The Deep by Alma Katsu

Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Horror
Published: 10th March, 2020
Series: N/A
Rating: 3

This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.
Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .

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I did say I wanted to read this, didn’t I? So, when the publisher contacted me via Netgalley and offered it, I was like, well don’t mind if I do.

First thing first, I have to say I did not enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed The Hunger. Not because the writing wasn’t good, or the story wasn’t good, but I expected something way more creepy and chilling. The author’s previous book was proper tense while this one felt like a standard historical fiction in quite a few chapters.

Maybe the topic itself added to my lack of interest as well. I mean, I didn’t know all that much about the Donner Party before I started The Hunger, but the incident with the Titanic has been talked to death by now. Mind you if you are a fan of it, you will most certainly enjoy this book because it’s very well researched as far as I can tell. I mean, don’t take my word for it, but to me it seemed spot on! The fictional characters blended really well with the people that actually existed and experienced the tragedy.

The case of the HMHS Britannic is another unfortunate event that is probably quite well known. The author alternated the chapters between Titanic & Britannic times rather seamlessly, and I was never in any doubt in which timeline we are. Something that can occasionally happen with dual timeline stories.

I wasn’t particularly fond of Annie in either timeline but there were other interesting people put in the spotlight, however even they couldn’t make up for the lack of sinister vibes I craved so much. I mean, it’s a horror story but nothing really creepy happened up until halfway through the book and even then it was barely mentioned. Kind of like an afterthought?

I can certainly recommend this for historical fiction fans, but hardcore horror lovers may feel a bit disappointed.