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In Deep Water: The brand-new in 2026, addictive crime thriller that you won’t be able to put down for fans of Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jul 26Happy Valley meets The Woman in Cabin 10 in this dark, page-turning thriller from debut author Elle Blair!A murder at sea. One detective. No backup.
DI Rachel Harlow is off duty and stuck aboard a cruise ship with her twin teenagers and uptight parents. Determined to distract herself from the complicated mess – professional and personal – she’s left back at Northumbria Police HQ, she embarks on a flirtatious game with a stranger on board… until she finds him dead the next day.
With no eyewitnesses and no official investigation, Rachel digs into the murder alone, going strictly against the captain’s orders. Dead end after dead end, she’s met with lies and silence from the ship’s crew.
International waters allow people to play by different rules, but Rachel won’t let up. Even when it leads her to a crime ring just as dangerous as the one she’s left behind on land. But at sea, she has no team to back her up …
DI Rachel Harlow is off duty and stuck aboard a cruise ship with her twin teenagers and uptight parents. Determined to distract herself from the complicated mess – professional and personal – she’s left back at Northumbria Police HQ, she embarks on a flirtatious game with a stranger on board… until she finds him dead the next day.
With no eyewitnesses and no official investigation, Rachel digs into the murder alone, going strictly against the captain’s orders. Dead end after dead end, she’s met with lies and silence from the ship’s crew.
International waters allow people to play by different rules, but Rachel won’t let up. Even when it leads her to a crime ring just as dangerous as the one she’s left behind on land. But at sea, she has no team to back her up …
388 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 2, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Elle Blair’s In Deep Water is an absolutely gripping thriller that completely pulled me into its tense and claustrophobic atmosphere from the very beginning. Set aboard a cruise ship in international waters, the story delivers a fresh and addictive twist on the crime thriller genre, blending sharp detective work with an unsettling sense of isolation and danger.
DI Rachel Harlow is a fantastic lead character — flawed, determined, emotionally layered, and impossible not to root for. What starts as an attempt at escaping the pressures of both work and family life quickly spirals into something far darker when a man she met onboard turns up dead. From that moment onward, the pacing never lets up. Every chapter reveals another layer of secrets, lies, and hidden motives amongst both passengers and crew.
Elle Blair does an excellent job creating tension throughout the novel. The cruise ship setting adds a unique edge to the mystery, making Rachel’s investigation feel even more dangerous as she’s forced to work completely alone without backup or support. The confined setting, combined with the uncertainty of who can be trusted, creates a constant feeling of unease that kept me turning the pages late into the night.
The writing itself is sharp, immersive, and cinematic, with twists that genuinely caught me off guard. Rachel’s personal struggles alongside the murder investigation added depth to the story without slowing the momentum, making her feel realistic and relatable throughout.
Overall, In Deep Water is a fast-paced, twist-filled debut thriller that crime and suspense readers will absolutely devour. Tense, atmospheric, and incredibly addictive, this is a brilliant start to what promises to be an exciting new detective series. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading more from Elle Blair.
DI Rachel Harlow is a fantastic lead character — flawed, determined, emotionally layered, and impossible not to root for. What starts as an attempt at escaping the pressures of both work and family life quickly spirals into something far darker when a man she met onboard turns up dead. From that moment onward, the pacing never lets up. Every chapter reveals another layer of secrets, lies, and hidden motives amongst both passengers and crew.
Elle Blair does an excellent job creating tension throughout the novel. The cruise ship setting adds a unique edge to the mystery, making Rachel’s investigation feel even more dangerous as she’s forced to work completely alone without backup or support. The confined setting, combined with the uncertainty of who can be trusted, creates a constant feeling of unease that kept me turning the pages late into the night.
The writing itself is sharp, immersive, and cinematic, with twists that genuinely caught me off guard. Rachel’s personal struggles alongside the murder investigation added depth to the story without slowing the momentum, making her feel realistic and relatable throughout.
Overall, In Deep Water is a fast-paced, twist-filled debut thriller that crime and suspense readers will absolutely devour. Tense, atmospheric, and incredibly addictive, this is a brilliant start to what promises to be an exciting new detective series. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading more from Elle Blair.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In Deep Water is a gripping, salt‑sprayed thriller that takes the classic locked‑room mystery and sets it adrift on open water. DI Rachel Harlow boards a cruise ship hoping for a break from the chaos she’s left behind at Northumbria Police HQ—teenage twins, uptight parents, and a professional mess she hasn’t quite untangled. Instead, she finds herself face‑to‑face with a murder she can’t ignore.
