Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. I felt the claustrophobia while reading this! The divers keep turning up dead. I stuck with it, I had to know what would happen. I love locked up thrillers, and danger, and this did not disappoint! Was surprised at the end!

Excuse my language here, but Will Dean is a f**cking GENIUS.

I previously had read The Last One, which had me absolutely nail biting the entire time. So when I saw he had an ARC out for The Chamber; I KNEW I had to request it.

Well, I was absolutely BLESSED to be chosen to read this absolute masterpiece.

6 divers go into a tank where they are held at ocean floor pressure to work on oil pipelines deep in the sea. One by one, they start taking mysteriously ill. The decompression process takes several days, and they are unable to leave the chamber. Is the villain among them, or worse, is the villain part of the crew they rely on to keep them alive?

Will Dean is an absolute master of his craft. This book is written with such eloquent imagery that, at times, you feel like you are in that chamber with them. The imagery he uses puts you right on that ocean floor. You can feel every creak, groan and whine of the metal coffin they're trapped in. Not only that, he draws you into each character. They are so well written and so deeply fleshed out.

Well done, Mr. Dean. Another book that kept me up way past my bedtime reading!

Amazing setup, horrifying situation, interesting characters (which also took me a bit to sort out because everyone has a name and a nickname)... and then there's mostly a lot of wiping surfaces and sweating, and it's all very repetitious? But then also terrifying? It definitely kept me reading, and there was a very upsetting reveal that I enjoyed, but I really, really hated the ending - like throw the kindle on the floor hated it.

Thank you Atria Books for this ARC!

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and unfortunately it came up a little short.

I loved getting to know the FMC all the way thru but ultimately it seemed like there were a lot of details that lead to a somewhat confusing ending?

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Will Dean for an ARC of The Chamber! I was so excited to receive this book as I was absolutely obsessed with The Last One. Will has done it again with The Chamber. This was an excellent locked-room thriller. The characters in the book are without air and breathing gas — and this is how you will feel as well. It is a fast paced book, but it really starts picking up at 40%. I have my scuba certification personally and I was getting all panicky throughout the book like can I ever scuba again?! (way different but still lol!) I have to say, Will knows how to build a fear deep in you that never crossed your mind. He is an absolute beast with his words and plots!

The story follows Ellen, who is a SAT diver, and 5 others on a 28 day dive (at pressure). They will be in a hyperbaric chamber and you cannot open the hatch or everyone will die. You have to be chosen specifically for this types of dives as you must remain cool and calm with your other brothers in the chamber. You must endure rapid decompression, breathing helium, and surviving in close quarters at a high temperature. There is no room to move freely, so you have to work together and in shifts to make it as comfortable as possible. Shortly after they’ve started the job, one is found dead in his bunk. They decide to reverse course and start decompression early. They must wait 4 days to be able to open the hatch for safety. They must work together to ensure everyone’s safety during the decompression. Then another one is found unresponsive and no one understands what could possibly be happening and if they are next. They are locked in there with no where to go. Is this purely accident? Is this intentional? Are they locked in with a murderer? Exhaustion and paranoia is not going to be their friends the remaining 4 days.

This was such a good locker room thriller. I had no idea how the stuff was happening and still have lots of questions after reading it. This is my first Will Dean book and now I’m going to have to go back and read his back list.

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler, Netgalley and Will Dean for the ARC!

Six saturation divers are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. All seasoned divers, they know that if they decompressed too rapidly, it could be fatal. So they work in shifts, and exist together in the tight space. Then one of them is found dead in his bunk, with four days left before they can safely open the hatch. Another member of the crew becomes unresponsive, leaving them to wonder who - or what - could be taking them out. With tensions rising and a dire situation, everyone has to watch their own back.

