I am a creature of habit, what can I say? I am continuously drawn to the same types of books with the same types of antagonists. I read serial killer thrillers and psychological thrillers by the bagful and relish in their twisty plots and realistic horror. So, imagine my surprise when one of the knockout books of the year for me came from Mira Grant and featured killer mermaids.
That’s right people. Killer. Mermaids.
Who knew?!
Chelsea (from The Suspense Is Thrilling Me) actually recommended this book and, I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to pick it up. I don’t generally read a lot of fantasy or science fiction and the premise of the book sort of seemed like a happy marriage of the two. As per Chelsea’s suggestions, I started with the novella prequel, Rolling in the Deep (am I the only one who reads this book title and instantly starts singing the song by Adele?) and, after a crazy time, I was finally able to obtain a copy (Thanks, Chandra!).
The prequel, Rolling in the Deep, opens with the introduction of Imagine Film Company, known for their “mockumentary” style films, as they head out into the great blue sea to create a film about mermaids. As the ship sets out to create their “found footage” and “eyewitness accounts” for their film, the cast and crew find themselves in grave danger when they actually do discover something in the water. This only took me about an hour to read and I was completely hooked, I continuously messaged Chelsea as I was reading to comment on how REAL it felt. Although I knew I was reading a work of fiction, Grant does an amazing job with her narrative style of making you question your own logic. By the time I was finished, I was more than ready to jump into the first, full novel in the series.
Enter, Into the Drowning Deep. This novel can absolutely be read without having read the prequel (but I do think the prequel does an amazing job at setting the tone). The story opens seven years after the Atargatis was lost at sea and a new crew has been assembled to head back to the Marianas Trench to get to the bottom of the maritime tragedy (or hoax, to others). This book was just as brilliant as its prequel. Fast-paced, intricately written and filled with chilling prose, I was on the edge of my seat and recommending this book to everyone who would listen!
I will not go into any true details because I do feel like you’d have to read it to appreciate it, but, I am pleased with the open-ended finale that leads me to believe that Grant will be providing me with another book in the series (please!!).
If you are looking for something different to add to your TBR pile, do not be turned off by the randomness of the plot, just trust Mira Grant and dive on it. You will not be disappointed.
5/5 stars.
Thanks to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for a digital copy of this novel. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review. Advertisements Share this:- More
