I received an advanced copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley.

Six seasoned saturation divers are confined in a hyperbaric chamber, facing four days of decompression before they can safely exit. Their professional calm is shattered when one of them is found dead in his bunk. With another diver soon discovered unresponsive, the group is thrust into a high-stakes game of survival, where trust is scarce and the clock is their enemy. The tension of whether they can outlast paranoia, exhaustion, and the mysterious threat lurking among them promises a gripping tale.

At least, that's what I expected. Unfortunately, the reality fell short. The narrative, which should have been tense and disturbing, struggles to maintain momentum. A significant issue lies in the technical jargon. Although there's a glossary provided, the frequent use of terms not in regular usage meant I had to consult additional sources to understand the living conditions described frequently. This disrupted the flow and immersion of the story.

The characters, each with real names and nicknames, added to the confusion. The frequent switching between these names made it difficult to keep track of who was who, further muddling the narrative. Even the recounting of old diving disasters, which should have added depth and context, felt tedious rather than engaging.

The pacing of the book is another letdown. What should have been a slow-burn build-up to a stunning climax as the chamber reaches the docks ends up feeling monotonous. When the big reveal finally came, it lacked the impact it should have had and left me feeling like I missed some crucial piece of information that I should have known.

This one took me a bit to get into but was a solid underwater read (assuming that that's your thing!).

What I liked/loved:
- I loved the horror elements of being trapped, especially underwater (those 'something's gone wrong in the deep' stories are few and far between, and while a lot of me is horrified by them, I also love them!). If you do have trouble with claustrophobia (or reading about it), I would definitely recommend reading with caution.
- I tend to feel a lot of respect for an author that can write the majority of a story in one 'room.' Most of this all plays out in one single underwater chamber, so the setting is not grand by any means, but it sets the stage well for intense moments, where every baby tiny detail comes to the forefront.
- I especially enjoyed feeling like I was diving into a very specific knowledge set, like I was being invited alongside an expert, learning how things work in the depths. I love a story that informs me on all sorts of things I didn't know about or had a vague understanding of.

What I didn't like/love:
- The start was really tough. Something about the writing made me feel like it was going to be a DNF and that they needed to get a better editor. It just wasn't hitting right. I will say that as I stuck with it, it did get better (the storyline capture you enough to keep you wanting to know the next thing). But even then, something about the writing made it a little more difficult to get going and to stick with it
- The storyline and how it all played out felt a bit all over the place and sort of chaotic at times, jumping through some scenes too quickly and leaving gaps, while slogging through other scenes/conversations that seemed more drawn out than necessary.

This book is about six experineced divers being locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. All is well until one of them is found dead in his bunk. Within four days of decompression until the hatch can be opened, the group has to watch their backs. They don't know what is happening or if they will be alive by the time the four days are up.
This totally sounded like a book I would really enjoy, so I was disappointed when I didn't end up liking it. If I'm being honest some parts of this book was okay. In the beginning I felt like it was going too slow, but I still kept reading. Some parts got better and I continued reading, but overall I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I do still love reading books early and being apart of netgalley, This book just wasn't for me and I couldn't even finish it. I was about halfway done before I stopped.

I struggled to get through this book. There are so many characters and they all have their real names and their nicknames. We get lots of info dumps about details of the ship their on, etc and I literally fell asleep twice reading those. How many times do I need to be told that they're going to be turned into raspberry jam? (6) How many times do we need to be told that they had to wipe down the walls of the chamber? (18) I could have forgiven the slow burn if it had been part of a slow build up toward an exciting finish... but it wasn't. By the time I got to the ending, I went "that's it?" The answer was very obvious throughout and I kept hoping I was wrong... alas.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I've been a long-time fan of Will Dean, and I was so excited to read his recent book, "The Chamber." I love locked-room thrillers, and the first quarter of the book was really interesting as the divers were picked off one by one, losing trust in the ship's crew and each other. However, the book itself felt too focused on war stories rather than delving into the thriller aspect.

The moments when they discovered another crew member's body were the highlights for me, but much of the story felt padded with filler since not much was happening inside the chamber. The ending left me quite confused about the identity of the murderer. Unfortunately, this book didn’t meet my expectations.

*Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Do I know what happened in this book? Not really. Did I love it? Quite certainly. It felt very Woman in the Window-y, especially with the forced confinement in the hyperbaric chamber. I felt claustrophobic just reading it! The divers are mysteriously picked off one by one and the reader is left wondering what's causing it. As the story progresses, so does Ellen's paranoia (and mine!). The descriptions were so visceral (raspberry jam, seriously??) that I felt like I knew what was going on despite my lack of knowledge in the deep sea diving domain.

But ultimately I'm left thinking... WHAT WAS REAL??

The concept of this one truly peeked my interest, I really wanted to love it, but I just could not understand everything and it was distracting for me to keep pushing through the story and truly grasp it all. I could not continue reading unfortunately.

This book had me struggling to breathe right from the beginning!! You’re taken to the bottom of the ocean with six sat divers to complete their mission. Will Dean describes everything so well that I was feeling claustrophobic from the jump. The Chamber can get a bit technical at times, but Dean provides you with a glossary and diagram so you can refer to those if you get confused. You experience things from each diver’s past as they share stories in the chamber and you learn about the families that they leave behind on the surface. You get attached to them and then they start dropping like flies!! This thriller was so intense and had some twists and turns that I did not see coming. Even once the book was finished, I still wasn’t exactly sure what happened!! I can’t wait to read more by Will Dean. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Chamber follows six divers but it’s not that simple. As the story goes on, will all six make it back alive?

I thought this book was okay. It held my attention enough to keep on reading but the ending was so abrupt and didn’t really make sense. There was all this buildup and suspense but then it fell flat. However, if you like submarines, and want to feel claustrophobic while reading this is the book for you.

Will Dean is an amazing author. This book had me feeling like I was one of the characters, stuck in the chamber with them. It was a little bit slow in some parts, but it helped build up the suspense of what was happening.

A few months ago, I devoured The Only One Left. It was all I could think about. I talked about it in my stories allll time time. I texted people who’ve read it and I’m sure they were sick of me. (Forever thankful for @ jess )
Needless to say, I was VERY excited for the author’s new book.


Claustrophobic thriller? I’m in.
There’s nothing I love more than a unique thriller. My one concern with this one was if it would be too “technical”, but the author did a great job at translating the deep dive world to us, normal readers.


Unlike his previous book, this one was not as exciting for me :( Intriguing? Yes, definitely. But it was soooo dragging. Lots and lots and LOTS of past stories of each character, and I started losing interest.


It’s still a great murder mystery, for fans of Agatha Christie, and for people who like the “who the heck is killing everyone, and why” kind of book.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the copy of The Chamber by Will Dean. I love locked room mysteries, so this book was right up my alley. I enjoyed learning about saturation diving and I know it wasn't the career for me. What an addictive read! I could feel the tension as the time ticked down. The imagery was vivid and just imagining how small the chamber was I could feel my walls closing in on me, even though I’m not claustrophobic. Near the end when they were all telling stories about past jobs the story lagged a bit but then picked right back up. Yes, a lot was left unexplained, but if you want to read a book that will keep you on edge with your heart in your throat, get your hands on this book! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Just brilliant!

I can't remember the last time I read a book that made me feel so claustrophobic, so I'm in the 'love to hate' category here. I found it difficult to read because it was so tense and creepy and the thought of it made me want to throw the book across the room! On the other hand, the skill you need to be able to write this is right up there so I can only give it the full five stars. I loved the concept, I loved the fact that I actually learnt something while reading it and I loved the whole atmosphere of the story. Another amazing hit from Will Dean.

This book was INTENSE.

Claustrophobic, eerie, creepy, and suspenseful are all words I'd use to describe it. I am honestly still not sure if I loved this book or hated it, but I FLEW through it and found it unputdownable, so I rated it based on that. Will Dean is on another level of weird, IMHO. Skirting the edge of almost speculative fiction. His books always leave me deeply unsettled and this was no exception! Love or hate, I'd still recommend this to everyone!

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

I loved the concept and the atmosphere. If you're into claustrophobic/isolated settings, this one is great. There were several scenes that made me feel physically stuck. It got my heart racing. I enjoyed the building mistrust and paranoia amongst the crew. The ending was my only real complaint. I didn't completely love how it wrapped up, but I'd still encourage others to give it a try.

This book, y’all. 6 divers go down to the bottom of the North Sea in one of those tiny diving bells, where they will live for a month while working on an oil field. BUT the divers might not be safe down there when something begins to happen. Creepy and claustrophobic, but I didn’t love the ending.

My thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler, Will Dean and Netgalley. I've no idea where Mr. Dean comes up with his stories. Truth be told, I'm not even sure if I like his stories or not.
The thing is that I can read a book by him and it just seems to rip right along...but man oh man do his endings suck!
I had an idea from the beginning of how this book would end, and it turns out that I was right. I mostly hate that!
Will Dean is someone I'm keeping my eye on. His stories are really very good. I somehow manage to plow right through them. Love the story and people, but I hate bleak endings, and that seems to be the deal with this author.
Yes, I did enjoy this very funked up tale.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of The Chamber!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🌊 are terrified of the deep sea
📖 enjoy short chapters
🔔 want to learn more about diving bells
🕵🏻‍♂️ love a fun mystery

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Six experienced saturation divers are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. Calm and professional, they know that rapid decompression would be fatal and so they work in shifts, breathing helium, and surviving in hot, close quarters.

Then one of them is found dead in his bunk.

With four days of decompression to go before the locked hatch to the chamber can be safely opened, the group must watch one another’s backs at all times. And when another diver is discovered unresponsive, everyone is on edge. What…or who…is taking them out one by one? And will any of them still be alive by the time the four days is up or will paranoia, exhaustion, suspicion, and pressure destroy them all?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a hard one for me to rate. On my hand, it felt a bit too slow and repetitive. But on the other, I really enjoyed following this story and wondering what exactly was happening. I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone in the story. Unfortunately, instead of getting an ending that fully explained what happened, we got a maybe this, maybe that. It’s really up to the reader to determine who is innocent and who is guilty. I wish there was a more concrete explanation. Overall, this one is fun if you like feeling claustrophobic and on edge!

Thank you so much to the publisher #partner for the #gifted eARC!
——
It’s now almost exactly a year since the Titan submersible implosion shocked the world. That real life incident was what I had in mine when I started The Chamber, one of my most anticipated releases. If you want a deep sea, claustrophobic thriller, this book is it!

Take a locked-room thriller but replace the room with a locked bariatric chamber with no way of escape where six saturation divers are on the clock to complete tasks in 28 days. In those 28 days, the divers have to follow strict protocol to avoid any fatal errors and are constantly monitored by a team of experts. Yet, things very much go wrong and each saturation diver dies one by one. With very confined space for movement and no means to get out, you can only imagine how palpable the story feels, and as the reader, I couldn’t help but hold my breath with every turn of the page and piling body count. I personally would have liked the final twist to be elucidated some more but it didn’t take away my enjoyment of this very unique setting for a thriller. The author very obviously put in tremendous research when creating 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 as evidenced by the glossary in the beginning of the book!

I had a lot of fun buddy reading this book with my friends @sunflower_book_lover @abookwormwithwine @archie.loves.to.read & others! Can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts when the book comes out in August!👀

The Chamber is a locked room mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. We follow six saturation divers who have just departed on a month long job. The environment is claustrophobic and the divers work in strict conditions and a high pressure environment. A sudden death has them returning to the surface, but at the depths they work at they must undergo decompression or risk a horrific and painful death. More deaths follow and the crew is left to figure out who or what is responsible and how to survive as the hours count down to their escape.

This is a really great summer read that you won’t be able to put down. I would have liked to get to know the divers more in the setting of their work and the saturation diving environment before everything starts happening as it’s so interesting. But once the time starts ticking down to their escape I couldn’t put it down. It was tense and claustrophobic and the tight living conditions as everything starts happening is pretty horrific to imagine. I find saturation diving really fascinating and this was a really interesting take on the locked room mystery.

If you enjoyed Netflix’s Last Breath or are like me kind of obsessed with saturation and cave diving stories and are looking for a suspenseful tension filled read that will keep you guessing this is a great summer or travel read.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.