This is my first Darcy Coates book and I was very pleased with what I found! This horror story utilizes ghost ship themes along with real world dangers of deep sea exploration, and Coates strikes a balance that uses both to their best extremes. We follow two stories, the first being a documentary crew that is hoping to explore the wreckage of a long lost shipwreck that has a notorious history because of the mysterious circumstances it disappeared under. The second is the final voyage of the SS Arcadia, as we see how things go so wrong and how things go so off course. I liked both storylines, as they played off of each other and had different roots of horror. For the present day it's the danger and claustrophobia of underwater exploration combined with horrific findings in the wreck. For the past it's seeing the doomed vessel and all its people slowly realize that something is wrong and seeing them succumb to paranoia before the final horrors. There were genuine moments of dread in both timelines, though I think I liked the modern one better because the real world dangers really freaked me out (I don't think you'll ever find me doing deep sea diving). THe book does go on a little long, which is the one drawback. It just kind of dragged by the end, though it did wrap up in a satisfying way.

FROM BELOW was a good introduction to Darcy Coates and I will have to check out her other work very soon!

From Below is a wonderfully atmospheric and claustrophobic read. I was immersed in the tension and fear of the crew and situation.

The set up for this book is pretty straight forward. Cove and her crew are out to explore a shipwreck that has been missing for decades. Wrought from the get go with all sorts of technical issues, they make it to the ship only to find more horrors. They quickly find that the ship is not done with death. What they find inside only proves that.

Down below is a fun read. I am not a diehard horror fan, so for me this was completely accessible. I was sucked in from the beginning. As things got tense, I felt the fear, anticipation and claustrophobia. I love a book that makes me feel, even if it is the oppression of the characters' surroundings. We don't get a lot of background on the characters, but that is fine. I don't think that Coates intended us to feel a kinship with the characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book and definitely will be adding it to my collection.

Wow, I’ve read several books by Darcy Coates but this one really blew me out of the water! From Below is being published by Sourcebooks and is set to release on 06/07/2022. This book is creepy and really, really eerie. Never have I read a book that had my stomach in knots quite like this one did. It’s the story of Cove Waimarie and her diving team that goes underwater to explore the SS Arcadia that has been missing since April 1928. It’s been located in the Gulf of Bothnia, which is 41 miles off Sweden’s east coast. They are being paid to tape footage of the buried ship by Vivitech to use as a documentary. What they find when they are down there is spooky and horrifying. There are dead bodies that due to the oceans conditions or lack of, have been preserved with hardly any decay after all these years. They only need to make 3 dives to obtain enough footage but each dive gets scarier and more dangerous. The deceased are coming back to life and want to keep them there. I believe the author must of done a tremendous amount of research because her writing and descriptions of what it was like under water seemed so very real. I felt like I was right down there with the crew and I was petrified at some of the things they went through. There were times that they didn’t know if they’d be trapped and would die down there or if they would ever see the light of day again. I thought this was a fantastic read. At times I felt terrified and very nervous but it’s a story I would recommend to others. If you enjoy reading horror, ghost stories or paranormal then this is the book for you! I’d like to thank Sourcebooks for accepting my request and NetGalley for the arc to read, review and enjoy. I’m giving this a 5 star rating!

“They’re in the walls.”

Darcy Coates has done it again! This slow burn horror really grabbed my attention (no pun intended) and I was intrigued as to how it would all end. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the ocean. It’s always frightened me a bit, from drowning, to being eaten by sea creatures, to being trapped underwater. So, “From Below” had all the makings of a great scary read for me.

The story takes place off the coast of Sweden in two different time periods. In modern times, a documentary film crew is dispatched to the site of the newly discovered final resting place of the SS Arcadia. No one knows why the ship drifted so far off course or what caused it to sink. Cove and her team will be the first humans to see the ship since 1928. Juxtaposed with the modern story is the story of the SS Arcadia and the final days leading up to its sinking.

If you suffer from claustrophobia, this book will terrorize you. Those little ROV’s which are normally used to explore the ocean floor are inexplicably not working and so a team of divers, mostly inexperienced with only one true expert, are sent down to explore what remains of the SS Arcadia. While exploring, they discover they aren’t alone and that’s when the true terror begins.

Honestly, this book really creeped me out. I loved the way the author juxtaposed the two time periods. When something happened on the ship in 1928, the modern story would have the divers in that same location and seeing the aftermath. While suspicions run high on the 1928 ship, there’s also concerning things happening in the present which makes the reader question the motivations of the members of the crew. It’s a psychological thriller that slowly builds and builds until the last few pages.

There were a few questions I had at the end that I felt were still unanswered, but this didn’t distract me from throughly enjoying it. As far as content, I loved the fact that there were only a few mild swear words. While there are some gross elements with decaying bodies, it wasn’t too gruesome or gory, but those who are sensitive to this should beware. Someone described the author’s writing as Goosebumps for adults, and I would heartily agree. It’s a “clean” horror read with psychologically terrifying situations. Don’t read it late at night in the dark! Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced complimentary copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to provide a positive review. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.

Once again, Darcy Coates doesn’t fail bringing the horror. This is a fast paced, adrenaline packed read. We do get to see the times leading up to the sinking of the Arcadia which fleshes the story out nicely. Something about horror in the ocean to get one’s heart pumping.


Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From Below is a fast paced, suspenseful read that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It jumps between the days before the ship's sinking to the dive to the wreck 100 years later, and in each setting keeps you drawn in with anticipation. The setting of The Arcadia, both in the past when something is terribly wrong and the present when something is STILL terribly wrong but now 300 feet below the surface of the ocean with even more dangers to the living, is delightfully scary. It has the edge and adrenaline I love when reading scary stories.

Really enjoyed my first read of a Darcy Coates book! The characters were all well developed and realistic. I felt for each one and wished for their survival.
Also really enjoyed that a good portion of the book was centered around the events leading up to the sinking of the Arcadia. Some of the best parts were when these sections would align. Great descriptions throughout of the ship and actual diving steps.
Would definitely check out another Coates book!

No light. No air. No escape.

Those six words were what drew me to Darcy Coates’ latest novel. While she already excels in the horror genre, Coates’ coupling of horror with the real dangers of deep sea diving is truly anxiety inducing.
I’m talking I had to sit up, turn the lights on, and remind myself to breath anxiety inducing.

I’ve read a few different books in recent months that revolve around deep sea diving, but Coates’ writing style was able to make me feel as isolated as the dive team and had me wanting to check my own oxygen levels. For me, From Below is the most atmospherically unsettling book of Coates’ I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

With that being said, there were some moments that felt drawn out and repetitive. Personally, I would have liked more background on the characters making up the research team. While the relationships amongst some characters were better established, there were times I forgot other characters, Sean and Devereaux for example, were part of the story at all. On the flip side, I thoroughly enjoyed the 1928 storyline, and I felt I knew all I needed to about those characters, but I would have liked more of that story. I think there could have been a bit more to the 1928 thread before coming together with the present day thread.

All that being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed From Below. I am thrilled I had the opportunity to read this book as an ARC and I will be buying a physical copy when it’s released.

I’m rating it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ here since NetGalley doesn’t allow for half stars, but I’d actually give From Below closer to ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

"If we die down here, our bodies may never be recovered."

I really enjoy books that have a sense of claustrophobia - that trapped feeling. This book has that and then some! Deep in the Ocean's depths, there is no one around to help you if something goes wrong. If you run out of oxygen, it you come up to fast, if you get stuck, if you can't find your way out, then you are doomed!

The SS Arcadia vanished without a trace while on a routine voyage. An emergency message was sent, but the ship and its crew were never seen again. Well, that is until sixty years later when its wreckage is found. It appears the SS Arcadia went off course, and now lies on the Ocean's floor.

Cove and her team of divers have been tasked with exploring Arcadia's wreck. To document, film, and hopefully discovered why it wrecked. Easier said than done! On their first dive, things seemed strange, eerie, and pricked up the hairs on the back of their necks! Were they seeing things? Was it the cold deep depth playing tricks on them? Nothing can live this far down, where oxygen does not exist and yet, what was that out of the corner of their eyes?

"There's writing on the wall."

Claustrophobic and eerie, From Below, takes not only the divers but readers, deep below the Ocean, to a wreck, that has hidden its dark secret for sixty years. Like the Ocean waters, it is chilling and dark. As fear envelopes them, my heart was pounding as hard as theirs was!

Darcy Coates created atmosphere in this creepy setting. The ship itself is very much a character in this book. I enjoyed the other characters as well. We get to know some more than others, but that didn't hinder my enjoyed of the book. I enjoyed the sense of unease, the dark eerie setting, the spike of fear this book evoked.

I recently discovered Darcy Coates - no I have not been living under a rock- and have enjoyed the books I have read by her. I also enjoyed the two timelines in this book where we are given more and more information as the book progresses. This piqued my interest and kept me invested. I did enjoy the current timeline slightly more. Another positive is that although this book is eerie and chilling, it is not horrific in the horror sense. Which I believe will make it more appealing to many readers. Fans of Coates will enjoy this, and this is a good start if you have not read her books before.