This is my second Will Dean read and he writes such complex characters and intricate plots! “The Chamber” is a testament to his skills as a writer because he not only created diverse character and an exciting plot, but did it all within an extremely small setting - the hyperbaric chamber. Locked room thrillers are some of my very favorite, but this took it to the extreme - LOL! The chamber was already an intense environment, where the divers couldn’t leave until enough hours had passed, and its volatility was in constant discussion. As things started happening, the tension increased making an already tight space feel even tighter. As someone who suffers from claustrophobia, this space literally gave me anxiety and I was only reading about it! Setting aside, I never saw the twist coming or guessed how this story was going to end.

My only trouble was - and this is purely on me as a reader - is that I wish I had a physical copy of this book. At the beginning, there was a glossary of terms/phrases that are common amongst divers and it would have been easier for me to flip back physical pages instead of on the kindle. But again, this is purely my preference.

“The Chamber” is a unique, tension-filled thriller that is the perfect summer read! It releases August 6, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

This blurb of this was intriguing, but unfortunately it was a miss for me. I think a murder mystery in a hyperbaric chamber just doesn’t work no matter who writes it. I’ve read some other books by Will Dean that I enjoyed, but I don’t think I’ll be recommending this to anyone.

How can a murder be solved when six deep sea divers are submerged in a cylindrical hyperbaric chamber near the bottom of the sea? They have been sent there to work on necessary repairs to an oil rig (everything rusts in the ocean depths.) They breathe heliox, making them hard to understand, live in a cramped circular space and sleep in close quarters in bunks. The job pays well but is stressful and lonely. Ellen Brooke is the only female diver and the first to work with a partner on an ocean dive. Her work complete, she and the other divers share dinner and stories of past dives, some good and some tragic. The next morning, the youngest diver in found dead in his bed. The surviving five assist the medical examiner on the ship above the by providing fluid samples from the dead man. They are unnerved but continue their work until another diver is discovered dead. What has killed these two men? Bad air? Food poisoning? Something genetic? Or someone who may be sharing their small space? It will be four days of decompression before their hatch ill be opened…if they survive.

In The Chamber, Will Dean teaches you everything you didn’t know about SAT Diving (saturation diving.) It is very complicated and a small mistake make kill you in a horrific way. Each diver shares personal stories about diving successes and losses. They secrets they keep turn out to be the ones that really matter. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Will Dean for this ARC.

I’m a big fan of Will Dean but this book just wasn’t for me. I found the premise interesting and I learned a lot about saturation diving (pretty cool concept). The diagram and the glossary at the beginning were very helpful however I still found myself confused despite detailed descriptions of the scene and items within their chamber.

I did love that there was a female main character in a profession dominated by men. The writing was beautiful. I could actually feel the claustrophobia as if I was there, but felt the book was a bit long. I don’t know what to think about the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6311356283

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Chamber by Will Dean due to be published August 6, 2024.
Six divers are locked in a hyperbaric chamber – to be in there for 28 days. First one dies, then another. The dive is cut to four days. Who is doing this to the divers – someone on the outside, or on the inside?
This was another great book by Will Dean – it kept my interest the entire time, and I read it in one day. The countdown of days, then hours, was exciting while waiting to find out the cause of the deaths of the divers. Tension and claustrophobia abound in this one! If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers, this one is for you!
#NetGalley #WillDean #AtriaBooks #TheChamber

Immediate panic inducing thriller with a reveal I did not see coming.
Being trapped in a hyperbaric chamber, imagine the size of the back of a bus, with 5 other people is daunting enough. Now add having to be trapped in that chamber along with a dead body. Multiple bodies. Dropping like flies, one by one.
This book is set in the POV of Ellen Brooke, the FMC, who is an experienced SAT diver with an incredibly depressing past. She is sharing this extremely small chamber with 5 other men, experienced SAT divers as well. They are set with the task of living in the chamber for an entire month, paid handsomely of course, to retrieve oil from depths of the ocean on the seabed. Brooke is the first diver to head out in the deep blue sea and upon her arrival back into the chamber, panic ensues. One of the divers is found unresponsive in his bunk. He is the first to be pronounced dead, followed by others one by one.
At first, the cause of death is a complete mystery. In fact, the divers all suspect outside channels as to why they are being picked off. The theories start swirling of their food being tampered and their drinks being poisoned.
Slowly, as other divers turn up dead, the few who remain struggle to keep their heads above water (so to speak).
This author does an incredible job of describing how terrifying it would be to not only be locked in a small chamber but to also be trapped in that same chamber with a dead body not knowing if your the next one to drop.

