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Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 21st, 2016

Synopsis: Off the coast of tropical Mauritius, an ecological catastrophe with global implications is occurring. The ocean’s floor is collapsing at a rapid rate. World-champion free diver and marine biologist Carrie Anderson joins a scientific expedition determined to discover the cause–and how to stop it. But what they uncover is even more horrific. Deep beneath the surface, something is awake. Something hungry. Something…cold. Now, the pressure builds as Carrie and her colleagues must contend with the murderous operatives of a corrupt corporation, an unnatural disaster that grows bigger by the day, and a monstrous predator that may spell the extinction of mankind.

Brian Keene is an author who I’ve always counted on to provide a good, tightly written suspense, thriller, horror story, and for the most part, Pressure does not disappoint. The action begins immediately and never lets up. Especially scary are the scenes where Carrie and her dive partner Paulo, are underwater in the area known as the “Mouth of Hell”. You can literally feel the cold blackness surrounding them, and I actually felt claustrophobic at times. While the first part of the novel focus on the environmental disaster and the monster(s) lurking in the depths off of Mauritius, the second part is set on land with all too real human monsters. This part of the story didn’t work quite as well for me. It was fast-paced, but the villains were a little too cartoonish for me in regards to their evil machinations. I kept wishing for more of the horror, gore and mayhem that was in the previous chapters. Instead there was your stereotypical evil conspiracy involving a shadowy corporation and its gun-toting minions. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good conspiracy as much as the next person, but there wasn’t anything new or especially creative about this one. I also wish the book had been a little longer than its 288 pages as I felt everything was wrapped up a little too quickly and predictably. Overall though, Pressure is a solid beach read, which you’ll breeze through in one or two sittings, although you may hesitate about going out on a boat after reading it!