Terrific underwater terrors which will have you gasping for air!

Since arriving on the horror scene in 2015 Darcy Coates has written well over twenty novels which include three separate series, two short story collections and fifteen standalone works of fiction. Until I tackled From Below I had read exactly zero of them. Having a reputation for prolifically writing ‘cosy’ or easy-read ghost stories which were said to lack a serious fear factor I had avoided her until this maritime horror tale caught my attention. Being unsure what to expect, I was very surprised to be within twenty pages effortlessly swept away and totally immersed in discovering the fate of the five divers when they located the sunken ship, the SS Arcadia. There is nothing more satisfying than being caught off guard by a work of fiction (or having a preconceived opinion disproved!) as From Below had me gasping for air along with the terrified explorers.

From Below has two story strands and wastes absolutely no time in jumping in at the deep end with the present-day narrative focussing upon a small crew in the Gulf of Bothnia, forty-one miles of the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea, about to send five divers to investigate the recently discovered ocean-liner for a television documentary. The second heads back to 1928, eleven days before the sinking of the ship, with a countdown which slowly edges towards the disaster with revelations which are both startling and unsettling. In historical terms the SS Arcadia is a great maritime mystery, even though distress calls were logged to reason for its sinking were ever uncovered, with there being no survivors or reasons why it strayed hundreds of miles off course. In the early stages of the novel, I was much more attracted to the current plotline, but as the happenings in 1928 got stranger, weirder and decidedly freaky I found they balanced each other perfectly and were equally compelling.

This was not an action novel and the numerous swimming and diving scenes were handled beautifully and realistically, never for a moment did I think I was in the midst of a Lara Croft Tomb Raider adventure! Instead, these sequences were incredibly atmospheric, threatening and hauntingly claustrophobic where the edginess of the characters soaking and dripping onto the page. One got the feeling anything could go wrong at any moment and this was jittery stuff which intensified as the number of dives increased. When this was pitched against the paranoia in the 1928 narrative the combination was sublime, it was not fast paced, but neither did it feel slow or overlong. I know zero about diving, but the attention to detail in the underwater swimming sequences came across as incredibly authentic and as the various oxygen counts dropped I found myself getting jumpy! (For the record, this is the recommended oxygen usage in the book: 25% to get to the wreck, 25% to explore, 25% to get home and 25% for emergencies). And I guarantee you will need that final 25%!

Another strength of From Below was the engaging range of characters which are presented in the third person, with the narrative focussing on a couple of them. The main five, Cove, Roy, Aiden, Hestie and Vanna all have different roles and varying degrees of nautical experience. Cove is the expedition leader, Hestie the scientist and Vanna the diving expert who calls the shots when underwater. The tension increases when we realise that a couple of the divers are lacking in experience and may even have odd skeleton in their closet. The characters bounce off each other and are engaging enough to enhance the plot, especially when things begin to go haywire underwater.

I am not going to say anything about what happens underwater except that it is beautifully restrained and paced over four dives, all of which take considerable page time. Even neater was the fact that it is not at all obvious how the bizarre events of 1928 connect to the present-day events, but the way in which everything came together was both clever and plausible. The fact that the divers needed a certain number of hours of film for the documentary made things even more riveting, as even after the first dive they had the feeling something was not right, beginning to worry about the true circumstances of the sinking.

The structure and layout of the AA Arcadia was so vividly described I can still visualise the silent corridors, undisturbed bedrooms and upturned tables. And that’s before we even get to the cryptic messages scrawled on various surfaces? “They’re in the walls.” Yikes! Some of these scenes were outstanding and contributed to a truly memorable and atmospheric horror novel. A one-way ticket to Hell waits for those brave enough to take a trip on the AA Arcadia! Highly recommended.

3.5 rounded up
From Below is my first novel by Darcy Coates. I loved the sound of a horror novel set underwater. The setting of this book is absolutely what makes this one great. The underwater scenes bring another type of horror to the story, that feeling of terror inducing claustrophobia of being in a whole other world, where anything could happen. The book was a little slow at times and probably could have been benefited from some scenes being cut. The book was a slow-burn horror with the suspense built up slowly with the last part being tense and gripping. I liked all of the characters, even if they did some stupid things from time to time.

It felt like the author really knew diving or had done a lot of research. The diving scenes felt quite realistic to me. While the book does wrap up, I felt like there were still some questions left unanswered. The book is told across two story lines, a present day following a diving team and past storyline which details what happened on the ship across its final days before sinking. I very quickly become enthralled in the ship chapters. These were by far the highlight of this story. The way the author portrays the events (don't want to spoil anything!) was chilling and I could see and hear it vividly as everything played out. The diving chapters in contrast didn't entertain me as much after a while.

I will definitely read more by this author as I enjoyed her writing style. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

From Below was a very good underwater horror novel with supernatural elements. Right from the beginning, there was a feeling that something was going to go wrong on the dive. The tension kept growing slowly and it definitely had me guessing what was really happening throughout. The last several chapters had me on the edge of my seat and had an eerie, chilling atmosphere.

I’ve recently discovered this author and I am so very glad I did. I have loved every book I have gotten my hands on to read. This book was fantastic and I look forward to reading many more of her books!

This was awesome! I devoured this book in about 24 hours because I was just so enraptured by the characters and the plot. I feel like a keyboard slam is the only way to fully encompass how excited I am about this release and how much I adored it: sklfjghasglfdgkjlsdfkjshdk! This book is about a documentary crew braving arctic waters to investigate a ship, which sunk a century prior due to *mysterious cirumstances*, encounters horrors they could only imagine. The writing, the characters, the plot--it was all utter gold. I am a big fan of Coates' previous work, but this is the first horror of this genre that I've read by her and I honestly hope she writes more. Coates has a way of characterizing the unknown and the depths of the ocean which makes it so fast-paced and it sucks you right in. Her characters all have different voices and personalities which makes it feel like you really are reading from different points of view, and the flashbacks she writes fit in so seamlessly into the narrative. It's all just *chef's kiss*. I highly recommend this if you love mysteries/thrillers, the mysterious unknown of deep ocean, and/or cosmic horror/the supernatural. 10/10 I highly recommend this title!

"From Below" is Darcy Coates’ latest and it is a slow, claustrophobic descent into a nightmare situation. One thing I’m learning as I read Coates is that she is able to successfully write multiple facets of horror. She can do the haunted house, the thriller suspense, the murderer rampage and with "Below", zombies. A character driven dive into the exploration of a sunken ship, the slow build will leave you on edge and gasping for air as the divers must overcome the normal obstacles of deep sea diving, as well as a terror lying in wait for them in the depths of the cold, sterile ocean.

When the book started, I wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. It concerned me because I could tell early on it was a character driven book and I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy spending so much time with characters I disliked. That changed as the story progressed and I actually found myself liking the characters more and more as they continued on their dives. I liked the multiple perspectives with the third person narrative so we get just enough insight into everyone’s motives and headspace. The characters become closer as the dives progress and it’s a compelling example of people banding together in the face of a disaster.

The book is definitely on the slower side. It picks up in the last quarter of the book but for a long time it’s a waiting game of suspense with little action. Sometimes that’s worse though (in the best of ways), as it keeps you on edge for almost the entirety of the read. The book is dripping with suspense as you wonder if there’s more to the dead bodies they find, what their cameras may pick up in the darkness, if they’re trapped in the ship and if they’ll run out of air. If you’re claustrophobic like me, this will be brutal and truly a terrifying read—it’s our worst nightmare.

Fans of "Dead Silence" will enjoy this one as we get another complex leader in Cove who has clearly found herself in a nightmare situation but refuses to give up on her crew. It’s an eerie, traumatic suspense that will leave you thankful you’re above water.

Title: From Below
Author: D'Arcy Coatea

Cover: ⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

My take:

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc.

What a wild ride! Action packed with some horror in the mix and a great setting of the shipwreck world.

I really appreciated the insights shared on diving and how it all worked. This was a good spooky story that kept me turning the pages.

Despite being a fan of horror novels, especially those written by women, and despite also prioritising Australian authors, I had somehow overlooked Darcy Coates prior to reading "From Below". I'm extraordinarily grateful to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book as I've now found myself a new 'must buy' author.

"From Below" is an atmospheric haunted 'house' story set in a eerily preserved ocean liner that has been sitting on the ocean floor for the past 90 years.

There's a lot about this story that I enjoyed - the atmosphere, the characters, the writing - but the main aspect that truly drew me in was the scenery and the imagery surrounding the crew and passengers of the Arcadia. This is one story that I desperately want turned into a movie so I can 'see' it.

The story is broken up between the past - the Arcadia's final days - and the present - the expedition to explore the wreck of the Arcadia.

I really liked the way that the past and present ran alongside each other. Sometimes this approach to storytelling can feel disconnected or like two separate stories being told in a single book but Coates manages to maintain their connection and relevance to each other.

My main criticism is that I felt the final dive was unnecessary and it would have been better to combine the last two dives into one.
Personally, I would have also liked it if the author focused as much on the 'wrongness' of the ship as they did the claustrophobic/diving danger elements in regards to the present storyline. I feel it could have used a little more of the past storyline's spookiness.

This story is recommended for fans of the traditional, slow-burn haunted house story. The underwater setting simply adds an extra layer (or two) to the foreboding and claustrophobic atmosphere inherent in a good haunting.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Darcy Coates for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My first book from Darcy, and let me tell you, it won’t be the last. This is really a fast pace book. It’s intense and terrifying. I usually don’t read this kind of books but this one really got me. Wow!

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, Darcy Coates and Netgalley.
Every single thing about this story just somehow managed to freak me out!
I've been a swimmer and a diver. But, something about spending 2 hours in decompression just scares the "youknowwhat" out of me!
Oh yeah, lets.not forget all the horrors that go on in this ship from hell!
Darcy Coates is very much hit or miss with me. This was Ms. Coates hitting it out of the park!
Yes, I was a bit more freaked out then I would have ever believed.
I loved this very messed.up tale!

From Below by Darcy Coates.
I have read almost every single Darcy Coates book she has published, and I can honestly say, I have never read anything like this!
I've always had this morbid fascination with the Titanic, like most everyone else on the planet, and this book was Titanic HORROR.
I recently did a review on Dead Silence, a "Titanic Horror in Space" and what I felt was lacking in that story, From Below excelled.
Short Synopsis: Cove and her team of deep sea divers travel to the ocean floor to investigate the sunken ship Arcadia for a documentary.  But the ship was lost for a reason, and in their search for answers, they may just find more questions. They aren't alone, something has been sleeping aboard the ship for nearly 100 years... and they've woken it up.
From Below also features a dual-timeline element that just worked so well with this kind of story.
The horror was discrete at first, building up to an ending I did not see coming! The source of the haunting, though I feel maybe needed a little more back story, was still original and believable... in a fictional supernatural horror kind of way.. 
There is a larger than normal cast of characters for a Coates book, and I think the stories with multiple characters are my favorite by her. To date, my favorite book is still The Carrow Haunt, but Darcy has done something different with this story. 
It feels more... adult? Mature? I've always put Darcy in the "light horror" genre. By light horror I mean, not so much story, just scares, no gore, no graphic deaths. From Below just feels more.. researched, still not graphic but that is okay! Reading this book reminded me of Michael Crichton, one of my favorite sci-fi horror writers. Darcy Coates has clearly grown as an author. 
If I could offer one piece of advice, for the author/ publisher it would be this.. please please include a map of the Arcadia in the final edition! I would study the sh*t out of that! 
Thank you Netgalley, Darcy Coates and Poisoned Penn Press for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review!
Trigger Warnings:Death of a loved one, frightening/intense scenes, suicide

So, I think Darcy Coates writes about a billion books a year. They tend to be what I call horror-lite (I think I once called her Goosebumps for adults). Her books are fast-paced, easy reads and rarely scary.

This one…actually gets a little spooky!

Now, I’ll be honest, having finished this, I’m still not certain exactly why certain things happened. I mean…there was an explanation, but if I think too hard about it, my head starts hurting. But I also didn’t really care while I was reading.

The underwater scenes are eerie and so claustrophobic! And as for what’s under the water? I won’t tell you (no spoilers), I’ll just say that I could practically feel certain things reaching out for me as I read!

Honestly, this may be my favorite Darcy Coates book.

Happy I read this one!

*ARC via Publisher

Darcy Coats…you did it again. From Below is intense, suspenseful, and totally terrifying. I found myself gripping my reader at night with white knuckles.

This is about a 100-year-old shipwreck, the SS Arcadia, that no one knows what happened to it and there were no survivors. Cove is a diver who isn’t afraid of anything. Her dive team of 5 have been allowed to dive into the wreck, take some footage for a documentary, and try uncover the mystery. 300 feet down into the depths of the dark cold ocean floor not knowing what they will find.

If I were a diver, I would avoid the shipwrecks!
Thank you so much Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review From Below.

This book fell really short for me. I have loved other books by this author but for some reason this one didn’t hit for me. First off, I’m not a fan of zombies so that is probably the main influence. Second, I felt like there was no backstory for some of the characters. The actual writing is riveting and horrifying in all the right ways.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From Below is the fourth book I've read that was written by Darcy Coates. It's kind of interesting that I rated them all the same. Especially since I've read them at different points in my life. I can honestly say that Darcy can write some super creepy things. At times, it makes me wish that I didn't eat or drink anything before, during, or after reading one of her books. Luckily, for me, food and water were not harmed or involved while reading this.

In the beginning, things were starting off a bit a slow for me. Eventually the pace picked up, but I did find myself bored with what was happening for most of this book. I also feel like I'm left with a lot of unanswered questions. Without spoiling how things end, I just wanted to know more about the creepy things lurking throughout the ship. It also makes me never want to go diving in the ocean ever but since I'm not a stronger swimmer, I think I'm good.

Other than that, the characters themselves were pretty interesting. After some secrets were revealed, I just felt bad for Vanna and wanted to slap Cove. I do get that in some weird way it helped the other cope but nope, I would not be happy if it was me in that situation.

In the end, I will say that this was creepy and had its dark moments. Happy that I got the chance to jump into this but do wish things were explained a bit more. Will definitely give Darcy another chance and jump into one of her other books soon.

I love Darcy Coates books but this wasn't my favorite. Definitely a bit too slow paced for me. I would have liked to know the backstory of the body that was found in the wall by the crew of the Arcadia.

From Below is eerie, but slow paced.

I did like the unique storyline and thought the author was creative in her writing. Some of the descriptions were horrifying, which I loved.

I didn’t ever quite connect with the characters or feel like I knew them, though.

Man, do I love me a good creepy story. And Darcy Coates never fails to provide one.

A documentary crew going 300 feet under the ocean to investigate a 100-year-old wreck of a cruise ship. Sounds like a great tagline by itself.

YOU DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT.

Atmospheric, at some points literally spine-tingling, and some points of absolute breathless terror. This book was awesome.

Thank you to Darcy Coates, Poisoned Pen Press (love you guys) and Netgalley for allowing me the chance to read this excellent ARC.

All opinions are my own.

Darcy Coates publish book faster that I can read them!! Still she always delivers quality read. This one isn't different. What an ambiance, an atmosphere. I love her writing and the way she made us feel her story. if you are a fan of thriller/horror you should read this book and Darcy Coates in general!

This story is about a hundred-year-old ship wreck and is told from multiple points of view and two timelines. The Arcadia disappeared in 1928 under suspicious circumstances and was just discovered so no one has been down to it. Cove is being paid to make a documentary about it and assembles a team to dive down with her to explore it. They have to make three dives to get enough footage to get paid from the film company and it gets weirder with every dive.

I got a creepy feeling right from the start and it definitely builds as the story moves along. I love that it takes place on a ship wreck and made me feel claustrophobic with them. This was a very enjoyable book and I have decided that I never want to go diving!!!