The setup is deliciously tense: a flirtatious encounter one evening, a dead body the next morning, and a ship full of people who would prefer she mind her own business. With no official investigation and a captain determined to keep things quiet, Rachel is forced to rely on her instincts alone. The isolation of international waters adds a brilliant layer of claustrophobia—no backup, no jurisdiction, nowhere to run if she gets too close to the truth.
What makes the novel shine is Rachel herself. She’s sharp, flawed, and deeply human, juggling family tensions with the relentless pull of her own moral compass. Every dead end she hits feels like another door quietly closing around her, and the crew’s evasiveness only deepens the sense that something far bigger is unfolding beneath the surface.
As Rachel digs deeper, the plot widens into a dangerous crime ring that mirrors the one she’s been trying to escape on land. The tension builds beautifully, tightening with each revelation until the ship feels less like a holiday escape and more like a floating trap.
In Deep Water is twisty, atmospheric, and compulsively readable—a perfect blend of police procedural and locked‑at‑sea suspense. A standout debut that proves danger doesn’t need solid ground to find you.
With thanks to Elle Blair, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
The setup is deliciously tense: a flirtatious encounter one evening, a dead body the next morning, and a ship full of people who would prefer she mind her own business. With no official investigation and a captain determined to keep things quiet, Rachel is forced to rely on her instincts alone. The isolation of international waters adds a brilliant layer of claustrophobia—no backup, no jurisdiction, nowhere to run if she gets too close to the truth.
What makes the novel shine is Rachel herself. She’s sharp, flawed, and deeply human, juggling family tensions with the relentless pull of her own moral compass. Every dead end she hits feels like another door quietly closing around her, and the crew’s evasiveness only deepens the sense that something far bigger is unfolding beneath the surface.
As Rachel digs deeper, the plot widens into a dangerous crime ring that mirrors the one she’s been trying to escape on land. The tension builds beautifully, tightening with each revelation until the ship feels less like a holiday escape and more like a floating trap.
In Deep Water is twisty, atmospheric, and compulsively readable—a perfect blend of police procedural and locked‑at‑sea suspense. A standout debut that proves danger doesn’t need solid ground to find you.
With thanks to Elle Blair, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
May 4, 2026
ARC review - With thanks to NetGalley, Elle Blair and HQ.
The idea of going on a cruise with fractured family relationships and lingering work stress felt like a nightmare, written in a way I'm sure every reader will have aspects they can relate to.
The shift between past and present made the beginning a little stop-start. However, this did create a good understanding of the lead up to the cruise and a clear image of who Rachel was, her increasing job pressures and the family dynamic.
Cruises are already known to be a huge operation but to consider the seedy nature of what can happen behind the scenes takes them to a whole new level.
Overall, this is a brilliant thriller that keeps you guessing and believing nobody!
A great debut from Elle Blair.
The idea of going on a cruise with fractured family relationships and lingering work stress felt like a nightmare, written in a way I'm sure every reader will have aspects they can relate to.
The shift between past and present made the beginning a little stop-start. However, this did create a good understanding of the lead up to the cruise and a clear image of who Rachel was, her increasing job pressures and the family dynamic.
Cruises are already known to be a huge operation but to consider the seedy nature of what can happen behind the scenes takes them to a whole new level.
Overall, this is a brilliant thriller that keeps you guessing and believing nobody!
A great debut from Elle Blair.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Sandwiched between the demands of her teenage children and her difficult parents, policewoman Rachel Harlow is finding that relaxing on their holiday cruise is easier said than done!
And it doesn't get any easier when a man with whom she had a flirty exchange shows up dead. Because there is no way Rachel can ignore a crime - even in a situation where she has no one to help her investigate...
This is a cracking debut, and the writer holds the reader's interest throughout. Look forward to seeing what she comes up with next! This easily gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
And it doesn't get any easier when a man with whom she had a flirty exchange shows up dead. Because there is no way Rachel can ignore a crime - even in a situation where she has no one to help her investigate...
This is a cracking debut, and the writer holds the reader's interest throughout. Look forward to seeing what she comes up with next! This easily gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rachel is on a cruise with her family, unable to forget the traumatic events she left behind in her job as a Detective Inspector in the police. It becomes even more difficult when one of the entertainers is murdered and she is the person to find him. The stiuation ramps up as she tries to find out what happened, putting her family in danger.
This novel was a little slow to start and I did lose patient with Rachel's out of control behaviour at the beginning. However, once the pace quickened, I was hooked and burned the midnight oil because I wanted to know how it would all resolve. It feels like the beginning of a series.
This novel was a little slow to start and I did lose patient with Rachel's out of control behaviour at the beginning. However, once the pace quickened, I was hooked and burned the midnight oil because I wanted to know how it would all resolve. It feels like the beginning of a series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews