Happy weekend and welcome to my stop on the blog blitz for Pressure by Betsy Reavley. My thanks to Sarah Hardy at Bloodhound Books for the invitation and my review copy!
Author : Betsy Reavley
Title : Pressure
Pages : 220
Publisher : Bloodhound Books
Publication date : May 4, 2018
When the submarine departed, none of the ten people on board knew it would turn into a nightmare.
Trapped on the sunken vessel and unable to escape, one of them is discovered dead. The tension escalates as the survivors realise there is a murderer among them, who is preparing to strike again and again…
With mounting desperation, people begin to turn on each other. While they struggle to identify who is responsible, each must contend with their own past and the secrets they are hiding.
But who is who? And which of them will be next to die?
Not sure I’ve ever mentioned this before, but little old me and water do not mix. I hate drinking it, I don’t particularly enjoy flying over it, I don’t like being in it or on it and I most certainly wouldn’t want to be under it. So obviously reading about a submarine stuck at the bottom of the ocean is a perfect choice of book for me. 😄
Pressure has all the hallmarks of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Throw a bunch of people together in a closed environment with no means of escape and put a murderer amongst them. Except this isn’t a fancy manor in the countryside or a remote island but a submarine. Quite frankly, for me it’s the stuff of nightmares.
Due to a technical error, the submarine loses power and ends up at the bottom of the ocean. With limited supply in food and oxygen and no means of escape, tempers start to rise and then someone is found dead. The remaining crew members begin to turn on one another and the pressure builds up in more ways than one.
There are ten people on board. Bit by bit, they are introduced to us. They explain where they came from, their secrets and dreams and how they came to be on the submarine in the first place. None of these characters are particularly likeable and being stuck together like this sure brings out the worst in them. There are also flashback chapters from one of the people on board, describing their absolutely horrid, heartbreaking and harrowing childhood.
I quite early on figured out who the killer was but that didn’t ruin my reading experience at all. Pressure is a gripping and compelling story that held my attention throughout. It’s tense with a dark, threatening and claustrophobic feel to it. While I was worried that the outcome would be completely predictable, I was surprised and glad to see it wasn’t at all. I think this would make an excellent movie, to be honest. You know, if you like water and all. 😉
Pressure is available for purchase!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads
Author of The Quiet Ones, The Optician’s Wife, Frailty, Carrion, Beneath the Watery Moon and the poetry collection The Worm in the Bottle.
Betsy was born in Hammersmith, London. As a child she moved around frequently with her family, spending time in London, Provence, Tuscany, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire. She showed a flair for literature and writing from a young age and had a particular interest in poetry, of which she was a prolific consumer and producer.
In her early twenties she moved to Oxford, where she would eventually meet her husband. During her time in Oxford her interests turned from poetry to novels and she began to develop her own unique style of psychological thriller.
Betsy says “I believe people are at their most fascinating when they are faced by the dark side of life. This is what I like to write about.”
Betsy Reavley currently lives in London, with her husband, 2 children, dog, cat and chickens.
You can follow her on Twitter @BetsyReavley
Novel Deelights 
I don’t like drinking water either 😆 and agreed, this would make a great film!
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So scary when you agree with me.
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😂🤣
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Oh lol… I’m not a water fan either. Like sitting on the beach but that’s about it…
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I can’t even remember the last time I did that!
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That scenario would totally freak me out 😱
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Right? Glad it not just me!
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I’m glad you mentioned And Then Were None because every time I’ve seen this book being discussed that’s what I’ve been thinking of. Looks like the author has pulled it off, but I’m never sure if these great classics really require updating…
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