Day Four: A Novel

Step aboard "the cruise ship from hell" (Stephen King) in this "satirical scream of a novel" (New York Times Book Review). Hundreds of pleasure-seekers stream aboard The Beautiful Dreamer cruise ship for five days of cut-price fun in the Caribbean sun. On the fourth day, disaster strikes: smoke roils out of the engine room, and the ship is stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon supplies run low, a virus plagues the ship, and there are whispered rumors that the cabins on the lower decks are haunted by shadowy figures. Irritation escalates to panic, the crew loses control, factions form, and violent chaos erupts among the survivors. When, at last, the ship is spotted drifting off the coast of Key West, the world's press reports it empty. But the gloomy headlines may be covering up an even more disturbing reality. Day Four is a heart-racing tale from "a ferociously imaginative storyteller" (Lauren Beukes).

Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls

"Lotz is a ferociously imaginative storyteller whose twisty plots will kick the stairs out from under you. She's a talent to watch."

Stephen King PRAISE FOR DAY FOUR:

"The Three is really wonderful, a mix of Michael Crichton and Shirley Jackson. Hard to put down and vastly entertaining."

Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"Really good...It's the cruise ship from hell." ―Stephen King A "satirical scream...If this tub ever makes it back to Miami, sign me up for the next cruise."

Kirkus Reviews

"An intriguing take on the classic 'locked room' mystery."

Isabella Biedenham, Entertainment Weekly

"The confined space of the cruise ship is the perfect setting for Lotz's suspenseful style. Once things start to go wrong, Day Four is a page-turner and fun for readers with easy access to the plumbing, fresh food, hand sanitizers and sanity that Lotz's characters lack while the creepiness builds."―Jennifer Kay, The Associated Press An "eerie tale...You'll turn the pages curiously, hungry for clues, until the ending...kicks you in the stomach. Take it to the beach--but maybe not on a cruise."

Joe Hartlaub, Book Reporter

"Day Four may be the summer beach read from hell, but it's a fun one...What the novel does provide from the jump is a sense of foreboding so thick you could cut it with a knife."

Jack Batten, Toronto Star

"Lotz does such a graphic job of mixing a formidable cast in stories of ghastly shipboard intrigue that anybody reading the novel will never dare to board a vessel larger than a canoe."

About the Author

Sarah Lotz is a screenwriter and novelist with a fondness for the macabre and fake names. She lives in Cape Town with her family and other animals.

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