As one of the few female saturation divers, Ellen has learnt to put up with a lot. But when one of the divers on her latest job is found unresponsive in his bunk, she finds herself being pushed to her limits. It will take four days of decompression, locked away together, before the hatch can be opened. And four days is a long time when you don’t know if one of you is a murderer…

As a long-time crime-fiction fan, I’m always looking for something a little different, and The Chamber certainly fits the bill. My favourite part was actually the beginning, before anything has even happened, learning about saturation diving, and feeling the tension mount as I knew something bad was about to happen. I loved the sense of this being a dangerous setting in its own right, through the risks of saturation diving, and of locking six people together in such close quarters.

I have to admit that I liked the concept of The Chamber more than the execution, as I found the way the story is largely told through past stories and memories a little slow-paced and repetitive. But this really was too good a premise to miss, and I loved learning more about saturation diving. I also couldn’t help but stick with the story once I’d started, needing to find out what happened next.

My most anticipated read of 2024 and what I think will be the most disappointing? The Last Passenger by this author was one of my favorite books of 2023 so my expectations were sky high for The Chamber.

The premise of this book sounded SO fun albeit claustrophobic, the perfect setting for a thriller? The descriptions the author provided did not provide a clear enough picture to me as a reader. I had to go and google to actually be able to 'envisage' what was going on.

All of the character had a nickname as well as a 'christian' name which was confusing and unnecessary as all would be used at random times.

We were told 18 TIMES (yes I searched) that they wiped down the sides of the chamber along with that they would be turned into raspberry jam 6 TIMES throughout the book.

Pacing was all over the place. The BIG (questionable) reveal still had not taken place with only 8% left of the book. The ending left me like ?!?! what actually happened.

Overall a big fat disappointment, but the first 30% was OK!

Six saturation divers are locked in a hyperbaric chamber when one is found dead. When another is found shortly after they begin to realise these may not be an accident. Is someone taking them out one by one?

I was excited to read this as I have really enjoyed all the other Will Dean books I have read and this was such an original, clever concept. This is the perfect example of a locked room thriller and the claustrophobic, intense setting work very well. I didn’t know much at all about this industry before reading but found it all fascinating, while also quite terrifying, and came away having learnt a lot; it’s clear the author has lots of knowledge and has researched well.

The overall story is a bit of a slow burn, however sped up as it went on. This is another intense, intriguing mystery by this author and I can’t wait to see what he thinks up next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

If there is one word I would use to describe Will Dean’s previous thrillers, it would “pressure.” Through the so-far five Tuva Moodyson thrillers, as well as his handful of standalone works, Dean has proved an expert when it comes to mounting tension on his protagonists, creating more and more pressure to weigh them down. That comes to a head here, with “The Chamber,” which builds up the pressure on the characters quite literally.
Following a group of deep sea divers, Dean’s latest novel kicks off with a sudden and shocking death with seemingly no cause. From there, we have an ominous ticking clock covering four days as the remaining divers are trapped within a hyperbaric chamber awaiting a return to the surface and an escape from decompression. Mistrust and manipulation soon become the order of the day as the remaining divers face off against their own exhaustion and one another, trapped within the small metal chamber so very far from the rest of the world.
Expertly paced and with an overwhelming level of tension, Will Dean has created a world here that feels so very frightening. The isolation and trauma that seeps into nearly every page of “The Chamber” is remarkable. Every character feels as though they have lived a life before the start of this book; everyone has secrets, everyone has a past, and Dean uses this wonderfully to crank up the pressure from chapter to chapter.
The final act features a handful of twists and turns I didn’t see coming that were shocking, but didn’t quite hit me in the gut to the same degree as moments in “Bad Apples,” “First Born” and “The Last Passenger.” Dean has shown from his previous work that smaller and tighter narratives can be a hell of a lot scarier (“The Last Thing to Burn” remains not only his greatest work, but arguably one of the best thrillers of the last 20 years) but “The Chamber” manages to feel both small and tight, as well as sweeping and epic.
I am a huge fan of Will Dean’s work, and I am always incredibly excited to see a new one on the horizon. I cannot wait to see what lengths Dean will go to in order to build up even more pressure in the future.

