The Deep - Review

Title: The Deep

Author:  Alma Katsu

Synopsis:  “Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

     “This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths.  Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced that something sinister is going on… And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

     “Years later and the world is at war.  And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship.  Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognizes while doing her rounds.  It is the young man Mark.  And she is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the Titanic…”

Review:  This is the second book I’ve read by Alma Katsu.  The first one I read was The Hunger, and I loved this one just as much as that one.  This novel is marketed as horror, but it’s not so much scary as it is atmospheric.  Good historical speculative fiction involves a lot of research, and this author definitely does her research!  There are no weird moments where something is off and it pulls you out of the setting. 

     The Deep reads like a really good gothic horror.  Not a lot of blood, guts or violence, but plenty of uncomfortable creepiness.  There is a mystery that isn’t solved until the very end.  It’s a ghost story.  And we already know the ultimate end of the Titanic and the Britannic, so it adds a bit of a sense of urgency to the story.  We know this isn’t going to end well.  I highly recommend The Deep to anyone who enjoys reading. 

***I was provided a free copy of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Publisher:  Penguin Group / Putnam

If you like this book you may want to read:

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

The Toll by Cherie Priest

The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey