I went back and forth between rating Lying in the Deep as a 3 star book and 4 star book, but ultimately decided on 3 stars. It was good, but not *great*.

I liked the plot/setting of college students on a semester study abroad on a cruise ship. It was unique and interesting. I mostly liked the characters, though they were flawed and quite immature for college aged students. I kept thinking they were 16.

Some suspension of belief is required to enjoy the book, but it's definitely worth the read. I wouldn't necessarily say it's something to move to the top of your TBR, but I also would not say it's one to skip.

I am not the target audience for this one. Looking forward to seeing it on shelves!

I hate doing this, but I had to DNF.

I wasn’t vibing with the writing at all. It seemed very juvenile for the age of the characters. I wonder if they had been younger if my expectations would’ve been different.

I also think the main character needs a therapist stat. She has some very distressing thoughts that are not normal or ok AT ALL. I understand the author was trying to throw us off but something about it rubbed me the wrong way.

Maybe I’ll try it again sometime but for now, it’s gonna be a no from me. Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the eARC!

Having read Diana Urban’s first two books (All Your Twisted Secrets and These Deadly Games), I was beyond excited to read Lying in the Deep. I was disappointed to find the plot twists of this book were literally just plot retractions.
The first entire half of the book is just character and motivation development along with plot points that are almost entirely irrelevant. Leading up to the murder, the story is about the main character pinning over the betrayal of two of her friends while also getting close to roughly a dozen characters who are so obviously going to the be potential killers as they are traveling the world on their cruise ship. An overwhelming amount of time was spent developing these character’s backstories and motives, but their role and personalities were entirely dull and uninspiring. Most of the character’s were introduced with a few pages of dialogue and then don’t pop up again until the murder actually occurs which makes their role in the story shallow and obvious. It was overkill, honestly. Moreover, the development of the main character’s personality and background was information overload. Her entire backstory would be offered up with in-digestible paragraphs rather than subtle behaviors and dialogue throughout the book.
When the murder *finally* occurred, all the characters began popping in and out of the story with no logical reason for their sudden presence or absence. Characters that were briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book would suddenly become of key importance and would disappear just as fast. Honestly, it didn’t make any sense that these characters would disappear considering they were on a cruise ship together and there really isn’t anywhere to hide. The speed at which the main character flew through theories about potential killers with no real investigation or evidence would give anyone whiplash. The vague timeline of events leading up to the murder wasn’t thrilling, it was just frustrating and obviously pointed to miscommunication between characters. There were also loose ends that were never tied up. A big bag of money found in someone’s room? No explanation. A broken make up bottle that clearly pointed to one character being the murderer? No explanation. Drugs stashed in the bed of the main character? No explanation.
Finally, the mystery was never quite solved because upon getting to the end you discover the murder never actually occurred! The murdered girl faked her death. Why? Daddy issues. Little miss privileged girl was tired of her big hot-shot Pharmaceuticals dad and packed a bag of money and hopped on a cruise ship. And who assisted her with this plan? The boy who was co-investigating the murder with the main character. Also, let’s talk about the fact that this fabulous plan was constructed so the white privileged girl could get away from her father who was experimenting on and killing people with his drugs but her plan literally got two additional people killed and she still walked away with no consequences? The main character (whose boyfriend was stolen by little miss privileged and who was being framed for everything) forgave her? This BS. . .
Diana Urban seems to struggle to commit to murdering and villainizing her characters. The plot twists of her books are retractions of an underdeveloped story. Her characters lack depth, strong motives, and proper backstories to be relevant in the plot. Her main character really had the “I’m so unique” energy for a girl who really was not unique.
2/5

This had an interesting mystery. I think it will do really well with an older YA audience. It did skew a bit young but I am not the target audience for this one. Looking forward to seeing it on shelves!

I went back and forth between rating Lying in the Deep as a 3 star book and 4 star book, but ultimately decided on 3 stars. It was good, but not *great*.

I liked the plot/setting of college students on a semester study abroad on a cruise ship. It was unique and interesting. I mostly liked the characters, though they were flawed and quite immature for college aged students. I kept thinking they were 16.

And what was with the meth storyline? It seemed very random. I don't understand how they could have gotten it onto the boat. I also got the impression that these were all very intelligent college students, so I think Adderall or maybe even cocaine would have been more believable versus meth.

I did really like the detective vibes the book gave off, and I enjoyed trying to figure out what happened. Definitely gave Pretty Little Liars vibes. There were some great twist and turns, though the ultimate one was pretty predictable.

Some suspension of belief is required to enjoy the book, but it's definitely worth the read. I wouldn't necessarily say it's something to move to the top of your TBR, but I also would not say it's one to skip.

This was my second book by Diana Urban, and I look forward to reading more by her.

I really enjoyed every minute of this book! If you’re looking for a fun ya murde mystery full of twists and turns look no further,

I was fully invested in the plot of this book. I really liked the MC and all the side characters. This is such a good, classic, who dunnit!

The setting of the ship and all the different ports added a really adventurous dimension to this book. I could really feel as if I was there.

The twists were so fun! This book kept me guessing the entire time! The twists and turns were so good.

This is such a fun mystery! I highly recommend it!

This was really good!! I was a little nervous at the beginning because it seemed like it was taking forever to get to the thriller aspect and I was annoyed with how obsessed Jade was with Silas still and I was just dying to know what was going to happen but the second half of this book and how everything came together really blew me away! So much was happening and Diana was able to weave all of the pieces together to make everything make so much sense without it all being obvious! Also the setting on a cruise ship sailing around the world was just so much fun, very Suite Life on Deck but make it college & a murder mystery! Just really recommend this one if you’re looking for a very well developed mystery!

This was a great and fast paced thriller! It was hard to put down - I read it in one afternoon! I hope to read more by this author soon.

3.5 rounded up? This is a fun, easy read and while it was pretty predictable, I mostly enjoyed it. I will say the very end surprised me but it still didn’t make up for the other things. There were two things that I didn’t like though.

1. Not one of these people acted like they were in college. They all acted like 15 year olds. I actually had to stop and think more than once if this was college or high school. They were pretty annoying but not enough for me to stop reading.

2. The meth? This just really came out of left field and I actually burst out laughing at that reveal and had to tell my boyfriend about it. That did not seem realistic AT ALL.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

I loved this book and was really pleasantly surprised, thank you so much net galley for allowing me a copy of this to read!

I almost didn’t read this book but I’m glad I did. I have nothing against the author but with her other novels I guess the mystery immediately. After a while that gets old.

Lying in the Deep though was a different story. I was surprised by the many twists and turns!

I have to say a thriller set on a cruise is a great idea. There’s nowhere to go. Why don’t we have more?! It’s the perfect setting honestly.

The story did not disappoint and it was a quick read. Overall I recommend this if you enjoy a good whodunnit story.

One of the best mystery thrillers I’ve read in a while! This YA novel takes place on a cruise around the world. Jade is lucky enough to get a spot but finds her ex best friend and ex bf there when they shouldn’t be. Having ended terms so suddenly Jade finds herself needing closure. That is until her ex best friend is found dead. So who killed her?

This novel had so many twists and turns it had me wanting to read every chapter. And that end scene was perfect wow so satisfying!

One thing I couldn’t stand was how nosy Jade was and no one bothered stopping or questioning her! She barged in everywhere and everyone just went along with it LOL the middle was a little slow but just push through as that’s how most mysteries are. I thought this one was such a great setting too!

Definitely pick this up if you’re looking for a good mystery thriller!

This one as way better than I expected it I definitely recommend it. Thank you to NetGallery the author and the publisher for this arc!

Even as an adult, I love a great YA thriller, especially one that has horror vibes as well. Lying in the Deep will please fans of all ages.

I was impressed with the diversity of the characters in this wonderfully thought-out mystery that will keep you guessing with each new chapter. The "locked room" scenario is handled nicely as the characters are on a Semester at Sea, which just adds to the suspense and the suspicion of the story.

Of course, there are some typical YA tropes, but nothing that will make older fans unhappy with this read, and it is certain to be a hit with the crowd it is intended for.

I liked the mystery aspect of this. Thought I knew who the killer was but didn't. Also two HUGE plot twists that I did not see coming at all Another great book from Diana Urban.

I must say that thrillers are not my favorite, but this was an incredible read. Jade is excited for her Semester at Sea cruise to escape from the phantom of the relationships with her ex-boyfriend and her ex-best friend who stole him from her. When she arrives at the ship, she finds they are both on the same ship. She becomes obsessed with getting closure from both of those relationships. When her ex-best friend turns up dead, she is more pressed to find her friend's killer to ensure her name is clear when they arrive on land. It has so many unexpected twists and turns that make this a read that you won't want to put down.

I enjoyed this action packed thriller quite a bit. I thought the story was overall good with some great twists at the end. I did think the beginning dragged a bit for me and felt more like high school drama than the college kids it was about, but once the mystery really got going I was definitely sucked in. Jade has been doing to do Semester at Sea since she heard about it and the timing is perfect since her boyfriend dumped her suddenly for her best friend both of whom have iced her out since. So she was shocked to discover them both in line when she waiting to get on the ship. Despite her hurt she is determined to figure out what happened even when things start happening and people start dying. She is determined to figure out what happened since so many people seem to believe it must have been her, so she and her new crush run around the ship trying to figure out what happened on a ship they are stuck on with a killer. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded up for the ending.

A school aboard a ship. How cool of an experience would that be.
This book takes place on a ship for one semester. But then the unexpected happens when a killer is on board. I found this book to be fast paced. The main character Jade was a little hard to like at first but I think she had a good character development.

Thank you PenguinTeen for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

This was an action packed thriller and I must say that it kept my attention throughout. I have never heard of a campus on board and I must say that this was interesting to read about. The suspense that was in the book was *chef's kiss* and I must say it is what held my attention