Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis: Adrift follows married couple Peggy and Drew, and their son, Sammy who all live on a boat. Drew is a writer. Peggy also writes but does it in secret. When Peggy finds success with her writing, Drew manipulates Peggy which begins an unfortunate progression of events.

Review: This book was infuriating! I have never been livid towards a story before and it all had to do with one person. But I also felt frustrated towards other characters for the things they said and did.

You get alternating chapters of Peggy and Sammy’s point of view. This set the perfect rhythm for the story because they both have their own internal thoughts and lives outside of the boat that keep this story afloat, but they also share the same home life (or boat life?) and you can see how that effects them similarly and differently.

I could not stop thinking about this book when I was not reading it, but when I would go to pick it up, I was hesitant because it felt like I was stepping back onto that claustrophobic boat. I realize that unfortunately this story cannot be far off from someone’s real life, and that made it all the more difficult to read at times.

I loved the relationship between Peggy and Sammy, mother and son, and was very satisfied with the ending. There are so many lines in this book that made me appreciate Will Dean’s writing and prose. I also love what the author did with the title, it describing their boat and also their feelings of being unanchored and adrift.

The atmosphere in this book was everything. The isolated boat on the canal made for such a creepy, intense setting that added so much to the tension. Everything felt dark, heavy, and claustrophobic, like something bad was always about to happen. It’s a slow burn, but it really knows how to mess with your head. Between the gaslighting, manipulation, abuse, and bullying, I constantly felt off-balance. Just when I thought I was starting to figure things out, another twist would hit and make me question everything all over again. This book was way darker and more disturbing than I expected, but in the best way. At times, I felt like I was going crazy right along with the characters. I didn’t know who to believe, what was real, or where the story was headed. And honestly, I loved every second of it.

I never will forget how I felt after reading The Last Thing To Burn by Dean. His books have been an automatic request/read since. Adrift did not disappoint. It gave me a very claustrophobic, intense feeling the whole time I was reading it. It was a bit slow at first, but then picked up. I really enjoyed it! 4 stars!

I feel kind of weird only giving this book 4 stars because I can’t really find anything necessarily wrong with it at all. I think for me it was just mainly the fact that I felt so very, very unpleasant and uncomfortable the entire time I was reading it. That is certainly due to the incredibly intense and realistic experiences and emotions that took place throughout the entire story.

A family of three sharing the tight, quarters of a British narrow boat, living on a canal in the central part of the United States. Immediately, I’m claustrophobic. It’s soon comes to light that dad is very much in control of every aspect of his wife and son’s life and now I’m feeling trapped. Things began to escalate when the father continues to struggle with his 15 year daily journey to become a writer and finds out that mom has written a book that will be published. Now I’m nervous. He begins to move their boat further and further away from civilization further isolating them even more than he does already, and we start to notice that anyone who could possibly be of help or become a friend seems to disappear from their lives. Now I’m feeling hopeless.

Adrift was hugely intense from start to finish, and I can see why as the author notes that a lot of the story came from his own personal experiences. I don’t know which parts or to what extent but no matter what I’m sorry that he endured anything even close to this.

I suppose I’m removing one star because I cannot recommend this book to everyone like I would normally do with anything that I rate five stars. But trust me if you can handle the dark intensity and the various triggers, this was an incredibly well written and emotional read.

As of the time I’m writing this review, I am a major outlier, but this was not for me. I was excited because I thought this would be similar to my favorite Dean novel (The Last Thing to Burn), but I was wrong.

A small family is living on a canal boat and the father moves it further and further from civilization as he senses his control over his wife and son is slipping. I loved the premise and it started strong for me, but it turned into a slog and a snail-paced burn. It was so slow and repetitive. The bullying the son is victim of was so relentless. I am also not sure why it wasn’t set in England, or at least have the whole family be British. Having it set in rural America was a mistake with so many British turns of phrase and words (using biro for ballpoint pen, calling a sports uniform a kit, nicknames like Johnno, white mice candy isn’t common in middle America, etc) and it was just another thing that took me out of the story. If I was more engaged in the story, this might not have been a big deal.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

I liked this book! It was a bit of a slow burn for me- but I think Will Dean is always like that for me. A few trigger warnings, but overall well written by Dean

After reading Will Dean’s The Last Thing To Burn, I knew I should expect writing that makes you sit and think about it long after you read it, and Adrift definitely did not disappoint. With haunting and dreadful moments from start to finish and a super claustrophobic yet isolated atmosphere, this slow-burn suspense really does a great job at capturing the scenery and environment but also at developing each of the characters. This one really was a unique read for me because it’s like we all knew how this was going to end for them, yet you can’t stop looking away from watching it as it unfolds.

Will Dean is a new author to me, and I was incredibly impressed by this thriller. I was so immersed and on the edge of my seat the entire book, and I ended up reading it in one sitting.
Peggy and Drew are a married couple that both happen to be writers. They have one son together, Sammy. Life on a small boat is cramped, tense, and uncomfortable. With no privacy from one another, it's hard to keep secrets- but one of them manages to. When the husband starts sensing his family wants to get away from his tyrant tendencies and abusive behavior, he gets more and more unhinged. Peggy gets to a breaking point and makes plans to leave, and all hell breaks loose.

From page one you are drawn in and quickly realize how insane the main character truly is, and you want to know if there's consequences for his actions. Loved this so much.

I previously read an earlier book of Will Dean called “the last one” which had honestly the most jaw dropping insane twists i read that entire year and since then i will be the first to ask for any of his future book releases 😂😂 the netgalley gods gifted me with a copy of “Adrift” and I am such a happy camper!

Ohhh this book, those characters 😫😫😫 i grew so attached to this family (minus drew, never drew 😂) and found myself growing fiercely protective over them.

The plot follows drew and his family, drew is a narcissistic controlling a-hole and his poor wife and son are just trying to survive in the orbit that is Drew’s world. Drew is an aspiring writer and is under the impression this is Drew’s world and everyone around him should cater to his every whim. His wife’s only escape is her job at the library, and sadly his son has no escape as his only time away is school where he is mercilessly bullied. When things go very well for Peggy (drews wife) Drew cannot take the jealousy and he decides to isolate them further away from society by sending them adrift, literally and figuratively, on the boat they call home.

This book is haunting, compelling, gut wrenching, you can feel the taut apprehension throughout and dread the collision which is bound to come to a head. It is very easy to hate drew and very easy to love his family. Safe to say I could not stop reading until the very end. I absolutely recommend!

Thank you thank you thank you Atria Books and Will Dean for the #netgalley #gifted copy

Book publishes: February 17th 2026

WOW. This book was so much darker and more disturbing than I thought it would be, but in the best way possible!! At times I felt like I was going crazy and I didn’t know who to believe in the story!

The atmospheric writing really enhanced the suspense and just how psychologically thrilling this book was. A boat on an isolated canal set such a cool scene for the rest of the story and made everything feels so dark and high stakes

Despite the book being a slow burn, this book plays with your mind with all the gaslighting, abuse and bullying. It also lulls you into a sense of safety and then, bam! Hits you with another element to think you’re losing it!

A creepy, claustrophobic story about control, narcissism, and isolation. This is the story of the Jenkins family-Drew, Peggy, and their son Samson. They live on a houseboat near the Kentucky/Illinois/Indiana area. Trigger warnings for physical and emotional abuse. Drew is controlling and demanding to say the least. Every move that Peggy makes is scrutinized-from her conversations with male neighbors, to what she is doing at her volunteer library job, and what time she'll be home.

Samson exists between the 2 of the them, afraid for her, being bullied at school, and afraid he'll disappoint his dad. In the marina, they are somewhat safe. They are people around them, they have water and electricity hookups, and Samson goes to a local school. But they are constantly being watched, monitored by Drew. When Peggy has some mild success writing her book, Drew becomes more and more paranoid and moves their boat further out into the canal, away from society. This is when the tension and isolation increases and you feel the stress between the family members simmering below the surface. It's a slow burn, and Drew is a boiling pot about to explode, and you just hope that Peggy and Samson have a plan to get out.

This reminded me quite a bit of 'The Great Alone' by Kristin Hannah. Abusive, controlling husband, and wife with kid just trying to survive, before the inevitable happens. You can feel it coming, and it's frustrating, but you still have hope that Peggy and Samson survive. It's intense, stressful, and moving.

I have to admit that I was surprised by this title. This wasn't the story I was expecting based on what I already knew about it. Still it was an interesting read with well drawn characters. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

Peggy and her husband Drew live on a houseboat with their young teen son Samson. Drew works a few different jobs during the day, but his nights are spent working on his novel, his magnum opus. Peggy volunteers at the library a few times a week, a job she loves that also allows her to work on her own novel, a fact she keeps hidden from Drew. As Drew grows more and more paranoid he moves the boat further from civilization and brings the rest of his family into more danger, mainly from him.

Drew is a terrifying character. A probable psychopath (the story starts with him burning butterflies then escalating with fire) he lives his life rigidly and constantly gaslights and emotionally terrorizes his wife and son.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Took me a while to finish it only because I had so many other books to start on. But I’m SO glad I read this one.

It was slow paced but the book follows a small family while they adjust to living on a narrow boat full time. In the beginning you learn that Drew, the husband/dad, is a writer and also works at a local shipyard. Peggy, the wife/mother, volunteers at a local library. Samson, the son, goes to school and will sometimes visit their old neighbor. Drew decides he wants to move down the river to get away from civilization so he can focus more on his writing.

Throughout the book a lot happens and a lot of missing puzzle pieces you have to put together to understand what is actually happening. Definitely worth the read!


Trigger warnings ‼️: Emotional abuse, animal death, self harm, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse, manipulation, gaslighting.

Warning - it is full of trauma and so much abuse. The heart-wrenching twist at the end is superb. Slow burn and worth a read. Excellent writing and plot.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Adrift.
Dean is a fantastic writer and his novels are provocative and deep.
This is so sad. A family living in a boat with so little, a husband who is borderline narcissistic and is not very good with his family.
Peggy, is the wife, and her son, Samson, is a good boy. They live in poverty because the husband’s so caught up in his writing trying to write his own novel.
But Peggy is also writing a book but she keeps that a secret and when she finally tells her husband he is filled with contempt and jealousy.
This sad family broke my heart.
But Peggy has dreams to get away and most of all to get her son out of this life.
Can she? Is she strong enough? Or is she condemned to a life not worth living.
This one will pull at your hear strings.
4 stars.

𝑰𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆, 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍, 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕.

We often read for the same reasons authors write. I often see pieces of myself in characters, especially the ones I want to scream at for failing to see the red flags. I was wholly unprepared to care for these characters the way I did--well, except for Drew--and how invested I would be in their precarious journey.

Drew is an aspiring writer who demands peace when he's perfecting his craft. He's moved his wife Peggy and their fourteen-year-old son Samson to an isolated canal boat. Peggy volunteers at the local library and tries her best to do everything Drew asks of her. She's fading and doesn't even realize it. Samson, the victim of relentless bullying at school for his slender build and obvious lack of money, is also fading; adrift. On the outside looking in.

Peggy relishes her days at the library away from Drew's scrutiny. There, she lets herself write and create, and in a sudden burst of confidence, she mails her manuscript to some publishers in New York City. To her surprise, she's offered a contract, but when she shares the news with Drew, he becomes distant and aloof. Then he decides to move their boat further and further from civilization, and what happens next will put this family on a collision course that no one could have predicted.

My heart was in my throat for about 75% of this book. I saw pieces of myself in Peggy and marveled at how adept women are at making themselves smaller to make room for a man. But the story line that absolutely shattered my heart was Samson's. The utter misery he endured, both at home and at school, the taunts, the vicious acts...and the package he received with the note penned with such casual cruelty just devastated me. All the air left the room when I read that part. I marveled at his resilience while raging that a kid that age had to be resilient rather than carefree; that he had to issue silent thanks to shopkeepers: 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈.

The prose is hauntingly beautiful, and your heart will break more than once and in many different ways. I will think about these characters for a long time, even Drew, and I will cherish the words of one of my favorite characters: "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓, 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓." Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this early copy. This title will publish February 17, 2026.

You want an emotional thrill ride? Then Adrift is the book for you.

This is a hard book to write an actual review on because of how intense it was. Just know that this book is without a doubt in my top five books I have ever read in my entire life.

Thank you Will Dean for writing something so unforgettable and to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well, Mr. Will Dean, Well Done.

Everyone, i would like you to meet my first ever 6🌟 suspense read

This is the first book I've ever read that actually made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on several occasions.

There's a unique level of truth & grittiness to this story which makes it all the more heart stopping.
You feel like a fly on the wall watching real events

If you're reading this book and find yourself thinking it's "far fetched" or " unbelievable" please just pause & consider the fact that perhaps you're just lucky enough to have never come across one.

Imaging having to be so aware of your surroundings as a kid you can sense your parent typing in another room ?!

I never like to give too much away in my reviews but just remember. At the end of the day humans are only animals and like every other animal on this earth, can be highly mysterious & unpredictable.

This book reads like a real life experience which really helps add to the fear factor.

I hardly put trigger warnings but if you are a person that has been under the thumb of a narcissist and haven't started to heal, proceed with caution.

This review can also be found on my Goodreads, linked in my Netgallery profile, Fable, StoryGraph, and Bookmory

This is another highly recommended story from Will Dean, a master of storytelling, exploring themes of pressure, claustrophobia, and escalating tension.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Present day, on an isolated canal near Cairo, Illinois
Characters: The Jenkins family - Drew, his wife, Peggy, and 14-year-old son, Samson, along with important and interesting supporting role players.
Overview: The family struggles to make ends meet as Drew works a low-paid job and demands absolute silence in the evening as he thinks he is writing the “great American novel” based on an obscure award he received. His control of the family becomes more and more restrictive and suffocating while Samson is bullied at school and Peggy works at a volunteer library job, secretly trying to write her own book. How Drew exerts almost total control over the family, and how the interactions among family members subtly and surprisingly change, make this a terrific story.
Recommendation: I rate this book 5 stars
Extras: Typical of Will Dean’s slow, suspenseful, claustrophobic burn, the story just makes you want to smash something in aggravation and, at the same time, grow pessimistically hopeful. The overall theme is similar to Dean’s excellent “The Last Thing to Burn,” but with more heart. Definitely recommended.
Thanx to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the opportunity to provide this candid review.