The only downside for me was that there were some sections that felt slow but the overall sense of unease and tension, helped me to overlooks this.

Chilling, eerie and dark!


Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was an absolute peach of a horror story!. I was on the edge of my seat!. The attention to detail made the effect purely fear inducing, I was scared!!. I was there under the sea with the uncertainty that goes with being in another world as it seems, under the sea.....
This story is pure magic and has to be read!!. A group of divers have an assignment to send film of their expedition to a sunken ship that has only just been found, hundreds of years after it disappeared with no trace. It seems the rescue boats were searching in the wrong place. I don't want to tell you too much because you just have to read jt!!.
If you love horror like I do, this is the book you must read in 2022!!.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #poisonedpenpress, #darcybooks.

Darcy Coates is the queen of slower burn horror that has no shortage of excitement, and this underwater horror story reminds me exactly of why I love her so fucking much. This book was intensely claustrophobic, eerie, and I constantly found myself feeling extremely unsettled throughout.

It featured two timelines that switch back and forth between the current dive to the SS Arcadia's shipwreck site 300 feet below sea level, as well as the final few days leading up to the ships demise in April of 1928. Darcy also included frequent shifting POV's throughout, so we got to experience the horrors found in the shipwreck through the lens of each of the dive team members.

I read Dead Silence earlier this year and was really left wanting more from it, and didn't feel that it fully delivered on the elements that it touched on in it's synopsis and selling points. From Below was absolutely EVERYTHING that I was wanting to find in Dead Silence and then some. It is an absolutely fantastic read to binge this summer sitting by the pool or at the beach, and I highly recommend to readers who enjoyed Dead Silence, Horrorstor, or The Deep.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC!

"Cove had always found it fascinating that humans could have so much good, healthy land to live upon, but they still persisted in suffocating in search of a new summit or freezing as they struck out to find a pole or drowning as they sought the depths of the ocean."

Cove and her team of divers have been granted permission to explore an area where they suspect missing cruise ship The Arcadia lies on the sea floor. Sixty years before, The Arcadia was last heard from with garbled mayday messages, well off course then vanished without a trace. Set across duel timelines, we get to see Cove's team discover the remains of the ship and the final days of The Arcadia.

Let me start by saying that I love Darcy and her books. I have read her published catalogue and haven't run into a book I didn't really enjoy. It has been so wonderful to see her branch out into different types of horror.

The first 70-75% of the book was slowly but evenly paced and just wonderful. I genuinely felt like I could have been diving with the crew for those moments. Unfortunately, it goes a bit off course from there. I think part of the issue was I was expecting a certain kind of story and it fell well away, completely in a new ballpark. Maybe if it was marketed towards a certain horror audience, instead of the normal spectre like following, it may have been easier to get grips on. The read did creep me out and have me gasping for air more times than I could count. There is something terrifying about diving, knowing how quickly you could be extinguished and the setting and writing style really captures that feeling of fear.

Apart from a few minor things, the setting, the scenery and the world build was completely on point. The visual descriptions had me feeling like I was watching through the dive cameras back on the home boat. Though some of the issues like having a tiny, yet not really helpful explanation of one of the happenings and then leaving a big thing completely unexplained, characters not seeming to have enough time to develop - I felt more character development went into the Arcadia's timeline, then the lack of thought and logic from the present time characters towards the end just became a little tiring.

This one is recommended for fans of nail-biting horror, or those who like a chilling read. It was scary and creepy mostly for real world issues. Fans of Darcy's may be hit and miss though, so go on in with an open mind. Release date is expected to be June 7th, 2022.

**Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Darcy Coates and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.**

must say that From Below really solidified my mighty need to learn how to scuba dive while also making me very cautious about stepping foot into the ocean ever again.

I feel like Darcy Coates has written about horror in so many places that it was only natural that she chose the ocean for her latest release. In From Below, Cove and her crew are tasked with making a documentary about the infamous SS Arcadia, a giant ship that vanished 60 years prior with its passengers and crew on its voyage. No one knows what happened to the Arcadia as there was only a strange emergency message left for the world to decipher. The team is excited to be the ones to try and figure out the secrets of this ship. What made it drift hundreds of miles off course? What happened the passengers and crew on aboard?

While the team begins their investigation beneath the surface they may just find out that maybe some things are best left alone.

From Below turns out to be unlike any other kind of horror I’ve read that takes place in the ocean. I went in thinking I had a good idea of what was going to be lurking below, and I was completely wrong. Coates really nailed the setting’s claustrophobic and creepy nature.

I did have a little trouble with the pacing as it felt a little too slow at times. The book alternates between the original voyage of the ship and Cove’s mission and majority of the time I really just wanted to read about Cove and her team.

If you’re looking for your next ocean horror the the summer, I definitely think you should check this out. Darcey Coates is a writer I always enjoy reading and they know how to make a terrifying and adventurous story.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy!

This is an entertaining Underwater horror book. The narrative felt claustrophobic and tense. The characters were decently well developed and did not feel too stereotypical. As someone who cannot swim, these kind of stories definitely appeal to me. This was my first Darcy Coates book and I think it was a great place to start.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this one from the publisher.

Terrific summer underwater horror. The writing was spooky and atmospheric. The scenes seemed so well researched. The main character Cove had spent her career exploring dangerous locations for her television shows and she is a brave, fearless woman. The story is so realistic and her attitude adds to that sense of reality amidst the horror elements.
Thank you to netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book because I adore the authors other works. However, I just could not get into this one. It felt really slow to me and didn't give me the creep factor I was hoping for.

Wow just wow. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did.

I was captivated from start to finish. The storyline was very well written and the characters I really enjoyed reading about. So engaging and such a good read.

Full of twists and turns and keeps you wanting to turn the page. I loved this book and would recommend to fellow book readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange of an honest review.

This is one of my new favorite Darcy Coates books. The underwater setting added an extra layer of horror on top of the haunted ship's general spookiness.

I do wish there was more discussion of the journal they found that kept a list of missing and dead passengers, especially since it listed cause of death for many as burrowing disease. Despite the discussion of edited footage, it was unclear exactly how much they shared about the Arcadia's end.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review From Below early.

I've read a solid handful of Darcy Coates' other books in the past. I would say that most of them have been enjoyable; her stories are generally well-written and fun to read. However, there are some that are mediocre at best, and unfortunately that's where this story fell for me.

Cove is a documentary host, well-known for her fearlessness in the face of danger. When a missing ship, the Arcadia, is found on the floor of the ocean, Cove is allowed to put together a team for the purpose of shooting a documentary on the long-lost ship. What seems like a quick and easy job turns sour when the team reaches the vessel and begins to unravel the mysteries behind the sinking of the Arcadia.

Coates uses the ol' dual timeline narrative to tell this story. On one hand, you have Cove and her team exploring the ship in present day; on the other, you have the events in 1928 that lead up to the sinking of the Arcadia. I often find that stories that rely on this type of story-telling have the same problem: one plot-line tends to be more interesting than the other. This book is no exception.

For the life of me, I just could not bring myself to care about the present day story-line. It dragged along for a solid two-thirds of the book before anything really started to happen. It's such a shame because Coates did such a fantastic job building this sense of dread, isolation, and claustrophobia in the beginning of the story.
I found myself much more invested in the 1928 story-line because it did a better job delivering on atmosphere and scares, in my opinion. There were some truly disturbing and horrific scenes that absolutely shook me. I liked that the spooky parts came much earlier than in the present-day parts, and I enjoyed reading about Harland much more than reading about Cove and team.

Which brings me to my next problem with this read: the characters. I found that most of the characters in this book felt really underdeveloped. We keep being told how the characters are, but some of them consistently act contrary to what we are being told throughout the story. <spoiler>(Cove is supposed to care about her team's safety above everything, yet she is constantly making bad decisions that put her team in danger. Roy was presented as reliable and experienced in diving, yet caused a lot of problems for the team throughout the story.)</spoiler> Additionally, the motivations for most of these actions felt very weak and unconvincing to me.

When I finished this book, I just wished that the book's focus had been solely on the 1928 period of the story. While there were some horrifying moments and fantastically gross parts in the present-day sections, it just didn't really deliver for me the way that the past sections did. Additionally, I felt like the reveal was unsatisfying and kind of wishy-washy.

While this book ended up not being a winner for me, I'd encourage anyone interested in it to give it a read for sure. Darcy Coates' writing is fantastic, and I understand that others may not be as bothered by the pacing and character issues as I was.

Diving to a sunken ship that mysteriously disappeared? Count me in! Mysterious messages found throughout the sunken ship from the crew? Yes, please.

Because of the intrigue of the ship and disappearing crew, From Below was interesting to me from the start. Looking back, there are a few headscratchers regarding some aspects of the plot, but it didn't bother me while reading. I wish the characters were flushed out a little more and felt a little less one-dimensional. Overall, From Below was an entertaining suspenseful read.

If you have yet to pick up a book by Darcy Coates' (you should), her work is more light-hearted horror ((with loads of suspense)) than you may be used to or expecting. Her unique style is what I found most enjoyable about her books. Highly recommend for anyone looking for some chills.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC to read and review.