Story
The premise of The Deep is what initially drew me to this story. Titanic and ghosts? Sign me up, please. However, after reading it I felt slightly disappointed. This wasn’t what I expected story-wise. I loved the Irish folklore surrounding the story, but my biggest complaint is the lack of ghosts.

I love reading about ghosts and ghost stories, this one was just a bit lacking. It needed some tension and angst, and it wasn’t as creepy as I thought it would be.

Writing
Other than that I thought the writing was amazing. Katsu has a way of pulling you in with her characters, which were all really fleshed out and given interesting stories. There were no big info dumps and the author gave through character backstories and worldbuilding in a believable way.

The author put a lot of research into this book and it shows. The descriptions of both the Titanic and Brittanic were beautiful, and the writing was just overall amazing.

Characters
I did feel like some characters were unnecessary, but it doesn’t annoy me that much since they were all so well written. I loved each of their stories and it really makes me want to read Katsu’s other books.

Retellings and reimaginings are my jam. Add to it the fact that it's reimagining of the sinking of THE Titanic and it's sister ship Britannic, of course I HAD to read this book. Also I've been meaning to read Alma Katsu's work for a while now so I was over the moon when I got to read an eARC of The Deep.

~5 REASONS TO READ THE DEEP~

~The curious case of Human Nature~

One of the reasons I adore Agatha Christie's books is that she deals with human nature. Poirot doesn't just look around for clues, he looks into the personality of each suspect to find the criminal. Something about the way Alma Katsu writes her characters reminds me of Agatha Christie. I was utterly fascinated with the characters, many of whom were real people on-board the Titanic. The author deftly weaves each character arc and I love how she took real people and gave them a whole backstory that mixed reality and creativity, such as Madeleine Astor, Lady Duff Gordon, W.T. Stead and the two boxers Les and Dai. I personally love that the author made the boxers queer and their chemistry was so interesting to read about.

We have original characters too such as our protagonist Annie and the couple Mark and Caroline who are an important part of the mystery. Of all of them, it was Caroline who intrigued me the most and I kept turning the pages (clicking the pages? considering it was the eBook) wanting to know more about her past, especially the past involving Lillian, another very intriguing character.

'She is not mad.
But there is something in her that is hospitable to madness'

~The alternating timelines~

Generally I'm wary about alternating timelines. Unless they're done well, they're jarring and annoying. I did not have to worry about that in this case because Alma Katsu does it brilliantly. She knows just the right moment to stop with the 1912 plot and switch to 1916, making me want to know more about what just happened. And I also loved the parallels drawn between the two ships and at point the plot lines blurred but not in a bad way; rather in a way that makes you go "OML WHAT JUST HAPPENED EEEP"

~The atmospheric quality~

I really love reading about historical fiction with a slight touch of the supernatural; the blending of fact, fiction and fantasy which gives a very atmospheric feel to the story. Because of some reviews I'd thought the book included horror but after reading it, I mainly find it atmospheric and chilly but definitely not scary enough to be called horror (and that's coming from me who is too scared to ever fully watch IT). BUT even though it wasn't scary, the book has the perfect atmosphere for the reality and the supernatural to entwine. There were scenes where I got goosebumps because it felt like I was there on board the ship watching things unfold around me.

~The writing style~

As I said just above, this book made me feel i was IN it and this is totally due to Ms Katsu's writing prowess. The beautiful descriptions, the scenes where the characters are not sure whether they are actually seeing something or imagining things and the description of the fateful night were all done so magnificently and I can't wait to pick up her other books.

~The mystery itself~

Right from the first page, the author makes us ask questions. Who is Annie? who was she before she set foot on RMS Titanic? What happened to her on the ship? What is the mystery surrounding each of the passengers on the ship? And most importantly, which of them are going to survive? I rushed through the whole book in less than 24 hours because I needed all the answers. The plot brings together the plot lines of every character in an expert manner that I can't help but admire.

"It wasn't trust, or intuition, but something else that had swooped in, in the absence of both, to guide her."

~The Deep is more than just a reimagining, it truly brings Titanic and her sister ship Britannic to life along with characters both real and fictional; b;lending fact, fiction and fantasy to give us a story that is truly an experience. ~

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Deep

Author: Alma Katsu

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: March 10, 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction/Horror/Paranormal

Recommended Age: 15+ (horror, gore, slight violence, paranormal activity)

Publisher: Transworld Digital

Pages: 320

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner's illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers - including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher - are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not - could not - have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .

Review: I thought this was a great horror book for the most part. The story was intriguing and the characters were developed. The setting was creepy and uninviting, like any horror book should be, and the author did well to research this story as fact and fiction are woven interchangeably throughout the book.

However, I got so lost on occasion with the dual POV running side by side. The switching back and forth and the overlap of characters make this sometimes hard to follow.

Verdict: I really enjoyed this read!

This ghost story set onboard the Titanic weaves historical fiction with supernatural suspense, but ultimately, I didn't feel that the combination worked here.

Historical fiction knows no bounds, which is what makes the genre imaginative. The ability to craft something new, exciting, and even twisted, using the known, the historical, if done right, can be as thrilling as cutting through your neighbor’s yard, not totally sure that their mangy mutt is locked away indoors. You get away with it? That rush is magical.

Alma Katsu dives into the tragically bitter waters of the horrific Titanic and Britannic sinkings with The Deep, a creepy “what-if” adding to the bygone doom. Within, Katsu postulates that, icebergs aside, something ominous forced its way into that ice-y mix. And it wasn’t Dewar’s White Label.

The Deep has a tightly-researched and well-executed plot filled with real, and real-annoying, characters. The ghostly play comes too late in the game and serves as nothing more than a mere raft for yet another pair of star-crossed lovers to hold onto in the long dark night.

Katsu introduces Annie Hebbley, a nurse on the Britannic, now a converted hospital ship helping with the war effort. There she is reintroduced to Mark Fletcher while the reader is introduced to their time together on the Titanic through a series of flashbacks. There, Annie is a maid to Fletcher, his wife Caroline, and their thematically-named infant daughter Ondine (Latin meaning "little wave"). Annie takes an immediate liking to Ondine and does her best to care for the little tyke while navigating the bulkheads of the Titanic and its first-class citizenry alike. When accidents, deaths, and the occasional séance turn up the paranormal level, Annie realizes wicked forces are at work but is helpless in preventing the disaster. After surviving the Titanic, she begins to feel the same demonic doom on the Britannic.

Like many b-grade horror films of the eighties, the supernatural menace teases are more satisfying than the payoff. Katsu takes her time to build a large network of supporting cast members. Her research went deeper than simply watching the James Cameron movie. Ultimately? Those stories are flotsam and jetsam in the wake of the sinking; both forgotten and unnecessary. Too much time was spent on those supporting mechanisms and, ironically, does not go, ahem, deep enough on the backstory between Annie and Mark.
The Deep surfs instead of dives and sinks without the aid of an iceberg. Katsu succeeds in drawing on the deep history of tragedy but the ultimate scare fizzles rather than flares. A fun read for those who like their macabre set to prime-time CBS.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the deep read.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Deep, is based on Violet Constance Jessop, on the incredible survivor of both the Titanic and the Brittanic

The Deep, by Alma Katsu

An astonishing type of paranormal that will have wide appeal among historical fictional readers

Stunning atmospheric prose and exquisite imagery, Katsu captivates the reader in such a way with the history of the RMS Titanic and its sister ship the HMHS Brittanic.
This haunting story grabs the the reader complete attention. As this erie tale unfolds you will be immersed into the lives of the passengers and crew. Giving the reader just enough historical details entwined in to her own creative imagination.

