In Will Dean’s dark domestic thriller, a domineering man holds physical and mental control over his small family who live on a canal boat, forcing them to draw farther and farther away from the world he so fears. Peggy and Drew Jenkins are aspiring writers, but their separate paths to fame or obscurity is just one set piece that will drive this complex drama down a river of deceit, gaslighting and dangerous acts, coloring the lives of their family forever.

It is the fall of 1994, and ADRIFT is told from the perspectives of Peggy and her 14-year-old son, Samson. That readers are never given the opportunity to see inside Drew’s mind keeps the story operating at an elevated level of suspicion as there is always the chance that we are in the hands of two unreliable narrators.

"Will Dean has created a claustrophobic and deeply layered psychological thriller that readers will not be able to look away from, no matter how uncomfortable things get."

Samson, who is small in stature, is bullied regularly. He is trying to assimilate in high school while living just above the poverty level, which makes him an easy target. Samson regrets his life and holds his father primarily accountable for this. He dreams of the day when he turns 18 and finally can get on a train bound for anywhere and never look back. When Samson finds Mr. Turner from the boat that neighbors theirs floating face down in the water, he is devastated. It will not be long before he has thoughts of his father being responsible, even though the death is ruled accidental.

Meanwhile, Peggy privately finishes her book and gets word from her editor that it has been picked up for release. Drew, who has gotten nowhere with his extremely private personal work, is jealous and takes his psychological warfare against his family to a new level. He drugs Peggy and has her committed to a mental hospital to deal with her alleged suicide attempt. As he works towards keeping her there for as long as possible, he sabotages her book deal by making changes to the copy and completely ruining it.

Once Peggy eventually gets out, she realizes that the only way to save herself and Samson is to get off the boat and leave Drew behind. However, Drew has other plans that even include taking the boat permanently out of its docking site in the marina and onto the open river, leaving mankind and any chance for a normal life for his family in the rearview mirror. It becomes obvious that violence will be necessary to bring an end to this toxic situation, and not everyone will survive it.

Will Dean has created a claustrophobic and deeply layered psychological thriller that readers will not be able to look away from, no matter how uncomfortable things get. Drew Jenkins is reminiscent of classic villainous archetypes from both fairy tales and works of horror whose actions permeate every single moment of the lives of those closest to them in the worst ways.