Dead In The Water

Author: John Marrs
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
400 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Publishing

Synopsis
When Damon survives a near-drowning, his life flashes before his eyes. Every memory is crystal clear—except one. A dead boy. A face he can’t place. A moment he doesn’t remember living. At first he tells himself it’s a trick of the mind. But everything else he saw was real. So why not this?

With his waking life stalked by the disturbing scene, confusion quickly turns to obsession. Desperate for answers, Damon digs into his fractured past, and becomes convinced that the only way to remember…is to die again. And again. And again. When he meets a perfect stranger who’s all too willing to help, the stage is set for his dice with death.

But if this is what it takes to uncover the truth, maybe some memories are better left buried…

My review
Dead In The Water is a dark, immersive thriller from John Marrs, and I was counting down the days to publication. I downloaded it to my Kindle the moment it was released, and wow, this bleak, character-driven story exceeded my expectations. While Marrs’ speculative fiction novels are my personal favorites, he proves once again that he’s equally skilled at crafting chilling psychological thrillers that are impossible to put down. The pages fly by. I cancelled my other plans and stayed glued to the story until the very end. The haunting tone, the suffocating sense of inevitability, and the constant question of whether Damon is genuinely haunted or slowly unraveling mentally place this squarely in classic psychological thriller territory, only with Marrs’ signature darkness dialed all the way up.

From the opening chapters, Marrs establishes an atmosphere that is deeply unsettling. Flatliners-style resuscitation scenes had me holding my breath, while a ghostly, I-see-dead-people thread sent genuine chills down my spine. Marrs has always excelled at exploring the fragile boundaries between life and death, morality and obsession, and here he pushes both his characters right to the edge.

Although I correctly guessed several twists, one major revelation in the final quarter completely blindsided me.

Marrs also shines when it comes to pacing and character development. There’s no wasted space here, no unnecessary tangents or long-winded backstories to slow the momentum. The story is as grim and relentless as its premise suggests. Damon, a 28-year-old supermarket worker and recent divorcé, is dared by his ex-wife and best friend, Melissa, to step outside his comfort zone by taking an impulsive swim in the icy waters of Brighton Beach. This swim nearly costs him his life. As he drowns, his life flashes before his eyes, but when he’s resuscitated, he doesn’t return alone.

Damon begins seeing visions of a red-haired boy who follows him everywhere. Meanwhile, Melissa is moving forward with her life, settling into a new relationship, and even asking Damon to donate sperm so she can start a family. But Damon is spiraling. Obsessed with uncovering the identity of the boy, he embarks on increasingly dangerous experiments, begging Melissa to help him die and return again Desperate and unraveling, Damon turns to the last person he should trust, Laura, a so-called “Good Samaritan” who instantly recognizes his vulnerability and is more than willing to pull him deeper into the abyss. From there, the story dives into dark, uncharted territory, tackling obsession, both literal and figurative ghosts, the fragility of memory and identity, and the razor-thin line between the living and the dead.

Dead in the Water is bleak, gripping, and unforgettable with a creeping sense of dread that never lets up. If you love your thrillers dark, this one will stay with you long after you finish.

My recommendation: definitely worth the read!