Thank you to Atria for the physical ARC of one of my most anticipated thrillers of the year! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC! Will Dean has a superb way of building suspense. I throughly enjoyed his previous outing, The Last One and The Chamber was no different in regard to my enjoyment.

I found myself questioning character motives throughout, and second guessing my theories and presumptions of the plot and characters. This book was an enthralling journey, I could hardly put the book down. Full of urgency, paranoia, and shudder inducing events - The Chamber is an excellent literal locked door thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook. I was looking forward to reading it because I really enjoyed The Last One, and I was hoping for something similar. This particular storyline did not grip me quite the same way, and I admit that sometimes I had difficulty following the story. I think because this story revolved around a group of divers who were submerged deep in the sea, the scuba lingo and atmosphere were a bit lost on me. The story was suspenseful though and the sheer claustrophobic nature of it was alarming. Also, just like in The Last One, the ending really packed a punch and left me with my mouth agape.

This book is tense, y'all. One of my favorite sub-genres of horror and thriller is isolation, but I wasn't sure how I would feel about the claustrophobic aspect of this one. Dean does a masterful job of forcing you to understand just how crammed into a tiny little chamber these six divers are and at times it felt like I was in there, shoulder to shoulder with them. I have a particular fear of not being able to breathe, so underwater horror is extra chilling for me.

I loved learning about all the different divers, their backstories and some of the things that they had all been through in their years at sea. Being in Brookes head was unnerving for sure, I was constantly terrified that she would act on one of her intrusive thoughts. But this is a slow burn all the way until the end. If you're looking for something fast-paced, you might be disappointed in this one, because while there is action, its quick and once its over, its back to slow moving chamber time.

While I definitely enjoyed this one, I do have a couple of issues with it. First, it was really hard to keep track of who is who, because they switch from talking about divers using their nicknames to using their real names frequently - I wish they would've stuck with one or the other. And then the twists. The first one caught me so totally by surprise that I had to go back and reread it to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding. The ending...it was a little ambiguous for me. I can't say much without spoiling it, but I'd suspected all along that it was headed the way it ended, but...is that actually how it ended? Unclear.

Overall, this is a good read from Dean, but for me it doesn't live up to The Last Thing to Burn or The Last One. If you love a locked room mystery and a tense claustrophobic atmosphere, filled with paranoia, mistrust and an unreliable narrator, I think you'll like this one!

I have enjoyed other installments by Will Dean but this was not one of my favorites. The book seemed mostly to tell the audience all the cool facts he learned while researching the book. While they were interesting, the actual plot of the book dragged and was more annoying than suspenseful. After reading over half of the book, I skipped to the end and was not happy with the "twist." Skip this one.

Six saturation divers locked in a hyperbaric chamber. Shortly after they descend into the oceans depths one of them is found dead. They have four days until they can be brought to the surface and released…rapid decompression will kill them, opening the hatch early will kill them, and now another there is a second body. Nowhere to run, nobody can be trusted, a deadly countdown to reach safety before anyone else dies.

The chamber is a claustrophobic nightmare in which six people are stuck inside a hot, cramped, pressurized, death trap below the oceans depths. I can tell you every descriptive paragraph in this novel had me cringing. Also the characters unique ways to pass time by telling each other about horrible events didn’t help. I typically enjoy this authors stories but this one wasn’t a good fit for me. This is not to say it wasn’t a fantastic murder mystery but the setting made me uncomfortable, I don’t find diving as interesting as the author apparently does, and some of the story felt repetitive and a bit slow. That being said this was the ultimate “escape room” situation in which everything will kill you horribly. If you like to “geek out” about deep sea diving then this might be a better fit for you.

When six divers are on a job in a confined chamber for the next 30 days, cramped quarters are the least of their concerns. On the first shift, Ellen gets back to chaos, when the newest member of the crew passes out. When the situation worsens and they are unable to save him, the team is forced to begin to ascend. Paranoia begins to set in as another member goes down. Is there foul play or something more harmless?

Imagine being locked in a tiny chamber miles out in the North Sea if you suspect one of your teammates of murder, or indeed that there’s some harmful bacteria/substance that’s caused the death of your colleague. You can’t open the door or you will all die! The finger of suspicion gets a real workout in this excellent locked room thriller. As the hours tick down, the psychological pressure builds, as does the claustrophobia, leaving the reader breathless with anticipation! Another winner from the talent that is Will Dean. And breathe!!t sends shivers down your spine, makes every hair on your body stand up! It makes you feel trapped, paranoid, delirious, sweaty, dizzy, helpless! You feel like one of the six people caged in the chamber, forming conspiracy theories about who wants to kill you, who the main villain is: somebody inside or anyone working in the corporation sending your food, your drinks, equipment you use. Who? Even writing these sentences made me hyperventilate. SO good and SO worth it!

It is remarkable what a tasty dish the author cooks with almost no ingredients. Six characters trapped in a space the size of an SUV. That’s it. And how he maintains the tension throughout the novel is remarkable. Ellen Brooke is the lone woman in a crew of Sat divers, who go to unbearable depths and subject themselves to insane pressures to do what needs doing at the bottom of the ocean. Once one of them dies in mysterious circumstances, there is no way to rescue them until the titular chamber depressurizes slowly to get them safely back to the surface. They are surrounded by people, but no one can go in to help and they can’t get out without becoming “raspberry jam” (their term). But with so many people in such a small place it would be easy to keep an eye on them all, wouldn’t it? When a second diver is found unresponsive, it is clear that it is not a coincidence but what is happening, and who is doing it? More importantly, does the threat come from inside or can one of the many people outside, those tasked with keeping the divers alive, be responsible? I had no idea. Normally, I’m not into too much detail, but this world is so fascinating, that I wanted to know more. But what really got me was the tension. The countdown to the second they can open the hatch and what else can go wrong. Very suspenseful and entertaining. Pardon the pun but The Chamber left me breathless.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Atria Books.

4.5 stars for this absolute thriller of a book. Holy moly this is one claustrophobic locked-in crazy ride. Six people go into a chamber for 28 days to go to the bottom of the North Sea to attempt to research or fix something from an oil company. They are in a space the size of a small bathroom with 3 sets of bunks where they can touch each side and some are unable to even stand straight up in this chamber. It is narrated by Ellen, the only woman in the chamber. They are all experienced professional divers who will need to rely on each other for everything. Will Dean bring the reader into the tiny space of this chamber, the heat rising in the chamber will rise within you as you read this book, your heart will race and you will wonder what could possibly be next.

And then one dies. What happened? How? The tension continues to build and build in this suspenseful novel that takes you into the teeny tiny space where five people now remain. Will the body have to stay with them in this small chamber . . . what is happening? Then another person dies . . . and now they have to begin the ascent - four very, very long, arduous days to allow for decompression. Hallucinations begin . . . or are they? Who or what is killing these divers? Will anyone survive. Can they trust one another? The psychological warfare going on inside of their heads is crazy.

At times I had to stop, put the book down, and just breathe. Because I'm telling you this was so intense. I wanted to race through it because my heart was racing so fast but I didn't want it to end because it was so good. And then ending . . . well . . . the ending was as good as the rest of the book.

Thank you so much to Will Dean, NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books to for getting my claustrophobic fears racing . . . Another great book by Will Dean.

This book had my claustrophobia acting up 😮‍💨🥴🤪
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I absolutely loved Will Dean’s previous book, The Last One, and requested this one as soon as I saw it! Nothing better than a can’t put down, read in a day or two thrill ride, and that’s what Dean delivers. 🙌
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I knew next to nothing about sat diving before reading this and I thought it was so interesting. Being locked in a tank underwater breathing a mixture of helium and oxygen; wearing a spacesuit type deal and hopping out of the tank to work on pipelines on the ocean floor. 👩‍🚀 Like what!! And then having to stay put for several days after the job is done while the ship above depressurizes the tank you’re in? 🤯🤯
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It’s a locked room mystery (obviously, they’re stuck in a 6x10 foot chamber 🤣) which I normally LOVE, but this one became super repetitive, maybe as a function of the small setting. As people started dying, the procedure was the same, and we read about it over and over again. I also was skeptical after finishing by the how and why of it all. I don’t really know how it could have been done, and I can’t figure out why they would do it either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It didn’t necessarily take away from my overall enjoyment of the book, but I do wish more time had been spent on the ending.
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Obviously, I had some conflicting feelings about this one, but I will still read anything Will Dean writes!! Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my e-arc!

