Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is a heart-pounding, spine-tingling tale of horror set in a remote area of the sea far beyond the reach of fast-acting rescue.

I first heard about this novel on the Books in the Freezer podcast. As the two hosts were describing it, I thought: A book about violent creatures of the sea that are rumored to be mermaids? Sign me up!

The first eighteen amazing pages set the dark tone for the book. The author certainly doesn’t hold back! I knew right from the start that I was in for a treat with this one.

The overall pacing of the tale was perfect and the plot was so interesting! It was so suspenseful at first, and then it quickly turned into an action-packed tale of horror and survival.

One of the elements that I wanted to mention right off the bat was how diverse this cast was. It was really neat to see how perfectly the author developed the characters and how their differences were made apparent to both the reader and their fellow cast members.

And my goodness, this cast! I adored a number of them so much! A number of times, I talked to my husband about how nervous I was that they were going to be killed. A few characters were a bit rough around the edges, while other characters made my skin crawl or made my blood boil. But each of them were so interesting.

I loved that the focus of the story was not only on the scientific search for mermaids, but that there were dozens of other smaller elements all mixed in.

Each character on the ship brought their own personal and professional baggage along with them, and I’m not talking about their research gear. While we didn’t learn about all of them, we did learn about a fair amount of them! Some brought along strong hopeful thoughts, some brought dreams of fame, while others carried things like the goal of revenge, violence, and other darker things.

The story focused mainly on the same handful of characters, but also turned to focus on other supporting characters as the story progressed to really give the reader the full scope of things. I really enjoyed this format because it moved along much more fluidly than books that have chapters dedicated to each of the varying perspectives. The sections in this story that were from the perspective of the dolphins and sea creatures were especially interesting and also quite emotional!

This tale also had a wonderful romance mixed in. This romance was just perfect. It progressed quickly, but with the whole fear of being eaten by sea creatures looming, I certainly don’t blame them! The two were adorable together but it was also very realistic.

It was also refreshing to see one scene where they stole a quick kiss before moving on with their tasks that was so refreshing! Far too often you see these long drawn out, totally unnecessary make out sessions, where the reader sits there thinking something bad is going to happen simply because they are wasting time. These two were too smart to waste time.

I would love to write a ton more about this book, but this is yet another one that I need to hold back on so I don’t spoil the magic!

My Favorite Passages:
They both sunburned fast, and freckled even faster. They even had the same eyes, dark blue, like the waves of the Monterey Bay.

A thin-fingered hand slaps across the lens, and the video stops. The screaming takes longer to end, but in time, it does.
Everything ends.

Children of islands and the coast went one of two ways: they learned to fear and respect the water, or the learned to live for it.

Nature is bigger and weirder than anyone ever wants to think it is.

“No offense, hon, but you flirt like it’s a form of espionage and you’ll be executed if you get caught.”

It was a brief, glancing kiss; anything deeper or more involved would have risked both their lives. That wasn’t the goal. They might die here, but they weren’t going to do it yet. Olivia’s eyes widened in brief surprise before she leaned closer and kissed Tory back, putting as much as she dared into the gesture. It was a moment of peace stolen from the jaws of chaos, and it meant more than either of them could say.

My Final Thoughts:
This book is one of those rare finds that is just so wonderfully written and perfectly horrific that I want to shout about it from the rooftops to make sure horror fans go out and snag a copy immediately.

If you’re a horror fan that is looking for something that has a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, interesting characters and relationships, wonderful writing style, and a plot that will keep you totally hooked as well as fearful about what would happen next… then you need to check this one out.

While this was the first book that I’ve read from this author, it definitely won’t be the last. I cannot wait to pick up the novella that companies this tale and I especially cannot wait for the second book in the series!