The Darkest Deep: A Novel

A scavenger trapped in a defunct undersea train tunnel struggles to escape as his air supply—and his sanity—dwindles in this debut psychological thriller.

The Transatlantic Train Tunnel, connecting New York and London, was meant to be the next Wonder of the World. But after the disastrous maiden voyage seven years ago, it’s generated nothing but protests, lawsuits, and bankruptcy. The only traffic the tunnel sees these days is scrappers harvesting its useless remains before it’s fully dismantled.

Not everyone is willing to take a tedious job one hundred and fifty feet below sea level, but Ben Breckenridge doesn’t have a choice. He needs the money, and the work will help quiet his anxieties. That is, until one of the bulkhead doors mysteriously locks, trapping him inside.

With limited air supply, Ben must race deeper into the tunnel to find a way out. Yet the farther he goes, the more his mind disintegrates. To survive, he’ll have to reckon with the monsters in his head. Only then will he be able to face the actual monster that’s now hunting him down . . .

“An intense, claustrophobic thriller that grabs you by the throat and won’t let go. Chris Butera has outdone himself; this is a book I won’t forget anytime soon.” —Samantha Downing, international-bestselling author of Too Old for This

“An incredibly riveting read—intense, breathtaking, and emotional. The kind of book that will have you racing to get to the end. Highly recommended.” —Brendan Deneen, bestselling author of Alien: Uncivil War and The Chrysalis

“A unique and delightfully creepy riff on the ‘haunted house’ genre. That alone would be reason enough to recommend it. What makes this novel truly special, however, is how author Chris Butera forces us to be content with true horror: the human mind, robbed of all distraction and comforts, is forced to contend with itself.” —Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters