raccoon who just found shiny secrets.

Was it a bit much? Yeah.
Did I eat it up anyway? Also yeah.

Not everything is what it seems—of course not, it’s a cabin-in-the-snow Christmas thriller with a family who collectively needs therapy gift cards—but it is a nice, cozy, curl-up-and-roll-your-eyes-but-still-read kind of book. The perfect pick when you want something dramatic enough to keep you awake, but soft enough to not ruin your festive spirit.

A solid 3 stars.
Warm. Messy. Secretive. Slightly unhinged.
Basically… just like most families at Christmas.