Really great insight into the lives of sat divers. Kept me engrossed throughout. Highly recommended.

One of my favourite types of thrillers, a book that pairs a claustrophobic setting with a unique profession and compelling, twisty plot. I had no idea that this type of diving existed. I was hooked!

This was such an interesting concept! I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book set in the sea before so it was great to get such a new (to me!) setting.

I also really enjoyed learning more about sat diving. It made such a perfect environment for this locked door mystery.

I would definitely recommend if you enjoy a locked door setting!

I am a huge fan of a locked room mystery, and also a huge fan of Will Dean. And boy was this a locked room, edge of your seat gripper. Will’s description of life as a Diver is so real and you can picture every detail and feel the hardships they endure. Also his characters are always so real and this one each of their stories has you guessing til the very end. I love Wills Tuva novels but his stand alones never fail to grip me and I highly recommend this whodunnit, it will not disappoint . Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy.

I’m sure you’re all aware of that oft mentioned sentence used recently in many novels, “ She released the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding “, Well yes, such was the feeling of claustrophobia in ‘The Chamber’ in this case, that’s exactly what happened!

Ellen Brooke is about to enter a hyperbaric chamber with five other Saturation divers. They will spend a month beneath the ocean, where each day they will take it in turns to be placed in a diving bell which takes them down to the sea bed in order to repair oil pipes. This is a close knit team, let’s face it, it would be disastrous if they weren’t, because no one can leave the chamber in a hurry due to the need for decompression - not decompressing correctly will cause the bends, with its myriad of medical problems, and possibly death.

Things are going well until one of the divers is found dead in his bunk. No one has any idea what caused it, so the powers that be decide to bring the team back to the surface, and begin decompression. This will take four long days, all the while giving the divers minds time to suspect their colleagues, either that or something within the chamber is poisoning them.

Imagine being locked in a tiny chamber miles out in the North Sea if you suspect one of your teammates of murder, or indeed that there’s some harmful bacteria/substance that’s caused the death of your colleague. You can’t open the door or you will all die! The finger of suspicion gets a real workout in this excellent locked room thriller. As the hours tick down, the psychological pressure builds, as does the claustrophobia, leaving the reader breathless with anticipation! Another winner from the talent that is Will Dean. And breathe!!

Ellen Brooke is a deep sea diver heading out to complete a job in the depths of the North Sea repairing oil pipelines. She knows she'll have to spend nearly a month sealed inside a hyperbaric chamber with five colleagues. Although the financial rewards are high, it's dangerous work. Everything goes according to plan until one of the divers is discovered critically ill in his bunk. Soon, another diver suffers the same fate. Desperate to prevent more deaths, what follows is a game of cat and mouse, sealed inside the chamber. . .

This is yet another cracking thriller from talented author Will Dean. The action takes place inside a hyperbaric chamber, which, as you can imagine, creates the perfect claustrophobic atmosphere. Tension literally drips from every page making it a fantastic locked-room mystery. As the six divers begin to die one by one, the killer's identity and motive is unknown. Suspicion and paranoia are rife. The hyperbaric chamber can't be opened until decompression is complete. As the hours count down no one inside is safe.

Will Dean has taken the locked room mystery to a whole new level. Just like the divers inside the chamber I felt claustrophobic and tense. The writing is that good.
I enjoyed the exploration of the divers' characters through the sharing of their past experiences. All seem to have hidden aspects that could make them more villainous than they seem, though.
I couldn't stop reading this book. It ran away from the pages and seared into my mind, there to stay for quite some time to come.
Brilliant.

5* The Chamber by Will Dean. It will take me some time to decompress and get my breath back, what an absolutely stunning locked room book. One that Christie would applaud!

