Published By: Hodder and Stoughton
Pages: 496
Released On: 11/05/2023
Caz Ripley, a cafe owner from a small, ordinary town, boards the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete and a thousand fellow passengers destined for New York.
The next morning, she wakes to discover that everyone else on board has disappeared.
And that’s just the beginning. Caz must prepare for a crossing that will be anything but plain sailing.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
It’s so hard to fully review this book without spoiling it. It’s definitely a book to go into without knowing anything other than what’s in the synopsis. All I can really give you is 100 different adjectives for BLOODY AMAZING. And even that doesn’t give it enough credit.
When I read Will’s book First Born last year, I said that he was the author I was missing from my life. This was backed up by my reading of The Last Things To Burn (yes, I know I read them in the wrong order). So, I was so excited to be given an early copy of his new book. If his past books were anything to go by, I knew I’d be in for a treat.
Each book of his is so brilliant, and you can’t think it can possibly get any better, but then he releases another, and it’s even better. It’s unbelievable how brilliant his writing is. And if we’re going on that train of thought, his next one must be even better and I just can’t get my head round any more excellence.
There’s no hanging about with this book. Within the first 5% of the book, we’re in it, she’s woken up alone. And it doesn’t let up until the very last page. This means we’ve got the majority of the book in this frightening place, and we have most of the book to try and figure out what’s going on. Which is exciting, as we’re following it at the characters’ pace.
I wouldn’t advise reading this when you’ve got a cruise booked. I’ve always liked the idea of a cruise – a river one, rather than the sea – but this gives you a completely different perspective, and doesn’t really promote the beauty of a cruise holiday.
Will has managed to get the feeling of terror and claustrophobia down to a T. You’re with them every step of the way. And it’s not just the physical claustrophobia of being within a ship, or being below the water line. It’s this claustrophobia of being alone in the vast ocean, with no land in sight, no other people, no animals., no signal, no boats, no lights, no help.
I need more, I tell you. More!! This would be absolutely perfect for a movie adaptation that will have you on the edge of your seat from the get-go.
At almost 500 pages I expected this to be a read that would take me a few days. but instead I managed it in one day. It’s one of the very few books that warrants its page length. I just couldn’t put it down. It’s so riveting that the pages just melt away. It’s fantastic.
This is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Even with his previous books, this takes the biscuit. It is chilling to the bone, atmospheric, terrifying. He is just the master of dark, creepy, twisted thrillers.
Books By Your Bedside 