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BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Charter fishing boat captain, Miguel Santora, is an honest man who’s in serious trouble. He’s in over his head, owing money and allegiance to a slimeball mafia boss named Alberto Tonelli, who runs the shadier sections of Brooklyn with an iron fist. As payback, he’s forced to let Tonelli and his goons have access to his boat, the Amada Maria, to drop some of their enemies’ dead bodies into the Atlantic Ocean, chained to concrete cinder blocks.
THIS TIME THINGS ARE DIFFERENT…
Miguel’s life goes from bad to worse, as Tonelli and his massive henchman, Hugo Taft, show up unannounced, with yet another body in need of disposal. Only this time, the man destined to be tossed overboard is still alive. He’s been beaten and tortured, but he’s still breathing. Helping these thugs in the past was morally wrong, but Miguel knows that assisting the mobsters this time means becoming an accomplice to murder. But how can Miguel refuse Tonelli’s orders without becoming a casualty of these ruthless men himself?
THE HORROR HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN…
Victor Matheson, the condemned man, is someone who harbors many secrets, and he’s far less helpless than anyone aboard the Amada Maria knows. Before finally being thrown overboard, chained to the heavy concrete block, he confides in Miguel that he is ‘undrownable.’ This revelation is only the beginning of a strange adventure that will see Miguel tested to the very limits of his sanity as he tries to uncover the truth of who this mysterious man really is. His search will take him from the docks of Brooklyn’s East River to the small coastal New England town of Newburyport, where a secret race of horrific creatures and a century’s old curse foretold in the fantastical stories of H. P. Lovecraft are preparing to unleash Hell on Earth.
Charter fishing boat captain, Miguel Santora, is an honest man who’s in serious trouble. He’s in over his head, owing money and allegiance to a slimeball mafia boss named Alberto Tonelli, who runs the shadier sections of Brooklyn with an iron fist. As payback, he’s forced to let Tonelli and his goons have access to his boat, the Amada Maria, to drop some of their enemies’ dead bodies into the Atlantic Ocean, chained to concrete cinder blocks.
THIS TIME THINGS ARE DIFFERENT…
Miguel’s life goes from bad to worse, as Tonelli and his massive henchman, Hugo Taft, show up unannounced, with yet another body in need of disposal. Only this time, the man destined to be tossed overboard is still alive. He’s been beaten and tortured, but he’s still breathing. Helping these thugs in the past was morally wrong, but Miguel knows that assisting the mobsters this time means becoming an accomplice to murder. But how can Miguel refuse Tonelli’s orders without becoming a casualty of these ruthless men himself?
THE HORROR HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN…
Victor Matheson, the condemned man, is someone who harbors many secrets, and he’s far less helpless than anyone aboard the Amada Maria knows. Before finally being thrown overboard, chained to the heavy concrete block, he confides in Miguel that he is ‘undrownable.’ This revelation is only the beginning of a strange adventure that will see Miguel tested to the very limits of his sanity as he tries to uncover the truth of who this mysterious man really is. His search will take him from the docks of Brooklyn’s East River to the small coastal New England town of Newburyport, where a secret race of horrific creatures and a century’s old curse foretold in the fantastical stories of H. P. Lovecraft are preparing to unleash Hell on Earth.
246 pages, Paperback
Published January 21, 2022
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Gord Rollo
61 books223 followersGord Rollo was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, but now lives in Ontario, Canada. His short stories and novella-length work have appeared in many professional publications throughout the genre and his novels include: The Jigsaw Man, Crimson, Strange Magic, and Valley Of The Scarecrow. His work has been translated into several languages and his titles are currently being adapted for audiobooks.
Besides novels, Gord edited the acclaimed evolutionary horror anthology, Unnatural Selection: A Collection of Darwinian Nightmares. He also co-edited Dreaming of Angels, a horror/fantasy anthology created to increase awareness of Down's syndrome and raise money for research. He recently completed his newest horror/dark fantasy novel, entitled The Translators and can be reached at his website www.gordrollo.com
Besides novels, Gord edited the acclaimed evolutionary horror anthology, Unnatural Selection: A Collection of Darwinian Nightmares. He also co-edited Dreaming of Angels, a horror/fantasy anthology created to increase awareness of Down's syndrome and raise money for research. He recently completed his newest horror/dark fantasy novel, entitled The Translators and can be reached at his website www.gordrollo.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 24, 2022
Horror Bookworm Reviews
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/
The Amanda Maria is a 48 foot commercial vessel made for charter fishing and sightseeing trips. Owner Miguel Santora and his boat has unwillingly become tied to the Tonelli crime family. Equipped with the usual chains and concrete cinder blocks, the disposal of unwanted “baggage” by these heartless businessmen has become too much for Miguel to handle. The depths of the Atlantic Ocean has been converted into a private watery graveyard for all of those involved. These terrifying series of events have awoken a dark and dangerous existence from the arcane world below.
