Not sure I’ve ever mentioned this before, but little old me and water do not mix. I hate drinking it, I don’t particularly enjoy flying over it, I don’t like being in it or on it and I most certainly wouldn’t want to be under it. So obviously reading about a submarine stuck at the bottom of the ocean is a perfect choice of book for me. 😄

Pressure has all the hallmarks of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Throw a bunch of people together in a closed environment with no means of escape and put a murderer amongst them. Except this isn’t a fancy manor in the countryside or a remote island but a submarine. Quite frankly, for me it’s the stuff of nightmares.

Due to a technical error, the submarine loses power and ends up at the bottom of the ocean. With limited supply in food and oxygen and no means of escape, tempers start to rise and then someone is found dead. The remaining crew members begin to turn on one another and the pressure builds up in more ways than one.

There are ten people on board. Bit by bit, they are introduced to us. They explain where they came from, their secrets and dreams and how they came to be on the submarine in the first place. None of these characters are particularly likeable and being stuck together like this sure brings out the worst in them. There are also flashback chapters from one of the people on board, describing their absolutely horrid, heartbreaking and harrowing childhood.

I quite early on figured out who the killer was but that didn’t ruin my reading experience at all. Pressure is a gripping and compelling story that held my attention throughout. It’s tense with a dark, threatening and claustrophobic feel to it. While I was worried that the outcome would be completely predictable, I was surprised and glad to see it wasn’t at all. I think this would make an excellent movie, to be honest. You know, if you like water and all. 😉

4/5 stars

Wow!

This is only the second book I've read by this author. It was pretty great.

This book is written in numerous perspectives as it explains the past of each character and how they came to end up on the submarine.

I had a few ideas who the killer was and even though I guessed correctly, this book still kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for a review.

Pressure is the latest release from author and entrepreneur, Betsy Reavley.  I absolutely fell in love with the magnificent The Optician's Wife, one of Reavley's earlier releases which, if you haven't read yet then you really should get yourself a copy!  My love for The Optician's Wife always makes Betsy Reavley's books something to look forward to for me.  Pressure is published today so a very happy book birthday to Betsy and the team at Bloodhound Books.

I found Pressure to be lots of fun; lots of blood-soaked, terrifying, 'impending sense of doom' fun.  My absolute favourite type!  Regular visitors to the blog will know that I am a sucker for crime/horror crossover books (I flipping LOVE them!).  And although this isn't really a horror novel I had that feeling while reading, that fear in the pit of my stomach, that uncertainty and that glorious unease a good horror book can give to its reader.  What you may not know about me is that I am a terrible claustrophobic; I can't even play 'pin the tail on the donkey' at my children's birthday parties as having my eyes covered makes me panic.  If like me you tend to suffer from an intense fear of confined spaces then Pressure should probably come with a health warning.  It's about a submarine.  Not only is it about a submarine, it's about a submarine which fails and sinks to the ocean floor with ten people onboard.  And one of them is a murderer, slowly killing the others off, one by one.

I loved the setup of this book.  I'm a huge fan of stories where the characters are trapped, with little to no chance of escape and one sadistic soul is offing them in disturbing and unique ways.  Parts of Pressure reminded me of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with a cast of devilish characters hiding their dastardly secrets from the rest of the world.  I spent my time reading Pressure and ATTWN not being sure who the murder was.  Reavley has done a masterful job of throwing in some very convincing red herrings along the way and boy, did I fall for them!

Each chapter is either told from a child's perspective, told in real-time as the bodies mount on the submarine or, is one of the characters giving a brief snapshot into their background, a fleeting glimpse into their past and often the wrongs they have committed.  The chapters narrated by the child are hard-hitting and difficult to read at times.  The unknown narrator tells a tale of extreme abuse, of a mother's hatred for their child and of a life lived very much alone.  As the child grows into a young adult the reader gets to see how this horrific abuse has contributed towards and helped cause unending damage to this young mind (nature or nurture, I'm not sure).

Would I recommend this book?  I would.  It was a compelling read and just the sort of book I love to lose myself in.  Being really rather grisly in places just added to the enjoyment for me.  As I progressed towards the end I was starting to feel a sense of disappointment, I believed I had guessed what was going to happen next and it wasn't what I would have chosen.  But I was wrong, and the ending couldn't have been better.

Four stars out of five.

I chose to read an eARC of Pressure.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

PRESSURE by Betsy Reavley is a unique and utterly compelling thriller that will suck you in from the very beginning and drag you down into its murky depths along with its characters.

Trapped in a submarine at the bottom of the seabed, ten strangers are panicking about if and how they will survive. What was supposed to be a low-budget and dynamic movie soon turns into a horror show of their own when they have technical difficulties with little hope of rescue. But just when they think that things cannot get any worse, one of the group is murdered and that means only one thing ... there is a killer among them and who will be the next victim?

Suffocating, claustrophobic, and intense from start to finish, PRESSURE by Betsy Reavley is everything I never knew I wanted in a thriller and more. The characters are distinct and in some cases extremely unlikeable, and you cannot help but put yourself into their shoes and feel the terror of being trapped below the water rush through you as you read (and then add in a killer to the mix for good measure!). This novel is energetic and perfectly paced so that it never feels slow or drawn out, and I really enjoyed the setting of the submarine as it was so different from other thriller books in this regard. With plenty of twists and turns, PRESSURE by Betsy Reavley has got it all and is perfect for thriller fans everywhere. Definitely a must-read for 2018!!

WOW. WOW WOW. This is a must buy and must read. Pressure is going straight into my top 20 of 2018. Bloody brilliant! Cannot top that story… A well deserved five stars. Wow. Will not forget that story in a hurry.. I am seriously impressed and want to rave about this book. BUY IT! You will not regret it.

I have not read anything similar to this story before and I loved every minute of it! A real who dunnit with a twist. It had suspense all the way through which kept me hooked and wide eyed. A brilliantly written and clever story line… A unbelievable cliff hanger.. Many twists, turns and dark chapters lie ahead! Parts are a little brutal and made my stomach clench including child abuse scenes.

I would highly recommend this story to you all. Outstanding. I loved how there was a little map of the layout of the submarine in the front of the book and how the story was told through each character and how they ended up in their position… Do you think you can solve who the killer is? I didn’t and the outcome had my jaw dropping and shocked! I would love for this story to be turned into a film, I’d watch it. Well done Betsy!

Soo… Did I love this book?

Yes I did, so I will shut up now. Buy it.

Holy freaking hell Betsy is back with a new psychological thriller and she is on fire! I have read all her book's and loved all of them....yes I am a massive fan. So I couldn't wait get stuck into Pressure. And has always we are taken on a dark and twisted journey telling the story set on a submarine....different or what?!



The story starts off with an OMG prologue then the story alternates between a child telling a story, the pica explorer and different characters on the sub getting us plenty of character build up. I have to say what a bitch the child'd mother is boy did she make me angry. We soon realise that the child is the killer but we have no idea who it is on the sub. LOVE IT!!!!



So ten people on board having no idea it was going to turn into their worst nightmare when they set off to film a movie. They soon become trapped when it starts to sink and they realise there is a murderer among them. With the tension building you will be hooked line and sinker until the every end.



Crikey what a twisted imagination the author has Pressure is jam packed full of OMFG moments which had my heart was racing and had my eyes popping out my head with some rather gruesome descriptions.Not forgetting the moments where I forgot to breath!



The author weaves one well and truly crafted story where you feel the anxiety to the extent that It actually made me feel claustrophobic and tickled stomached. This is totally different to any other story that I have read by the author and I could image this being a film. Pressure is one hell of a fast paced easy read which I highly recommend giving it all the stars.



Massive thank you to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in the epic blitz

This is a gripping book which you just can’t put down.
A group go on the submarine to make a film so there are actors, a cameraman and Frank who organised this whole thing. Alongside them is a small crew.
At the beginning of the book the lights go out and they realise they are stranded at the bottom of the ocean....
Soon a body is discovered and everyone looks at each other wondering who the killer is.
As more people die the tension mounts.
Each chapter is told from a different characters point of view and there are also chapters from a child who is being abused by her mother. It is not clear which of the characters is this child and it keeps you guessing right until the end.
This is a great read and I would like to thank Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Couldn’t finish the book . I thought it was me and I found out it wasn’t .
I will still say the Netgalley give me an arc

The Pica Explorer, a submerged submarine, has lost power and has sunk to the ocean floor. With ten people on the sub, time is of the essence because oxygen will run out – and soon. As if that alone isn’t terrifying enough, murders are being committed, one by one. I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s work, and immediately sensed a parallel to her book And Then There Were None.

Here the story is told in two different ways, from several first-person points of view to a mysterious telling from one of their pasts. This allows the reader to get into the minds of those aboard. However, despite all of the individual stories, I was consistently kept guessing. From beginning to end, the story runs at breakneck speed. You just know someone else will be next, but who, and why? Equally thrilling and horrifying, Pressure was an excellent read.

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review.

I honestly don't know what to say. This book is unlike anything I've ever read before. It's been a long time since I found a thriller that pulled me in as deeply as this one did. Well, considering the fact that this story takes place in a submarine, I'd say it was pretty deep. Okay okay, bad joke!

Pressure was weird, surreal and goosebumps raising. It pulled me into it so completely that I felt like a part of the story myself.
(Translation: I was so into it I freaked out at the sound of my brother slamming the door shut.)

The characters were so real and almost all of them had something in common with the killer. The killer's point of view only adds to the mystery.

The best thing about this novel was that it kept me wondering all the while I was reading it. I was trying to assemble all the clues, examining the suspects. I felt like the detective that wasn't there.

I especially loved the ending because it was realistic and full of uncertainty.

I'll recommend you to grab this one as soon as possible. Pre-order it now, because I'm telling you. You don't want to miss this one.

This really is a fantastic fast paced thriller.

10 people are on a submarine when something goes wrong with the power and they end up sinking to the bottom of the ocean with enough oxygen to last them about 7 days. If that wasn’t bad enough one of the 10 is discovered murdered in their bed. Who is the murderer ? And who can you trust ?

As well as the story unfolding on the submarine there are also snippets of information telling us how each of the people ended up being on board the submarine.

This is a brilliant fast paced thriller, which really takes you on a journey. A tense, claustrophobic thriller which keeps you hooked until the very last page. This is the second book I have read from Betsy Reavley and won’t be the last.

Terrifying... claustrophobic... original

"There is a killer among us."

Imagine you're locked in somewhere with a small number of people you don't know so well. Imagine the place is very cramped and without windows and there's a limited supply of food and oxygen. Imagine that the place you're in is a submarine stranded deep down on the ocean floor, hundreds of metres below the surface because of a fault. I feel breathless just thinking about it. Now imagine that if that weren't unnerving enough, one by one, the people on board start turning up dead... murdered. One of the occupants is a vicious killer, but who can that be? There's no way of knowing. No one has the word 'killer' or 'psycho' etched on their forehead. You just know that your turn will soon come... You can't escape... There's no way out of that hell... The stuff of nightmares!

This is the ingenious, terrifying scenario presented to us by brilliant author Betsy Reavley in her new thriller 'Pressure'. As soon as I read the blurb, I knew that this book was like nothing I've ever read before and that come hell or high water I would read it. The author takes us to a confined place rife with mistrust, suspicion and wariness, where a number of people turn on each other and with their nerves in tatters and in panic mode start losing touch with reality, turning a critical situation even more alarming and frightening.

It shows that the author has done her research on submarines well as I could imagine myself in such a vessel perfectly clear. The people on board are film makers, actors and the vessel's crew and I really liked the way the author introduces each of the characters with a dedicated chapter in turn. This way the reader is clear about who's who and their backgrounds. We also have chapters from the pov of a 'child'. Who is this child? Where does this story fit in the drama unfolding on the submarine?

With ever increasing tension, but thankfully without a decreasing oxygen supply problem, I was as desperate as the people on board to find out who the killer was. I imagined myself running through the long, cramped and dark corridors of the submarine, looking behind my back, expecting the killer to pounce on me at any moment. As I was reading, I ended up gnawing half of my fingernails and I'm sure my already high blood pressure went up a notch or two with the mounting anxiety and stress. I found myself wondering who the next victim would be, if there was any hope for some of them to get out of there, who would survive, who the killer was. It was really like watching a blockbuster movie, and I wouldn't be surprised if at some stage in the future this book is turned out into a film. The author succeeded in keeping me entertained, frightened and interested in the sub's desperate situation till the very end. Well done!

With huge thanks to Bloodhound Books for approving my request to read and review this book through Netgalley. Highly recommended!!

Well this book certainly gave me the fear! If you are at all claustrophobic - and I am - this one will make you feel extremely uncomfortable! Set on a submarine which has ran out of power and is rapidly running out of available oxygen, the 10 occupants also have to content with a psychotic killer, and they start getting bumped off one by one!
We find out the back storied to all the people on board the sub and how they came to be there, and one or two of them are truly horrific and deserve their fate! They begin to think rescue is never coming and have to accept they are going to die a horrific death one way or another at the bottom of the sea. Gives me the fear even thinking about it, the ultimate horror scenario!
Really good book, original and cleverly done, I would certainly recommend it.

Ten people stuck on a recently sunken submarine and one of them gets murdered! A great start to a fantastic book. Each of the ten characters’ backgrounds and reasons for being on the vessel are described as the book progresses and the reader is suddenly aware that all of them have a very good motive for wanting revenge on, or at least wanting to be rid of, at least one of the others. The tension rises along with the body count in a gripping read right to the end. Thoroughly recommended!!

5/5 stars!

This book is such a creepy thrill ride, I was just blown away from the very beginning. It's like a mixture of the movie Alien and the claustrophobic fear in the back of everyone's mind that realizes that the ocean water is we all love can be deadly. It's perfect.

The story mixes the present events on the sub with the backstories of each of the 10 characters trapped underwater, as well as the story of "the child," an abused child whose past may have made them into a monster (they were certainly raised by one!). I liked (most of) the characters and it was great seeing how they all fit together in the story.

The deaths were creepy, and I liked that they weren't all the same (trying for no spoilers!) it kept things going as a thriller and didn't turn the book into a simple slasher-fest.

I didn't really figure out the ending before it was revealed - there's so many moving parts that I couldn't put all the pieces together until the end. And it's really a great ending.

Overall, if you love scary stories, you'll love this one. It's a great ride from the first page to the last!

I loved the original idea of a film crew stuck on a stricken submarine and I think the fact that I read the book in a matter of hours , for me, says that it was a compelling read.
Personally I would have liked to have read more about the struggles of the crew on board the submarine given the diminishing oxygen and light but the book was more character driven.
The story was slightly far fetched but the author acknowledges this herself and states she wanted to “delve into fiction in its purest form”.
Altogether an enjoyable and original read

Ten people are on a submarine filming a movie when they suddenly lose power and sink to the bottom. The situation becomes even more terrifying when people begin dying and it becomes apparent that there is a crazed murderer among them. I thought the concept was good and you can feel the intensity of the situation. I also enjoyed trying to figure out who the murderer was.

Wow, just wow!
I was hooked and did not want to put this book down at any point.
My favourite book of the year so far.

I can’t believe this is my first read by this author. All I can say is where have I been hiding lol I’ll definitely be reading her previous books in the future.

Ten people are trapped on a sunken submarine. Among the people in the submarine is a killer which totally adds to the story. There are plenty of points of view in this story which is usually a negative for me. However the author wrote this in such a way that I didn’t notice , the story flowed really well.

I found this to be a well written story that gave me that claustrophobic feeling. I’d love to see this made into a movie as I’d certainly watch it.

The premise of this book grabbed my attention immediately. A submarine with 10 people on board sinks! Added to that , there is a killer onboard. This book was so gripping, the panic, ( mine too) , the atmosphere and the fear of the situation in the sunken submarine, I was pleased to come up for air to learn how the passengers came to be onboard. before being plunged back into the depths of the ocean again.. Each individual had their own reason for being on this vessel My suspicions as to who the killer was continually changed. I had absolutely no idea.. Pressure is a perfect title for this book, not only for the passengers on board but also,for the reader.. The scenario of Pressure makes it a different, taut , gripping read. that will have you gasping for air!