Bram Stoker Award Best Novel Winner

Dead in the Water

by Nancy Holder

Summary

A luxury ocean liner picks up survivors from a sinking ship, but the rescued passengers carry something monstrous aboard as the vessel sails into a supernatural nightmare on the open sea. Trapped between water and a relentless evil, the people on board confront ghosts, madness, and their own buried guilt. Holder steeps the story in maritime dread, using the isolation of the ship to heighten a slow building sense of doom.

Historical Context & Significance

Holder won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel with this book, one of several Stoker Awards across her career.