“The official record says that all hands were lost at sea. We believe that something far worse occurred. We believe that they were found.”

You know what there’s not enough of in the horror novel world? Terrifying mermaids killing people. There’s not enough deep ocean horror hands down, and I read every single book I can in this subgenre. It’s such a creepy premise.

Now here comes Mira Grant.

We’ve got the Mariana Trench, we’ve got a sassy and tough female captain, we’ve got a reality show being filmed, AND WE’VE GOT TERRIFYING MERRRRMAAAIIIDDSSS!

Rolling in the Deep is a novella published by Mira Grant in 2015. It’s a short prequel to her full length novel, Into the Drowning Deep, published in 2017. I haven’t read Into the Drowning Deep yet but it’s on my very long upcoming reads list.

But I’m here to talk about Rolling in the Deep which was FUCKING INCREDIBLE.

“We may never know how much of the footage from the SS Atargatis was faked, or how much of it was real. What we do know is that none of the scientists, crewmen, or actors who set sail with the Atargatis were aboard when the ship was found, adrift, some six weeks later, and none of them have resurfaced since.”

Here’s the premise:

We are told from page one how this story ends. And it ends violently. Imagine Network is supposed to be like Destination America or Syfy Channel – those channels that play hours of documentaries on bigfoot and ghosts and aliens, oh my. This time they’re filming a documentary on mermaids, only they’re fudging the numbers a little bit. They’re bringing along some professional mermaid actresses to play the part.

The film crew, the scientists, the actors, and the host all board the cruise ship Atargatis and head off to the Mariana Trench. But what they discover is very real and very terrifying.

Knowing from the get go that no one survives this journey makes the story that much more terrifying. You’re turning each page just waiting for the inevitable to happen. The characters are rich and full of life considering how short this story really is. Grant is talented at quickly setting the story and the characters and letting you fall in easily.

When the danger hits it’s incredible. I read through the last 20 or so pages so quickly, just tearing from page to page as carnage and violence tears the Atargatis apart.

The real mermaids that live in the trench are terrifying creatures that are well thought out. They’re blood hungry beasts with claws and fins and teeth. They can mimic sounds and hunt in packs.

I won’t spoil the very end, as the last few pages leave you with a sinking feeling in your stomach. And also a crazy need to read Into the Drowning Deep.

I absolutely recommend reading this for the summer. It’s a quick beach read that gives you that summer feeling of murdering an entire ship full of people.

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