Omg! I haven’t read a thriller that kept me on the edge in a while. I finished this in two days cause I couldn’t stand the suspense and needed to know how the story ends.

“No light. No air. No escape. Hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface, a graveyard waits…”

This story starts off with a dive team who are making preparations to go on their first dive to a shipwreck called the SS Arcadia. The Arcadia vanished while on a normal voyage about 60 years ago. A distress message was sent out but no one on the ship were ever seen again until…the wreckage was found. Cove and her team were tasked to explore the Arcadia and document what they found. They hope to discover why the ship vanished without a trace. Strange things started to happen during their first dive and an ominous feeling filled the air. Everyone felt the eerie atmosphere but they kept pushing on. When they discovered the secrets hidden within the ship, the crew couldn’t escape fast enough...

I was feeling so nervous for the whole crew! I enjoy reading books that uses claustrophobic spaces as a theme and how chances of escape is slim. Especially in the deep, dark ocean where if something goes wrong, you risk losing your life. This book ticked all the boxes for me. It was thrilling, engaging and has a great plot.

I love, love, love the eerie setting here. It is chilling and dark. I could feel the team’s fears and my heart was pounding the whole time! Coates’s writing seemed to make the ship come alive. There were two timelines in the story - the current timeline focusing on Cove and her team and the other timeline focuses on the days leading up to Arcadia’s doom. I love how the two timelines converge and create more tension as the truth is uncovered.

I highly recommend this if you are a fan of horror and thrillers. My only qualm is I wished this was a little more scary and horrifying but I still enjoyed reading this very much! Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the arc.

Darcy Coates has been a long-time favorite of mine, in the horror genre. This new title does not disappoint. Gripping and engaging, I found myself rooting for the characters.

“There are bodies in the walls.”

Cove is a dive documentarist, Devereaux historian, Vanna diving specialist, Hestie biologist, and 3 others in a dive group, seeking the sinking of the Arcadia, diving to deep-sea, a level most recreational explorers never entered.

Arcadia sank about April 1928 and about 90 years after Cove's team try to explore what really happened but this ship is cursed. A true ghost ship. A phantom of the deep, manned by the bodies of the dead.

"Dread. In the brief moment he’d touched the metal, he’d felt the danger of the place. This ship wasn’t a gem on the ocean floor, waiting to be found. It was a trap. A monstrous, hideous trap. Unfeeling, unyielding."

Tention, creepy atmosphere, and horror in every dive the teams do and have to do it! Every character, place, and sense is perfectly described, scary! Heavy tense but happily this isn't a dark horror, which I like it most in Darcy Coates's books.

I've read the Gravekeeper series by Darcy Coates and was great, although I enjoyed this book, I should mention that these two are so different in paranormal horror.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for giving me a chance of reading From Below by Darcy Coates, I have given my honest review.

Super creepy and totally claustrophobic read! I would’ve never thought I’d enjoy a ghost ship story so much, but this one was great! The book did it’s job - I was on edge reading it. The atmosphere was so vividly described that I felt like I could be there… which is not someplace I’d want to be! I’ve never read anything like it. I also didn’t see the twist/explanation at the end coming. Very interesting! My only complaint is that a few of the characters annoyed me… but not enough to make me dislike the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book!

I've read several books by Darcy Coates but this one has to be my favorite so far. It is told in two timelines- the present dive expeditions and the final days of the Arcadia before it sank. The pacing of the past intertwined with the present was great.

I'm freaked out by the ocean anyway and deep sea diving through a shipwreck had me feeling all kinds of claustrophobic. The paranormal horrors on top of the danger and risks of the dive made this a perfect horror combination. The ship itself was so descriptive, and I could easily picture everything clearly as if I were right there. This started off a bit eerie but about halfway through it turned scary as hell. I flew through the last half of this book. It was so action-packed, terrifying, and had me on the edge of my seat for the duration.

I really need more underwater horror in my life!

I love everything I've read by Darcy Coates so far but this one was the scariest I've read of all of them. I'm already looking forward to her next one!

Thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my goodness another Darcy Coates! I love the deep ocean and I love a good paranormal thriller so this was super exciting. The creep factor ratchets up almost right away combined with the suffocating, claustrophobic atmosphere of diving into the deep ocean into a lost sunken ship had me holding my breath and flying through the pages as fast as I could. Another success from a prolific writer

This was a book of two halves for me, one of which I enjoyed significantly more than the other. The first half of the book was full of claustrophobic descriptions of being deep beneath the sea, trying to navigate a sunken cruise ship with limited light and questionable dive members. This first half was genuinely creepy and while I did find some of the characters irritating and wondered over the purpose of two of them being in the book at all, I could get over it. Then unfortunately, in the second half, the stupidity of the characters and the way they behaved just completely overtook the plot and I found myself becoming more and more frustrated. The last 50 pages or so were slightly redeeming, but overall, this was a book that just didn't live up to the potential of it's first half.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

From Below is a classic horror book, in which the reader will feel like they are diving with Cove and his team 300 feet under the sea to delve into A classic horror read, in which the reader will feel like they are diving with Cove and his team 300 feet under the sea to delve into the mysteries of the Arcadia, a ship that has been submerged for more than half a century in the waters of the Gulf of Bothnia. The author develops the story so well, that it is almost possible to feel a slight cold touch or the pressure of the water and the difficulty of breathing freely in the high points of the book, however, when reaching the last pages the story almost floats towards an end as peaceful as the ocean must feel in deep water. mysteries of the Arcadia, a ship that has been submerged for more than half a century in the waters of the Gulf of Bothnia.
The author develops the story so well, that it is almost possible to feel a slight cold touch or the pressure of the water and the difficulty of breathing freely in the high points of the book, however, when reaching the last pages the story almost floats towards an end as peaceful as the ocean must feel in deep water.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Darcy Coates for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t say good enough things about Coates writing! I loved every book that I’ve read by this author and I always immediately want more creepy, thrilling reads! This one was super creepy and scary and I loved every second. It’s unique in that it happens while the team is scuba diving into a ship wreck, making it that much creepier. It’s so good - just get it!

Deep-sea horror tale

Cove Waimarie is working on a small exploratory ship on the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland. She and her crew have been sponsored to get deep-sea camera footage of what they hope is the wreckage of the ocean liner SS Arcadia that sunk in 1928 sitting below them.

Cove and four other divers need at least twelve hours of footage of the wreck spread over three days to get paid by their sponsor. But from the beginning there are problems - equipment glitches, inexperienced divers and, once they get deep down in the dark water, the problems really start.

I am claustrophobic and I am NOT a good swimmer so this book really hit some major trigger points for me. Yikes! I can't think of anything too much scarier than diving down to this wreck and going inside it and that's BEFORE you add in the truly horrific elements of the tale.

This was a very well written story with great characters and storyline that scared the bejeebers out of me. I will definitely be looking for more horror stories by author Darcy Coates. I highly recommend this one.

I received this book from Poisoned Pen Press through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Another win for one of my 3 all time favorite female authors Dacry Coates . I don't know why but every time I start one of her books it always at night time where everything goes bump in the night or when it's storming outside ( which I'm 100% ok with since those are the perfect atmosphere to read her books ) they help set up mood which you get from her stories, the creepiness,the feeling of you been watched from the shadows ,they even bring your fears to live ( which by the way this did ,it brought 2 of mine to life been underwater and in small inclosed spaces).But let's not forget how it stays eerie and dark though out the story.

4.25 stars
Coates has done it again. Such a wonderful atmospheric slow burn. She knows how to play on our fears, and she knows how to pace the plot and wrap up all the questions nice and clean! I’m really falling for this authors works!

Thank you #PoisonedPenPress and #NetGalley for giving me From Below by #DarcyCoates to read and review.

Overall, this story was fantastic. There is a lot of world building and character development all throughout the story. It is also eerie and dark. I imagine it would be hard to describe desolate scenes, but Coates manages to do that with ease. You can definitely tell that Coates did her research for this book.

There are so many memorable moments, times when I felt I was there with the team exploring the sunken Arcadia. I felt the tension, fears, and amazement.

You know the old school game Myst? In the beginning you find two books, a red one and a blue one. In each, the brother is cutting in and out, there is static and they are trying to tell you something. You get just bits and pieces of what they need.
There is a scene in From Below,about five percent in, Arcadia is sending out a “pan-pan”. Pan-pan is like an SOS but without the severity of imminent threat to life. I get the same emotional reaction from the pan-pan scene as I did from Myst. You need to hear more of what is happening.

The mood of the book stays eerie and dark up to about seventy percent in. Then things start to go horribly wrong. There is something in the sunken ship with them. They are about to find out what it is.

The ending was a clean finish. I had hoped for more from the ending, but it definitely wrapped things up. It is almost as if Coates wanted the happy ending but not everyone is okay after the incidents exploring Arcadia.

Definitely give this book a try. It is worth every minute of your time.

A small deep diving dream is recruited to film a documentary about the mysterious 1928 disappearance and sinking of the passenger line ship the "S.S. Arcadia". The ship is 300 feet below sea level and 2 of the team are very inexperienced with diving this deep within the sea and the group must get twelve hours of quality filming footage in order to be paid for this venture. The true history of this sinking ship is unknown to anyone so the team hopes to find footage of unusual damage and also clear pictures of as many rooms as possible within the Arcadia. On the second dive the team encounters some strange and mysterious occurrences that shake most of them up especially one who won't be able to make the third dive. What the last dive brings is the most horrifying sights and happenings where the the team will be fighting to save their lives and also their sanity.

Do you believe in ghosts or hauntings? After reading the terrifying adventures of this documentary team it just make you think twice about what happens after death especially when one dies in a tragic and violent death.

