Atomic Coffin

by Benedict Anning

December 1984. SIS field asset Heidi Sperling [codename Thistle] exfiltrates from East Berlin with the only copy of a critical intelligence coup – a naval log containing a solitary message received from a previously unidentified Soviet Typhoon ballistic missile nuclear submarine.

Incredulously – impossibly – it seems the vessel, known only as TK-15, has been sitting motionless and undetected in the waters between Scotland and Iceland for three years. Now NATO needs to be on high alert because that one-word message ACTIVE . . .

Picked up from East Germany’s Baltic Coast by the Royal Navy’s hunter-killer submarine HMS Viking, Heidi is thrown into a mission to find and investigate the TK-15, and must confront her own paralytic fear of the ocean’s crushing black depths and HMS Viking’s seemingly hostile crew. When her only apparent ally, Executive Officer Daniel Vickers, disappears as they investigate the TK-15, she realises this modified submarine is far more than a Soviet experiment to gain a strategic upper hand in the nuclear arms race. Here, at the bottom of the ocean, the Soviets have – for good or ill – delved too long and too deep into what lies beneath and woken something far, far worse.
As Heidi’s own reality twists around her, as an unknowable force drives the crew to madness and cripples the British submarine's defences. Can Heidi control her own escalating fears and help bring the Soviet craft to the surface? Or will she make the ultimate sacrifice in order to stop the mysterious TK-15 from completing its dark and terrible mission?

Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Lovecraftian

336 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Benedict Anning is a Surrey-born author and charity worker living just outside of Edinburgh with his wonderful cat, Penny.

After a stint in creative studies, a detour in philosophy, classics, then ancient history at university, Ben spent three years as a bookseller before moving to the third sector where he now works for a local animal shelter. His debut novel, ATOMIC COFFIN, was published to critical acclaim in June 2026, featured in The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Times, The Scotsman, and other outlets.

An artist at heart and fan of all things eerie, Ben has a special love for twisty horror fiction where the setting is a principal character and things just aren't quite right.

Ben is represented by John Baker at Peters Fraser and Dunlop.

Reviews

[Davinia Hinde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's so creepy and dark, you get goosebumps.

The submarine setting combined with the horror element makes it so atmospheric and chilling, I certainly don't want to be on a submarine anytime soon after reading this.

It has a cold war setting but you can easily see past this if that doesn't sound like your kind of thing and just enjoy the truly creepy horror element of the book.

Highly recommended to keep you up all night and perfect for Summerwean

[Amelia Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply disturbing and dark horror. This had me gripped throughout the mysteries of the submarine, the entity, the twisty and turning timeline / reality had me guessing through and feeling anxious just what you want from a horror.

[Paddy Dobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold war. Submarines. Existential horror. Ticks all the right boxes for a claustrophobic, nightmarish experience.

[Amie Derricott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during Cold War in December 1984, we follow agent Heidi Sperling, codenamed Thistle, as she escapes East Berlin carrying a highly classified Soviet intelligence leak. The information points to the existence of TK-15, a mysterious Soviet submarine that has remained hidden beneath the North Atlantic for years, until it suddenly transmits a single chilling message: "ACTIVE." Heidi is exfiltrated by the crew of Royal Navy submarine HMS Viking, who head up covert mission to locate and neutralise TK-15 before it can threaten global security. However, what they discover is far more terrifying than a secret military weapon. As strange events begin to plague the submarine, reality itself starts to unravel, paranoia spreads through the crew, and Heidi must confront an ancient, unknowable force that threatens not only the mission but everyone's sanity.
Set inside the submarine HMS Viking, this is one of the most claustrophobic, atmospheric and unsettling books I’ve ever read. The fact that Heidi and the crew are trapped inside the sub deep underwater as increasingly strange events start to happen just amps up the paranoia and makes you question what is actually real. It definitely doesn’t rush the horror aspect, instead allowing the dread to grow on you slowly alongside the mystery of this anomalous TK-15 sub.

