‘Deep Level’ by Richard E. Rock is a horror story published by Darkstroke Books. Darkstroke Books is one of my favourite publishers for scary or horror stories. The cover to Deep Level and the synopsis drew me in immediately after I realised it was a Darkstroke Book.
A story about a group of friends, with Rich leading them on an exploration of the Victorian underground network to film whatever they come across. He sees the historical value and also a way out of his boring life so we see the four set off on a journey that they never imagined.
This is a terrifying story! It is full of dark humour which brings a lighter side to the story. It also means you aren’t ready for the scary bits when they happen. It had me jumping plenty of times but also had me intrigued, I was really curious as to why a station was bricked up and what actually WAS underneath it.
What begins as the four friends thinking is their imaginations on overtime turns into a dark, dark tale as they think they aren’t alone in the tunnels. It starts to become too much like the stuff of nightmares. We see the four totally different characters come to realise somethings are definitely better to be kept secrets.
The characters are all from various cultures and backgrounds which really gave the book a realistic feel. Ffion was my favourite straight away and I warmed to the others as well but Rich was a different story. Maybe how he was as a dad affected my view. The story alternated between the characters and we see bits of their flashbacks so it didn’t let me rest on my laurels in anyway.
An excellently plotted horror and a must-read for those who enjoy being scared half to death while reading.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Darkstroke Books for my copy of this terrifying book.
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