The Chamber by Will Dean

From Goodreads

And Then There Were None meets The Last Breath in this tense and suspenseful locked-room thriller that takes place inside a hyperbaric chamber from the author of the “brilliant, twisted, and oh so clever” (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author) novel The Last Thing to Burn.

Six experienced saturation divers are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. Calm and professional, they know that rapid decompression would be fatal and so they work in shifts, breathing helium, and surviving in hot, close quarters.

Then one of them is found dead in his bunk.

With four days of decompression to go before the locked hatch to the chamber can be safely opened, the group must watch one another’s backs at all times. And when another diver is discovered unresponsive, everyone is on edge. What…or who…is taking them out one by one? And will any of them still be alive by the time the four days is up or will paranoia, exhaustion, suspicion, and pressure destroy them all?

My thoughts

My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This was a claustrophobic read, that had me engrossed in the lives of the occupants of this hyperbaric chamber.  What a lot of twists and turns you are taken on as the author draws you into the lives of the divers, that are soon wondering what the hell is happening to them and all they want to do is get OUT.

Who can they trust, can they trust one another, can they trust the people that they are communicating to above the water?  It is so hard to know WHO to trust?

Once again Will Dean has written a great read that in many ways can be called a modern Agatha Christie style read, as it has been compared in some reviewers as being similar to And Then There Were None.  I can see why that comparison has been made, but to divulge that reason would be to give too much away.  If you are looking for a read that will make you feel that you are experiencing the lives of the characters with them, then this book will fit that bill.  I certainly felt that way and was longing to escape the confines of 'The Chamber', at my earliest convenience..

An excerpt from the book that resonated with me. 

'Jumbo scratches his ankle down by his Sonic tattoo and complains he cannot remember his PIN code, his daughter's birthday or his new mobile number. This is what they call 'bubble brain'. Too many sat hours affect our minds in some strange and undocumented ways.'

Having had children in the past I can empathise with the 'bubble brain' phenomenon to some extent, as I suffered with 'baby brain' and in my latter years have had 'menopause brain'.