Dead Tide

by Jeannine Kadow

Washington anchorwoman Lacie Wagner has retreated to a secluded beachfront home on Nantucket to heal the physical and emotional scars of her fiery past. When she discovers the body of a female diver washed ashore—her face destroyed beyond recognition—Lacie's tranquility is shattered. What starts out as the most explosive investigation of her career swiftly turns intensely personal.

A killer has chosen her to tell his story, methodically releasing evidence, daring her to discover his identity—and to save his last living captive. Stonewalled by law enforcement and the military, Lacie hires a renegade manhunter. Together they run outside the law and straight into the heart of an unspeakable evil—a riptide that sweeps its victims one by one into the unfathomable depths of a watery grave.

Genres: Mystery

389 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder mystery. Builds to climax. All comes together. Wet suits, air tanks, exotic fish, aquariums, navy seals, suspense!

[Jarod Theiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Matty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great fast-paced thriller with memorable characters and a unique setting.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can suspend belief if a book is well-written and well-plotted and doesn't drop you out of the world it has carefully constructed.

This book does that repeatedly. Maybe I'm smarter than most readers, but it was GLARINGLY obvious from the first chapter who the bad guy was, how he was hiding, and what the rest of the book would be about.

I have to say another thing about this book that really bothered me is that the lead character is supposed to be this amazing mom, but her daughter is shipped off to a boarding school, and SHE NEVER HAS ANY CONTACT.

[Ice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Television anchor Lacie Wagner submits to more gruesome thrills in this sensationalistic sequel to Burnout (1999). On the Nantucket beach where Lacie schedules her exercise runs from her vacation home, a "strange water warrior" Jane Doe washes up, contrary to the likely action of wind and current. The body is oddly marked with lacerations and burns, adorned with diamond earrings and also wearing military-grade diving equipment yet the local and national military establishments deny knowledge of her.

Lacie uses this story for her comeback to national news after medical leave (due to action in Burnout) and in the course of her investigation collects a circle of new people: muscular Tom Wheeler, the Nantucket medical examiner; aggressive Assistant DA Hinks; cranky Boston medical examiner Miles McKenzie; and eventually, through McKenzie's contacts, the cartoonishly superlative investigator Nick St. James. The stereotypes and coincidences pile up until Lacie is sure she has been targeted for a weird scheme of torture; the mysterious manipulator behind the scenes feeds her hints about other missing women and sets her up to publicize his macabre trophies as hard news.

Disturbing physiological effects, dubious technical gadget descriptions and the preponderance of beautiful, lush-chested women with powerful jobs stalked and tortured by ambiguous handsome men make this work a touch more lurid than Patricia Cornwell's or Linda Fairstein's

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kadow is an author whose books I've never read but I saw this in my local library and decided to give it a shot. Starts off slow but to me, I thought if I read more that the rest would be promising. The antagonist of the story is one whose mind is very chilling, sadistic, analytical, highly intelligent, complex, and evil to the core. I like this book for many reasons: it's narrated by several characters, giving us a deep insight into how each respective narrator's mind's work, the obvious amount of research that went into it, mature themes, and that no character is perfect, polished, and undamaged. It seems very real, more so than other books I've read. This book isn't just some fluff. It's serious, it's powerful, and really creepy. My only complaint is that there was no suspense, no anticipation or climax whatsoever. It was very lengthy and constant, no twists and turns. It took me a while to finish so I recommend it if you are looking to read something fascinating and thought provoking. 3.5/5 stars.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't disappoint