This was an unexpected and extremely enjoyable read by author "Darcy Coates". I appreciated the atmospheric and tense storytelling and I also became very engaged with all the characters. The story starts slowly and continues to build while giving hints of what is to come yet the reader will be completely surprised by the turn of events and the last forty percent of the book had myself holding my breath at times and feeling nervous at the disturbingly creepy happenings within the ship and what the poor crew were experiencing. I really was sitting on the edge of my seat by the time I finished this book. This was a terrific, eerie and spooky story for anyone who loves a good horror story taking place deep within the ocean. I now am a true fan of "Darcy Coates" and will look forward to reading many of her books.

I want to thank the publisher "Poisoned Pen Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this spooky novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I highly recommend this book and have given a rating of 4 TENSE AND BREATHTAKING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

Diving to the wreck of the Arcadia means a lot to Cove and her team, but the extreme depths challenge them all, not to mention a lot of their tech not working. Descending into horror, this is a frightening book, creatively written.

This is a very original idea and gives Darcy's fans a different backdrop for a ghost story than the standard haunted house. (Although I love those too! Darcy please do not stop writing standard haunted house books also!) Anyway, I loved the historical fiction aspect of this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC of From Below and thank you to Darcy for another great book this Summer! CAN'T WAIT to get my physical copy!

***Thank you to @netgalley & @poisonedpenpress for the arc! From Below is available now in the US.***

Anyone who was here for my review of Into the Drowning Deep last year knows that deep water is one of my biggest fears. In fact, I’ve only been in the ocean once in my life, and I wouldn’t go any further than my feet could reach. I HATE not knowing what’s out there!

From Below didn’t just tap into that fear, it wrapped icy fingers around it and squeezed. I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever had this much anxiety while reading a book! A couple times I even caught myself holding my breath because…you know, we’re under water.

Coates is excellent at slowing ratcheting up the tension in this horrifyingly claustrophobic book. If, like me, you’re afraid of deep water, hold on tight

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Well! I’m going to skip all the normal build up and get straight to my feelings on From Below!

OOOOOO SPOOKY!! 😀 So very nice and spooky! The setting, the isolation, the technical issues, the back story, the ship, the building suspense- EVERYTHING! So much atmosphere. So much creepy. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest with each passing chapter. Definitely one of the scarier books from Darcy Coates. 🙂

The plot is epic, and right up my alley. Horror on and or in the ocean is my jam. I felt like this is not only a great addition to the aquatic horror subcategory, but also something you haven’t seen before.

The story is told from two different eras. One is from the days leading up to the ship sinking. The second is the present dive crew. It was very interesting watching what had happened to the ship slowly unfold. I thought I knew what From Below was going to be about. BOY, was I wrong! No spoiler here, but I was surprised at what was uncovered on the Arcadia- past and present!

I was extremely happy with From Below. Yet another great book from Darcy. Entertaining, creepy, and tense from the first page to the very last. I loved characters and plot. Both felt full of tense emotion. This novel was not at all what I was expecting, but I absolutely loved every single moment. I will be recommending this one to everyone!

This book was a journey I didn't realize I'd take. I am so excited to buy this book to go on my shelf.Thank you so much for the ARC.

Every time I read a new Darcy Coates book, I think that it’s my favorite one yet. I love haunted house stories and she is the queen of that. Believe me when I say though that THIS is the scariest book I think she has written. Now that may be because I have thalassophobia – which is the intense fear of large bodies of water, but I think most readers will find this story unsettling.
Just over ninety years ago, a ship named the Arcadia disappeared without a trace during a routine voyage. The only clues it left behind were two mysterious distress calls made before its disappearance and a lifeboat oar that washed up on the coast of Poland nearly nine months later. Now the wreck of the Arcadia has been located in the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Bothnia. Cove Waimarie and her documentary film crew have been hired to explore the wreckage in the hopes of finding the reason it had sunk and why it had gone nearly 100 miles off course.
As the crew makes their way 300 feet down to the ocean floor, they find the ship remarkably intact due to the cold water and lack of any marine life in the Gulf. From their first dive, however, they start to find clues that don’t quite jive with the usual things one sees with a shipwreck. Moving carefully through the dark ship, the only light coming from their headlamps mounted to their specialized deep water suits, the crew discovers writing on the wall of a hallway, ”They came through here”. Just then, the ship itself makes a deep, groaning noise as though it was settling. Only the ship is lodged between rocks since it sank. It shouldn’t be moving or settling at this point.
I don’t want to give too much away, but needless to say, the terror of what happened to the Arcadia combined with the tension built around the dangerous deep water dive makes for one creepy story you won’t be able to put down. Coates has a way of building a slow dread in her writing that I love. The characters are well-written and interesting on their own merits. Adding to the terror is an alternating, second timeline told from the point of view of Harland, a crew member on the Arcadia as he details the events taking place on the ship in 1928 during that last voyage.
From Below needs to be at the top of your beach reads for the summer if you are looking for a scare. Special thanks to @poisonedpenpress and @netgalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.