“Deep Water”
By: Emma Bamford

Deserted Island Proves No Paradise

Honeymooners Virginie and Jake embark upon their dreams of living on a sailboat and wandering the seas in Emma Bamford’s nautical mystery, “The Deep,” when they set sail from Malaysia to Amarante, a mythically beautiful unblemished deserted island thousands of miles across the Indian ocean from civilization.

We learn in the novel that Virginie and Jake are both experienced sailors—certainly critical for an adventure this extreme. She's crewed with family on holidays since childhood and his profession is boat building and repair.

Yet these two long-experienced sailors in “The Deep” make rookie mistakes before they even set sail to Amarante. To begin with they rename their sailboat. “…Changing name is very bad,” N. Ahmad said…“Bad?” “Yes, bad luck. Very bad luck to change name of the boat.”

The second incongruent aspect of Bamford’s sailing novel—regardless of how well written the text—is the fact that one of the main characters, Jake, never learned how to swim. In every context of this novel, it's ludicrous even in it's premise. “…Listen, you’ve got to understand something. Jake hates the water. More than that—he’s frightened of it…”

This couple is venturing upon weeks of open-water, deep sea sailing with no anchorages or ports of call with only themselves as resources should something go wrong. “…two thousand miles west-sou’west. For you, that’ll be a good fortnight (two weeks) at sea. Now, beyond the island your closest land is Sri Lanka…Five days off.”

Virginie and Jake make the weeks long long voyage to the island of Amarante uneventfully, and are thrilled to find the golden beaches and aquamarine waters there as beautiful as they were told. However, all is not paradise in this tropical locale where several other boaters have also come in search of scenery, solitude and sanctuary. For some, these beaches and the waters surrounding them lead to death, not renewal.

While “The Deep” is written by a technically knowledgeable sailor and is brimming with nautical terms, it's more of an expository tale rather than a true mystery thriller. For a page-turning true crime thriller with the same feel, read “And the Sea Will Tell” by Vincent Bugliosi that grippingly relates the story of Mac and Muff Graham who sail to an island 1,000 miles south of Hawaii only to have their boat anchor in Hawaii months later carrying another couple.

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The Book Maven’s Journal—Reviews for Word Connoisseurs

REVIEWER: J.Hunt
STAR RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Deep Water”
Author: Emma Bamford
Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers | General Fiction (Adult)
Publication Date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

With Sincerest Appreciation to NetGalley, Author Emma Bamford, and Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., for Providing this Advance Reader’s Copy for Review.

Newlyweds Virginie and Jake decide to sell everything back home in England and buy a yacht in Malaysia so they can enjoy sailing where and when they want. They hear about an isolated island paradise called Amarante and decide to take the chance and go. Life there is beautiful, and at first, they revel in the unspoiled beaches and unstructured schedule there, along with a handful of friendly expats on other boats. Of course, this perfection is too good to be true, and incrementally larger issues arise, conflicts erupt, and danger pursues them. “Paradise ends when guilt begins,” and there is plenty of it as the once friendly parties flee the island. The author spent months on a sailing expedition, so her descriptions of sailing and island life ring true. Thanks to NetGalley and Booklist for the advance copy!
Recommended

The atmosphere reads like an adventure movie (and made me realllllly want to vacation on a deserted island) but the pacing of the novel wasn't consistent. Most problematic for me was the primary character's complete blind spot for another character-- beyond just being told that she thought he was totally trustworthy and great, I couldn't find a single reason WHY. And a central character who has an unbelievable belief is really hard to root for.

A great read about a couple who sail to what is supposed to be a hidden paradise. Paradise becomes a nightmare and the reader will race to the finish line to see what the conclusion is. I truly enjoyed this book!

I couldn’t get into this one too far fetched and was a DNF for me. Thanks for letting me review this book Netgalley and the publisher

Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. A rescue crew finds a couple badly injured on a yacht. But their story doesn’t really add up. And it is up to this rescue crew to validate the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

BOOK REVIEW 💯 📚

When I saw this intriguing cover and illusive description I knew I HAD to read this one.