A slow-build up to a pulse pounding conclusion. Before starting this, I knew about diving but not about Saturation Diving. The first part of the book is setting it up. I loved the storytelling quality. The main character, Ellen, is telling you how it all works by relating stories of how previous dives have gone and how they are different from other dives. It kept me hooking and wondering what was going on. The feel of the small quarters and the complete lack of privacy just jumped off the page.

The mystery begins right after your brief intro. The agonizing wait to get back up to land while also trying to figure out also bleeds off the pages. It's not that the story is boring but you can feel the thoughts and movements slow as they characters begin their wait to decompress and come back up. But each turn has a new emergency, so the story doesn't slow down at all. My only grumble is I would have loved a little more, in the end. But I was highly entertained, telling everyone around me all about the story, the mystery, and how dangerous their jobs were. I loved the characters (Pro tip: make a list and write down names and nicknames. It's a lot at the start and it's easer to have it all written down) and getting to know them and their stories. I love this author, I really appreciate the writing style and the storytelling. I can't wait to read the next one!

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.

This book has an interesting premise and you'll learn a lot about saturation diving. The glossary and diagram at the beginning are very helpful in understanding the story. I mostly enjoyed this one, though at times it was a bit repetitive. After reading this author's last book, I was expecting some big twist at the end, but the ending here fell flat. 3.5 stars rounded down because of the ambiguous ending.

Thanks to net galley for an ARC .

I wish I could give this book a higher rating. The premise was unique and it had me hooked in parts, but the ending fell very flat for me and made the book a disappointment overall. I kept waiting for the twist that never came.

Aside from that, the vernacular made the book a little challenging to read, but not too bad- definitely would have been worth it if the ending had been more exciting.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a brilliantly conceived and executed murder mystery. Six deep sea divers, five men and one woman, are locked into a hyperbaric chamber for 28 days on a ship in the North Sea. There they will live, sleep, work and eat together in this claustrophobic space until it is time to be decompressed and returned to their families. Their food, water, and other needs such as laundry, reading materials and medications will be sent into them through a special area by people there to watch over them and see they come to no harm. The divers have all done this before and have mostly worked together all over the world, so barring an accident they are not expecting any surprises. However, when first one diver dies in his sleep and then another, they know there is either a murderer amongst them or someone on the ship is harming them.

I loved that Will Dean took a deep dive into the detail of what it is like to be a deep sea saturation diver, one who dives to the deepest levels and so must spend long periods in a cramped hyperbaric chamber with several others breathing a mix of nitrogen and air, since it would otherwise take several days to decompress after each dive. For most of us who know little of what is involved in this type of diving the glossary at the start of the book is very helpful in understanding the terms used. I had never really appreciated just how dangerous it is to work at those depths and how the divers are totally reliant on each other for their safety in preventing even the slightest mistake that could lead to catastrophic death. The claustrophobia of the chamber was palpable as was the need for constant cleaning, necessary to prevent bacterial growth and illness in the humid conditions.

The events are seen from the point of view of the only female diver on board, Ellen Brooke. We come to know her well through her reflections on her life with her husband and children and the difficulties she has had to overcome to prove herself as a female diver in an industry almost entirely populated by men.

The suspense builds gradually as the scene is set and we get to know each of the divers through the stories they tell of previous dives and exploits on shore. Towards the end the tension is near boiling point and the reader can be forgiven for wondering if anyone will come out alive. Even once the boat is back in port the divers are totally cut off from the outside. With none of their usual access to wifi and newspapers they have no idea what the police are doing or thinking and paranoia sets in with suspicion directed at each other. The superb ending is cleverly done and will have the reader questioning everything they have read, resulting in a totally gripping and addictively heart pounding thriller.

