Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced readers copy of The Chamber by Will Dean. I f you are claustrophobic, you will feel all the feels, of this atmospheric thriller, that takes place in a hyperbaric chamber. 6 divers are working an oil drill under water when one by one the divers are dying. A great locked room thriller that you wont be able to put down. The main character, Ellen Brooke, narrates the story and little by litte you get to know Ellen and the other divers. Is one of the divers killing them off, could it be someone on the ship? Why are they dying and who will survive?

For me the main pros were the research that went into chamber and the life in it and definitely the panic that the writing managed throughout the book. It constantly felt like race against time in a locked room whodunnit thriller which was simply spot on. With it mainly dealing with people inside the chamber, there limited characters and the plot kept focusing one at a time making it easier for readers. The only issue was I had more expectation for better twist or explanation at the end which never came and actually the normal or even realistic ending felt too simple. I enjoyed the tension and atmospheric vibes but the ending was such a letdown for me.

It was 3.5 stars for me!

Sadly I was not a fan of this book. I gave it a shot two times but couldnt put my mind to reading this one. I think others will enjoy it but sadly it wasnt for me.

This sounded like a fun, fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller unlike any I've read before, and I did enjoy a lot of it. I loved the depth of research (or experience?) Dean clearly has, and how it was truly edge-of-your-seat. I do think the book could've been at minimum 50 pages shorter, as it became quite repetitive toward the end, but my chief frustration is that, as other people have said, the ending was extremely confusing--and it's unclear if the author meant it to be that way!

Very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This was a really good book. It was very different than what I thought it would be but I was intrigued the whole way through. I could feel the panic that these divers were feeling and the anxiety it gave me trying to figure out what was happening is real. The way the book ended was crazy. I'm still not entirely sure what happened but I still loved it all the same. Great book, I look forward to reading more from this author.

Rating: 4.5 stars

I was SO excited when I received the e-arc of this book because I found the synopsis to be up my alley and super compelling! With not knowing a lot about deep sea diving, diving equipment, common diving terms and procedures, I felt like I learned a lot from this book. And better yet, it's a thriller?! Who learns something while reading your average suspense/thriller novel? I never found this reading experience to be boring, I was hooked immediately. I really enjoy thrillers that just "jump in" with the story, and Will Dean does a really good job bringing the reader up to speed while not procrastinating the plot. This was very fast-paced, despite a limited setting (in a deep sea diving vessel). With such a confined setting, I felt like Will Dean did a good job keeping up the pace by throwing in the odd events that eventually build up to the story's conclusion. The characters were so intriguing, and the mini stories that each character brought to light conversing in that small vessel was truly unique, and felt organic. Deep sea diving in itself is terrifying, so seeing the juxtaposition of the dark humor and characters keeping conversation "light" despite the situation they were in was refreshing. This story had a very eerie build up throughout, and I'm pleased with how the story concluded. It didn't feel abrupt, it felt it ended in a way that made logical sense. I felt really paranoid reading this, and that doesn't happen a lot to me while reading thrillers. Impeccable!

Pick up this book when it publishes, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: August 6, 2024

"The Chamber" by Will Dean is a suspenseful thriller that immerses readers in the claustrophobic and high-stakes world of saturation divers. Before diving into the story, the map and dictionary at the beginning of the book are helpful tools that enhance understanding and set the stage for the unique setting.

The plot follows six experienced saturation divers who are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. They are fully aware that rapid decompression would be fatal, so they work in shifts, breathing helium, and surviving in the hot, close quarters of the chamber. The tension mounts when one diver is found dead in his bunk. With four days of decompression remaining before the hatch can be safely opened, the divers must remain vigilant. When another diver is found unresponsive, paranoia and suspicion start to take over. As the days drag on, the group must figure out what—or who—is targeting them before it’s too late.

While I found the setting of the book to be very unique and engaging, the narrative felt repetitive at times. A more concise story might have increased its impact. Additionally, I was able to guess the twist early on, which took away some of the suspense for me. Despite these points, I appreciated the novel and its atmospheric tension.

This was my first Will Dean book, and though I rated it 3 stars, I am interested in exploring more of his work. I am very grateful to have received this book as an ARC through NetGalley, especially since it isn’t due for release until August 2024.

