A nice little thriller about a woman who isn't sure of who she is, imposter syndrome among the upper class, the Titanic, and the Britannic. A young woman flees home and takes a job as a stewardess on the Titanic, where she's plagued by memories that don't seem to be hers and demanding first-class passengers who believe in the occult. She survives, and takes a position as a nurse on the Britannic, where she encounters a man she knew from her earlier work. There are indeed supernatural forces afoot, and author Alma Katsu does a good job of keeping them concealed until the very end of the novel. A good blend of the historic, the what-if, and the outright fantastical, but a few plot holes do nag after the end.

This horror tells the story of Annie, a survivor of the Titanic. Is there a ghost on the ship? A boy dies after being lured to jump off the ship and everyone is spooked, even consulting a séance to validate their fears of a malevolent spirit. This book interested me enough to finish it, but I feel that the scary bits were too far apart to sustain it. I was ready to be spooked and there are a couple of instances that made me rethink reading this at night. The ending had a bit of a twist that salvaged this book for me at least.

5 stars

This story is told over the period of time between 1912 with the maiden voyage of the Titanic and 1916 with the last voyage of the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic. Originally a luxury liner like the Titanic, the Britannic was converted into a hospital ship during WWI.

The main character in this book is Annie Hebbley. She is a young Irish woman who is running from her past. She is carrying a whole load of guilt, but the reader doesn't know why until later in the book. Annie has problems, to put it mildly. Also important to that story are Mark and Caroline Fletcher and their daughter Ondine, Lillian (a former girlfriend of Mark's), John Jacob and Maddie Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, newspaperman Stead, boxers Dai and Les and many others.

There are a wide variety of people aboard the Titanic from the very wealthy first class passengers to the very poor in third class or steerage as it is called. This contrasts greatly with the hospital ship the Britannic who is carrying the wounded, dying and hopeless soldiers from the battles during war time.

Something is going wrong on the voyage of the Titanic for there are mishaps and strange occurances that keep popping up. People begin to mistrust one another just in the few days that they spend together before the sinking. There is evil aboard the ship.

Four long years later, having somewhat recovered from the Titanic tragedy, Annie joins the crew of the Britannic. She is very surprised to see an injured Mark Fletcher aboard. She didn't know that he also survived.

But evil is still stalking them.

This is a very well written and plotted novel in the true tradition of Ms. Katsu. I really liked this book. The switching of timelines was well done and timed seamlessly. I appreciated what the author was trying to tell us. That the choices we make follow us no matter how hard or far we try to run. I like that Ms. Katsu is taking historical stories with which most people are familiar and turning them into exciting and interesting “what if” novels. Very well done!

I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons for forwarding to me a copy of this most interesting and enthralling book for me to read, enjoy and review.

This book was received as an ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam - G.P. Putnam's Sons in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hearing and reading so many adaptations of the Titanic, my mind was filled with so much info that it became hard to comprehend but when I read the description expecting a completely different story, I was surprised that the main focus of this book was looking into the aftermath of the Titanic of the passengers point of view and not from just researching the shipwreck. The Deep also looks into the point of view of Annie, a survivor turned nurse of the new hospital ship called the Brittanic and then while working she discovers that one of her patients who is a soldier is also a survivor but as Annie and Mark (the soldier) grow closer together, demons of that tragic night start to resurface and the question is can they tame the beasts inside of them and fully recover from that night. This book was filled with fantasy, supernatural occurrences and so much drama that it will leave you glued to the book until the very end.

We will consider adding this title to our Adult Fiction collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

The Deep
By Alma Katsu
Genre: Gothic & Horror, Historical Fiction, Suspense & Thriller
Publisher: G.P Putnam’s Sons / Penguin Group
Release Date: March 10, 2020

I received a copy of this from the publisher and NetGalley, (THANK YOU!) All opinions are my own.

A terrible thing happens to me when I really love a book. I get tongue-tied, my brain goes blank, I can’t unravel the thoughts in my head and put them into cohesive sentences for the world. Lord help me.

I knew I would love this book. A supernatural twist on one of the most notorious tragedies in history? Yes please.

What I wasn’t expecting was to end up with a book hangover.
Yes, this is a psychological thriller. It’s eerie, mysterious, it’s got the sinister undertones... but it goes much deeper than that.

This story weaves us through multiple timelines and multiple lives. Our main character is Annie. She paves the way for both the past, where 4 years prior she was a stewardess on that Ill-fated Titanic voyage, and the present, where she’s now a nurse on Titanic’s sister ship, The Britannic. (Now being used as a hospital ship during World War One).

We’re seamlessly taken back and forth between the present and to the Titanic, where we follow the entire 4 day journey, up until the brutal end.

It’s on the Titanic that this book really is pieced together so masterfully.
We’re introduced to a variety of characters, both fictional and some you might recognize from history.
Chapter after chapter follows a unique set of characters, each told from their own POV.
This gives us a unique advantage in that as each chapter intertwines and the book progresses, we really are given an opportunity to know the cast on a much deeper level.
Each have their own unique story to tell: troubled pasts, dreams they are just SURE will come true in America, fears, insecurities, flaws... and they are so well developed that you forget who was real and who was just fiction.

I was shocked to find myself getting lost in this book. Their aren’t many that can actually have me conjuring up the atmosphere, imagining I’m there, or feeling connected to even ONE character, let alone the entire cast.

One thing I really enjoyed was reading about things that were normal back then, especially with the elite, such as the use of laudanum and cocaine, and the fascination with the Occult. How seances were no bigger a deal than an afternoon tea.

It also needs to be said I really appreciated that the unraveling of events that were of the supernatural side were so subtle that you almost weren’t aware they were happening, or if, like the guests, you could try to maybe explain them away.
Nothing was blatant. It was a very slow, undercurrent of evil type thing.

This book is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. It’s not only got the paranormal factor, but it’s also got twists and turns, it keeps you guessing, and you don’t know who to trust. And most importantly, it has depth. (No pun intended).

I just found Alma Katsu ‘s previous work, The Hunger, based off of The Donner Party on sale for kindle on Amazon for $1.99. You better believe I snatched that right up!
I HIGHLY recommend. This is one of my top 5 reads so far this year.
Solid 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This review will be distributed among all my platforms: Instagram, my blog, Goodreads, Eidelweiss, and Amazon.
#thedeep #netgalley

The Deep is a must read book of the year. Fabulous characters and writing. But this book as a gift for friends and family. I could not put it down.

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic….or do they? On the day the Titanic sales, some of the passengers and crew begin to feel like something is wrong aboard the ship. For a few short days, unexplained deaths and strange occurrences convince them that the ship is haunted or possessed. We all know what happens next. Some years later, Annie, a crew member who survived the sinking is assigned to Titanic’s sister ship Britannic, now a hospital ship during World War I. She’s speechless when she encounters an old friend from the ill fated ship, a man who’s now a badly injured soldier. But is this a cheerful reunion or are they now facing the fate they escaped in April 1912? This story is a clever riff on the Final Destination theme. Do we each have a date with death, one we cannot cheat? Adding the most famous shipwreck in history makes this a wild, crazy ride