I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Deep by Alma Katsu on March 10 2020
Genres: Adult, historical
Pages: 432
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Alma Katsu’s signature atmospheric prose elevates this eerie, domestic thriller set on the ill fated Titanic, with mixed results.
The Deep was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2020, and I’m sorry to say it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I was expecting a ghost story set aboard the Titanic, and that’s sort of what I got. But many of Alma Katsu’s “ghosts” are simply in the characters’ minds, or metaphorical “ghosts of the past.” The author excels at creating an eerie atmosphere, and her writing is beyond reproach, as lyrical and evocative as I’ve come to expect from her. But if you’re looking for a supernatural-heavy story, then you may want to look elsewhere. Instead, the story centers around a handful of complex characters whose lives are intertwined in some very interesting ways. This is more of a domestic drama that explores the way women’s mental issues were treated during this time period, so if you enjoy intricate character studies, then you will most likely love this book.
The story follows a young girl named Annie Hebbley in alternating timelines. In 1916, we meet Annie, newly released from the Morninggate Asylum, as she has just been hired as a doctor’s assistant aboard the HMHS Britannic, the sister ship of the Titanic, which has been retrofitted as a hospital ship during the war. The story flashes back to the maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912 and the ensuing disaster when the ship hits an iceberg and sinks. In this timeline, Annie joins the crew as a stewardess in first class, where she meets husband and wife Mark and Caroline Fletcher and their baby Ondine and immediately becomes embroiled in their lives.
Right away, strange things begin happening on the ship. Jewelry goes missing, and a young boy nearly jumps into the ocean after he “hears” voices calling to him. The boy is rescued, but later dies of unknown causes. One passenger, a pregnant woman named Maddie, is convinced that there is an evil spirit on board who wants to harm her unborn baby. And Caroline Fletcher suspects that Annie, who is helping them take care of Ondine, is somehow involved with her husband Mark. As tensions among the passengers rise, the ship makes its inevitable way towards disaster.
The Deep gets off to a slow start, and the first half is especially light on plot while Katsu sets the stage by introducing her characters and dropping lots of hints about their dubious pasts. Katsu is brilliant at setting up her mystery, but she’s very slow to show her final hand, so readers will have to be patient. First, there is the mystery of Mark, Caroline and Annie. How are they connected, and why does Annie think she’s met Mark before? Annie can’t seem to stay away from Mark and his baby daughter Ondine, but Caroline doesn’t want her anywhere near her husband and child. And what of the girl named Lillian, a seamstress who nearly died in a factory fire? How does she fit into the picture? Just about every character in this story has something shameful in their past that they want to hide or forget, and the author brings each one of these secrets to the surface.
The Titanic disaster itself is almost an afterthought and only takes up a chapter or two, although I have to admit that my favorite scenes happened during the sinking of the ship. These were small, almost insignificant moments, strangely enough, and didn’t really impact the overall story. But the drowning death of one character in particular—and I won’t tell you which one—nearly made me cry, it was so beautifully and horrifyingly written. The rest of the disaster reminded me a lot of the Titanic movie: panic as thousands of people try to jump into lifeboats, and the sheer terror as the ship starts to tilt and fill with water. You can tell the author did a lot of research for this book, and it really shows in these final, desperate scenes on board the ship.
A few of the characters just didn’t work for me at all, unfortunately. There is a rather drawn out side story about two famous boxers who are passengers on the ship named Leslie Williams and David “Dai” Bowen (both real life victims of the Titanic disaster). I just wasn’t that interested in their story. Les and Dai are secretly lovers and Dai is extremely jealous of Les and his good looks and easy way with women. In this story, they are portrayed as con men who enlist the services of a stewardess to break into the first class passengers’ rooms and scope out their possessions. I don’t know, I just couldn’t figure out why their story was given so much page time, because ultimately their characters weren’t that important.
Then there are the sections in 1916 aboard the Britannic. I understood what Katsu was trying to do: by jumping ahead in time and reuniting Annie and Mark, she gets to finally shed some light on the past and explain their very weird connection to each other. But since the Britannic is also famous for sinking, I think she wanted to mirror the events of the Titanic in order to bring her story full circle. Instead, the fate of the Britannic was completely underwhelming and felt slightly out of place.