It starts out with a Navy ship approaching a yacht for a mayday call....what they find is a man with a severe head injury and a hysterical woman in a bikini. The woman (Virgine) confesses she has done something bad...Daniel, the captain of the Navy ship wants to get down to the bottom of this cryptic message and that's when Virgine starts her story from the beginning.

While this story had great potential I honesty found it a little bit slow paced and difficult to keep me engaged. I thought I was going to get a thrilling island mystery, however it was more of an adventure tale gone wrong.

Overall, it was a slow read and one I would not be fast to pick up again 🙃

Did not finish. I could not connect with Deep Water by Emma Bamford. I will not be reading/finishing this one. Thank you, netgalley and publisher for the early copy!

This was an okay read. I don't usually read books that are "vacation" reads or travel novels. I didn't care for the main characters much. They didn't seem real or relatable at all.

My thanks to Gallery/Scout Press, Emma Bamford and Netgalley.
So, I love books like these. Not all. Actually, I find that I love the concept more than I do the actual books.
No worries here! From the start I was freaking hooked. This was everything I wanted it to be, and so much more!
I'm just one of those oddballs that would be absolutely fine with a scenario such as this! It may be a wee bit hot, but I'd adjust!
What was really fun though, is when things started going haywire. "Gotta love that!" A death. An engine failure. "Dum, dum, dum!"
Between heaven and a very quick goodbye? Stuff gets real.
I liked how the ending picked up for some 4 years or so down the road.
It felt complete.

I love dark paradise and vacation novels! Deep Water did not disappoint!
In this novel a Navy vessel intercepts a distress call and find a terrified couple on a small yacht at sea. The wife relays to the crew a shocking story of death and destruction on a small uninhabited island. The Navy crew must determine the truth in the story and if others are still need of help. The story is enthralling and you feel fully there on a break from life living with the yachts that have docked at the island. As the story unravels, it's clear that there is a villian, but are they on the boat? If you liked the Ruins, you will love this beautiful descriptions of danger in the jungle thriller. #DeepWater #NetGalley

Emma Bamford's Deep Water ended up being a satisfying read. I was first drawn to the gorgeous cover and the premise--having read several books that take place at sea or on secluded islands recently, I was hungry for more.

It starts out fairly exciting--the Malaysian Navy comes across a man with a terrible head injury and his distraught wife, who is claiming that everything is her fault. From there it becomes the story of the wife--Virginie--relating what led to her husband Jake's condition.

This narrative is fairly slow moving, starting all the way back with Virginie's and Jake's decision to set sail in the first place, to the meeting of a man who suggests Amarante--the secluded island in question--and the comings and goings of life on Amarante, including the other people who had already been there.

I thought the writing was smooth and Bamford does a nice job moving things along, even though the pace felt so slow. And she does a lovely job setting the scene--her prose makes Amarante come vividly to life.

Where I struggled was with the characters, especially Virginie. Her naivete was a bit off putting given her age and her supposed worldliness. And as Vitor was drawn as such a stereotypical gangster, it was hard to imagine why she would be so trusting of him.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This started out as such a lovely travel book...and then the darkness seeped in. Super fast paced , exciting book .

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Deep Water.

The premise sounded intriguing; I thought it was going to be akin to an adventure like Captain Phillips or Adrift but it wasn't anything like that.

The narrative was pretty formulaic; a young couple, Virginie and Jake, give up their home and worldly possessions to live on a boat and travel the world.

They met a sophisticated couple, including an older gentleman, Viktor, with a dubious background. Virginie is naive and easily falls for Viktor's charm and elegance.

As events progress, Viktor shows his true colors and Virginie and Jake find themselves in peril and at Viktor's mercy.