In 1912, Annie Hebbley, an eighteen year old Irish girl escaping a scandal is eager to leave her small Irish Northern town, travels to Southampton England. Annie than takes a job as stewardess aboard the disastrous, Titanic.
The luxurious and decadent, ill fated ship contains everything imaginable for the privileged. Annie Along within Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, are in the mind set that something sinister is going on with disappearances . . . Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.
And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

This paranormal infused historical fiction novel is told in dual timelines- 1912 aboard the Titanic and 1916 the Britannic

Four years later, hiding from the world within a psychiatric hospital, Annie struggles with her past and all that she has been through. After receiving correspondence from her friend, Violet Jessop, another survivor of the Titanic. Annie has agrees to work as a nurse on board the Britannic (the Titanic's sister ship). The Britannic has become a war hospital ship during wartime. A stark difference than the majestic Titanic.
It also has eerily identical layout as the Titanic, along with a deeply unsettling ghostly presence of a man. One Annie thought she had lost, who she has been thinking of is completely drawn to. Readers will slowly come to understand the true nature of Annie’s often strangely odd behavior.
The authors impeccable character development is what makes this book a phenomenal book. I was completely engaged with the storyline right from the start and the pace and tension didn’t slow down until I closed the book. What a wonderful read with intriguing meticulously plotted mystery, along with notable researched historical elements.

“A ship so massive, and here we are, trapped on it, nowhere to run.” She shivered “One is always trapped within oneself though”

The Deep was a well written historical fiction mixed with a supernatural/horror twist. As with her other novel, The Hunger, it’s a famous historical event with a bit of a what if horror scenario involving the supernatural. The research for this book was definitely done and I felt that it told a fictional story while aligning with the events of history.

I loved the writing, the cast of characters, and alternating time frames as Annie worked on Titanic and her sister ship, the HMS Britannic.

For some reason, it felt a little underwhelming, but I’m not actually sure if it was me or the book. I am going through a huge slump and have rated the last few books at 3 stars and I feel like, while The Deep was good, it wasn’t quite good enough to pull me out of that slump.

If historical fiction is your thing, you enjoy horror/supernatural, The Deep should definitely be on your TBR.

Ah, Titanic. The ship of dreams. Or nightmares, as it turns out. Well, I knew I was in for some historical, horrific goodness after reading the author's The Hunger last year and legit devouring it. One of the first notes I made on my Kindle this time was "I'm going to end up down a Titanic Wikipedia rabbit hole, I can feel it". And how true it was! I think my favorite part of Ms. Katsu's books is that she somehow seamlessly intertwines the real with the fantastical. Usually, I have some disbelief that I must suspend, but not here. Somehow, it seems almost like it was a true part of the Titanic story. Honestly, screw Rose and Jack, I'm here for the ghosts.

This book weaves us through two timelines: That of the Titanic, and that of the Britannic. Both real, both ill-fated, and both containing two of the same women. One is Violet Jessup. She's legit, she was actually on both ships, and I'm not saying you'd want to jump ship if you saw her joining your Caribbean cruise but... actually, that's exactly what I'm saying. But for our purposes, the story mainly follows Annie Hebbley through both timelines. She's an interesting character, perhaps not a fully reliable narrator (which you'll see from the start, no spoilers here!), but the true thrill is seeing her interact with so many others. Some of them actual humans who were on the Titanic, some fictional, all wholly intriguing.

Because one thing that none of this motley cast of early twentieth century seafarers are is boring. Everyone had layers upon layers to their story, and no one was what (or who) they seemed at first glance. The question that penetrates both timelines is this: is there more to the happenings on these doomed ships than meets the eye?

Bottom Line: Get ready to go down an old-timey, character-driven exploration of these famed ill-fated ships, all while wondering if there's something paranormal, or just plain old bad luck.

Annie was a stewardess who was lucky enough to survive to sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Four years later, she’s aboard another ship, the Brittanic, as a nurse during WWI.

<i>The Deep</i> is told through multiple timelines and the paranormal element is deeply present, weaving through the characters and pages as we dive through the ships and their histories.

I had a hard start with this novel but I was glad I finished.

Is there any other event in history as ironically tragic as the sinking of both the Titanic and Bittanic? Sister ships destined to the same watery grave. In The Deep, Alma Katsu the author of previously reviewed The Hunger, explores both tragedies and connects them in a ghostly manner.

The Deep is mostly about a young woman named Annie who is a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic and finds herself aboard the Brittanic, the hospital ship for those wounded in World War I. The story flashes between the times on the Titanic and times on the Brittanic both of which carry secrets and deception at each turn. Annie finds herself infatuated with a passenger aboard the Titanic named Mark and his infant daughter Ondine, but what she doesn’t know is that past and present will wind together in an eerie and earth-shattering way.

I’m going to start by saying that I really enjoyed this novel and it was honestly a lot different than The Hunger. The Deep feels more Lovecraftian at first and less horrifying than The Hunger. The ocean calls out to passengers in a way that I feel very much encapsulates Lovecraft’s writing style. “The call of the void.” is mentioned and it sent shivers down my spine because it made me reminisce on my readings of The Call of Cthulhu. The overall tone was very different than what I had previously read, and while I very much enjoyed The Hunger, The Deep is a very different and interesting beast.

Another well done piece of this story is the foreshadowing. In the very beginning, this is stated in comparison from the Brittanic to the Titanic,

This ship is much safer than the other one, they were assured. No need to be nervous.

And to me, someone who already knows the outcome of both the Titanic and Brittanic, it still sent a shiver down my spine and built the excitement. I had to know how Katsu decided to sink both ships and I wanted to know how she decided to tie them together. I had so many questions about an event I already knew about from history class. It was thrilling.

There was also another underlying theme that I found very interesting. That theme is motherhood. Aboard the Titanic, there is the young baby Ondine, her mother, and father, and there is also a pregnant woman aboard. Katsu does an excellent job of showing the struggles and the fear of being a new mother/father. I am a new mother and one quote stuck out to me,

“Ever since having his own child, he’d noticed he’d gotten more sensitive to mortality–he used to be aware of it brazenly so. Now it whispered to him, tapped his shoulder, and distracted him when things were quiet.”

This one quote is so accurate that it forced me to keep reading. Since having my son I find myself struggling with things I had never struggled with before. I cannot for the life of me watch a show where a baby’s life is at risk. It causes me to go into a full blown panic attack. For me, The Deep touched on this in a way that I didn’t expect but it was readable. I felt myself getting anxious but not so anxious I was forced to quit. It expressed parental anxiety very well. That previous quote is how I feel all the time.

My only disappointment with this novel is that I didn’t feel near as scared as I had thought I would be. I expected the paranormal aspect to start picking up and this one is a slow riser. I wanted to be afraid of “the monster” but even when the paranormal twist is revealed it didn’t frighten me so much. I expected more fear based off where I left after The Hunger, but you could chalk that up to me expecting it to be something that Katsu didn’t intend for it to be.

Overall I give The Deep a 4/5 stars. It’s a slow fright with relatable themes and semi-realistic frights. I definitely recommend The Deep along with its predecessor The Hunger. Now available for purchase, you have to pick this one up!

The premise of this book—that a mysterious spirit or otherworldly creature may have had a hand in the sinking of the Titanic—intrigued me more than the actual story did, unfortunately.

I was looking forward to a historical, gothic-y novel set aboard a ship, and enjoyed the beginning as we were introduced to Annie, a stewardess on the Titanic who also goes on to work on its sister ship, the Britannic, four years later. We follow her both in 1912 and 1916, and I was intrigued to see how the two timelines would connect.

However, we are soon distracted from Annie's story by the supposedly glamorous, and rather trivial side-stories of rich passengers aboard the Titanic, and of two boxers who serve to mostly cause trouble on board (it is unclear to me why these two were even included other than to cause drama). Rather than learning more about a creepy presence on board and what it actually does, we spend a good portion of this book following rich passengers around as they all say "hmm something doesn't seem right," but we never really see what that something is.

There wasn't enough of this spiritual presence to add any level of creepiness to this book. So when the two timelines wrapped up in the end, and we see a big reveal of this supernatural element, I found it kind of startling and sudden. Why didn't this happen earlier? I was left wanting more, and feeling unsatisfied.

We are also meant to become attached to the character of Annie, and I felt confused about her the entire novel. I suppose some of her confusing behavior is due to what is revealed at the end, but even so, she flits from emotion to emotion with no real explanation of why, which confused me. Yes, she may be a unreliable narrator, but even so I felt that more could have been done to flesh her out as a character. We get barely any information about her past, even though that does play a somewhat significant role in the story itself.

I just wish more time had been devoted to Annie and the other central characters (of which there are three), so the story was more streamlined and simplified. I think this story tried to cover too much, and ended up losing some of the magic promised in its premise.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Transworld Digital for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Strange thoughts come to her through the cold: Here there is no beauty.

This was super interesting honestly. I’ve never really been one to think about the Titanic, although I know a little bit about the story. Just the basics, that on its maiden voyage, it ran into an iceberg and almost everyone on the ship died. It was a tragedy, and so many lives lost. They even had an episode about it on Supernatural, and boy wasn’t that interesting.

Anyway, this book also talks about the sister ship that I really don’t know much about: the Brittanic. Similar in names… interesting.

We start off with someone drowning, and we don’t know who it is. It’s interesting to hear the inner thoughts of someone drowning though, and it definitely wasn’t something that I was anticipating. The prose in this novel felt almost magical, and it really kept me engaged from the beginning. I also really appreciated that we got to see some of what happens to women in asylums, and why some people would rather live there than out in the “real world” so to speak. I think coming from Annie’s perspective reminded me of some of the conditions that women had to endure in the UK when they weren’t perfect.

Yeah, this book definitely spooked me, and I think that Katsu is definitely a queen of the terrifying. I tried to read this before bed, and honestly I was kind of scaring myself with the content that I had to switch books to something lighthearted before I was seeing ghosts and monsters in the dark everywhere. As a matter of fact, I’m kind of freaking myself out while writing this review because that was definitely scarier than I thought it would be.

While I don’t know if I would read more horror novels from Katsu – just because I’m a scaredey cat – I think that she is definitely an amazing author and I’d definitely would read a book from her again… as a buddy read. I’m telling you, I’m still a little freaked out about this one but boy was it really good. Really entertaining and I’m still thinking about it.

This was a book that never seemed to me to know quite what it wanted to be. A fiction of the Titanic, telling the story of certain crew and passengers? A mystery of the tangled lives of a first class family and a stewardess? A ghost story?

The majority of the story circles Annie Hebbley, a stewardess on the Titanic, who meets various first class passengers: William Stead- a newspaper man and expert on the supernatural who has ghosts of his own to worry about; Maddie Astor who worries that a rival’s curse has brought evil to her and her unborn child; and Mark and Caroline Fletcher, who have too many problems to count in their new marriage. Plenty of people have things they feel guilty about, but are passengers experiencing group hysteria or is something more supernatural at work?

Between the time changes from the Titanic to the Britannic and the writing style, the story jerks back and forth, and I often forgot what was happening when the story shifted back. It could have done with more suspense and supernatural because the narrative bogs down with characters that don't contribute to the mystery, and few of the main characters are particularly likeable enough for me to really have been driven to find out what was going on without the lure of something ‘extra’ going on.

Overall I found this a disappointing and unsatisfying read. Not enough horror or supernatural to keep the suspense going, but too much to be just another Titanic story. Disconnected enough to never quite figure out what was happening until the end, where I was still left with questions. Sadly, the biggest one being: why was I supposed to care?

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

The cover art is so attractive and eerie - I could not wait to read it. Historical mystery on the Titanic? Sign me up. It starts off with this character Annaleigh in the asylum years after the the accident and then you are put on the time of the boat. It was all very interesting until about 1/4 of the way in and it lost my interest. Unfortunately I was not able to finish the rest of the book even really pushing myself to.

The Deep
Alma Katsu
Transworld Digital, March 2020
ISBN 978-0-525-53790-8
Hardcover

From the publisher—

Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .

Not too long ago, I listened to the audiobook of Alma Katsu’s The Hunger and, truthfully, I was mesmerized by the ominous atmosphere she created. That ambience comes largely from my knowing ahead of time what really happened with the Donner Party, the ineffable tragedy of it all, and the promise of The Deep was that it would give me much of the same feeling. I didn’t do audio on this one but visually reading it didn’t lessen the effect.

Was the Titanic imbued with a supernatural touch as the author suggests? Maybe, maybe not, but there is no doubt that the ship’s story is full of ghosts and belief in the occult was popular among the wealthy at the time so Ms. Katsu taking it a bit farther is not really out of line, is it? Even with a sizeable passenger list and crew, there do seem to be an inordinate number of deaths and peculiar events that the people on the voyage can’t truly explain in “normal” terms and then, of course, there is that awful night.

When stewardess Annie finds herself, four years later working as a World War I nurse on board the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, perhaps it’s not surprising that she would come across a wounded soldier who was also on the Titanic’s fateful voyage. Annie carries her own demons with her, though, so possibly her memories are tricking her into thinking that Mark can’t be there because he could not have survived the sinking. Then again…

Ms. Katsu’s real strength lies in her storytelling and on her ability to bring people and historic events to life. The Deep is a compelling tale that could, if you believe just a little, be truth and, might I add, it’s immeasurably enhanced by including a real woman, Violet Jessop, who has to be one of the luckiest seafaring women ever. Well done, Ms. Katsu!

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, March 2020.

I was a fan of Alma Katsu’s The Hunger, and was excited to hear her next book would be another historical horror, set to the backdrop of the sinking of not one but two great ships—the RMS Titanic and her fleet mate the HMHS Britannic, both of which met tragic fates.

The novel first opens in 1916, as the Great War rages across Europe. For years, Annie Hebbley has been living in an asylum slowly regaining her lost memory. She now remembers her name, the fact that she used to serve as a maid on a passenger liner, and that the ship, Titanic, had struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Her doctors feel that Annie is now fully recovered, and should return to society and normal everyday life, starting with taking the position she has been offered as a nurse aboard the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship to ferry injured British forces.

And so, Annie embarks on her new journey, quickly settling back into life on the ocean, despite her past traumatic experiences at sea and the fact that her nursing duties are so different than the work she used to do. The story then flashes back to 1912 aboard the Titanic, where Annie served as a cabin maid to the glamorous and wealthy passengers in first class. It is here where she meets and immediately becomes drawn to Mark Fletcher, despite him having a wife and child.

The rest of the novel alternates between these two timelines: the past, which gradually reveals the tumultuous events aboard the Titanic as Annie becomes increasingly embroiled in the Fletcher’s lives; as well as the present, which chronicles her confusion and despair as she chances to meet Mark again on the Britannic. Now a soldier, wounded and in the care of Annie, he had also survived the sinking four years ago but believed that his wife and baby had perished. Rather than sharing Annie’s joy at being reunited, however, Mark instead recoils in horror at the first sight of her, requesting a move to another ward. Deeply hurt, Annie seeks to repair their connection by telling Mark that his daughter had not in fact died that night. But being close to him now has also reawakened buried emotions and secrets, as well as memories that threaten her sanity.

I don’t know what I expected from The Deep, but the horror was most definitely lacking. Instead, the balance heavily favored historical drama, likely caused by the inordinate amount of time it took for this book to get off the ground. To be fair, a story like this needed a lot of setup, considering the two separate narratives that had to be established, and the author chose to unravel both these timelines in tandem which was probably the most efficient for storytelling. However, this decision presented its fair share of problems, not least of them the awkwardness of trying to give each thread the same amount of attention while ensuring the plot’s pace ran smoothly. Unfortunately, this balancing act was not entirely achieved, and whatever horror elements there were ended up slipping through the cracks as a result.

As much as I hate to say, but much of the first half of the book also felt like a waste of time in retrospect. Katsu featured many characters in the Titanic including the wealthy real estate developer and investor John Jacob Astor and his pregnant wife Madeleine, boxers David “Dai” Bowen and Leslie Williams, businessman Benjamin Guggenheim, fashion designer Lady Duff-Gordon and others—all of them real historical figures, but none of whom had really any impact on the overall story whatsoever. To tell the truth, it struck me an indulgence by the author, a way for her to show off her knowledge and research which I have no doubt was considerable, but ultimately unnecessary to the larger picture.

