Ten people stuck on a recently sunken submarine and one of them gets murdered! A great start to a fantastic book. Each of the ten characters’ backgrounds and reasons for being on the vessel are described as the book progresses and the reader is suddenly aware that all of them have a very good motive for wanting revenge on, or at least wanting to be rid of, at least one of the others. The tension rises along with the body count in a gripping read right to the end. Thoroughly recommended!!

5/5 stars!

This book is such a creepy thrill ride, I was just blown away from the very beginning. It's like a mixture of the movie Alien and the claustrophobic fear in the back of everyone's mind that realizes that the ocean water is we all love can be deadly. It's perfect.

The story mixes the present events on the sub with the backstories of each of the 10 characters trapped underwater, as well as the story of "the child," an abused child whose past may have made them into a monster (they were certainly raised by one!). I liked (most of) the characters and it was great seeing how they all fit together in the story.

The deaths were creepy, and I liked that they weren't all the same (trying for no spoilers!) it kept things going as a thriller and didn't turn the book into a simple slasher-fest.

I didn't really figure out the ending before it was revealed - there's so many moving parts that I couldn't put all the pieces together until the end. And it's really a great ending.

Overall, if you love scary stories, you'll love this one. It's a great ride from the first page to the last!

I loved the original idea of a film crew stuck on a stricken submarine and I think the fact that I read the book in a matter of hours , for me, says that it was a compelling read.
Personally I would have liked to have read more about the struggles of the crew on board the submarine given the diminishing oxygen and light but the book was more character driven.
The story was slightly far fetched but the author acknowledges this herself and states she wanted to “delve into fiction in its purest form”.
Altogether an enjoyable and original read

Ten people are on a submarine filming a movie when they suddenly lose power and sink to the bottom. The situation becomes even more terrifying when people begin dying and it becomes apparent that there is a crazed murderer among them. I thought the concept was good and you can feel the intensity of the situation. I also enjoyed trying to figure out who the murderer was.

Wow, just wow!
I was hooked and did not want to put this book down at any point.
My favourite book of the year so far.

I can’t believe this is my first read by this author. All I can say is where have I been hiding lol I’ll definitely be reading her previous books in the future.

Ten people are trapped on a sunken submarine. Among the people in the submarine is a killer which totally adds to the story. There are plenty of points of view in this story which is usually a negative for me. However the author wrote this in such a way that I didn’t notice , the story flowed really well.

I found this to be a well written story that gave me that claustrophobic feeling. I’d love to see this made into a movie as I’d certainly watch it.

The premise of this book grabbed my attention immediately. A submarine with 10 people on board sinks! Added to that , there is a killer onboard. This book was so gripping, the panic, ( mine too) , the atmosphere and the fear of the situation in the sunken submarine, I was pleased to come up for air to learn how the passengers came to be onboard. before being plunged back into the depths of the ocean again.. Each individual had their own reason for being on this vessel My suspicions as to who the killer was continually changed. I had absolutely no idea.. Pressure is a perfect title for this book, not only for the passengers on board but also,for the reader.. The scenario of Pressure makes it a different, taut , gripping read. that will have you gasping for air!

<b>Speechless!</b>

This was the only word I could use to describe how I felt when I finished ‘Pressure’ – it was a wild ride!

I can’t say this book wasn’t what I was expecting, because I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I dove in (pun intended) to this clever, horrifying, tightly-wound tale that’s set inside a disabled submarine.

Ten people are aboard the Pica Explorer, which is the set of a film being shot entirely underwater, onboard the vessel. We are given glimpses into each character’s background, some brief and some more in-depth, as well as the narrative of a child’s (identity unknown) awful upbringing. These background chapters are interspersed amongst the present-day situation: The Pica Explorer is running on backup generators, oxygen and power are running out, and nobody knows where they are – and then someone is murdered.

I made a solid guess as to the murderer’s identity – and I was wrong. Then, as more information came to light via background story and cleverly interspersed tidbits in the present-day story, I realized I was wrong and this time I KNOW who the killer was! Wrong again.

I won’t say any more other than the fact that this is a fast read, because you just <b>have</b> to know what happens at the end – you will sacrifice sleep and it’ll be worth it!

My only minor complaint is that the dialogue was a bit stilted in places – for example, instead of a more casual “it’s” or “they’re” in an everyday conversation, “it is” or “they are” tend to be used instead. It felt a little off, but the overall story was so good that I got used to it as the book picked up pace and it didn’t bother me anymore.

Highly recommend!

This review is also posted on my blog, here: https://wordpress.com/view/numinousgirl663212829.wordpress.com

The story was totally different to what I was expecting, I’m saying that in a good way! Has anyone ever curled their toes up and get fidgety when they’re reading books that make them nervous? I got that with this one!!!!! Goosebumps kinda book for sure. Huge 5 stars.

A few of my worst fears are as follows; deep water, enclosed spaces, the sea…and being murdered. I really wouldn’t like to be murdered! So obviously a book about a group of people trapped in a malfunctioning submarine slowly being picked off by a psychotic maniac totally pushed all my buttons! As a total thrill seeker I will actively seek out a book that is going to freak me out and make me think “what would I do?”. Now there is no chance you’ll ever find me on a submarine but to be able to immerse myself into this story was a dark delight. I have a vivid imagination and Pressure played out like a horror movie in my mind – I was there shivering in the freezing darkness, smelling the rank odour of bodies beginning to decompose and praying for a solution.

