The Chamber by Will Dean
Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
Genre: Locked room mystery/thriller
Length: 352 pages

Thank you to Atria Books and @NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated here are my own.

Summary:
Ellen Brooke and five other experienced saturation divers (think EXTREME deep sea) are given an assignment to check the oil pipelines at the bottom of the North Sea. As per the job, they are sealed into and live in a very small hyperbaric chamber, breathing only heliox for the length of their assignment. The task is to take turns diving in pairs to the bottom of the sea unless all catalogued information is complete. Ellen and her dive partner, Andre, are the first to leave the chamber. When her five-hour shift is complete, they return to the chamber only to find that one of the other four on the team is dead…

An investigation above commences and paranoia and fatigue set in and the remaining 5 divers in the chamber have to stay together in the chamber for 5 days to re-pressurize before anyone can leave. No one knows who to trust, whether this death was caused by one of their own, or possibly someone above who is responsible for keeping them fed, medically sound, etc. And then, the unthinkable continues to occur… Who is responsible for the deaths and will anyone make it out of the chamber alive??

Opinion: 
This book is NOT for those who have any form of claustrophobia. I felt like I was holding my breath at times as the tension and panic set in with the divers in the chamber! I loved how the author also gave the reader a taste for what saturation diving is like and the scientific and logistical parts that accompany it. This book was like a combo of And Then There Were None, but in an extremely small space, with the added fear of disease, thirst, hunger, and paranoia. I loved it! This was my second Will Dean book and he spins a wild tale up to the very end!

3.5⭐️

Major thanks to Atria Books for the ARC copy of the newest Will Dean book!
This one is out now!

I must say that my first Will Dean book was The Last One, which I read last year, and it was a top 10 read for me!! I had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately it fell a little short.

I will say that this is a veryyyyyy slow burn. Had this had a little more momentum, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I did, however, absolutely LOVE that it opened by sharing about the different terms for the occupation that the book centered around. I found that to be so facinating and truthfully it was one of my favorite parts of this book.

I also really enjoyed how the end made me majorly question what all I just read lol typically I don't prefer that, but with this particular story it worked so freakin well!

I would still recommend this one, just be warned that it is a slow burn! Still worth a read though!

The Chamber by Will Dean details the experience of six saturation divers in a hyperbaric chamber as they are picked off one by one. After one of them is found dead in his bunk, the time is ticking down until decompression has completed. But, 4 days is a long time to wait when the divers around you are perishing one by one. What or who is causing these healthy divers to die?
Review:
I personally didn't connect with the characters in this story as much as I would have hoped too. I felt like I was not given enough information about their storylines to get that emotional attachment. I also am not super interested in diving expeditions in general so that basic information was a little slow for me. I did think the overall story moved quickly and was fast paced. I also really enjoyed the tight quarters aspect and know for sure I will not be going in a hyperbaric chamber EVER! I also did predict the ending pretty early on. I enjoyed the one by one trope and the overall thrilling aspects in this story, but it was just okay for me in general.
The Chamber is available now!
Thank you to NetGalley, Will Dean, and Atria Books for this ARC of The Chamber in exchange for an honest review!

The Chamber is a tense and stylish locked-room mystery, with the tension heightened by its eerie setting and the constant sense of unease and dread that permeates the story.

Thank you to Atria for the review copy of The Chamber. I truly appreciated the detailed setting and atmosphere of this mystery. Dean has a remarkable ability to make the setting a crucial element of his mysteries, and I thoroughly enjoyed the underwater deep-diving theme—his research really impressed me. The setting and writing created a tense, fast-paced read that kept me engaged throughout.

While I understand that the detailed background and character development might not resonate with all readers, I found the in-depth focus on setting and character-driven storytelling captivating. As a fan of character-driven mysteries and fiction, I was fully engaged with the plot and the mystery, thanks to Dean's thoughtful approach.

A slow burn start but overall suspenseful if you get through the start. A lot of terminology to learn and remember when thinking about parts of the ship but overall a good read that keeps you guessing.

Will Dean is a master of suspense and The Chamber did not disappoint. It's a claustrophobic locked room thriller that had me holding my breath
The Chamber follows six saturation divers. One by one they start to die.
The book felt tense and unsettling. But the ending felt a bit forced and it left me confused.

Thank you to Atria, Emily Bestler Books, Will Dean and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy. I read Will Dean’s last book and enjoyed it, so I was very excited for The Chamber. Ellen Brooke is a saturation diver who is working a job with five other divers. Everything is going well until the divers start dying one by one. Dean did a great job at setting the tension. It was very fast paced and kept me guessing until the end. Some of the technical terms were confusing, but there is a glossary with most of the terms. I was not expecting the ending.

Claustrophobic to the point of being uncomfortable. That was my feeling throughout. I was tense from start to finish. And then I was let down. I learned all about diving for nothing. No payoff.

The Chamber was an expertly crafted recipe of claustrophobia, unsettling moments, and an intense atmosphere. It was super unnerving and I devoured this one right up.

