Review: The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager

The Sea Hide Its Dead by Megan Bontrager
Run For It

Publication Date: July 14th, 2026
Paperback. 368 pages.

About The Sea Hides Its Dead:

"The Descent meets The Ritual in a cult aquatic horror about a group of academics trapped in a sea cave who must reckon with eldritch horrors as they are forced to atone for their greatest sins.

ATONE OR DIE.

Grad student Caro has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but when an opportunity arises to act as a research assistant on an anthropological expedition for her professor and lover, Edward Beck, she doesn't hesitate.

Beck assembles a team of academics and professionals to study the ancient sea-based Cult of the Leviathan, and the expedition descends into the sea caves where the cult are said to have dwelt.

But when the cave entrance collapses, trapping them inside, the expedition will find they are not alone in the darkness. Surrounded by strange artefacts and scattered bones, an ancient trial has been set in motion. One by one, the members of the expedition will be tested and forced to atone for their greatest sin. . . or die."

I'm personally a huge fan of the type of horror that features the horror of the ocean, ancient or eldritch things, and throw in a bit of cave-related horror--all of that is absolutely my jam. Books like The Luminous Dead are some of my favorite horrors, so this really seemed like a perfect fit for me. 

I was immediately sold on this concept of a mysterious sea cave/rock formation thing that rises up out of the ocean one with without precedent and that no one can really explain or understand, but it's very clearly something. This story starts off strong: lots of mystery, a tense backdrop, some drama amongst the characters, and a cast of unique characters that all have a variety of hang-ups that they bring with them. Some of these components felt a bit familiar and this is definitely a general setup I've seen done before, but it's one that can work really well so I was very much on board for whatever was to come.

To this book's credit, it really starts off pretty quickly and doesn't take too long to get into things, which I think is a perk because this type of story is one that could easily have a slower start. But this quick jump into action, especially once our characters reach the cave, means that the entire dynamic of the story changed pretty quickly.

Caro, our protagonist, is an intelligent person who is grateful to have this opportunity to explore this new mystery, but she's still doing it stuck under the thumb of Beck, the married professor whom she's also having an affair with. I never found myself particularly invested in Caro herself, but I did appreciate how much depth her character was given and how much it all played into the events of the book, even though it did at times feel--once again--a bit familiar. I really appreciated that she was presented as a very flawed person who makes mistakes and is very aware of her mistakes, but still struggles to overcome them. That felt very real, very human, and very relatable.

I struggled a bit with the rest of the characters involved and didn't find myself caring for them that much. None of them ever really stood out and I often had difficulties remembering who was who, and although there are a handful of characters who we get to know a bit more because of things I can't say because of spoilers, I feel like the emotional threads or interest never went deep enough for me to care enough.. The only character I really wish we had gotten to know more was Mallory, as I found her the most intriguing of all the additional characters and thought she could've added even more to the story than she already did. I would actually have loved to read some of this story from her perspective.

Beck, unfortunately and probably unsurprisingly (especially if you've read the book) was probably my least favorite part of this book. I know he's meant to be annoying, but he felt like such a stereotypical archetype of what he was meant to be that it was almost too annoying. I've read this type of man a million times before: egotistical, arrogant, and condescending to everyone around him. Rather than find him entertaining or as a big obstacle for Caro to contend with, I found it slightly predictable and boring. I am sure that this is my own frustration with this type of character and others won't have these issues, but it did annoy me quite a bit throughout the reading experience.

The horror itself wasn't quite what I expected, but it was very well-written and multi-layered. I liked getting into the background of this sea cave and the lore surrounding it and how it worked, but the horror really leaned into more of a character-driven, psychological horror aspect that wasn't quite as compelling as I'd expected, but still offered a lot of really interesting scenes and food for though. It's the type of horror that really makes the characters--and ourselves--confront the worst parts of themselves, such as their regrets, bad memories, guilt, personal failings, and much more. There's also, of course, plenty external horror that comes in the form of gore and plenty of unsettling imagery that I think was written in a way that felt very visceral and truly horrific, and I applaud the author on creating those elements that really leaned into the horror of it all. However, the emotional and internal horror is really where this book seems to place its emphasis.

I do want to note that I think I quite liked the ending overall, and I think the final direction that Bontrager took the story in worked well with everything that was being done in the story. There are some elements here and there felt a little odd or convenient, but generally I think this was a solid story that told a tale of messiness and horror and wrapped it up pretty nicely--if you can call it that.