Six experienced saturation divers are set for a job in the North Sea. They all know each other save for a young rookie on his second outing. They are sealed into a small chamber from where they will work in shifts on the sea bed . Once the job is done, they cannot leave their chamber until 4 days worth of re-pressurisation. This is highly skilled lucrative work, with a hundred strong boat crew catering to their every whim and monitoring their every move.

After the first dive, a tragedy unfolds. One of the divers is dead. The job is called off but they cannot leave the chamber for another 4 days ... and then a 2nd diver dies.

I have enjoyed all of Will Dean's books but he has absolutely nailed it with The Chamber. The characters are all likable and the tension is palpable from the first death. Despite the tiny setting and the technical details there isn't one wasted word in the book. From about two-thirds in I was actively counting down the hours with the divers until the hatch opened and, as a reader, I was having to slow both my breathing and my reading speed, as I was so desperate to find out what had happened. I read Will's The Last Thing To Burn in a day and raved about it. The Chamber is even better.

I should add that my colleague's husband is a sat diver. I will be strongly suggesting that they don't read this book until he has retired!

With huge thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for an ARC. Highly recommended.

I'm always a bit wary of 'locked room' type thrillers. I often find that they can get a little boring when one of a story's key features, location and place, are very limited. And trust me, there can be no more of a locked room than thousands of feet below sea.

The novel begins with Ellen getting ready to set off for a prolonged deep sea dive with five other divers, all getting paid handsomely for their efforts. However, not long after the dive begins, one of the divers is found dead, and with a limited number of suspects, and no escaping, the scene is set for a thrilling ride.

And what a thrilling ride it was. Firstly, the authors knowledge (or research) on diving was spot on. The reader is given enough information to educate us on a topic most of us probably know very little about, but we aren't overly bogged down in details.

The best thing for me about the story was the pacing. Will Dean expertly draws the story along, with a limited number of characters and only one location, with such precision, you can't help but be sucked into the story with a sense of claustrophobia.

Brilliant novel and a great conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Anyone who have enjoyed previous Will Dean books will not be disappointed.

At first you are introduced to what the Deep sea Chamber is and the protocols and procedures needed when 6 adults are enclosed into a very small space weeks at a time. By the second chapter I became invested in the main character Ellen Brooke the only female diver in the group who has problems whilst out in the sea working. Shortly after she returns into the capsule she finds another of the divers being worked on by her companions as he's collapsed on the floor.........

The story follows what happened to her colleague and will more die.......why , how.......when ..........who?

My advice when reading the book ensure you have enough time set in next two days to read as you truly won't want to put this book down.....it is a fantastic locked room suspense novel written in the perspective of Ellen Brooke

Thank you netgalley and publishers for allowing to read this ARC in return for my honest and independent review

It's rare to find a new concept on a well-known trick, but my word, Will Dean has taken the locked room mystery and given us what will probably be one of the most unusual takes on it that I've read, or will read, in a long time.

Necessarily, there is much scene-setting in the early part of this novel, and a lot of technical language introduced that becomes relevant as the story progresses; while this creates a slow burn for these first few chapters, perseverance is rewarded.

The titular chamber is a North Sea divers' decompression chamber, the size of a family bathroom, if that, and home to six individuals for up to a month - the stamina and training needed to cope with the environment, let alone the work they're conducting on the seabed, sounds horrendous and, for someone, it seems that it maybe just was. Just days into the month long shift, in this impenetrable chamber where everyone knows everyone, six become five...

Exploring the back stories of all six individuals, examining what makes them who they are (or were?) and what has led someone on board this vessel to commit a crime in the most public of ways creates some marvellous suspense, and the intrigue is maintained until the last page is turned. Oh yes.

Deep sat diving is restricted to only the most experienced personnel. A carefully brought together team of six divers is installed on the DSV Deep Topaz, and after thorough checks they are guided into the diving bell to ready themselves for their mission. Well paid and lucrative, the job brings personal wealth and satisfaction, but at what cost? For twenty eight days, five men and one woman will be at the mercy of those that support them and will have to live with each other’s little foibles. Or will they?