Heidi is a really interesting character, this Cold War spy who is determined to get these documents where they need to go no matter the cost, but also struggling with PTSD and in a vulnerable position in this sub full of men. It was interesting to see how she held her own when they doubted and questioned her, but also how she then questions herself if she's done the right thing. The fact that a submarine has potentially hundreds of crew could have made for a very distracting cast, however we are only introduced to a core amount of characters that have relevance to the plot which made it easier to follow what was going on and who was who.
The way the timeline twists and flips on itself really intensifies the paranoia and keeps you hooked into the mystery of this submarine and its entity. You never quite know whether what you’re reading is the actually reality that Heidi is experiencing or whether it is some kind of hallucination triggered by the sub. This sets up nicely for the ending, which once again has you questioning everything you’ve read.
I’m not entirely sure why this didn’t reach 5 star status for me, as I did really enjoy it, but I feel like there was something lacking. It is absolutely worth the read though and combines this Cold War mystery thriller with horror really effectively.

[Gary Meades · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had I just seen the title of this I think I would have scrolled passed, but a review in Grimdark persuaded me it was worth a look, and they were right.

Starting as a cold war thriller, this is mainly set on a submarine. Atomic Coffin is a creepy, disturbing, hallucination of a tale, a little Event Horizon, a little Alien (think those cramped, dim, corridors), but really very much its own story.

The writing is great, and the author has obviously done their research as the setting feels very authentic.

It becomes increasingly unsettling as it goes on and the final third ridiculously tense.

This is not a book for those with claustrophobia, a dislike of mirrors, or anyone who likes their stories wrapped up with a nice bow of explanation. For anyone else though, it is well worth a read...

[Ash Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It's not as simple as the bombs, the mimics of stars. This thing aboard, it's alive.”

Heidi Sperling is immediately extracted from East Berlin when she obtains critical information regarding a previously unknown soviet submarine.
Finding herself on HMS Viking she reveals to the Navy the data she’s found. TK-15 has been sending messages every 6 months and impossibly has been stationary and undetected for three years. Heidi is dragged into Vikings mission to find TK-15 and neutralise it.

The TK-15 submarine is unresponsive, seemingly abandoned and unlike anything they’ve seen before. But when Heidi and the Navy leave the soviet sub, something comes with them. The nuclear arms race is the least of their concerns.

As the sickness spreads and people begin to die, Heidi struggles to hold on to her sanity. She can’t trust anything, not even her own mind and memories. Heidi will have to return to the TK-15 if she and the people on the Viking have any hope of reaching the surface alive.

Gripping and compelling, it’s hard to put this book down. There’s a claustrophobic, creepy sense of dread. It’s disorientating and as a reader you struggle to determine what real with Heidi. Part thriller, part horror with the Cold War as a back drop. This book will keep you on your toes!

[The Rose Lectory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atomic Coffin was my first submarine horror novel. I was initially drawn in by the striking cover, which gives off a chilling, ominous vibe, and the story more than lived up to that first impression.

While the submarine setting alone is terrifying; Benedict’s writing creates a suffocating atmosphere and the descriptions of life aboard the submarine are so vivid that you'll be grateful you're reading from dry land. As Thistle and the crew investigate the silent submarine and deal with the consequences of their discoveries, reality begins to twist in increasingly unsettling ways. The novel becomes more claustrophobic with every chapter, trapping the reader in the depths alongside the characters.

Heidi (Thistle) is a strong FMC, carrying plenty of emotional baggage into the mission. I found myself invested in her journey and the increasingly surreal situation unfolding around her. Benedict succeeds in effectively placing the reader in Thistle's shoes. As reality slowly begins to fragment around her, I felt just as unsafe and disoriented as she did. The feeling of dread never really let up, and the isolation of the submarine setting only amplified it. By the end, I was still not sure what was real and what wasn’t.

This was a tense, atmospheric blend of submarine horror & cosmic dread with a Cold War backdrop.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atomic Coffin was a great read! Honestly I never felt like I wanted to go on a submarine before I read it, but I definitely don’t want to go on one now! I thought Heidi/Thistle was a fab protagonist. She feels real and relatable to the reader, especially because she’s not a fully trained spy, just someone who’s sort of landed in this situation due to various circumstances. I loved Griffiths and Kelly too as side characters. With a story set on a sub full of soldiers, you could get lost with too many characters, but I think there’s just the right amount of notable and important players which makes it easy to keep track of the events and their roles within the story.

Event Horizon is one of my favourite horror/sci-fi films and this definitely has those kind of vibes but underwater on a sub rather than in space! It’s creepy and claustrophobic and the horror element really creeps up on you throughout. It’s a great blend of a spy thriller, with the historical setting of the Cold War and cosmic horror and it all worked really well together for me!

Big thank you to 3am books / Bantam for sending me an early finished copy of Atomic Coffin to read and review!

[Camila Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

So gripping I’ve only put it aside to sleep last night and work today, straight back into its final chapter - loved it!

[Dominika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first submarine horror book and to begin with I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. But less half way through the book I realised that I don't care about any of the characters and I skipped whole paragraphs just to find out how the book ends.
It has this claustrophobic/psychedelic vibe to it but I wouldn't classify it as horror!
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the Iron Lung type of horror but it wasn't for me and I only finished reading it to see how it ends.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy!

Unfortunately I also know the author which I didn't realise until recently and he's not a nice guy.

[Ed Crocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tonally clever—and daring—book this is. Yes, on the one hand it’s pretty obvious this is a horror. The name, cover and blurb. But still, for the first half, or at least third, of this novel, you are lured into thinking we’re strictly in Cold War thriller territory. 1984. Spies. Escape from East Berlin. A mission on a British submarine to investigate a Russian one. Anning locks in the realism, and doubles down on the Cold War tension. And then the horror comes, and the nature of the Russian submarine being tracked down becomes clear, and we are smoothly, with no turbulence, ushered into one of the great nightmarish endgames of the year, involving a fight against a genuinely terrifying and sinister foe in unbearably claustrophobic conditions, all enhanced by the inspired decision to have the protagonist be a woman with a controversial past stuck in a submarine full of men.

Plotwise, we begin in December 1984. Berlin Wall firmly in place, USSR still at its pesky zenith, you know the drill. British intelligence asset Heidi Sperling manages to escape East Berlin with some vital info: there’s a Soviet submarine that’s just been sitting at the bottom of the ocean between Scotland and Iceland for three years… silently. But it’s just sent out a message: it’s active. Sperling gets a lift from a nearby Royal Navy submarine the HMS Viking, and both her and the crew begin the voyage to track this submarine down. But when they get there, they will… probably wish they hadn’t, because something very bad and possibly supernatural is on that sub, and now the entire crew is in danger.

I mentioned earlier the smooth tonal combo of Cold War spy thriller and supernatural nightmare, and one way Anning really sells the genre mix of Atomic Coffin is the sheer realism of the setting of the British submarine that our protagonist has hopped a lift on. Anning has clearly done his research, and it shows. Not just in the claustrophobic nature of it and all the Cold War gadgetry which you’d expect, but in the surprising details I didn’t expect: a pizza night watching films that haven’t been released yet back in Britain, for example. And you thought the Cold War sub life was all work and no play. Anning’s hyper-realism is so crucial in selling what happens next, and it draws you into the believability of the nightmare at twenty thousand leagues under the sea (give or take).

Another neat trick Anning does is to make the protagonist a woman in a submarine of men, and then give said woman a troubled past. The Navy men aren’t overtly sexist to her, at least at first, but the more she tries to explain the nature of the threat they’ve encountered on the spooky abandoned Russian sub, the more she starts to become the “hysterical women” stereotype in their eyes. Sperling also has a controversial past (which I’ll leave you to find out) and is not doing great psychologically, and this has two functions: when all hell breaks loose it adds to the sense of vulnerability in our hero—the one person who gets the threat is breaking down herself—but when the officers find out that the hysterical women is also an “untrustworthy” hysterical woman, then suddenly misogyny becomes almost as much an issue as the nightmare on board the death sub.

But ultimately it’s the final third that elevates this into a must-read. The nature of the threat—which I am studiously refusing to divulge at all—is genuinely terrifying, partly in its nature and behaviour and effects, and partly just because facing it involves scenes of creeping through a dark abandoned submarine which are written with such nail-biting dread that you might find yourself down to the knuckle bone by the end. Anning plays with the narrative a little too, until the point where we’re not sure what to believe or not. It’s a hell of a finale.