What I did love, though, was Katsu’s atmospheric writing and her ability to create a wonderful sense of time and place. You can tell a lot of research has gone into this book, and really, who isn’t fascinated by one of the biggest and most famous disasters in our history? I loved her descriptions of the first class passengers and their fancy clothes and jewelry—and their disdain for those in the lower classes of the ship. I could feel the chill in the air as Annie stands at the helm in the dark, shivering in the icy winds, and I too felt a little seasick when the waters were choppy and the ship listed from side to side. Katsu also nails the time period by focusing on some famous passengers. I particularly like W.T. Stead, a newspaperman and occultist who is convinced there is a vengeful spirit on board the ship. I also loved fashion designer Lucy Duff-Gordon, a hard-as-nails woman whose textile factory tragically burned down before the sailing of the Titanic, an event that ties into the lives of a few other characters. Even the mention of how cocaine was often prescribed for “women’s maladies” like headaches was simply fascinating.
Eventually we do get some actual supernatural events, but I almost felt as if they came too late. There’s a feeling of “is it real or not?” that carries through most of the story, a device that allows the reader to make up their own mind about what’s happening. I think I would have preferred to leave it there, and perhaps that’s one reason I finished this book with a feeling of dissatisfaction. As a domestic mystery, The Deep works really well, but as a ghost story? Not so much. I’m sad to be rating this book as low as I did, but I’ll never lose faith in Alma Katsu’s abilities as a writer, and I look forward to her next book.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Well that’s a bummer. I have to read this soon and I’m no longer really looking forward to it. I do sometimes like character driven stories- and the Mark, Annie, Caroline thread seems interesting. But I’m less enthused by the way it sounds like some of the less important characters are given so much spotlight. Great review Tammy!
It might work better for you, I certainly don’t want to ruin your experience just in case!
This was a very compelling review! I am sorry the book didn’t live up to your expectations, but it seems an intriguing book, even if it’s not right my cup of tea!
There was a lot I did love about it:-)
Ugh! I hate it when a book doesn’t live up to the expectations. I had that too recently with a book so I know how you feel. 🙁
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It’s disappointing for sure…
Hmm, disappointing! I’m starting this book next, so I just skimmed your review for now and will come back again once I finish. 🙁 But I’m sorry to see enough to tell me that it wasn’t great.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts:-)
Previous experience with The Hunger had led me to believe this book would be another exploration of the fateful voyage of the Titanic, with some supernatural overtones similar to the ones the author inserted in the other book. It’s great to learn from your review that Katsu’s writing remains strong and descriptions fascinating, but I’m now wondering it this is the right book for me… Thanks for sharing!!!!! 🙂
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It’s definitely going to work for some people, but based on the way she took the Donner party and changed things up in a horrific way in The Hunger, I was hoping for something similar with this book.
I also gave this one 3 1/2 stars–and I had a lot of similar thoughts as you. I think I was really hoping for a lot more from this book. I had a lot of issues with some of the characters as well. I’m still excited for what Alma Katsu does next also, though!
I’m glad I’m not the only one. But yes, I’m always excited to see what she’ll do next!
So given my issues with ThevHunger, I’m scared..very scared. Great review though.
This was a well-balanced review for a book that didn’t completely work for you. And that’s ok, they don’t always work. But I liked that through the review there might be folks who are drawn to it, now knowing better what to expect.
There is definitely an audience for this, lots of interesting mysteries and drama!
I wanted to listen to this, but decided to hold off and get it from the library. You aren’t the only one who loves this author and felt it didn’t completely work.
It’s definitely not my favorite of hers, and I’ve read all of her books. But she is very talented, I have to say, no matter how I felt about this one:-)
So very glad that I read this review cause this book is not for me. I am having less time to read at the moment and I am glad I didn’t give in to the impulse to read this one. Thanks matey!
Happy to help out!
You have me wondering if I’ll like it a little more for the domestic mystery of it, Tammy. You are right about the premise- it’s just brilliant. As always, a thoughtful, well-balanced review.