The story is told from quite a few different POV’s including the cast of the movie to be filmed and crew of the submarine. There is also a narrator identified only as Child giving an account of historical abuse at the hands of their mother. This may seem like a lot to get your head around but each chapter is quite short and I found them easy to follow. It seems like each character has an underlying reason to be involved in the film but who is out for murder??

Pressure is the ultimate locked room mystery and I advise you put a few hours aside and read this in one seating just don’t forget to breath!!

I thought this book was excellent, the author definitely knows how to grab readers attention and keep it in a deathhold. The characters were written thoroughly and in a way that allowed the reader to get absorbed and sucked into the books. I've heard about this author many times and I'm glad I took the time to read one, because it is definitely the type I love!

Certainly not for the claustrophobic, being trapped 200 meters under the ocean would be their worst nightmare. Put that together with the fact that most of the people you are trapped with are social misfits, who can you trust? no one apparently. Things go from bad to worse when they realise that being rescued is probably not an option and that they only have enough oxygen for around two weeks. It is a book that certainly sets your nerves a jangling just as a psychological thriller should

Having read 'The Optician's Wife' and 'Frailty' I knew Betsy Reavley understands how to tap into her reader's fears to produce good psychological thrillers. In "Pressure' she has excelled herself. When a film crew and cast embark on a voyage on a chartered commercial submarine, which loses power and sinks to the bottom of the sea, leaving them with a limited amount of oxygen, immediately fear of dying, never being found, and not being able to escape sets in. As if this is not bad enough there is a crazed killer on board who is stealthily and brutally executing the survivors one by one. It's a whodunnit as well as a thriller, and Betsy Reavely provides us with chapters from each character's POV to help make our mind up who the killer is. This is interspersed with chapters from 'The Child's' point of view, suggesting that monster's are made in childhood, and this could be the back story of the killer. I read this in a day and could not put it down.

Love love LOVE this book, so much that I read it in one sitting!! Absolutely gutted when it ended as I didn't want it to end. Highly recommended

So, in the afterword, the author of Pressure admits that the book is strange. Maybe I just read a lot of strange stuff because I didn’t think it was strange at all.

I will tell you that it’s not quite what I expected. (Okay, honestly I was expecting some sort of homage to The Poseidon Adventure, but on a submarine. And this is totally on me since it doesn’t even hint at that in the description.)

The most challenging thing for me about the book was the fact that there are so very many POV characters. There are 10 main characters and I think almost all of them (if not actually all of them) get get POV chapters. I get why but that’s a bit…much. The dialogue needs a little work as well. One of the characters was born (I think) in Sweden and the stilted dialogue worked for her, but it was a bit jarring for the other characters.

But, stepping away to the plot, we get an engaging and highly suspenseful thriller. While I’m not sure I entirely bought that the ‘who’ in the ‘whodunnit’ portion of this did all these things, I was extremely entertained by it. I had a lot of fun guessing and finally managed to guess our ‘who’ absurdly late into the book.

I do think I’d try the author again in the future.

This novel is about ten people trapped on a submarine with oxygen running out and a killer on the loose. Each chapter tells you a little about each person trapped on board along with chapters about one of the characters who was abused as a child by its mother. This is one of those books that you just don’t want to put down, even though it leaves you holding your breath and having a pounding heart! This is a fast paced novel and I look forward to reading more by Betsy. I would highly recommend this novel.

I first started reading books from this author a few years ago when I read Beneath the Watery Moon and have followed her ever since and loved every one.

I can definitely recommend this even though it is somewhat different to Betsy's earlier ones but still a great read that just keeps you wanting to read more to see what happens.

An exciting, easy to read page turner and I look forward to Betsy's next masterpiece.

en people are on a submarine to make a film. Some are crew either of the film or the sub and others are cast members, They have all come together because the director wanted to make this unusual film underwater. We are told the story of each of them as well as what is going on at the time. There is also the story of a child who is abused by their mother, fending for themselves in squalor. When the submarine develops a fault and they all become trapped, possibly never to get to the surface, things take an even worse turn. Something none of them could have foreseen. Will they die due to lack of oxygen or at the hands of one of them? This is a short fast paced novel that I wanted to keep turning more and more and more. The who’s and why’s were getting more and the pressure was building. Reminiscent of a well known author’s book (I won’t give anything away by naming it) with a very different spin. Trapped on a submarine is not a pleasant thought in anyone’s book- so to speak- and especially with a killer on board! I wanted to guess at the perpetrator and time and again was wrong. Where does the child fit in? A book you will want to read in as few sittings as possible. A book to remember when you next get on a submarine…..
(rest of links on publication day)

An interesting look at what lies beneath the surface. Trapped in a disabled submarine with a killer on the loose, the characters must find a way to stop the killer and return to the surface.

It starts off a bit slowly but hang in there it's worth it!

This was devilishly clever and bordered on just the right balance of mystery and impending horror.

Ten people who are shooting a film are trapped on a submarine with little hope of getting back to the surface, when they start to realise that there is a killer on board. As they scramble for survival, the story unfolds as to how they got to be on the submarine and how they are all connected to each other. One thing is for certain; one of them is a murderer.

I enjoyed how fast-paced the tale was and how it was neatly broken up into bite-sized chunks of foreshadowing. It mixed thriller with a good amount of horror and kept you guessing until the very end. The many different changes in perspective were a bit difficult to keep track of sometimes and I found I had to do a bit of back-tracking to find my bearings especially because the story is told by 10 different people, plus the mysterious “Child”. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and this was one of the few books I’ve finished were I’ve instantly wanted to reread, just so that I can find all the clues I had missed!