Book Review: Dark Tide by Elizabeth Haynes
March 12, 2013 11 Comments
I read Haynes’ previous book, Into the Darkest Corner, which I thought was very good. So I was very keen to read this new book.
Dark Tide: What it is about
Genevieve has a dull but well-paying sales job in London. Her dream is to own a houseboat and live on it for a while. She needs quite a bit of money to realise her dream and in order to speed things up, she takes a job as a pole- and lap-dancer at an exclusive club.
When the book begins, Genevieve has bought her boat and is in the process of doing it up. Her father was a carpenter and taught her enough so that she can do her own refurbishments. One night she gives a boat-warming party for her new boating friends and her friends from London. One London friend, Caddie, doesn’t show up at the party, but is found drowned in the water the next morning.
Genevieve suspects her past at the pole-dance club is catching up with her. Her reluctance to divulge this past to the police brings her in danger. A friendly police officer tries to help and protect her.
Dark Tide: What I thought
This was an thrilling story, with danger around the corner almost from the beginning. Genevieve was a bit more trusting of the people around her than I was, which made the story more scary for me than for her. She was not easy to identify with because of the tough person she was. She lived alone on a houseboat, had been pole-dancing in a shady club and was doing carpentry to fix up her boat. All things that I could not imagine myself ever doing.
I didn’t enjoy the pole-dance setting at first, but this became better as I got to know the people at the club and knew who could be trusted or not. The eventual resolution of the story was a little far-fetched but I liked the tension in the story, with Genevieve never knowing whether she’d have a quiet night on the boat or whether people would break in or otherwise disturb her night. The presence of the police officer some of the time helped, but I wasn’t sure he could be trusted.
A good and quick read full of suspense.
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Number of pages: 400
First published: 2012
I got this book: for review from Harper Perennial via Edelweiss (ebook)
Genre: thriller
Extra: See my review of Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
Have you read this book?
What did you think?
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I don’t think I was even aware of Dark Tide, but it does sound good. Glad u liked it Judith.
It was a good read, Diane.
Sounds lik a good read, Judith, but not one that I will actively go searching for it.
I’m in the mood for some suspense. But I think I’ll get an audio copy so I can listen to it soon.
I’m glad you liked this one too Judith. (It is titled Revenge of the Tide in the UK). I enjoyed it, though I loved Into the Darkest Corner even more, that is one of my favourite books. I recently read Human Remains which is new out here, don’t know if you’ve seen that one yet?
Lindsay, I also liked the other book more. I didn’t know there was yet a new book, thanks for the heads up!
This book sounds really fun, Judith. I understand when you say you didn’t feel comfortable about the danger and the setting in this story. I couldn’t imagine living in a boathouse alone either… and a part of that must be that I always have nightmares of the crocodiles.
Tes, I had to smile! In England there are no crocodiles, or only in zoos. But yes, it is maybe different where you are?
Human Remains is new out here (saw it today) but I still haven’t read Into the Darkest Corner yet! This sounds good though, with enough quirks to make it stand out.
Sam, I think *Into the Darkest Corner* was more thrilling than this one, but both are good.
Didn’t enjoy it as much as her first novel (it was so great!). And I am not sure about her third one, I don’t want to be disappointed.