This is a very claustrophobic read! I enjoyed the start, but felt there was too much repetition midway. To compensate for the lack of action there were tales of previous dives, told by the six person crew. The feelings of isolation and protocol were described well, and the characters interactions interesting, with the story being told from the POV of the only female on board well done. Not a page turner, but interesting enough to keep reading. I’m not sure the ending was as well written as the rest of the book, too sketchy for me.

A book full of well researched diving jargon (thanks for the glossary!), it will be of interest to those who enjoy technical writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton.

This author comes out with some of the most unique settings and stories and this book was no exception. I’m already claustrophobic but learning about saturation diving has now unlocked a new fear!

This book is clearly very well researched and is one of those books that make you want to learn more about the subject, it’s certainly not something I’d ever heard of before. The book was engaging from the outset and the last few chapters my heart was racing! The only criticism is that at the mid point some of the content felt a little repetitive to me but nonetheless I was still excited to see where it was going and enjoyed the book overall.

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to net galley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Six divers are to be locked into a pressurised chamber resembling a mini submarine, they will be lowered to the bottom of the North Sea and work there for a month. They breathe a mixture of oxygen and helium so their bloodstream becomes saturated with it so the pressure is the same as the surrounding waters. They’re lowered, twenty metres, fifty metres, a hundred metres below sea level. All ready Mike, Jumbo, Andre, Spock, Tea-bag and our narrator Brooke??? Affirmative. The mother ship, Deep Topaz will see you all in a month ….. or will they?

Wow. This is an absolute must read for fans of the locked room mystery thriller genre. Right from the start it gives me chills and goosebumps, just the very thought of being trapped in the chamber makes me want to risk the bends to escape. The six divers are submerged and confined in a very small space making this a creative and original setting for a locked room mystery and they don’t get much more claustrophobic than this. They resemble tinned sardines so the feeling of being closed in is off the scale intense. It’s physically and mentally challenging at the best of times without the And Then There Were None premise.

It’s very well written, the pace is fast, its an exciting and gripping edge of the seat read with off the SonarChart tension. Will Dean chucks little info bombs into the mix with jaw dropping effect. As they’re submerged in a hidden seabed world in a darkly mysterious setting, a terrific atmosphere to accompany the tale is a given. At times the setting provides a dreamlike quality, a hypnotic tone to the storytelling or maybe that should be nightmarish as the dangers are obvious and it becomes terrifying. The toll it takes on the original six is exhausting and that doubles down as their fear levels rise. Who to trust is the big conundrum.

It’s hard to explain how an already tension fuelled atmosphere can escalate but the last part is a countdown and it sure does. Dread builds as suspicion flits hither and thither. Can they stay alive to exit the chamber?

Overall, I love this latest novel from this talented author who has nailed the locked room mystery. It’s apparent he’s done a great deal of research so it feels authentic and is conveyed clearly so it’s easy to visualise the scenarios. It creates a heart pounding reading experience, I feel the need to take great gulps of fresh air! It’s an addictive clever page turner with a terrific enigmatic ending. So well played Mr D, I’m eagerly anticipating what you come up with next. We’ve been on the sea, under the sea - in the air next time????

Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Will Dean is the master of clever, gripping, intelligent thrillers- and The Chamber is perhaps his best yet. The panic, claustrophobia and confusion that he induces had me hooked- and he combines this with compelling characters and amazing technical detail. If this isn’t a film or a tv mini series in a couple of years, I’ll eat my hat

After loving The Last Passenger, I was very excited to read this one - I’m loving these books that are set at sea! It’s very clear that a lot of research went into writing this book, and things were explained very well. I don’t know much about diving, but all of the terms and equipment were explained very well so I wasn’t confused at all. The storyline was very tense, and it was hard to put this book down - I read it in less than 24 hours! I really liked the characters and the storyline, although I was a little bit confused by the ending. I highly recommend this book, and I’m looking forward to reading more from Will Dean in the future!