**From Bram Stoker Award–winning author Nancy Holder comes a chilling novel of horror on the sea. *This is how it will be when you drown. . . .***
At a sun-washed dock in Long Beach, California, the creaky freighter, *Morris,* loaded with brightly colored boxcars, takes on passengers. Among the vacationers: a disgruntled yuppie couple, a child stricken by cancer, a woman searching for her lost husband, and a female cop packing a .38 and bitter memories of a boy who drowned before her eyes.
In seas of love and blood they will drown, one at a time. And for their company, they will have those who have drowned before them—and those who have received a message in a bottle. . . .
**Praise for *Dead in the Water***
“ *Dead in the Water* is saturated with brooding, claustrophobic, hallucinatory menace. Nancy Holder’s vivid voice and sharp characterization make it all real. I’m never going on a boat again!” **—Poppy Z. Brite**
“ *Dead in the Water* is an involving and truly frightening book. This is the kind of horror that gets underneath your skin and works its way into your soul. Real terror . . . for those daring enough to take the trip. I enjoyed it immensely.” **—Rick Hautala**
“Nancy Holder proves why she’s an award-winning author. Eerie—effective—excellent! A chilling combination of *Lifeboat, Ship of Fools,* and John Carpenter’s *The Fog, Dead in the Water* keeps you treading water with every page, gasping for breath, sucking you under. A nightmare cruise into black waters and terrifying depths.” **—Lisa Cantrell**
“I’d feel safer in the water with *Jaws*.” **—Brian Lumley**
“A nasty tale well told, infused with the eerily surreal quality of fevered nightmares. Discovering Nancy Holder is like finding a vein of true horror gold.” **—Cheri Scotch**
“Man the lifeboats. Don your life jacket. Nancy Holder takes you on a cruise you won’t soon forget. Scary stuff.” **—Maxine O’Callaghan**
“I couldn’t put it down! A whale of a tale. A page-turner—the first sentence will hook you and what follows will reel you in. *Dead in the Water* is fast-paced and exciting, mysterious and spooky!” **—Chris Curry**
“Nancy Holder enshrouds fascinating characters within a chilling atmosphere and creates a relentless tale of terror at sea. Holder is one of my favorite writers.” **—Elizabeth Massie**