✨I’ll read anything @willrdean writes – but sir, HAVE MERCY ON US! Last year, you put us on the cruise ship from hell, and now you’ve got us at the bottom of the ocean on a collision course with… N O T H I N G G O O D !!

✨If you like your thrillers filled with immutable tension and absolute walls-closing-in-on-you terror, look no further. If you’re looking for a nail biter of a page turner that will toss you around like a rag doll, you’ve found your next book.

✨I can not possibly oversell the level of claustrophobia written into these pages. Imagine the worst it could possibly be, then add layers of distress and confinement. Now you’re starting to scratch the surface.

✨As for the ending – well, all I can say here is, “WELL PLAYED, WILL DEAN. WELL PLAYED!”

✨ Also raspberry jam is a thing that happens. Under the sea. I’ll not say more.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Locked room thrillers
✨Claustrophobic settings
✨Murder mysteries
✨Diving stories
✨Deep sea/oceanic settings

My thanks to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

This book was terrible. A story taking place in a hyperbaric chamber with dives into the deep ocean? I thought this would be atmospheric and claustrophobic. Instead, it was a huge bore with the last 10% of the book containing all the pertinent information of the story.
Nothing happens for the first 90% except the main characters sitting around and telling stories about their pasts and diving experiences. The main character, Ellen, was pretty static and I didn't care for her at all. The reveal of the killer happens in one sentence and it's not even something you could deduce for yourself because the manner of killing was so dumb. Truly a waste of time.

What a roller coaster of a book! Entertaining from beginning to end. I felt claustrophobic the entire time and I didn’t know that was possible while reading a book. I love books that make me feel all the things. Executed well.

Okay, this is hard because I have loved every single Will Dean book I have every laid my hands on but this one was a bit cumbersome because the divers all have names and nicknames and that all takes some time to sort out when you start reading.

Also? Unless you are REALLY into diving this book is much more technical than the average reader is going to be down for in most cases.

It is saved by great writing and a great story but I hope both of the above are reworked a bit before publication.

The Chamber is a “deep dive” into the world of saturation diving along with the locked-room mystery element that’ll keep you guessing throughout!

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the profession and lives of the divers and crew on these operations. I appreciated the diagram and glossary provided at the beginnng of the book. It definitely helped visualise and understand the text. Their world is fascinating indeed and I have a new found respect for the profession.

It took me a little while to figure out who’s who, in the book, as the characters have multiple names. The main character has a complex story that’s portrayed very well!

While the tension building was great, I felt like the run up to the end was a tad stretched out and the final conclusion left me wanting for more. I wish we got a little bit more there.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Chamber and will recommend to anyone looking for a well researched and interesting read!
4.5/5 stars!

Thank you to the publishers for the ARC via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

My dad was actually a SAT diver in his 20s and we always found the stories both fascinating and terrifying so kudos to Dent for bringing this setting into a thriller plot.

It felt very well researched though I did bet tired of always having to reference the glossary, it was a lot! But it was an interesting story, the suspense was there along side a sense of dread.

Solid and unique summer thriller.

Let me start this by saying I love Will Dean books. I've read them all. The thing I most loved about this book was learning about SAT divers and all the technology and risk that goes into the field. I had no idea!! I really enjoyed learning about it. Other than that, sadly this book fell a little flat for me. It didn't have the usual suspense, intensity, and flair that is usually Dean's style. I wasn't invested in the characters. I wish there had been dual POV's or more background story of each characters experiences and family (beyond the surface level war stories) so I got to know them and cared about what happened to them on a deeper level. I still encourage thriller lovers to pick this one up!

The premise of this book drew me in but there was too much diving lingo and i felt not enough suspense. If you are into diving then maybe this book will hold your attention better than it did for me.