Will Dean always has a fresh new mystery and he once again thrills us with this locked room mystery! Perhaps what made this book unique was the high stakes of the underwater "chamber". Deep sea divers are working on the sea floor for a job so they are contained in a hyperbaric chamber to minimize the time required to equalize and work in the deep sea. Things quickly go awry within the cramped chamber and as the reader we are left gawking at what is happening.

I loved the setting, but I found the pacing to be a bit slow with not much happening. There was some background details that were shared about each of the characters in an attempt to create some depth to them and perhaps give the reader clues about the mystery, but I actually didn't find myself connected to them.

I can't wait to discuss the ending with a fellow reader!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this advance e-copy of this book.

Reading this book was an emotional journey for me. It was totally different from what I expected from a thriller. For many, it might not even qualify as one. However, I loved how the main character struggled every day, making her story incredibly relatable and poignant.

The setting in the Saturn chamber was fascinating. While some might find it claustrophobic, I loved the quiet and silence it offered. It felt like a refuge, a stark contrast to the chaotic world outside. The depiction of divers living wildly and the various intertwined stories of military life added layers of complexity to the narrative.

The protagonist's inner battles truly moved me. Her resilience in the face of relentless challenges broke my heart. The way she confronted her fears and demons was both haunting and compelling. Her struggle wasn’t just physical but deeply emotional, resonating with my own experiences of facing personal difficulties.

The ending, however, divided readers, and I understand why. I, too, found it hard to believe what really happened. It wasn’t the conclusion I expected, and it left me with mixed feelings. But perhaps that’s the mark of a powerful story—it stays with you, leaving you to ponder its implications long after you’ve turned the last page.

Overall, this book's emotional depth and unique setting made it a memorable read for me. It’s a story that lingers in the mind, challenging you to think and feel deeply.

THE CHAMBER

Saturation Diving. SAT Rats. Offshore deep water oil pipeline repair. Six workers in a very small, cramped, mini submarine shaped living quarters - under water for a month.

One of them dies. And then another.

This is an intelligent and intense psychological thriller. It is subtle and mysterious, a slow burn. Pipeline infrastructure maintenance is extremely expensive. SAT divers are very well paid, and the Diving Support Vessel and 90 plus staff required to keep them alive results in each job having to be well planned and efficient. A cancelled contract represents the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. And decompression from the depths takes time. A lot of slow moving time. With ever increasing tension, the claustrophobic atmosphere becomes almost unbearable. And some frightening truths begin to emerge.

This book is well researched, with some good technical explanations of deep water diving and pipeline repair, but never too much to interfere with the flow of the story. It also incorporates several serious topics, including PTSD, war, and loss. It is a smart and cleverly constructed story that doesn’t let up until the absolute final page. Definitely a recommended read - if you can bear the tension.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Will Dean, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love claustrophobic whodunnits, ESPECIALLY when the ocean is involved. The Chamber was no exception. After his last novel, I expected this one to be a lot twistier. It was still enjoyable but not quite to the same caliber for me personally. Brooke was a very interesting main character in her complexities and trauma. The ending was confusing, albeit I believe intentionally so.

I cannot fault the amount of research that must have gone in to write this book. Will Dean does an amazing job at getting all the information across and I did feel the same claustrophobia that the divers did as they found themselves in such close quarters. I only wish the book had been just that bit more exciting. It is marketed as a thriller however the writing says otherwise. I didn't feel the pull of wanting to keep reading as there was nothing hooking me into finding out what happened next.

A truly claustrophobic follow up to The Last One from Will Dean that you will devour.

The chamber kept me sat on the back patio of my AirBNB on a girls trip, I HAD to finish it. This was the perfect kind of locker room (or locked chamber) mystery that I crave. This one has a murky ending so if don’t love murky endings, skip it!

However…if you understand the ending more than I do please reach out to me