Literally Leander discussion

Our final book pick for 2023 is Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban.

Lying in the Deep is the author's third book, following All Your Twisted Secrets and These Deadly Games. In this book, college students attend class aboard a cruise ship, traveling the world... until a shocking murder occurs.

The following discussion prompts were written by a staff member and may have spoilers for the novel, so beware!

1. This book is partially inspired by Death on the Nile. Have you read the book, or seen the movie? What aspects of Death on the Nile did you see in Lying in the Deep?

2. Why do you think the author chose a cruise ship for the setting of this novel? If you had the opportunity to attend Campus on Board, would you? Why or why not?

3. As a college student, Jade is a little older than the typical YA narrator. Why do you think the author chose to make the characters college students instead of high school students?

4. Describe Jade as a narrator. Did you find her to be a reliable narrator? If you were to meet her in person, do you think you would be friends?

5. Were you surprised by the big reveal and ending events? Were you able to piece together the mystery? What are some clues you may have overlooked?

Greetings! I gave this book 2.5 stars because I felt like the middle of the book was the best part. I thought it was a little disappointing to have to read 100 pages before the book got interesting... and then I was disappointed with the end of the book, so I didn't feel like three stars was an accurate rating for me.

Honestly, a lot of what I have to say about the book can be answered with the prompts, so here I go. But also, I totally added spoilers. Like so many of them. Don't get mad if you see something you weren't ready to see!

2. Why do you think the author chose a cruise ship for the setting of this novel? If you had the opportunity to attend Campus on Board, would you? Why or why not?
A cruise ship is a really good setting for a spin-off of the locked room mystery. Especially when at sea, there’s little capability for someone to sneak on or off of a ship, meaning that the culprit is someone onboard, which means every passenger and crew member could be a suspect. Furthermore, there’s few places to hide and even fewer chances to escape unseen.

I would like to think that if given a chance to study abroad like this, I would take it. I’ve been on a couple cruises and enjoyed them; of course, I’ve never done a cruise where I had to do homework, which could be a bit of a downer.

3. As a college student, Jade is a little older than the typical YA narrator. Why do you think the author chose to make the characters college students instead of high school students?
Personally, I think there are several reasons why a college student is a better narrator for this type of novel than a high school student. The biggest one is that there’s a sense of freedom that a college student possesses; they aren’t beholden to their parents in the same way a high schooler is. College students are expected to manage themselves, to act without being guided by an authority figure. For example, I went on a school trip to Europe in high school, and everywhere we went we were required to have an adult chaperone. It made sense for a bunch of fifteen-year-olds. College students are adults, albeit young ones that can still make some pretty stupid decisions, but they are responsible for themselves and generally capable of handling independent travel should the need arise.

4. Describe Jade as a narrator. Did you find her to be a reliable narrator? If you were to meet her in person, do you think you would be friends?
Honestly, I didn’t much like Jade as a narrator to begin with. I feel l like a lot of these recent “I’ve been betrayed” YA novels are too heavy-handed on the narrator’s feelings towards their betrayer. Like, I understand how angry and heartbroken someone can be, but actively wishing someone dead regularly seems a bit contrived to me. Of course, it could be because I personally find that level of hatred far too much effort; I’d rather hate you briefly then move on with my life, only pausing to complain to people about how much you suck. You know? In that regard, I felt like Jade—and pretty much all of the other characters—were too immature to be college students. They were far too preoccupied with drama and rumors for my tastes.

That being said, I also think that Urban went out of the way to impress upon the reader that Jade was not responsible for Lainey’s death/disappearance. So while I doubted she had anything to do with it, I did think that was just a bit unreliable because she’s too emotionally close to the issue.

5. Were you surprised by the big reveal and ending events? Were you able to piece together the mystery? What are some clues you may have overlooked?
One of my big issues with this book was that it was too convenient. The ending is a prime example of that. Not only is Lainey not dead, but she’s faked her own death with the help of her cousin, who so happens to be the boy that Jade’s got a new instalove thing for, and suddenly all of Jade’s animosity towards her has evaporated. Now they’re besties again, and Jade is willing to put her own life on the line to help Lainey achieve her goal, which is ridiculous when you think about how violently Jade has cursed Lainey for the entirety of the book. Silas turns out not to be the sweet guy that Jade thought he was, instead he’s an abuser and a blackmailer, who gets dramatically murdered by the prime villain, Lainey’s dad, in front of everyone, wrapping up all of Lainey’s problems in one fell swoop.

For me, the book swung towards wildly unrealistic and, honestly, ridiculous from the moment we find out that it’s all some big plan for Lainey to live a life a freedom. The book loses a lot of its draw at that point. There is no real mystery for us to solve, so there are no clues that feel particularly overlooked. And because of how outrageous it gets, it doesn’t feel like it was predictable—which is usually a good thing. One of the things I said in my review was: “I didn't expect the turns the book took, but instead of being wowed by ingenuity I'm disappointed by how pointless it seemed.” And I think that sums up my feelings for the book pretty well.

1. This book is partially inspired by Death on the Nile. Have you read the book, or seen the movie? What aspects of Death on the Nile did you see in Lying in the Deep?
I haven't read Death on the Nile or seen the movie, but I added that book to my TBR list after I finished reading this book. Even though I did not love this book (hence my 2 star rating), I am curious about Christie's book.

2. If you had the opportunity to attend Campus on Board, would you? Why or why not?
I personally do not think I would attend Campus on Board if I had the opportunity. I would have liked to study abroad in college, but I think I would prefer to stay in one place (or a few places) during my study abroad experience to experience the culture. I feel like a lot of that is missed on a cruise where you stop at ports for a brief amount of time.

4. Describe Jade as a narrator. Did you find her to be a reliable narrator? If you were to meet her in person, do you think you would be friends?
I did not like Jade as a narrator. I did not think she was a reliable narrator. I do not think I would be friends with her if I were to meet her in person. I agree with Kristen's point that all of the characters seemed too immature to be college students and were too involved in drama and rumors. I prefer for my friendships to be drama-free.

5. Were you surprised by the big reveal and ending events? Were you able to piece together the mystery? What are some clues you may have overlooked?
The ending was a wild ride, which I frankly did not enjoy. I did not piece together the mystery, but as Kristen pointed out, there was no real mystery for us to solve.