Silent, Dark, and Deep by Rod Labbe is a compelling slow-burn horror!
I found it be engaging and entertaining.
The plot is filled with unexpected twists that maintain a gripping pace till the end. It’s a fascinating blend of suspense and thrill.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was a well written coming of age horror that spanned several life times. The characters were well developed allowing the reader to get invested in the outcome! Definitely a slower read, and a trope seen many times before but very well done.

Thank you Wicked House Publishing & Rob Labbe for the ARC of this book.

I was completely captivated from the very first chapter of this emotional coming of age book. Part horror, part ghost story, this book is heavy on the journey of our characters. There are heart breaking moments, some horrible events and a great character driven story.

I enjoyed the multiple timelines and the ending that wrapped everything up - i felt myself getting teary in a few moments, which is a testament to the author who was able to evoke those emotions.

This book is a slow burn but I was totally up for that and feel that while it's not as heavy on typical horror elements, there were so many moments full of dread and some real life horror.

Look forward to reading more from this author who has won me over!

Thank you to Wicked House Publishing for this ARC in return for my honest review.

This book was marketed as horror, but it's more of a coming of age/paranormal ghost story type of book. I really did enjoy the author's writing style, however, coming of age stories aren't really my favorite thing. I've abandoned the book about halfway through because there is little to no horror involved, and the book is just too slow for me.

The story is written so that an elderly man is telling a story about his youth - but most of the chapters are children from his stories interacting. It seems that there are a lot of misspellings/grammar issues, but that is just the author trying to write the story in slang. I didn't find it hard to read, but I could see how it would bother some.

I am open to reading more from this author in the future as I found his writing style very intriguing and nostalgic.

This is more coming of age and less horror. The writing style didn’t work for me. I do recommend as a coming of age for that time period. Thanks for netgalley for the arc!

Silent, Dark And Deep was a compelling, fascinating and sometimes terrifying novel. The author gave the characters excellent voices & stories. My heart broke with some of the awful things that Billy, Jerry & Lauretta went through. I never once lost interest in the book and each new chapter had my heart racing in anticipation of what was going to happen next. I hope to read more from this new-to-me author in the future!

It was the 1930s and there wasn't much for a 12-year-old boy to do in the small town of Fairfield except go swimming and diving at the old water-filled rock quarry known locally as "The Crusher."

Every scorching summer, kids from miles around risked it all to dive and dunk in its deep waters. But what those kids didn't know was that if one thing went wrong and your life was plucked out there in those waters, you'd be stolen away, and you would become another midnight swimmer - not under heaven, not under hell, not even in purgatory, but somewhere in between.

And if you were alone, and stood still enough, and listened closely, you may just hear those taken whispering to you, and beckoning you to join them in the Silent, Dark, and Deep.

This book is an account of Billium Wileys life and what happened to him as a kid over a few years. He describes this book best by saying in the book
"Silent, Dark, and Deep ain't what I'd consider a horror tale, though there are hair-raisin' sections. Not as scary as "The Monkey's Paw" or "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Them were conceived from imagination and are meant to terrify. Mine's real. It's all me, Billy Wiley."
Although very slow paced this book kept intrigued and wanting to know what was going to happen next through the whole thing. I really enjoyed how it was written and how it was told through the eyes of an old man recounting his life's adventures.

“Silent, Dark, and Deep” by Rod Labbe
(Publisher release date is 05/10/24)

This was a slow burn type of book that I rather enjoyed. It surrounds a 12yr old boys childhood in Maine. With pretty much nothing else to do, he and his friends would swim in a old rock quarry pit they’ve dubbed “The Crusher”….but there’s a legend of something sinister within the depths of that water. This resonated with me and pulled me in because I grew up swimming in old water filled coal mining pits in Pennsylvania (minus the sinister legends!). I also appreciated the author’s use of a regional dialect for the characters. I feel that made you know the characters and their ways of living better. All in all, though this was a slow(ish) read, I really liked this book and look forward to what else the author has to offer!
My thanks to Wicked House publishing, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC to read/review!

I’ve been vibing with most of Wicked House’s other books and hoped this would fit that same standard. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

I only skimmed the blurb going in but honestly thought the story would feature those liminal spaces between life and death. Instead, this is more of a Great Depression era coming of age story, with just a hint of horror. The quarry was definitely interesting but never really led anywhere significant.

I know a few other reviewers have mentioned spelling/grammar issues, but the vast majority of the ones I noticed seemed intentional to really place the setting in the 30’s in small time Americana. As a big King fan, I must say I was a touch disappointed there wasn’t even a single “ayuh” in a book set in Maine. I felt the dialect was a bit abrupt at first but after the story got going I had zero issues with the colloquialisms affecting my attention with the story.

Overall, I’d be open to reading more from this author, but coming of age has never been a favorite subset of mine.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

I just had a really hard time with this book. It was sooo long to get to anything that actually happened. I felt like I was walking in sand trying to get through the book. Just didn’t like it.

I just finished Silent, Dark and Deep. It's one of the best books I have ever read. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it and I'm guessing I will be thinking about it for a long time. It's disturbing, sad, nostalgic and very beautifully written. I was there with Bill Wiley, jumping into the Crusher and experienced all of the joy and pain of his childhood. In short, it was fabulous!!

I love small town horror and the premise for this one was interesting. I liked a lot of what the author did here. However it doesn’t read as finished yet which prevented me from being fully invested. I’d happily return to a more polished version of this.

3 stars
This has a great premise and is going to be a great book after some polishing.
I love a small town horror, and this has all the right elements. It is a little slow even for me who loves a slow burn.
I’d love to check it out after it’s been through an editor.

In the 1920s, there wasn't much for a 12-year-old boy to do in the small town of Fairfield besides swimming and diving at the old water-filled rock quarry known as "The Crusher." During scorching summers, kids from miles around took risks to dive and dunk in its deep waters.

However, unknown to those kids, a chilling legend surrounded the quarry. If something went awry and a life was lost in those waters, the unfortunate soul would be taken away, becoming a midnight swimmer - not in heaven, hell, or purgatory, but somewhere in between. If one were alone, stood still, and listened closely, they might hear the whispers of the taken souls, beckoning them to join in the Silent, Dark, and Deep.

This was an interesting book but too slow for my liking! And there were some grammer errors as well. However a unique book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This book started out really interesting and engaging. Unfortunately, I lost interest about half way through the book. My teacher brain could not handle all the grammar and spelling errors and then some words that were misspelled on purpose would sometimes be spelled a different way which was another layer of challenge. I didn't feel connected to the characters and I just didn't feel that the horror element was well written.