That being said, while The Deep had its flaws, it also had its high points. I absolutely loved the concept behind the book, especially the way it drew attention to the Britannic, which met the same watery fate as the Titanic but is perhaps not as well-known as her sister ship. I also enjoyed the sinking scenes but wish there had been more time spent on them, and that they had been written with greater gravitas. Description was light on the whole with this novel and it’s a shame because so much could have done with the atmosphere, from the luxury and decadence aboard Titanic to the more disturbing, creepier moments like when Annie’s unsettling memories return to haunt her. Generally speaking, the mood was largely absent, which I thought was the novel’s weakest point.

Considering how much I enjoyed The Hunger, it’s hard not to view The Deep as a disappointment. The premise behind it was good but perhaps a tad over ambitious. Building up two timelines at once while trying to inject as much history and horror elements into this awfully restrictive structure ended up causing a lot of balancing and pacing issues, and ultimately, it’s a format that didn’t quite work for me.

White Star Lines welcomes you aboard to this review! I’ve never read this author before, and I’m delighted to say I was pleasantly surprised. Especially when I realized this wasn’t YA like I thought when I grabbed it—don’t ask—and it’s been a while since I’ve read a good adult novel.

What makes this book shine is the historical accuracy. Like many, I have a soft spot for any and all things Titanic. Over 100 years later and it’s still a story that captures so much attention and interest. Katsu has a gift for drawing in a reader with her descriptions and prose. I felt every bump and sway of the boot, smelled the fresh paint and varnish, and saw every opulent detail of this grand ship. There aren’t many books that take place on a steamship either, so the setting felt fresh and jogged my own inspiration. It’s hardly a spoiler to say you know this book will end in tragedy, and although the scenes of the sinking were a bit rushed, it still felt real.

And while most of the book takes place aboard the Titanic in 1912, there is an interesting parallel that plays out aboard the Britanic in 1916. Again, this is hardly a spoiler to say that the sister ship of the Titanic, fitted out as a hospital ship for WWI, also sinks.

This promises to be a paranormal take on the Titanic, but I’m disappointed in the execution. While there were a few little moments throughout, they can hardly be called more than glimpses. The scene that had the most promise was of a séance, but it was short-lived and didn’t amount to much. I wanted spooky and I didn’t get it. The true paranormal aspect didn’t properly kick in until the end of the book, which always bums me out because it’s far too late.

I loved that the author incorporated as characters that are both fictional and real passengers of the Titanic. The Astors, W.T. Stead, Guggenheim, etc. Also, a shout out to Violet Jessop. What a fascinating life she had. Not only did she survive the sinking of the Titanic while working as a stewardess, she also worked as a nurse on the Britanic and survived that sinking. I adore how this story took the tiny note of her being given a baby in the lifeboat off the Titanic, and then losing her later, was built in this book.

This is a big cast of characters, from all walks of life, that tell us the story in 1912. From pregnant young Madeline Astor, to journalist with a scandal past W. T. Stead, to a pair of steerage travelling con-artist boxers, these point of views gave us a full glimpse into life aboard the Titanic and conditions in general in the 1910’s. While a few felt incomplete or lacking detail, they were still interesting to follow along with. Of all the characters, the ones with the most interesting backstories and husband and wife Mark and Caroline Fletcher. I wish it had been revealed a little sooner and smoother, but their history and how they came to be where they were on the ship was very intriguing and added a heavy dose of mystery.

Aside from Mark, Annie is the only person who shares what takes place in 1916 as well. And she was my least favourite character for the vast majority of the book. Why she is how she is makes sense at the end, but I have an immediate dislike of young women who are naïve and misread every action of an older man she fancies. Listening outside of his door in the middle of the night as he makes love with his wife, then believing that he is cheating on you with his wife will not endear you to me.

Overall, this was an intriguing book and a high-class historical fiction. I would absolutely be interested in reading more from Katsu in the future.

Who hasn't been a little haunted by the Titanic at one point or another? I remember when the movie came out, and I would walk slow circles in my house thinking about the boat, the passengers, the tragedy. I was so predictably morose, but it's one of those things from the past that will completely consume you. When the movie came out, we all got treated to news specials and documentaries. Everyone became a little obsessed. I feel like Alma Katsu took that feeling of dark enchantment that we all felt when revisiting the horrible story and really capitalized on it.