Atomic Coffin, then, is brilliantly original must-read horror. Anning has fused a claustrophobic submarine-set Cold War thriller with a genuinely terrifying Event Horizon-style horror, and the result is tonally terrific, a nightmarish descent which will have you clinging to your armchair every single fathom.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s 1984 and SIS agent Heidi has uncovered details of an unidentified Soviet submarine. Sent to deliver the intelligence to the nearest Royal Navy vessel, the HMS Viking, Heidi finds herself part of the mission to investigate the mysterious TK-15, which appears to have been motionless and undetected for 3 years.

But once Heidi and a small group of the crew step onboard TK-15, they discover it is not any normal submarine. Something dark and evil resides within its walls that follows them back to Viking and starts to haunt them.

Something that equally petrifies and obsessively intrigues me is the incomprehensible depth of the sea. (The deepest bit of the Mariana Trench is nearly 7 miles! 7! Miles!) And when you add in the concept of working on a submarine, being confined and isolated in what is a relatively small hunk of metal, so far under water that if you needed to escape you’d just get smushed in by the weight of the sea. Well, it’s basically my worst nightmare.

Which is why I was excited to read this! 🤣

I would describe Atomic Coffin as Vigil meets The Shining. A sci-fi/horror with a bit of the supernatural added in. And yes, it is as good as that sounds!

“A devouring and primordial darkness.”

I loved how the TK-15 submarine was brought to life as if it was a character in the book in its own right. It was so creepy and scary, I felt like I could visualise it all brilliantly. The second half in particular, when the crew start setting foot on TK-15, was consistently tense, claustrophobic and terrifying.

Heidi was a really likeable character with a lot of depth to her (no pun intended!). As the effects of her time on TK-15 set in, I loved how her narration changed, with her sentences getting shorter, more frantic and stress-inducing. I could feel her desperation as she tries to convince the rest of the crew that there is something dangerously wrong with the vessel, without even understanding what on Earth it is, and her reality constantly warping around her!

It was a fabulously frightening read!

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC ✨ The setup of this book genuinely hooked me, there’s something about isolation, claustrophobic environments and unknowable things in the deep that always makes me want to dive into a book.

The atmosphere was strong at times, the best parts leaned into that claustrophobic dread of being trapped underwater while reality starts to warp around the crew. There are moments where the darkness of the deep sea feels genuinely unsettling and the creeping madness aboard the submarine gets eerie. I think the setting could have been pushed even further because it never fully felt as suffocating, cramped, or oppressive as I wanted it to.

The biggest thing that stopped this from working for me was how confusing and vague it stayed throughout. The mystery surrounding TK15 and the something darker hidden within it kept me reading because I needed answers, but the further I got, the more it felt like the story was deliberately withholding too much, or like it wasn't sure itself. Even by the end, I was still left feeling unsure about what had actually happened, I felt confused throughout with the shifts in narrative and although it fit the story well, it didn't fully work for me and it felt unresolved by the end.

Heidi/Thistle was definitely the standout though. She felt believable, grounded, and emotionally real in a way that made me care what happened to her, even when I was struggling with the plot itself. The rest of the crew were enjoyable enough to read about but got a tad mixed together.

Overall this wasn’t a bad read, the writing was good and I can absolutely see the mix of espionage horror and deep sea dread working for other people making it a five star book for them. I personally just needed more clarity, more payoff, and more terror from the setting.

✨ Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free copy, all opinions are my own.

[Andrea Hulme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow I really enjoyed this. It was a completely wild ride and I was very happy to go along with everything that was thrown at the characters and me! A mix of horror, historical fiction and Sci-Fi. It was full of relentless action. This was hardly any space to breath and reflect.

The Cold War setting was brilliant. A Soviet submarine has been identified and the Royal Navy has been tasked with investigating it's presence. I was in school during the 1980s and can vividly remember that time, how terrifying it was. And then the setting on the submarine was fantastic. The atmosphere was dark and claustrophobic as we go on the craziest and most mind boggling adventure deep under the North Atlantic somewhere between Iceland Scotland. The descriptions of life under the sea in a submarine were so intense and sharp. In the crushing depths of the Atlantic this was also like a locked in thriller. Where can you go if you are deep under the sea and an unknown force is playing havoc with the people on board the submarine.

Our main protagonist is Heidi Sperling, who is a SIS Field Asset. She has critical intelligence about the Soviet submarine and must work with the Royal Navy to ascertain the exact nature of the Soviet submarine and neutralise it. She was a really great character. A brave and intelligent female lead, not afraid to go in fighting. Heidi and the Royal Navy Crew soon discover that something dark, supernatural and evil resides within the Soviet submarine.

It was petrifying, obsessive, the confined space of the submarine and the isolation under the sea really got into my brain and never let go. The brilliant writing brought everything to life on the page. I did find myself wanting to say 'What Are You Doing!' to the characters. It was gripping and creepy and a really enjoyable read.

Thank you to Bantam Books and NetGalley for this eARC.

[Cat Treadwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair warning - this is not my usual kind of book. I'm not usually a fan of cold-war thrillers, but it was the supernatural element that drew me in here - and I'm so glad I did!

First off, the atmosphere is perfect. Not a submarine (I have no way of commenting on that!); the sense of a winter in 1980s Europe, with the Berlin Wall firmly in place, Thatcher and Reagan fighting the USSR and everyday people just trying to get on. Including those who are essentially social outcasts (in this case both half-German and gay).

Protagonist Heidi (aka Thistle) is by no means a regular spy. She does her work to the best of her ability, while also battling considerable espionage PTSD and relationship grief over a lost girlfriend. Entering the claustrophobic, 100% male British environment of the HMS Viking sub is not an ideal mission. However, diving deep to discover a Russian nuclear vessel that shouldn't be there, Thistle discovers far more concerning drama than she could ever have anticipated.

This was a wonderful adventure that I tore through in two days. Essentially 'Event Horizon aboard Das Boot', it ramps up the tension from the get-go, moving from nuclear fear to something far darker that should've stayed in the depths of the ocean. Descriptions of life aboard a submarine - the conditions, the food, the smell! - had me entirely on board (pun intended), with the loneliness of the weird empty TK-15 pulling on even more nerves.

The characters are all fantastically drawn. I genuinely cared for Heidi/Thistle and understood why she would want to return to a terrifying place to save a fallen comrade even as I was internally shouting 'No, don't do it!'. Little touches such as photographs, the constant reminiscing about sunlight and dry land, and a stunningly effective piece of misdirection halfway through meant I couldn't leave the mystery unresolved any more than our messed-up heroine. I fully believe that life on board a submarine would make one question just what is reality, and this adds to that mental dilemma for the strangest, most compelling discomfort!

This is a truly remarkable book that achieves everything it sets out to do. More from Benedict Anning soon, please!

I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I’m finding this so incredibly hard to rate as the beginning was slow, the middle was fine, but that last 25%… some of the best horror I have ever read🫠🫠🫠

I never find myself actually scared in horror novels but the last quarter of this was giving me literal chills! I could picture everything so clearly and I think this would work so so so well as a film🙏

Benedict Anning had such a strong voice/style of writing and it truly amped up the stakes and brought this story to life.

The atmosphere was so intense and the author did such a good job of making the reader feel just as unsure and unstable as Heidi!

I was questioning absolutely every single word during the second half and that ending… I don’t care what anyone says, it was FANTASTIC!!!! I think this book will be haunting me for a while. (I kept opening my kindle to reread the last few lines because I was in such a state of shock - blankly staring at the wall quickly ensued).

I think the first quarter leaned a bit more heavily on the historical fiction/Cold War aspect, however it quickly mellowed out into a true horror novel, and I don’t think you need much/any knowledge of the historical aspect to enjoy this!

Overall, this was such a refreshing and haunting horror novel and that I would wholeheartedly recommend just for the last 25% alone!

Tysm to 3AM Books and NetGalley for the ARC💀☢️🩸

[Phantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffocating psychological dread… in book form.

An ominous Soviet submarine sits suspiciously motionless in the North Atlantic ocean for three years, and our protagonist - Thistle - is extracted from East Germany to board a British submarine with intel on the mysterious vessel.

Atomic Coffin is increasingly claustrophobic, the writing creates a suffocating, tense feeling and twisted reality as Thistle and the crew investigate the silent submarine and face the consequences of their discoveries.

I have never wanted to be on a submarine less! … I would read another submarine horror though!


𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘜𝘒, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 | 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊

[Skylar Keeton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc Review
Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a really good book, not something I would normally read but I let my son pick out my book and I can say I was pleasantly surprised!!
The characters were all amazing in their own right and the way the author was able toake them seem all the more real with their writing was phenomenal.
I don't think I'll mind reading more by this author in the future!!
#AtomicCoffin #NetGalley

[Jacob Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first 70 or so pages of this buck had me sucked in.

The further we got into it the more I found myself less interested which shouldn't be how you feel when the whole point is in the mystery of what is in the sub.

Every single problem after she was picked up by the submarine was solved instantly with the first idea. The stakes dropped to nothing immediately and then the reveal is disappointing. I kept saying it could be worth it but all we got was more mystery and the monster being just some water that makes you suicidal. The pay off did not feel worth the slog to get to it.

[Kayleighreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning was my first submarine horror novel read. I was first drawn in by the striking cover which immediately gave off a chilling vibe. I found this book to be beautifully written and engaging from the very beginning. The main character Heidi is written like a fully formed person rather than just part of the plot. This read really did surprise me and I’m shocked at how much I genuinely enjoyed it.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok this blew my mind a little bit and i really need to talk to someone about it.

It's giving Bourne Identity meets The Silent Sea (Korean series on netflix).

It's claustrophobic and messes with your mind. I couldn't put it down. I had to know more.

The fragmented writing pulls you into the state of mind in the book and you feel that confusion that the characters feel.

This would be incredible as a film!!

Thank you to 3am for sending me a proof of this book.

[Colin Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough one to rate this. The Cold War set-up and all of the submarine business was great. Excellent sense of time and setting. The characters - especially Thistle - were interesting and the initial journey/investigation was intriguing. Once the horror elements kicked in though it was a bit...I dunno. It was a really well crafted story but the tale itself seemed a bit familiar in the end. Still worth a read though.

[Louise Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s 1984 and agent Thistle is extracted from East Germany with crucial information about a Russian submarine. Then follows a fast paced, creepy, claustrophobic horror that kept me engaged throughout!

I really enjoyed this book, the setting, aboard a submarine, is the stuff of nightmares anyway. It keeps you guessing until the end.

[Simon Gosden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever but confusing underwater Cold War thriller. A new Soviet sub has been found, abandoned on the edge of the continental shelf. Heidi is a British agent in East Germany and is whisked away by a sub to investigate.
What follows is pretty grim but it’s unclear what’s reality and what’s induced by the menace on the Soviet sub.

[Mke Wnch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely enjoyable bit of horror, the first half felt like it was trying to quickly get to the second half but once the second half started I couldn't stop reading.

It is one of my summer reads and it was perfect for that.
I juggled between a 3 and a 4 but ended on 4 because of the pacing and speed at which it becomes quite a good claustrophobic and hopeless feeling horror in the second half.

[Natasja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read much (if any) submarine horror, but the next one will have a lot to live up to! This was a tense, atmospheric and claustrophobic read. There were quite a few characters, but it wasn't confusing at all and the story flowed really well. I'm not usually into spy thrillers, but it mixed so well with the horror elements.

[TurningPagesClem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very atmospheric submarine horror with really well written unreliable narrator.
It's fast paced and claustrophobic ! Very enjoyable !

The writing can feel a bit messy sometimes but not that much of an issue !

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a very interesting Cold War horror, and the writing does feel quite fittingly claustrophobic at times. I think the end was a bit too vague.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooks on a tube? Hell yeah.

[Chelsea]

corny at times but genuinely frightful and a blast to read. not at all within my typical wheelhouse! dudes rock