I will start by saying that I will read anything Will Dean writes! The Chamber, while totally captivating and very clever, was not my cup tea. Too much technical detail and a slow burn felt like it dragged at times and added to its humdrumness (Yes, I think made up a word 😂) That said, if you enjoy claustrophobic settings and an utterly terrifying plot then give it a try. I was the outlier in our buddy read!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for my advanced reading copy 🙏

This was my first novel by Will Dean, and I've already been looking up his others! Absolutely gripping from the start, I loved it and have already been recommending it to friends who will probably be as messed up by its claustrophobic nature I was. Oh well :D

Because, as when I first watched 'The Descent', I had to keep putting this down for a breather inbetween chapters. Because yes, I am claustrophobic. But I've recently discovered I love the atmosphere of deep-sea horror. Blame all the fun recent Lovecraftian retellings, maybe?

This book is not fun. It's an adventure, absolutely, but it's a very human story of being trapped. A locked-room mystery of sorts, while also being the ultimate in inescapable - in a locked room beneath unimaginable amounts of pressure, where the slightest pinhole can mean (an unpleasant and messy) death.

The characters are excellently drawn, with our protagonist quickly becoming sympathetic for me given her history (I've worked in prisons), and the time spent at the start getting to know everyone, complete with their dark humour as a result of doing the Job Nobody Wants is very believable. Then when someone is revealed to (perhaps?) be a murderer, all bets are so very off.

The tension ramps up as fast as a diving bell plummetting to the ocean floor, and it did reach the point where I wanted to physically put the book down... but couldn't. The sense that if I did, the characters would perish was irrational but very real! I was caught and there with them, and my heart-rate suffered alongside.

An easy five stars and huge applause to an author at the top of his game.

This was a book of two halves for me. The first half was brilliant, I was sucked in from the start and couldn't stop reading. The claustrophobic atmosphere that Will Dean creates is brilliant and gets your imagination going. Unfortunately my interested petered out a bit in the second half and I wasn't overly bothered on finding out what had happened. I kept going though and the ending wasn't what I was expecting. A decent enough thriller but not one I'd rave about.

I was absolutely hooked on this from the first page, thrilling and twists that were cleverly thought out and executed

There was much to admire and enjoy in this book, but I think it was a case of personal taste, because I didn't quite click with it. I will read more from this author though.

Absolutely loved this book, I read it in one sitting! Will Dean perfectly sets the scene for this thriller and explains sat diving to the right level! I was hooked and didn’t guess what was going on at all. I always look forward to his books but this one surpassed my expectations!

Another brilliant & gripping thriller from this author.

A very unique premise with the author going into great detail.
Claustrophobic, intense with so much tension, you will struggle to put this down.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book and the tension ramped up well. However from about the halfway point, there seemed to be less peril than I expected and it went it a strange direction. I think the twist reveals got a little muddled and confused, and I’m not sure I understood what or if anything was resolved.

Oh my days. This book is like literally my worst nightmare. I had severe claustrophobic feelings reading this
This book was devoured in a small space of time as I was gripped by the storyline and the tenseness of the book.

Yet another great thriller delivered by this author, who in my opinion keeps getting better!

As ever Will Dean’s books are gripping and unique. Imagine being trapped under the sea in a tiny space with 5 other people. Then imagine they start dying….

The level of detail about the diving process is immense and very interesting. The plot is seamless, I was right there in the chamber with them, theories whirling round in my head.

Stories, old and new come out as time passes but will we ever get to the truth of who the killer was?

Another intensely claustrophic, read at one sitting novel from this incredibly talented thriller writer.

4.5 stars
After really enjoying Will Dean's The Last Passenger, I was thrilled to be accepted to read The Chamber.
And I had a great time reading this.
It had all the same tension that I enjoyed from his previous book but add in the claustrophobia that had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.
I also liked that it wasn't easy to guess what was going on, even if I did have a few different theories.
It felt so well researched too.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for what Will Dean does next as he is quickly becoming a must-read author for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an intense read, best done quickly I think or it could start to drag. I really enjoyed this insight into the world of deep sea saturation diving with a mystery at hand as a diver is found unresponsive and they have to decompress for 4 days before they can get answers. Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC

The Chamber is narrated by Ellen Brooke, an experienced saturation diver. Along with six others, she embarks on a mission to the depths of the North Sea.

Saturation diving is a highly specialised and perilous field, requiring divers to live and work in extreme conditions. Brooke and her team spend weeks at a time in a tiny metal capsule situated 100 meters below the surface.

They are completely cut off from the outside world and wholly dependent on their onshore support team for survival. The isolation and confinement create an intense, claustrophobic atmosphere.

The daily routine for these divers is gruelling and dangerous. They are tasked with intricate and high-stakes underwater operations, pushing the limits of human endurance and technical skill.

The psychological strain of living in such close quarters under immense pressure adds another layer of difficulty to their work. For those who are claustrophobic, the detailed descriptions of life in the capsule evoke a deep sense of fear and discomfort, mirroring the tension experienced by the characters.

When a diver is found dead in his bunk, the immediate priority becomes the need for a slow, meticulous decompression process, which will take four days to complete. During this time, the remaining crew members are trapped in the capsule, not knowing if there is a murderer among them. The isolation and the high stakes of their situation turn the story into a gripping psychological thriller.

As the decompression process unfolds, the crew's anxiety and suspicion grow. The tiny capsule becomes a pressure cooker of fear and mistrust, heightening the novel's suspense.

What begins as a captivating novel about a terrifying and niche profession transforms into a chilling locked-room thriller, keeping readers on edge until the very end.

Thank you so much to the author - Will Dean for writing such a chilling thriller! A huge thank you to Alainna and the team at Hodder & Stoughton for running a book tour and introducing us all to this book!

3.5/5.

What an absolute banger from Will Dean, this hugely immersive thriller is absolutely unputdownable! Just don't read on a diving holiday!

This was so well written. I felt like I was trapped deep down with the them and I really didn't like it! Such a good atmosphere and lots of tension.

Whether you’re claustrophobic or not, you may well be after this tense, locked room, confined space thriller.

I had no idea what to expect from this standalone book, but after the initial explanations of abbreviations used in the book, the story itself started, along with the beginning of the months dive. The reader is given some background to the six divers, the main characters in the story, focusing mainly on Ellen Brooke, the only female diver in the group.

The first working dive was a real experience to witness and then the story twists and the tension and pace really crank up.

Throughout the rest of the book, the reader is faced with dilemmas and problems galore, throw in suspicion and fear and you have a totally gripping, unnerving, thrilling read. Thank you Will Dean! And now…. breathe….

And breathe…this book literally had me holding my breath and having to take huge lungfuls of air at times! The feeling of claustrophobia and being in the edge of panic that the author created was incredible! So many theories, didn’t get any right! That last few hours of countdown were almost unbearable! Very well researched and has confirmed my feelings of never wanting to go diving!

Will Dean has done it again and delivered a totally gripping and terrifying thriller that really does take the phrase “locked room” to a whole new level. The claustrophobic atmosphere rises along with the tension - I really couldn’t put it down. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgally for letting me read this⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel truly had me on edge most of the way! An absolute heart-in-your-mouth journey from start to end and I take my hat off to Will who seems to be able to take any storyline and grip the reader from the first page.

I can’t imagine what those divers go through on a daily basis and Will gave us the right amount of detail without overpowering the storyline with research. A very interesting, yet highly dangerous job, but I guess someone has to do it!

A brilliant read and I’m still thinking about it!

Huge thanks to the publishers for giving me the chance to read and review this.