Able to coax a palpable sense of menace from the bucolic backwaters of
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05 Jan 2023, 20:22
Able to coax a palpable sense of menace from the bucolic backwaters of her native Missouri, Micheaux adroitly shows us, in her latest book, that a surface of idyllic charm can (i) ______ a roiling underbelly of intrigue, corruption, and murder.
The surface consisted of idyllic charm. The underbelly consisted of intrigue, corruption and murder. The fact that she was able to coax a "palpable sense of menace", suggests that this "palpable sense of menace" was preexisting and hidden and some effort was required to bring it out. Clearly the surface masked the underbelly.
Also "Able to coax a palpable sense of menace from the bucolic backwaters of her native Missouri" is parallel to "surface of idyllic charm can (i) ______ a roiling underbelly of intrigue, corruption, and murder."
Thus, masks or belie is the correct answer.