The Chamber - by Will Dean (Paperback)

About the Book

"High pressure outside. On a boat heading out into the North Sea, Ellen Brooke steels herself to spend almost a month locked inside a hyperbaric chamber with five other divers. They are all being paid handsomely for this work - to be lowered each day inside a diving bell to the sea bed, taking it in turns to dive down and repair oil pipes that lie in the dark waters. It is a close knit team and it has to be: any error or loss of trust could be catastrophic. Extreme pressure inside. All is going to plan until one of the divers is found unresponsive in his bunk. He hadn't left the chamber. It will take four more days of decompression, locked away together, before the hatch can be opened. Four more days of bare steel, intrusive thoughts, and the constant struggle not to give way to panic. Mind games, exhaustion, suspicion, and, most of all, pressure. And if someone does unlock the door, everyone dies"--

Book Synopsis

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?

Review Quotes

"The Chamber is that rare book that defies genre and is so exquisitely written as to create a class of its own. Will Dean has outdone himself with a work that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. A triumph!" --Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Sky Mourning

"A highly original thriller set in the claustrophobic, high-risk world of saturation diving. The tension is almost unbearable. A masterclass in suspense--I absolutely loved it!" Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

"It takes locked-room mysteries to new depths like never before. If someone had told me to read a book set in a decompression chamber, I would have passed but I went in blind and found all of the meticulously researched facts absolutely fascinating. Once you start to read the book, the pressure is on to finish it which I did in two days." Liz Nugent, #1 Internationally bestselling author of STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND

"Dean (THE LAST ONE) shrewdly reimagines the closed-circle murder mystery in this tense and claustrophobic nail-biter set in an underwater hyperbaric chamber... Dean maintains unyielding strain on his characters, brilliantly riffing on a classic setup while flexing his gifts for style and characterization. The results are gripping." -- "Publishers Weekly"

"I was utterly gripped by THE CHAMBER. This unbearably tense thriller conjured a claustrophobic atmosphere that had me reaching for the escape hatch even in the open spaces of Devon. Well-drawn characters and excellent prose. A superb summer read."--Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of THE SANATORIUM

"THE CHAMBER is a masterful claustrophobic thriller, crafted with the precision of a fine watch and the reveals executed with more depth than a North Sea oil rig. Just brilliant!"--Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of THE EXAMINER

"THE CHAMBER by Will Dean is the ultimate locked room page-turner. Six saturation divers trapped in a hyperbaric are dying one by one under mysterious circumstances and don't know who to trust. The isolation and fear are palpable, and the impending dread thrums along with a steady, heart-hammering intensity. Dean's meticulous research into the day-to-day duties of saturation divers lays the groundwork, but it's his ability to thrust readers into the metal chamber and slam the door behind them that makes THE CHAMBER a haunting, unforgettable thriller."--Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of THE OVERNIGHT GUEST and EVERYONE IS WATCHING

*Praise for FIRST BORN*
"This taut, twisted novel kept me guessing until the very last page. Clever, compelling and utterly thrilling." Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED

"Equal parts murder mystery and psychological thriller, Will Dean dazzles with his latest, FIRST BORN. A tense, taut plot that blows through unexpected twists and turns, you won't be able to look away until the final, shattering page." Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST FLIGHT

"FIRST BORN is taut, suspenseful, chilling, and surprising. Hold onto your hats for the twists and turns in this deftly plotted page-turner that explores the power of family dynamics, sibling rivalry and broken ties." Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of THE LONG WEEKEND

*Praise for THE LAST ONE*

"I really enjoyed this high concept mystery from Will Dean. No spoilers from me, suffice to say...a contemporary twist on the case of the Mary Celeste." Adrian McKinty, author of the instant New York Times bestseller THE ISLAND

"Brilliant, twisted and oh so clever. The Last One is Will Dean at the top of his game. And just wait for that killer last line." Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of WE BEGIN AT THE END

"Thrilling and terrifying in equal measures with a brilliantly heart-stopping ending. So good!" B.A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of THE PRISONER

"Astonishing." Ian Rankin, New York Times bestselling author of The Inspector Rebus series

"Breathtaking. Terrifying. Unforgettable. So tense you'll want to put it down, so thrilling you won't be able to. The Chamber is simply brilliant."--Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of WE BEGIN AT THE END

"If you look up the definition of locked-room mystery, don't be surprised to see the cover of THE CHAMBER by Will Dean. Saturation divers dying inside a locked hyperbaric chamber with no way out for four days is one of the most unique and compelling premises I've read in a long time. It was claustrophobic, intense, and as the pressure built and the countdown to the surviving divers' freedom was on, I couldn't put the book down for a single second. THE CHAMBER is perfection, Dean's writing and research are flawless, and I can't wait for whatever new mind-blowing gem he comes up with next."--Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of ONLY ONE SURVIVES.

About the Author

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom. After studying law at the London School of Economics and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a wooden house in a vast forest, and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball's book club on ITV, shortlisted for the National Book Award (UK), The Guardian's Not the Booker prize, and was named a Telegraph book of the year. He is also the author of Adrift, The Last One, First Born, The Last Thing to Burn, which was shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and The Chamber.