Book Summary and Reviews of Adrift by Will Dean

Adrift by Will Dean

Adrift

A Novel

by Will Dean

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  • Published:
  • Feb 2026, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The author of the "master class in suspense" (Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author)The Chamber returns with a high-tension thriller about a family's descent into darkness that is perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Lisa Jewell.

Peggy and Drew, both aspiring writers, move to an isolated canal boat with their fourteen-year-old son. Peggy is the glue that holds their family together, even as their son is bullied relentlessly for his physique and his family's lack of money. But when Drew becomes frustrated by his wife's sudden writing success, he moves their boat further and further from civilization.

With their increasing isolation, personal challenges become harder to ignore, even as they desperately try to break toxic generational patterns. But when Drew's gaslighting becomes too much for Peggy to take, it sets off a catastrophic series of events.

With Will Dean's signature "well-drawn characters and excellent prose" (Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author), Adrift is gripping exploration of the ties that bind when everything spirals out of control.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[A] smashing novel... pressure is building, and one can feel it gathering force, aching to explode, contained for a time only by author Dean's way with language." ―Booklist

"Utterly tense and bone chilling, Adrift follows the unraveling of a family as it descends into isolation and psychological darkness. A suspenseful, atmospheric and masterly delivered story." ―Wendy Walker, USA Today bestselling author of Blade

"Steeped in a sense of impending dread, Adrift is an astute character study of one family's slow unravel as their houseboat floats further and further away from civilization. Will Dean has mastered the art of chronic unease; I was holding my breath the entire time." ―Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of Forget Me Not

This information about Adrift was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Will Dean

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom. After studying law at the London School of Economics and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a wooden house in a vast forest, and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball's book club on ITV, shortlisted for the National Book Award (UK), The Guardian's Not the Booker prize, and was named a Telegraph book of the year. He is also the author of Adrift, The Last One, First Born, The Last Thing to Burn, which was shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and The Chamber.

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