The Chamber by Will Dean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
The Chamber follows six deep sea divers as they head out on a new assignment in the North Sea, where they’ll be working for the next month. The world of saturation diving is small, and unsurprisingly, the team has worked together before.
Thus, they’ve built up a certain level of trust and camaraderie amongst them. The dynamics feel like a family. We’re told the story via the perspective of Ellen, a rare woman worker in a mostly male industry.
Everything seems to be going as planned, until one of the team is found dead in his bunk. The remaining crew members are shook. How did he die? What are they supposed to do with his body?
With four days of decompression required before they can open the hatch back to the regular world, they need to watch each other’s back. What if he didn’t die of natural causes? What if one of them did it?
They could be trapped in the smallest, most panic-inducing living quarters, with an actual killer? This isn’t good.
A short-time later, when another diver is discovered unresponsive in much the same way, everyone puts their guard up. It’s becoming increasingly possible that these events aren’t a natural occurrence.
As suspicions run rampant, and tensions rise, everyone wonders, who is going to make it out of this dive alive?
While this sounds like an electrifying set-up, and it did keep me guessing, there was something about it that I didn’t quite vibe with. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think maybe it had to do with the delivery of Ellen’s perspective. I found it a bit choppy and hard to connect with.
I’ve had this book since it’s release, but finally decided to make time for it after recently watching the Netflix documentary, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster. I’ve always been interested in these types of deep sea diving careers, and this was definitely a fun read after watching that unsettling doc.
I feel like Dean captured the details of the saturation divers’ challenges and lifestyle, as well as the setting of the hyperbaric chamber, really well. In fact, those details on the profession itself, and the environment the divers were in, was my favorite aspects of this book.
It’s also a very quick read. I listened to the entire audiobook on a Saturday while doing my housework. I was entertained, but I didn’t find it truly gripping.
I wasn’t at the edge of my seat, but honestly, that’s okay. Not every book is going to blow your hair back. This is still a fun Locked Room Mystery, with a unique concept. I just wish I could have connected a little more with the writing style, and the way Ellen’s perspective was delivered.
Nevertheless, I would still recommend this if you enjoy Locked Room Mysteries, and very much so if you are interested in deep sea diving, and the aspects of a career in that field. I feel that was a success here.
Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really enjoy Will Dean’s creativity and willingness to take some risks with his stories. I’m looking forward to more!