3.5/5!

Shoutout to Netgalley for this ARC! This was a SUPER interesting premise for a book. I didn’t really know anything about diving and I learned a lot - some of it I felt like maybe was a bit too detailed, but still super interesting.

The writing was so good - it made you feel like you were in the chamber with them and really added that physical anxiety! I felt myself reading quicker and quicker at the end of the book due to the anxiety.

I will say - the ending was a bit confusing. I *think* I know how it ended but I wouldn’t even say I’d be surprised if I missed something and took the clues wrong.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of The Chamber!
While I was so excited to dive into this read as the synopsis was so intriguing, this book was a major let down. The beginning 60% of the book was very slow and VERY repetitive. It felt so unnecessary. Six divers go in, two emerge and four die in all the same manner....dropping one by one.
While reading it just felt like a slow death for me. Waiting to see which character was going to die next. I reached a point of not even being curious as to what was killing them because I was so bored with the whole book at this point. I did not DNF because I was hoping for some big jaw dropping explanation at the end... there wasn't. The ending continued the stories pace of being anticlimactic. The reason they were dying was interesting I will admit that, however this was so dragged out and a snooze fest.

Title- The Chamber by Will Dean

Publication Date- 08/06/24

Publisher- Atria Books

Overall Rating- 3.5 out of 5 stars

Review- Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Chamber by Will Dean is an interesting and unique story. As a fan of locked room mystery stories the synopsis of this book was really intriguing to me. The main thing you need to know going into this is that we follow a group of professional saturation divers embarking on a month long expedition deep beneath the North Sea. This is almost a story of two halves, firstly it is a fairly in-depth look at the lives of saturation divers and the conditions that they work in. I found this aspect really interesting and really admired the amount of work that had gone into researching this. I do think that this may put some readers off however as sometimes the usage of specialist terms and jargon feels a little dry and confusing. The second part to this story is the mystery of what is happening to the divers as they start to die one by one. The tension in the chamber builds as the divers try to work out who or what is responsible. Added to the mix are the backstories of the divers, their motivations for taking on such hazardous jobs and ‘campfire’ stories of disastrous dives of the past. The claustrophobic setting makes this story feel extra tense and Will Dean does a fantastic job of capturing the mood of the divers as they come to realise the danger they are in. A solid thriller with a unique and entertaining hook.

2.5. Not for me. I’m so sad because I loved his previous book, The Last One, but this book was so slow. I usually love a closed circle mystery but this was mainly a lot of technical details about diving/old diving stories and I just didn’t find it interesting. The author clearly did a lot of research but even with a glossary and diagrams provided at the beginning, it was hard for me to picture the inside of the chamber. By the time a plot twist rolled around I was checked out. The whodunnit here is also pretty weak. Rep for intrusive thoughts but not done well imo, leaned too far to the “can she trust herself mentally” side.

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy.*

4.5 it takes a strong heart to read this one stars

This closed-door (literally) thriller kept me on my toes and raised my blood pressure!

I knew nothing about what was involved in saturation diving until I read this book. A complicated process to get humans to the depths of the ocean where they probably shouldn’t be at all!

There are many technical terms in this one. The divers breathe helium (not just oxygen) in the chamber and wear suits filled with warm water. If something goes wrong, decompressing takes days before they can open the hatch.

Our main narrator is Ellen, and it is somewhat rare to have a woman diver. She has to be in top physical condition to do the work. She’s worked with many of the divers before, and there’s a team atmosphere. She brings along pillowcases from her children and puts up photos to remember her family while she’s away for long stretches. She dives because of the lucrative paycheck.

Ellen does her first dive, working on equipment at the bottom of the ocean. There’s a tense moment at the end when a valve is bumped. That’s nothing compared to the chaos that greets the team of two when they get back into the main chamber, though. One of the team mysteriously dies, and the entire operation must be scrapped. They must wait four long days to decompress (it’s a slow process), though.

As tensions are heightened, the large team on the ship that works to keep the divers safe is frantically trying to determine what went wrong. Meanwhile, in the chamber, everyone is suspicious and anxious to escape.

As other divers collapse, it becomes a rush to determine whether the threat is outside or within the chamber. Will anyone be alive at the end of decompression?