I didn't like Virginie and Jake; I thought Virginie was beyond naive and sheltered; she's in her thirties but she acts like a teenager.

She spends a lot of time reminiscing over her failed first marriage and her gruff father who was unsupportive of her artistic ambitions. Someone has daddy issues!

Next, Jake enjoys boat building and sailing but he's afraid to swim? This was so contrived, a vulnerability the author added so she could bring it up again at the end to demonstrate how much Jake loves Virginie.

Isn't that like a person who's scared of heights going sky diving?

I enjoyed the narrative as it was told from the captain's perspective but overall, the story wasn't exciting or suspenseful.

I guessed exactly what would happen the minute Viktor appeared; it was so obvious.

The plot thread that bothered me the most was when Jake and Virginie are fishing in an area that was off limits. Wouldn't they have been told the reason that area was off limits? That made no sense.

If someone told me you can't do something or fish at a certain area, my first question is always 'why?'

I didn't like Deep Water as much as I had hoped but if you are into sailing, you might enjoy the nautical terms and sailing lingo.

Hmm, okay, not bad but not so perfect either:

When I saw the alluring cover and mysterious blurb, I was already drawn into this book! I thought it was something between Lost, Deep Calm movie ( 1989: you can see younger Kidman with less face-lifting and Botox! Huge Yay! And fantastic Sam Neal: triple yay! ) or something between Lord of the flies and Caprio’s Island! Trapped in a haunted island troupe always promises unputdownable, riveting thriller theme with lots of twists!

Let’s start with the beginning of the book: was it exciting? Yes, absolutely! A navy ship approaches near a yacht in the middle of Indian Ocean to help the people inside after they hear Mayday call. They found a man with serious head wound and a thin, fragile woman in bikini. We’re not exactly sure the yacht belongs to them. The woman tells them the wounded man and she are married. Their names are Jake and Virginie. She confesses she did something real bad! Navy Ship’s captain Daniel wants to make sure the woman is telling her the truth so Virginie starts to tell their story from the beginning.

Then we move back and forth to see how the couple starts their exotic journey: how they found an isolated island in Malaysia and how they realized they were not the only people who discovered that beautiful place. There were bunch of people including sailors also decided to spend their vacation time on the same place!
Then something dramatic happens to turn their heavenly island into nightmarish place! Virginie blames on herself! The captain listens to her story, deciding if she’s telling the entire truth and in the meantime he tries to resist the deadly spell of the island.

Well, I must say the storyline was good enough for me to dive into this story. As I mentioned before the beginning was also promising enough for me to go on but after that the story was dragged and wobbled. At most of the chapters nothing important happened. When the big secret revealed, it already lost its charm.

So the entire execution of this promising concept was way too much slow burn and a little boring for me. So I gave my solid three stars: neither I hated nor I liked kind of semi-satisfying reading for me!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

“Deep Water” by Emma Bamford definitely captured the tropical island feel in this book. This book starts off with a bang - a distress call is picked up in the middle of the ocean and there’s a woman with her severely injured husband - but it’s not their boat. The book then goes back in time to explain how the woman and husband ended up in that situation. Ms. Bamford has crewed on boats and it is obvious in this book, with her little details about both boat care and boat travel.

For some reason, possibly due to the cover and the title, I kept thinking this was going to be a book like “And the Sea Shall Tell” by Vincent Bugliosi (true crime/trial). So, unlike other reviewers, I wasn’t expecting a supernatural element. However, there was a lot of set-up in the backstory that, for me, just dragged. A lot of this story is told in flashback but not all of the information, I felt was necessary (the history of the island was interesting, but I felt it didn’t really play a part in the overall story; ditto for Virginie’s mulling over her previous marriage). In the current timeline, there are a few final twists the author contributes to the story, but they didn’t add much to the overall tale. For me, while this book had great promise, it wasn’t exactly what I expected.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Deep Water. I enjoyed this read and sped through it in a day, but it felt a little cobbled together for me. There were many different elements strung together and I wish the author had just chosen a couple of them instead of several. For example, the draw of the island. I get that it was beautiful, but it was also mentioned that it had an eeriness to it that I felt wasn’t explored enough to be in the book. Either expand on that more or don’t have it in there. The book went from a slow burn mystery about the island to a thriller within a few pages and I wasn’t expecting that. Then, there was the drama around the ship’s captain that didn’t get explained until much later and didn’t really have much to do with anything of the main story.