With everything I've said, I'm a little mixed on this book overall. I think my expectations didn't quite match up with everything in this book, but it wasn't a bad book by any means. I found that large aspects of it had a lot of promise, such the atmosphere, setting, and general concept, but something about it just didn't quite hit the mark for me. I found the background and mythology interesting, but they never quite grabbed me in the way I would have expected it to, and I almost wonder if it's because it was presented in ways that just never felt entirely cohesive and accessible. I kept waiting for the setting and plot to fully come together and grab me, but it never did. I'm very much inclined to believe this is simple a "me" problem because when I think about this book, every aspect of it sounds like it should be perfect, so perhaps something just didn't quite click with me.

Overall, I can see this working better for other readers, but it's still a really captivating horror with a fantastic premise and setting. If you're a fan of eerie ocean things and ancient cults and character-driven horror and the like, then you will definitely want to pick this one up. 

*I received a copy of The Sea Hides Its Dead courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood by H.G. Parry, Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden, & Hinterlands by Hannah Lucinda Smith

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood by H.G. Parry

Publication: July 21st, 2026

Orbit

Paperback. 480 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"From the author of The Magician's Daughter comes a historical fantasy where dreams come to life and Arthurian legends are reborn, perfect for fans of The Everlasting and The Once and Future King.

Wales, 1941. As the second world war ravages the globe and bombs fall from the sky, people all over the world begin to dream of King Arthur. The dreams spread like a fantastical plague, flooding people's sleep night after night. Whispers arise of wonders and unexplained sights―dragons in the London Underground, and strange lights over Stonehenge. Self-proclaimed prophets claim they are miracles, heralding Arthur's return at the time of Britain's greatest need.

Elaine Ambrose has never dreamed of Arthur, and she doesn't believe in miracles. A librarian at the British Museum, she wants only to protect the museum's collection from the London Blitz, and is frustrated to be sent instead to catalogue a reclusive professor's private library on the coast of North Wales. But all is not as it seems. Soon Ellie must confront what she's tried to ignore: she dreams not of Arthur, but of Nimue―the Lady of the Lake. And her dreams promise not salvation, but a return to the darkness of the last days of Camelot."

I think I've liked (and loved!) every book I've read from H.G. Parry so far, so I'm very excited for this new release (even though I typically find myself not a huge fan of World War II settings these days, I believe Parry will make this work)!

Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden

Publication: July 21st, 2026

St. Martin's Press

Hardcover. 336 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother's body from the evil that is hunting them.

Maggie Wise will take your eyes.

When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.

But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.

From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way."

Christopher Golden's premises always sound quite odd and intriguing, and this one is no different--I'm certainly intrigued.

Hinterlands: The New Cold War Brewing at the Peripheries of the West by Hannah Lucinda Smith

Publication: July 21st, 2026

Liveright

Hardcover. 288 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A Pulitzer grantee’s timely work of reportage from the borderlands of Europe, Russia, and Turkey, where brewing conflicts mark a significant fault line in shifting geopolitics.

Hannah Lucinda Smith, a Pulitzer grantee and acclaimed foreign correspondent, has devoted well over a decade to intrepid, on-the-ground reporting where few dare travel: the small, often disputed territories at the edges of Europe and Russia. There, Smith finds, the influence of Vladimir Putin and his favored strongmen―along with Turkish president and regional lynchpin Recep Tayyip Erdogan―fan territorial disputes and destabilize already fragile democracies.

Hinterlands offers a rare glimpse into the ghost towns of Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh, the cryptocurrency farms of Transnistria, the brittle border communities of Bosnia and its Republika Srpska, and the enclaves of Northern Cyprus that Russian oligarchs call home. In rarely seen places in Crimea and the Caucasus, frontiers have shifted and new countries have been made. Informed by her encounters with politicians, combatants, and the ordinary people caught in the crosshairs, Smith paints a vivid portrait of the places where geopolitical alliances are forged and broken, where the violent ambitions of dictators are most keenly felt.

This indispensable account of events in the gray zones of Eurasia gives vital context to our rapidly changing world and sounds a clear-eyed, urgent warning: We ignore the hinterlands at our own peril. What happens inside them has the power to redraw the fault lines of a new Cold War and shape the future of the West."

This sounds really fascinating and I'm so curious to check it out!