This one has an ambiguous ending!

Atmospheric, claustrophobic, unsettling, and captivating! Will Dean has delivered another thrilling and chilling mystery thriller that kept me on my toes and turning the pages.

Divers are a rare breed. They are willing to enter a small hyperbaric chamber with other divers, breathing helium, away from friends and family, to dive deep down in the ocean. Decompression, if done fast, is deadly. This is an uncomfortable job where many things can go wrong with horrible consequences.

When one of them is found dead, the divers are left reeling, anxious, and suspicious of their fellow divers in the tight, hot, chamber. Ellen Brooke is one of the divers and readers are given her POV. When another dies, things get even more dire. What is happening? Is someone amongst them to blame? Is it someone on the outside to blame? Is there contamination? Questions swirled though not only the characters minds but swirled through my mind as well.

I loved the mounting sense of unease, the tension, the dread, the suspicion, and the danger. Alone with each other and their thoughts, they have nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide. Plus, they must finish decompression while trying to stay alive against an unknown threat. They clean, clean, clean while watching what they consume, keeping a suspicious eye on each other. But will that be enough to survive?????

In the beginning, I found myself boggled down with a lot of technical terms which made the book feel very authentic but took some time for me to wrap my mind around. As I mentioned, this book was very atmospheric, and Will Dean nailed the trapped room mystery vibe.

Claustrophobic, unsettling, well written, well thought out, and atmospheric.

In a word? Breathtaking. Pun intended. This was a fantastic book overall. I did get a bit bogged down in some of the mechanics and terminology of the diving inner workings, but this was more than made up for by the impressive plot, pacing, and characters. A really great read!

This made me feel so claustrophobic!!!! I really enjoyed this and flew through it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The Chamber by Will Dean is a masterfully crafted locked-room thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The novel follows six saturation divers trapped inside a hyperbaric chamber. When one of them is found dead, the tension escalates as the remaining divers realize they have four days of decompression before they can escape—and a killer is among them.

Dean's writing perfectly captures the claustrophobic and high-pressure environment, making you feel the characters' anxiety and fear. The suspense builds steadily, and the plot twists are expertly timed, keeping you guessing until the very end. This novel is a must-read for fans of intense, psychological thrillers. Highly recommended!

This book definitely had a very claustrophobic feel to it. I loved the fact that the more I read the book the more anxiety I felt, literally feeling much the way the characters felt. The pacing of this book was a little off too me, and I did struggle at times holding my attention and you definitely had to suspend logic in some instances, but overall I felt this was a good popcorn thriller to read through in a single read. I had to know how this would end and how everything would be tied up!!

✨Rounded up from a 3.75⭐️ rating✨

The Chamber was good. It held my attention, and I was eager to learn the ending. I was anticipating a few good twists, but the suspense level stayed fairly even throughout. The unique setting (deep sea diving chamber) helped and hindered the story. The claustrophobic locked-door factor added to the plot's urgency, anxiety, and suspense. However, the unusual location also interrupted the reading experience. As someone with zero knowledge of saturation diving, the terminology and equipment were difficult to remember, so I often returned to the glossary. This pulled me out of the story and the characters' struggles.

My overall breakdown that brought me to a 3.75 ⭐️ rating:
📚Character development 5/5 ⭐️
📚Plot 3/5 ⭐️
📚Writing Style 4/5 ⭐️
📚Suspense 3/5 ⭐️

Overall, I recommend The Chamber to readers who love locked-room suspense, are particularly interested in diving/underwater plots, or enjoy a character-driven story.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, such a great book! I’m an avid psychological fiction fan, but never has a novel made me literally nervous for the characters like this. It was not overly technical like some reviewers said, I have never been Sat diving and I was able to read with ease. I repeat such a great book from beginning to end!

Thank you to NetGalley for opportunity to read and review this ARC. I’m sure a diving enthusiast or science buff would be fascinated by the content presented in this novel…but I was lost. The technical verbiage overshadowed the story presented and the mystery involved. I found myself doing a lot of skimming through anecdotes and technical language to get to the meat of the story. It was very creative and had a great ending. Give this book a try if you are scientifically inclined and love a good whodunnit.