When two teenage girls vanish without a trace from an educational retreat set in the imposing Brandling House in Middleton, Leeds, Detective George Beaumont is eventually called to lead the high-stakes investigation. Still haunted by childhood memories involving Brandling House, George must push aside long-buried fears to focus on the missing students-seemingly model teenager Esme Bushfield and troubled rebel Ashley Cowgill.
As George delves deeper, clues prove scarce and tension mounts, and George and his team race against time to unravel the tangled web of lies concealing the fate of the missing girls.
Powerful forces pressure the police for swift answers while concerned parents and teachers implore George to find the popular girls. The investigation stirs George's personal connections to both the house and the centuries-old local legends of witches and ghosts tied to its grounds.
With two young lives hanging in the balance, George finds himself uncovering secrets, old and new, in a small community full of history, lies, and influential figures used to getting their own way.
As the investigation takes dark turns through Middleton Woods and ponds conceal grim possibilities, George must dig deep to bring the lost home and ensure justice prevails, no matter the cost.
In a world where corruption and cruelty hide behind closed doors, how far will one detective go to drag secrets into the light?
Will George's tireless pursuit of justice prevail to rescue the missing girls from an unseen evil? Or will buried sins of the past ultimately condemn the innocent to a fate worse than any ghost story?
Beneath the Surface is the fifteenth book in the Detective George Beaumont thriller series, set in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
