This is the modern feminist retelling of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile that I never even knew I needed till after I read every terrific page!

Let’s be honest: Death On The Nile is one of Dame Christie’s most famous books, but is one of my least favorite of her canon. It’s smart, sure, but without going into spoilers, I can safely say that I really disliked the central relationships. Diana Urban’s refreshing take on the characters updates the plot for the 21st century, paying excellent homage to the original while providing her own incredibly clever twists to make this story her own.

Our narrator Jade Miller figures that the best way to nurse her broken heart is to go full steam ahead with her plans to spend a college semester at sea, far away from where she’s enrolled at Stanford University. Having grown up poor, she’s pinched her pennies for this experience, and is looking forward to putting a lot of distance between herself and the people who betrayed her. So imagine her shock when she sees both of them getting ready to board along with her.

One of these people is her former roommate Lainey Silverton, the beautiful daughter of a pharmaceutical tycoon:

QUOTE
[She was] a magnet for attention and an easy flirt, the way she’d flash her radiant smile and make you feel like the sun was shining at night. She was stunning, because of course she was, with her silky platinum hair, eyes blue as the winter sky, rosy high cheekbones, and rosier full lips. Forget the money–Lainey could steal your heart just by breathing, charm you with a glance, convince you of anything. She could get whatever the hell she wanted, even if she didn’t already have it all.

Apparently, that included the love of my life.
END QUOTE

Silas is Jade’s ex, and is arm in arm with Lainey as they board the Sea Voyager. A baseball star until a skiing accident put his entire Stanford career in jeopardy, he’d feared having to drop out of school and go back to a life of small town anonymity. Jade had begged Lainey to ask her powerful father to get Silas a summer internship so he could gain some industry contacts and rebuild his shaken confidence. She hadn’t expected for Lainey and Silas to get close in the process, culminating in Silas breaking up with her long distance via text before immediately blocking her number.

Seeing them together in the flesh makes Jade’s thoughts turn unerringly to murder, but when a stone nearly lands on Lainey’s head at one of their first stops on the cruise, Jade begins to reevaluate her own thirst for vengeance. Lainey, of course, does her best to avoid her former friend, but Jade can’t let go. It isn’t just that she’s hurt by what they’ve done. She genuinely doesn’t understand how or why it happened. As she explains to a new friend she makes on the ship:

QUOTE
“Hey, you said you like figuring out what makes people tick, right? So help me figure out what happened.”

He laughed. “Why are you so desperate for a reason?”

“Because the alternative is that the two people I loved most betrayed me for absolutely no reason.” I could no longer mask the tremor in my voice. “Because the alternative is that I have to hate them.”

That, and I didn’t want to daydream about murder anymore.
END QUOTE

When people start dying, Jade finds herself in the uncomfortable position of being prime suspect in a murder she once fantasized about committing herself. Refusing to passively accept this role, she begins investigating, not only to figure out whodunnit but also in hopes of figuring out how two people she loved and trusted so much could hurt her so badly. As she sleuths her way to the shocking truth, she’ll discover that not all secrets should see the light of day, and that some are best left relegated to the depths of the ocean.

When I first heard that Ms Urban was reimagining this story, I did not expect to fall wholeheartedly in love with her characters, or to be as impressed as I am by how she refashioned this tale to satisfy the hearts of readers tired of female rivalry tropes. To go into specifics would be to risk spoiling a masterful update of the classic that hits the original’s most important beats while also fashioning a truly absorbing Young Adult mystery. I loved it, and hope you will, too.

I was so thrilled about reading this book and now that I’ve finished it, I can confirm that it was worth my time.

When going into a novel like this one, a reader must be aware of the genre it pertains to. Written for a young adult audience, Lying in the Deep is a mix of teen romance, a day long game of Clue and betrayal that doesn’t fail to keep entertained.

As for the characters, I liked our protagonist because she could truly be a regular student, making her more believable than, say, a young Sherlock Holmes in a skirt.

Personally, I am not a big fan of romantic developments in books and Jade and Felix here are no exception. Other than my personal taste, though, I also think their relationship was far too quick and cheesy to be believable.

Overall, this was a fun, quick read that I’d recommend to anyone who’s looking for a soft mystery in an original setting. Even is some twists could be fairly predictable and you get an idea of the direction things are going, you’re pulled to stick around to check whether you got it right and you end up liking the ride to the end.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book took took ahvile to get to the mystery part, and when we finely got there it was over will quik... i would have love af little more mystery and more thrill

I absolutely loved this book. Finding your worst enemies on a 6 month long cruise would be hard in and of itself, but when you don't know why they hate you, it would be pure misery. Such a great book with great fleshed out characters that you get to know, based on a Semester at sea type program, with multiple stops around Europe. So inventive and well done. And the twists? Amazing. When I finished this book I immediately had to find the author's other novels, and finished All Your Twisted Secrets within days.;

That was one heck of a ride. The way it ended was crazy! Holy moly. Murder, mayhem and blackmail!!!?!!!? I loved it.

I love that Diana Urban took on a death on the nile retelling especially with a YA twist. This seemed young and fresh and what is needed in YA. I loved how fast paced this book was and the pacing was great. I really felt the build up and kept wanting to know what happened next. I wasn't a huge fan of the love triangle but overall great read!

I twittered between giving this book two or three stars but ultimately landed on three because while this book was far from perfect I was entertained for most of it.

I will say if you're looking for a main lead who is very smart and intuitive, and who conducts a logical investigation, then look elsewhere because our MC, Jade, is a hot mess. She is very emotionally led.

Now I will also say that if there is one thing I've learned from watching soap operas growing up, it's that if there isn't a body then chances are nothing is as it seems. That was most certainly the case here.

In the romance department, I just found it so...cheesy? Unbelievable? Probably a mix of both. It all happened so quickly and felt so unnecessary. And while I know some people are fast burners I never really felt anything much for Jade and Felix. They're just two conventionally attractive teens that the author was trying to convince me were in love with each other. But meh...

With all my criticisms, one might wonder why I even enjoyed this book. Well, I enjoyed it the same way I enjoy cheesy Disney Channel-esque YA Netflix movies. They are all predictable. Deep down you know how things are going to end, but you stick around to see the little flourishes added in. You stick around to see if your theories prove to be correct. And I will admit there were a few twists I did not see coming, so that was fun.

This was kind of like playing a game of Clue. It's not the best board game out there. But it is a fun and easy enough way to pass the time.

Lying in the Deep is an exciting mystery set on a “campus on board” cruise ship. This was a very quick and entertaining read. The twists kept me turning the page to see what would happen next. I also enjoyed the quick pace of the plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication: May 2, 2023

I was really looking forward to this book because it sounded very Suite Life on Deck, but you know, with murder. Lol. But I don't know... I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

I think the thing that put me off the most was all the secondhand embarrassment I got from the actions of the main character. I don't often get secondhand embarrassment from books... sometimes it will happen when I read a contemporary romance, but it's never been this bad! The way Jade kept following around her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, trying to talk to Silas, and getting rejected and humiliated...

And I don't know why it got me so much in this book! Jade kept making one bad decision after another, and it was just a mess... one I didn't enjoy. I usually like a good trainwreck of a situation, but Jade's decisions made me cringe more often than not, and I was not enjoying myself.

I also didn't really love any of the characters, which also fed into me not liking this book as much as I thought I would. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with them, I just didn't really connect with any of them. I did like Felix for the most part—I thought his concern for Jade was very sweet.

But the story and mystery... I think I liked the premise more than the execution.

The action didn't really get started until about the 45% mark of the book. Before that, it was just Jade obsessing over Silas and Lainey, which I was not a fan of. But I'll give the book this: I did not guess who the killer was until the reveal, which is always great. But the set up of it all... idk, I wasn’t a fan. And I wasn’t a fan of a certain someone keeping secrets. Idk why. It almost felt like a betrayal, even though it wasn’t really? I think it’s the miscommunication trope at play, a trope I am not a fan of. And even though the killer was a prick for sure, I'm not certain everything that happened to them, especially at the end, they deserved. It was crazy! And while I usually like crazy, this was not it.

All that being said, I didn't dislike the book. I liked the premise, as I mentioned, and I also enjoyed the setting on a cruise ship plus the different countries the characters visited. I liked the romance for the most part, but honestly, by the end, I just wanted to be done with this book. It had good potential, but in the end, this book was not for me.

Lying in the Deep definitely kept me wondering what the heck was going on throughout the entire book. I loved the mystery and the constant whodunit as well as the cruise setting that made the characters very isolated. However, Jade made this book extremely hard to get through because of how immature she was. I had a hard time enjoying the storyline through her point of view but the twist was worth the read.

Got this a week before the pub date. Wasn’t able to read before, I will read & review later.

Premise sounds interesting, I’ve always wondered about semester at sea, ever since Suite Life on Deck, lol

3.5 stars

**Thanks goes to NetGalley for the free ARC. This review is my own opinion**

This book has left me feeling so conflicted. It started off with a BANG. A bloodied room with smears everywhere and a missing person who a lot of people hate? Sign my ass up! But then our main gal, Jade, ruins everything. Seriously, this girl is so immature and stupid that I wanted to strangle her myself. Her constant whining, her childish choices that only make things worse, and her back-and-forth attitude gave me whiplash. On one page, she hates someone to the point of wanting them dead, and then literally two pages later, she is sobbing over them, defending them to other people with the loyalty of a dog. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!!

I'm giving this two stars for that awesome plot twist. I didn't see it coming, and it made me see a certain character in a completely different light. However, once everything was explain, it became very unbelievable. Like, so much so that it ruined the ending. There were so many ways this could have been better, but Jade ruined 99% of it. I only finished this book because I wanted to learn what the twist was. Other than that, I wouldn't recommend it. There are other YA Thrillers that are better than this.

But! I will give the author another chance because they did such a great job at ensnaring me in the first place.

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5) This book started with petty, immature, whiny girls that felt like high school, not college. It was a back and forth mess between them over a guy (rolling my eyes here). However, the very first chapter clued me in to later in the story so I kept reading.


While full of drama and immature antics, it quickly turned into a murder mystery and pretty much everyone was a suspect. The teens start investigating, getting into trouble and causing problems. the story changed with each clue and kept me interested. While not my favorite mystery of the year, it definitely kept me entertained!


Thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy!

The book releases May 2, 2023.

This book really just blew my mind. Jade is about to go on a trip if a lifetime that she has dreamed about for her entire college career. Campus on Board (CoB) will allow her to travel to many different countries via a cruise ship while still receiving her education. Jade goes into the experience with trepidation because the trip was originally planned with her ex-best friend Lainey who suddenly cut contact and started dating her ex-boyfriend Silas. However, this looks like a great opportunity to start fresh and start moving forward. Jade doesn’t get the fresh start she’s looking for when Lainey and Silas are both students traveling with Campus on board. Jade hopes to get some answers that she’s been looking for when Lainey disappears and the cruise ship becomes a crime scene.
As a character Jade really does develop and change throughout the book, but overall she was way too self centered to be enjoyable. She only cares about herself and doesn’t think too much about how her actions will affect anyone else. The side characters give more life to the story and really ground the insanity. Although the murder mystery was a little unbelievable at times, it was a really thrilling plot line with a great setting. I didn’t guess one of the biggest twists which makes it a well written story in my opinion! The ending was bittersweet and something I wasn’t expecting. Overall a really great and entertaining read! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

Jade has been dreaming of getting out of her small house and traveling the world. She’s been planning this Campus on Board trip for years, and nothing can ruin it. Well except maybe her ex best friend and ex boyfriend showing up together.

Once onboard Jade starts to make new friends and she learns she’s not the only one with a grudge. As passengers begin to drop like flies Jade is left trying to find the true killer and clear her name, before it’s too late.

So initially after reading the description I though okay so Suite Life on Deck but with murder, little did I know something even better was in store! After And Then There Were None, Death on the Nile is my favorite Agatha Christie and this one has major Death on the Nile vibes.

The prologue jumps right into it and grabs your attention. Even with life being hectic right now I devoured the first half in one sitting. The locked room setting of the cruise ship and the building suspense kept me flipping the page.

Although it wasn’t love at first site with any of the main characters, they did grow on me. I even began to really like a few towards the end.

This was my first by Diana Urban but I will definitely be going back to read her backlist!

„That spoiled selfish brat got exactly what she deserved.“

Book: Lying in the Deep
Author: Diana Urban
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

This was my second book by Diana Urban and just like the first one I read, it did not disappoint.

Jade has a big opportunity to study a semester abroad. On a campus on Board program, that will take her to 11 different countries, no less. But then she finds out that her ex-boyfriend (who broke up with her via text) and her ex-best friend(who is in a relationship with said ex), are also on that cruise. Jealousy, sadness, anger and even murder unfolds.

➕I really enjoyed the cruise setting. Being on a boat in the middle of nowhere with a killer on the loose, must be terrifying.
The author did a great job with making everyone a suspect. I even thought for a bit that our main character has maybe lost it and was the killer.
The reveal of what all happened and the explanations at the end were chef’s 💋

➖Not a whole lot. At one point the main character just started accusing everyone, wich was a bit annoying.
Didn’t care too much about the romance, but that’s because I didn’t trust anyone 😅
The ending was a bit strange and I'm not talking about the reveal but legitimately the last page.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. I had a great time with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

This action packed YA thriller was lots of fun! Set on a ship during a semester at sea, the mystery starts immediately when our MC, Jade, spots her former boyfriend who dumped her for her best friend embarking for the same program. Suddenly dumped and dropped, Jade has no idea why the two most important people in her life have betrayed her, and she's on a mission to find out what happened. ⁠
The beauty in this introduction is that you meet our cast of characters at the same time you're presented with the first mystery, which immediately pulls you in. ⁠
From here, the mayhem continues, and the murders begin, keeping you completely enthralled the whole way through. Urban does a great job of making everyone seems suspicious that you truly can't be sure who has done what, or why. The end has lots of twists that fit together very well; if you think you know, you don't, and that's such a hallmark of a fun thriller!

LYING IN THE DEEP by Diana Urban is a fun and frothy teen romantic mystery set aboard a cruise ship. It's nicely plotted and comes to a satisfying conclusion. However, I didn't get a strong enough sense of atmosphere or depth to the characters to feel invested, and I wish the murder had happened earlier, allowing more time and space for the solution to gel in the reader's mind.

I was extremely happy to receive an e-copy of this book prior to release from NetGalley.
This review is being posted with no expectation of payment.
This is a very well written murder mystery, which keeps you guessing. Character driven, with a unique setting, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

While not as captivating or insanely brilliant as last year’s These Deadly Games (one of my top 10 reads of 2022 and one of the best psychological thrillers I read last year no matter the age group it was written for), Lying in the Deep is a fun,thoroughly engaging, and well-written closed-loop suspense mystery with a nice dollop of thriller on the side. (Please note this is closed-loop and not locked-door, because there is a difference).

It’s really a good thing the blurb for this book is rather short on details and blunt in purpose, because this is a book you’ll want to go into blind. That’s one of the best things about a book like Lying in the Deep, where we have a large cast of characters from various locales that all suddenly find themselves in a somewhat trapped situation (a cruise ship, in this case). Each character has their own motivations, goals, purposes, and agendas. The only person we readers know and connect with is Jade, our protagonist, who really just wants to go on this semester-at-sea experience and try to heal the wounds from her boyfriend leaving her for her bestie and said bestie totally ghosting her. But then she can’t even do that because the two of them show up to board the ship, too. That’s only the beginning of Jade’s problems. Before this book ends, Jade’s had more problems than some people have had in their entire lifetimes and will need therapy forever. Trust.

Diana Urban has a knack for writing realistic dialogue for her characters, which can be a concern when you’re writing YA fiction dealing with trauma, grief, violence, addiction, and psychological issues. It’s a talent not every author has, but I saw it in These Deadly Games and again in this novel, and it impresses me. This book deals with all of these issues in one way or another, and Urban navigates it all so well I can’t help but be impressed.

My singular complaint about this novel was me guessing the turn from almost the beginning. I didn’t want to be right. I really didn’t. But everything else surrounding the back half of the third act was a surprise or a delight. I was just sad I guessed the turn.

If you haven’t tried Diana Urban yet, don’t be afraid to jump in with this book (and then go read These Deadly Games). It’s fun and a great closed-loop for the YA set. It also reminded me of why I will never go on a cruise ship, but that’s neither here nor there.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, ideas, and views expressed are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: YA Fiction/YA Suspense/YA Thriller/YA Mystery/Amateur Sleuth/Closed Loop Mystery