I did enjoy the two different storylines and how it was wrapped up at the end and the writer used great imagery, very vivid. I felt like I was on the island—I could sense everything the writer wanted me to sense.

To sum, this was an easy read. Great for fans of thrillers and a tidy ending. For me, it was a 3.5/5.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book.. Though I had a hard time getting into this book, I did enjoy the characters.

If your dream of a perfect life is a small tropical island in the middle of nowhere with no accoutrements of civilization, just perfect weather, ocean, sun, leisure time…well, prepare to have that dream be put through the visceral and vigorous paces of brutal reality. Because, of course, the no civilization thing sounds nice on paper…until you need something. And the characters of this book find themselves very much in need, indeed. And short on friends.
But wait, let’s rewind…in the middle of an Indian ocean a woman is found aboard a luxury yacht. A woman is covered in blood, but coherent enough to have correctly send out the signal flare. There’s an unconscious man on board too, her spouse. The woman is rambling, something about guilt, something about having killed…
Let’s rewind some more – books are great for that. Meet Virginie (Vee) and Jake. The happily married couple who decide to test the mettle of their new vows but setting off to live on a boat in an exotic locale – Jake’s dream realized. Vee is all too ready to leave her world behind anyway, a world all too busy with memories of a domineering father and domineering first marriage he orchestrated for her. Jake’s nothing like those men, Jake’s kind and considerate and much more of an equal. Right? Well, we shall see. After all, it’s easy to be nice in clement circumstances.
Vee and Jake hear about a distant island, Edenic uninhabited island, days away from civilization, a place where you can live on your own schedule and by your own rules, become enamored with the idea and go there. And sure enough, the island is lovely once they get there. There are a few other people, but friendly enough, easy to live with, so long as you follow some basic communal rules. Because apparently even in the middle of nowhere people need rules, despite the fact that the entire goal of going there was to get away from rules and judgements of others.
Anyway, whether friendly or vaguely sinister, they all manage to get along…until their boat craps out and then a tragedy strikes and then it’s every man/woman for themselves. Enter the real trial of Jake and Vee’s marriage. If they can survive this, they can survive it all.
There have been a number of thrillers set at high seas from Ruth (Christie wannabe) Ware’s Woman in Cabin 10 to Catherine Steadman’s Something in the Water, just to mention a recent couple. Understandably so – it’s a genuinely exciting setting for a genre that has thrill in its name. And this book is a near perfect rendition of a high sea thriller.
It helps that the author really, really knows what she’s talking about, having experience not only as a writer, but as a sailor. This isn’t a story just a story about boats and seas – it places you there as much as a book can. It teleports you to sun-beaten decks and wave-beaten shores. You can practically hear the whooshing of the ocean in your ears.
And then there’s the suspense element of it, the smartly and expertly crafted suspense that builds and builds toward the inevitable tragedy. You know this vacation doesn’t end well from the get-go, but it’s still a wild and crazy ride getting there.
So, great writing, dynamic pacing, engaging characters, twists, turns, surprises…it’s all you can ask for in a thriller. So much fun to read, I enjoyed this one tremendously. I read tons, and tons of it are thrillers, and this one stood out easily and assuredly. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

What a great tale of a newlywed couples survival story when they sell all their belongings and buy a yacht to sail across the world. They find themselves on a natural island and are meet with adversity. This novel has many twits and turns and keeps you at the edge of your seat,