I've never read anything like this (under the sea in an unsettling tiny chamber that could result in death with one wrong move?) It was a very welcome reprieve from the typical thriller. I loved the fact that this was also reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None

The pacing of the plot and the short chapters made this a fun and exhilarating read. I had goosebumps numerous times. The tension and confinement was palpable and well-done. An excellent locked-room thriller overall and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review :)

A non-stop thrill ride from start to finish. 6 divers are trapped in a Hyperbaric chamber at the ocean floor with 4 days to go before they can decompress, and then...several of them end up dead. First of all, I can't imagine being in such a confined space without freaking out, but this is an occupation and sport unto itself and these are professionals. The author goes into a lot of detail about diving terms, conditions, breathing apparatus, and diagrams. So if you are a diver, you'll be very interested in all this detail. If, like me, you prefer to look at the ocean from afar, you will not. This comprises almost the entire first half of the book, as well as everyone's back stories, before the action really gets started.

I read his last novel, 'The Last One', which was a great thriller with a crazy ending, and this one does not disappoint. This is a very fast paced read, much like a TJ Newman novel.

If you are at all claustrophobic, you might find some of this uncomfortable!

This had me on the edge of my seat even through the revulsion of such tight spaces and gruesome situations!

The Chamber follows a group of divers on a job, sequestered together in a small space under the ocean. They are each skilled, professional and calm… until one member of the team dies unexpectedly.

Locked up tight together, they are all content to watch each other’s backs. They are a team after all, and for the next few days until they can safely exit the chamber, they will look out for one another. As the crew members start to fall, the remaining divers are fighting hard to hold onto sanity.

I have read some gruesome books before, and while this one is relatively tame, the reality of the things they have to endure is TERRIFYING! There is literally no escape, considering they have to take the proper time to decompress from being under the ocean for so long. The anxiety I felt while reading this was severe and I LOVED it!!

This one is a slow burn, but once you get past the initial setup this book is eerie and terrifying. You can't get a more sinister locked room setup than this one, with six characters trapped in a hyperbaric chamber beneath the water. I found the pacing a bit of a struggle as I'm not a science buff, but once the first body drops, the tension intensifies. I would definitely read more of this author's books though.

Thank you to Atria Books for the gifted ARC!

Oh Will Dean, you crazy crazy man!

This is my third book by Will Dean and I'm happy to say that I've enjoyed them all. I know people have OPINIONS on his wild and crazy endings but I rather appreciate that he does what he wants and sticks to it! I actually thought the ending on this one was the best part!

While the beginning did drag on for me with all of the (probably necessary) descriptions of the chamber, many characters and their nicknames and backstories, etc, I was really locked in when things started to pick up around the halfway mark. I found myself not in it for the action but for the main character and her story. I needed to know how things would end for her!

Overall, I'd definitely recommend!

I will forever be a Will Dean fan. I've been special ordering his Tuva series from the UK before his stand-alones were available here in the U.S. Finally, he's getting the recognition that he deserves as a thriller writer at the top of his game, and the The Chamber is the latest in the string of grab-you-and-don't-let go thrillers. It's hard to be unique in the locked-room thriller genre, but deep beneath the ocean is a new one, and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

Will Dean has captured the essence of claustrophobia for me. EEK. I really felt almost itchy throughout this book. What a unique concept.

The story of this book is somewhat claustrophobic: six experienced saturation divers are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber in the North Sea on a job to repair oil pipes 100 meters below the sea. Suddenly, one of them is found dead; then a second diver is found unresponsive, and their chamber cannot be opened for four days since rapid decompression would cause instant death. What is happening?
The topic was fascinating, and I was fascinated to learn the specifics about how divers acclimate, what they experience, and what is involved. A lot of research went into this book.

The mystery in this book is not just good, it's excellent. While it may take a bit of work at the beginning to keep track of the characters, the more we learn about them, the more we realize that any of them could be responsible. This keeps the suspense high and the reader guessing. With plenty of surprises, this book is a thrilling read from start to finish. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and the author for an early copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️The premise of this was GREAT. It follows a group of six saturation divers (a profession totally new to me) starting a job in the North Sea. However, when one is found dead, the group has to survive in close quarters for four days before the chamber can be brought to sea level and safely opened. This book gave me so much admiration and respect for divers. My favorite part was learning about the living conditions and dangers of the job. As this was a thriller, the whodunit plot fell flat, but I still loved the factual bits. A great read for TJ Newman fans.

This is the third Will Dean book I have read and I just can’t get enough. I have loved every book I’ve read by him and this one was no exception.

Will Dean just has this talent to write a locked room, or in this case locked hyperbaric chamber, thriller. This book started off strong from the very beginning and really grabbed me. I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know what was going on and this was one of those books where you don’t figure out what’s happening until almost the very end. So it definitely keeps you hooked.

I felt so bad for all of the main characters in this book because they all had such heartbreaking backstories.

Will Dean is one of my must read authors and I always look forward to a new book.

If Will Dean writes it, I’m going to read it! This book is dubbed as a thriller, but I feel that there is much more complexity to it. It’s highly atmospheric and technical which I very much enjoyed. The first part of the book introduced the dive team members, the scope of their mission and the under water setting. The thought of this was terrifying and made me feel claustrophobic and that’s where the descriptive, technical jargon helped to settle my anxiety. When things began to go awry and dive members became ill, paranoia set in but there was also a deeper glimpse into the thoughts of the dive team. Some of my predictions were realized but also, the storyline tugged at emotions of grief and revenge. This was a captivating and immersive story that left me hanging in the end!

Excellent book! I enjoyed every moment of it and appreciated the diagram and glossary of terms at the beginning. This book has great character development, lot of surprises and is well written. Highly recommend!