Beneath by Roland Smith

After waiting a year, Pat O’Toole finally receives news from his missing brother, Coop, in the form of a strange package. Inside is a digital voice recorder detailing Coop’s exploration of an unknown society beneath New York City called the Deep. But when Pat’s letters to Coop go unanswered, Pat decides to make his way to New York City’s underground. Once there Pat meets Kate, a girl who needs Pat’s help in rescuing Coop from the clutches of the underworld dictator, Lod.

Smith creates an incredibly original and thought-provoking story with Beneath. The book is written from the perspective of Pat as he dictates his and Coop’s voice recordings into his journal. Both Pat and Coop describe their separate descents into the Deep, except Pat has the added complication of claustrophobia. Pat’s claustrophobia was created when, as children, Coop and Pat were almost buried after a tunnel collapsed. Pat’s love for Coop helps him conquer his phobia while making his way through dangerously tight and cramped situations. Along with Pat and Coop’s story, Smith creates an intriguing idea of how easily a cult-like society can be hidden inside a normal population. Smith is currently writing a sequel called Above.