There’s a lot to love about it, Jennifer. It just wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
Yeah it was really uneven, and I’m not sure I liked how the two timeline were handled. It didn’t feel like she gave enough attention to the Britanic and at the end, I totally agree the sinking of the Titanic felt like an afterthought. It was really dry in the way it was written.
I was thinking the focus would be more on the disasters, because that’s what comes to mind when I think of Titanic stories!
I just saw another review for this one that said much the same thing. the supernatural elements are less of a factor, I guess, than what I was expecting/ hoping for. I do like how atmospheric the writing is though and this is an author I want to get to at some point for sure.
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It kills me not to give this book five stars, because it’s beautifully written and there are so many wonderful things about it. I guess my expectations got in the way a bit.
I’m sorry to hear this wasn’t a better read for you. The premise of the story really appealed to me, but I’ve seen several mixed reviews now citing similar issues so I’ll probably take a pass on it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
It is a great premise, and I’m sure some readers are going to enjoy it more than I did.
Oh dear, ghosts on the titantic had me interested rightawat, but I’ll steer clear of this one. I just finished a book filled with lush descriptions and commentary about things that should have stuck with me but really didn’t because this was so meandering and pointless at times. And it was supposed to be a thriller.
Yeah, I feel your pain. Expectations can be rough sometimes.
I really enjoyed your review and yes, I’ll still give it a try but I’m VERY worried. Let’s hope it works for me this time around! On the positive, The Hunger, Little Heaven and The Valley of the Sun are getting very lonely on the Books Others Loved What is Wrong With Me list. They could use some fresh company!
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I’m dying to hear what you think!
Have you read The Deep by Rivers Solomon? That one sounds like it actually pulls off a supernatural oceanic tale, and I can’t wait to read it.
Yes, I have! I really enjoyed it, and yes it’s about mermaids so it definitely has an otherworldly feel to it.
I don’t mind the ‘is it real or not’ thing but sometimes once it’s revealed…it can feel like a let down LOL. I still really want to check out something by Alma Katsu though!
I really love her Taker trilogy, and I loved The Hunger too, although not everyone did:-)
I felt pretty much exactly the same way about this one. I was really hoping for more Titanic.
Me too, more Titanic and less drama:-)
Oh, I am sorry that this anticipated read of yours was a bit of a disappointment. I can see how the ghosts being metaphorical rather than physical definitely changed the direction and impact of the book. I do like the theme of exploring women’s domestic problems though… Maybe I will be able to enjoy it more knowing these misconceptions ahead of time and knowing a bit more of what it is actually about due to your review.
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There are lots of things I really loved, so I guess it’s a mixed bag for me. Alma is an amazing writer, I love her prose:-)
I’ve heard such mixed reviews about this book, and I’m just picking it up myself. It seems not quite what the blurb promised, but I’m hoping to enjoy it just the same. I’m a bit bummed about the lack of supernatural elements, though, but you’re not the first person who’s said that. At least I’ll know not to expect it.
It sounds like where this really falls down is the marketing, and I’ve been noticing that more and more with books. I feel like whoever’s pushing marketing needs to go back to the drawing boards on how to represent books, because seemingly promising something that isn’t there is NOT the way to go about it (and also, the author has no control of that). It seems like it should’ve been pushed more as historical mystery rather than paranormal mystery. Still, I’m glad you enjoyed it, and Alma Katsu sure does have a lovely way of writing, so there’s that, at least!
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I agree, sometimes marketing pushes a book in the wrong direction and sets up poor expectations. Also, I think all the high profile author blurbs hurt it a bit. I know fellow authors all want to praise big books so they can get there names on the covers, but those blurbs might be out of context.
Aw no, I was kind of looking forward to this one and was DEFINITELY expecting more supernatural elements…I think I’ll lower it on the priority list; there’s just too many great books to get to right now. That cover is still gorgeous, though! 😀
There are supernatural elements, but they are very weird and not at all what I was expecting. It all boils down to expectations with this one, I think.
I’m reading that atm. About 60% in. I am intrigued but it’s not at all what I was expecting (so far anyway).
Lynn 😀
The reviews kind of put me off from reading The Hunger so I’ve been waiting to see some thoughts on The Deep. Sorry it didn’t wow you.