In The Deep, characters feel overcome and possessed. They do things they don't remember after and wake up in places they'd never been before. They say things that aren't normal for them and hurt people they're supposed to love. Is it the ship? Is it spirits from their dark pasts, or is it a deeper magic following them...stories from the old days of selkies and mermaids luring people to their deaths. This book is split between 1912 during Annie's time as a stewardess aboard the Titanic and 1916 during her time as a nurse in WWI aboard the Titanic's sister, the Britannic, when it too sinks. Annie is convinced both she and the passengers of the Titanic are being haunted, and she won't stop until she discovers the truth. Her search continues four years later aboard the Britannic when she runs into other Titanic survivors, but you realize pretty quickly that Annie is hiding a lot about herself. Can she be trusted? I can't give away more for fear of ruining it for you.

The Deep is so much fun on so many levels. Katsu has done her homework, and the historical details about both ships and the period of time they sailed are delightful to read for history nerds like me. And if you were a Titanic obsessive, you'll appreciate them too. But this book is also incredibly creepy! I wouldn't go so far as to freezer it, but there were moments I was absolutely sitting on the edge of my seat. It was a fast and exciting read with a lot of juicy tidbits to keep you hooked. The writing was excellent, the setting was excellent, and the spooks were excellent. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery/thrillers, historical fiction, spooky tales, and/or Titanic content. I can't wait for more of these historical horror twists from Katsu!

This is a ghost story. But not a story of just the spectrals that can haunt you in the night but the ghosts from your past, the ones that you cant let go that become a part of you. Annie survived one shipwreck, the RMS Titanic, only to find herself upon another doomed ship, the Britannic, where the spiritual presence has followed her throughout. Others like William Stead, Caroline Fletcher and Madeleine Astor also felt the presence while passengers on the RMS Titanic but none of them could have imagined its fate.

I was intrigued at the beginning of this story, extremely curious about how Annie’s fate and the fate of the two ships the Titanic and Britannic would intertwine. The question I found myself asking is what must it be like to move from one doomed ship to the next? As the story progressed and the idea of a spirit haunting the ship and almost declaring it’s fate made it even more intriguing. But the more I read the less interesting the story became. The characters lives were so inexplicably linked but the story itself was trying to pull them together in a way that felt extremely forced. The instances, though paranormal in nature, lost their terror because as hard as the author tried the connections never lose their forced quality.

This isn’t necessarily a story I would recommend. While the writing kept me reading I gave up on much of the plot halfway through.

Set aboard the Titanic and aboard her sister ship, the Britanic, Alma Katsu weaves a haunting tale of love, grief, crime and class. Buy your boarding pass now!

I am a fan of alternating timelines and THE DEEP utilized that format. It was sometimes a little jarring, (I mean this in the best of ways), because of how vividly it brought home the differences between the Titanic, (the luxurious ocean-liner catering to the best of the best), and the Britanic, which by 1916 had been converted into a hospital ship serving during WWI. Men facing sudden, life- changing amputations and injuries vs. the creme de la creme of society in their fancy suits and gowns. It's a sharp contrast.

The characters here are well drawn and there's nice variety too: Gay boxers/con-men, those that are obsessed with the spiritual world, degenerate gamblers and cheaters galore. In this way, the writing reminded me a lot of Edith Wharton's characters and settings, and also the characters of Charles Dickens. What a weird combination, right?

Behind all of these interesting characters lurks a bit of a mystery, and perhaps a supernatural one at that. A woman survives the sinking of the Titanic only to find herself on her sister ship a mere four years later. It's quite a different trip this time around but one is left wondering who was haunted here? The ships or the woman?

I'm not gonna lie, I went into this expecting a horror novel. I didn't get one. Turns out, that was okay because I got a fascinating historical fiction story instead. To be honest, as the tale progressed, I was more interested in the goings-on of both ships, than the lack of any real horror. (Other than the horrors of what happened on both of these boats.) To my unpracticed eye, the research seemed well done and like I said-the details of the daily lives of the passengers stole my heart and attention.

THE DEEP may not have been what I expected, but in the end, I think that made me love it all the more.

Highly recommended!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this tale in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*