Gord Rollo takes the reader on a creepy tour of unimaginable terror with his novel, Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea. These pages of fearsome deities, hidden cities and subaquatic creatures share a Lovecraftian undercurrent of weird fantastical horror fiction. Insanity and madness exists within the murky waters of the Atlantic as well as within this full length novel.
I applaud how Rollo is able to paint a mural of imaginative populace while sustaining a solid storyline of realism. Ancient strange happenings, savage carnage and tense unforeseen derangement push this book into unexpected twists and turns. Filled with repulsive nightmares and delivering on shocking extreme violence, content warnings should be taken into consideration before navigating into these uncharted waters.
Polluting our waters with toxic poisons has never been so critical and cryptic to prevent. Find out what really prowls the ocean floors from this master storyteller. If you love yourself some underwater horror, you won’t want to miss this one. A five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Horror Bookworm Recommendation.
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/
The Amanda Maria is a 48 foot commercial vessel made for charter fishing and sightseeing trips. Owner Miguel Santora and his boat has unwillingly become tied to the Tonelli crime family. Equipped with the usual chains and concrete cinder blocks, the disposal of unwanted “baggage” by these heartless businessmen has become too much for Miguel to handle. The depths of the Atlantic Ocean has been converted into a private watery graveyard for all of those involved. These terrifying series of events have awoken a dark and dangerous existence from the arcane world below.
Gord Rollo takes the reader on a creepy tour of unimaginable terror with his novel, Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea. These pages of fearsome deities, hidden cities and subaquatic creatures share a Lovecraftian undercurrent of weird fantastical horror fiction. Insanity and madness exists within the murky waters of the Atlantic as well as within this full length novel.
I applaud how Rollo is able to paint a mural of imaginative populace while sustaining a solid storyline of realism. Ancient strange happenings, savage carnage and tense unforeseen derangement push this book into unexpected twists and turns. Filled with repulsive nightmares and delivering on shocking extreme violence, content warnings should be taken into consideration before navigating into these uncharted waters.
Polluting our waters with toxic poisons has never been so critical and cryptic to prevent. Find out what really prowls the ocean floors from this master storyteller. If you love yourself some underwater horror, you won’t want to miss this one. A five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Horror Bookworm Recommendation.
January 16, 2022
Rollo’s last Silver Shamrock offering, The Crucifixion Experiments, was a brutal and compelling mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea cemented Rollo as a consistently entertaining author for me. Maybe I’m late to the party, but at least I arrived.
This book took a minute to get into, but as soon as the weird stuff (undrownable, anyone?) starts to hit, my interest was piqued and the tempo never let up for a moment. The bulk of the story lies more in the realm of mystery than straight-ahead horror, but when the nasty stuff hits, Rollo revels in the blood and guts. The action sequences are written with clarity that doesn’t sacrifice excitement, never an easy balance to strike and although some of the creatures are borrowed and embellished from Lovecraftian mythos, Rollo does a great job crafting some aquatic nightmares.
Some readers well-versed in Lovecraft may be turned off by Rollo’s exposition, but for my money, he does a good job of providing the necessary background to a reader not intimately familiar with specific works in Lovecraft canon. Of course, Devil gets bonus points for featuring Massachusetts locales (although I would have loved a Plum Island squid reference) and makes great and necessary use of its setting.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is fast and fun. It brings the gore when it needs to and captures the reader’s attention with its more mysterious elements.
This book took a minute to get into, but as soon as the weird stuff (undrownable, anyone?) starts to hit, my interest was piqued and the tempo never let up for a moment. The bulk of the story lies more in the realm of mystery than straight-ahead horror, but when the nasty stuff hits, Rollo revels in the blood and guts. The action sequences are written with clarity that doesn’t sacrifice excitement, never an easy balance to strike and although some of the creatures are borrowed and embellished from Lovecraftian mythos, Rollo does a great job crafting some aquatic nightmares.
Some readers well-versed in Lovecraft may be turned off by Rollo’s exposition, but for my money, he does a good job of providing the necessary background to a reader not intimately familiar with specific works in Lovecraft canon. Of course, Devil gets bonus points for featuring Massachusetts locales (although I would have loved a Plum Island squid reference) and makes great and necessary use of its setting.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is fast and fun. It brings the gore when it needs to and captures the reader’s attention with its more mysterious elements.
June 11, 2024
“Hey, remember that book I read years ago where a head on a jar gives a blowjob?”
THAT is from Jigsaw, unfortunately the last book I read from Gord Rollo till he disappeared for me. This was mostly due to the fact my local book store stop keeping him in stock.
Now years later, I go to a convention (of all places) and find out he published more books? And one is a lovecraftian tale? Fuck yes sign me up.
Miguel is an inquisitive poor bastard that asks to many questions of a “undrownable” man and gets sucked into a lovecraftian quest that winds up saving the environment.
It’s equal parts creepy, atmospheric, with a slice of humour. It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve read anything by Rollo and I am thrilled a Dagon story is what gets him back on my radar. (Well not Dagon exactly….freaky fish people?)
THAT is from Jigsaw, unfortunately the last book I read from Gord Rollo till he disappeared for me. This was mostly due to the fact my local book store stop keeping him in stock.
Now years later, I go to a convention (of all places) and find out he published more books? And one is a lovecraftian tale? Fuck yes sign me up.
Miguel is an inquisitive poor bastard that asks to many questions of a “undrownable” man and gets sucked into a lovecraftian quest that winds up saving the environment.
It’s equal parts creepy, atmospheric, with a slice of humour. It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve read anything by Rollo and I am thrilled a Dagon story is what gets him back on my radar. (Well not Dagon exactly….freaky fish people?)
March 23, 2024
Lovecraft would be proud
This novel lives up to the quality of Gord’s amazing previous works. Interesting plot and characters. Great depictions of updated Lovecraftian premises. Highly recommended!
This novel lives up to the quality of Gord’s amazing previous works. Interesting plot and characters. Great depictions of updated Lovecraftian premises. Highly recommended!
March 25, 2025
This is my third book by Gord Rollo; his first, The Jigsaw Man, would have to be in my top-ten of all time, which is a HUGE call considering that I've been hungrily devouring horror for forty years now.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, is a far cry from The Jigsaw Man. As Gord himself says, it's probably more of crime thriller with only a pinch of horror in it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great page-turner. An excellent homage to the legendary H. P. Lovecraft, with a good dose of Dagon the sea-god thrown in, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a most excellent read for those who like a good story with out all the blood n guts; and to be honest, even though I am far more in the latter camp, this still managed to keep me up late at night, eager to see what was going to happen next. Well worth your time people! 4/5
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, is a far cry from The Jigsaw Man. As Gord himself says, it's probably more of crime thriller with only a pinch of horror in it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great page-turner. An excellent homage to the legendary H. P. Lovecraft, with a good dose of Dagon the sea-god thrown in, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a most excellent read for those who like a good story with out all the blood n guts; and to be honest, even though I am far more in the latter camp, this still managed to keep me up late at night, eager to see what was going to happen next. Well worth your time people! 4/5
July 18, 2023
First things first: Check out that cover. I've picked up Gord Rollo's books since Leisure sent me the paperback of Jigsaw Man, so buying this one was a no brainer. But I would have bought it anyway, based on the cool cover design. Good job.
The opening sequence of this book, with Miguel using his boat to haul some mafia scum out to sea to chuck a cinderblock laden body overseas is terrific, well written and suspenseful. Gord included enough detail to show he knew what he was writing about.
The rest of the book isn't quite as tightly written. It's still enjoyable. But I wasn't surprised to read in the afterword that Gord had the opening scenes tucked away for years.
The opening sequence of this book, with Miguel using his boat to haul some mafia scum out to sea to chuck a cinderblock laden body overseas is terrific, well written and suspenseful. Gord included enough detail to show he knew what he was writing about.
The rest of the book isn't quite as tightly written. It's still enjoyable. But I wasn't surprised to read in the afterword that Gord had the opening scenes tucked away for years.
April 24, 2022
Don’t. Just don’t.
Badly written, horrible grammar and speech patterns. Where was the editor?
Badly written, horrible grammar and speech patterns. Where was the editor?
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews