Will Dean in conversation

Blackwell’s Manchester welcomes bestselling author Will Dean back to the shop to celebrate his latest thriller, Adrift, in conversation with writer and podcaster Neil McRobert. Together they explore a novel that delivers intense psychological suspense and a chilling portrait of control, fear and survival.

Adrift centres on a mother and her teenage son living an isolated life on the canal network, where the appearance of normal family life conceals something far more sinister. As their world is tightly regulated and constantly uprooted, the novel builds an atmosphere of claustrophobia and dread, asking what happens when power shifts and escape becomes imaginable. Taut, unsettling and emotionally charged, it is a thriller driven as much by character as by plot.

Dean is known for crafting immersive, high-stakes stories across both series fiction and standalone novels, and Adrift continues his exploration of hidden lives and extreme psychological pressure. In conversation with McRobert, he reflects on the novel’s themes, the mechanics of suspense, and the appeal of dark, domestic thrillers.

This event offers readers a chance to hear from a master of tension about the creation of a novel that grips from the first page to the last.