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Dark Tide
For Ricky Hackworth, a summer job to save money before he leaves for college is a necessity. When he lands a job as a lifeguard at the Mermaid Inn in Latona, Alabama, on the beautiful Gulf Coast, it’s like a dream come true. But once he moves into the Inn, he starts hearing stories about the lifeguard from the previous summer…and how he vanished without a trace right in the middle of the summer. Before long, Ricky realizes the Inn and the town are hiding some dark secrets…secrets someone is willing to kill to protect, and Ricky has to find out the truth before he, too, vanishes without a trace.
264 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2014
3 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Greg Herren
80 books150 followersGreg Herren is a New Orleans-based author and editor. Former editor of Lambda Book Report, he is also a co-founder of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival, which takes place in New Orleans every May. He is the author of ten novels, including the Lambda Literary Award winning Murder in the Rue Chartres, called by the New Orleans Times-Picayune “the most honest depiction of life in post-Katrina New Orleans published thus far.” He co-edited Love, Bourbon Street: Reflections on New Orleans, which also won the Lambda Literary Award. He has published over fifty short stories in markets as varied as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine to the critically acclaimed anthology New Orleans Noir to various websites, literary magazines, and anthologies. His erotica anthology FRATSEX is the all time best selling title for Insightoutbooks. Under his pseudonym Todd Gregory, he published the bestselling erotic novel Every Frat Boy Wants It and the erotic anthologies His Underwear and Rough Trade (to be released by Bold Strokes Books in 2009).
A long-time resident of New Orleans, Greg was a fitness columnist and book reviewer for Window Media for over four years, publishing in the LGBT newspapers IMPACT News, Southern Voice, and Houston Voice. He served a term on the Board of Directors for the National Stonewall Democrats, and served on the founding committee of the Louisiana Stonewall Democrats. He is currently employed as a public health researcher for the NO/AIDS Task Force.
A long-time resident of New Orleans, Greg was a fitness columnist and book reviewer for Window Media for over four years, publishing in the LGBT newspapers IMPACT News, Southern Voice, and Houston Voice. He served a term on the Board of Directors for the National Stonewall Democrats, and served on the founding committee of the Louisiana Stonewall Democrats. He is currently employed as a public health researcher for the NO/AIDS Task Force.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 3, 2014
I was looking for summery books to read when DARK TIDE caught my eye. It promised a lifeguard, a small Alabama town with secrets, and a mysterious disappearance. Ricky Hackworth is off to earn some money in his last summer before college. He could really use it, even with his scholarship to swim for the Crimson Tide.
He's suspiciously similar to the lifeguard before him, down to the scholarship. But the lifeguard before him walked to town on a rainy day and was never seen again. Many of the townspeople warn Ricky away, lest the same happen to him. But he's drawn to certain people, and refuses to leave.
DARK TIDE deploys some excellent twists. They're unexpected, recontextualize everything that's happened in the book to that point, and still make sense with the characters. Ricky seems like a pretty straightforward guy (sweet, athletic, gay), but there's definitely a brain clicking away beneath the brawn. As the cliche goes, not just a pretty face. There's nothing that doesn't convince him more to find out what happened to his predecessor.
DARK TIDE is very short. I felt like the denouement in particular could've been much longer - everything wraps up pretty neatly in a single chapter. There's a great deal of atmosphere building, and then the mystery unravels with a snap of the fingers instead of being slowly teased out. (Although given the truth, I'm actually somewhat relieved that Herren didn't linger on it longer.) Anyway, it took me about half an hour to read DARK TIDE, which is fine for a by-the-pool read. I don't want to say it needed to be much longer, because I liked that DARK TIDE was streamlined, but I just think the end needed a little more meat.
This small-town mystery was a nice change of pace for me. I really liked Ricky, who was wonderfully developed throughout the novel. I'm not a swimmer, but the detail that went into the swimming and what Ricky needed to do to stay in competitive shape added nice flavor to the text. (However, Ricky seems to spend very little time actually doing his job.) There is no romance, but there are some romantic elements that add to the tragedy of Latona's secrets. I highly recommend DARK TIDE to anyone looking for a quick summer mystery.
He's suspiciously similar to the lifeguard before him, down to the scholarship. But the lifeguard before him walked to town on a rainy day and was never seen again. Many of the townspeople warn Ricky away, lest the same happen to him. But he's drawn to certain people, and refuses to leave.
DARK TIDE deploys some excellent twists. They're unexpected, recontextualize everything that's happened in the book to that point, and still make sense with the characters. Ricky seems like a pretty straightforward guy (sweet, athletic, gay), but there's definitely a brain clicking away beneath the brawn. As the cliche goes, not just a pretty face. There's nothing that doesn't convince him more to find out what happened to his predecessor.
DARK TIDE is very short. I felt like the denouement in particular could've been much longer - everything wraps up pretty neatly in a single chapter. There's a great deal of atmosphere building, and then the mystery unravels with a snap of the fingers instead of being slowly teased out. (Although given the truth, I'm actually somewhat relieved that Herren didn't linger on it longer.) Anyway, it took me about half an hour to read DARK TIDE, which is fine for a by-the-pool read. I don't want to say it needed to be much longer, because I liked that DARK TIDE was streamlined, but I just think the end needed a little more meat.
This small-town mystery was a nice change of pace for me. I really liked Ricky, who was wonderfully developed throughout the novel. I'm not a swimmer, but the detail that went into the swimming and what Ricky needed to do to stay in competitive shape added nice flavor to the text. (However, Ricky seems to spend very little time actually doing his job.) There is no romance, but there are some romantic elements that add to the tragedy of Latona's secrets. I highly recommend DARK TIDE to anyone looking for a quick summer mystery.
October 18, 2017
Gads that was positively awful. I have read several of Herren's books and expected so much more. The story was repetitive and bland. The characters were dull and unbelievable. Stay far away from this loser.
September 21, 2014
Mermaids and mermen, old legends, disappearances, shady characters, murder-mystery, all make up the ingredients for a great read. You're probably asking, where is the M/M romance? Mark forgot the M/M romance - oh no!!!!! But I just loved this book.
Well, before I start let's say with this book I have taken a bit of a sidestep away from the traditional M/M romance and decided to read what is essentially a pure murder-mystery. Why did I decide to do this? Well, sometimes I just need a change, but don't panic I haven't wondered off course too much, there is still most definitely an M/M theme running through this book. That's what I liked so much, for me this book is a murder-mystery story foremost where the M/M love is there, but we only get a glimpse of it right at the very end. And beautifully done it was too, left me with a watery eye for sure.
Ricky gets a summer job as a lifeguard at a place called the Mermaid Inn located in Mermaid Bay off the gulf cost near a run-down town called Latona in Alabama. Greg sets the scene perfectly and I could really envisage this old Victorian style hotel on the coast nestled in the dunes, but a sinister atmosphere hangs in the very air. Ricky has got the job to try and pay for his college fees as he has got a scholarship to Tuscaloosa due to his swimming. I could so feel his determination, admired and respected him. Coming from a poor family, where his mum died early and basically through his whole childhood was brought up by his dad. They may have been poor and Ricky classed as white-trash by his fellow classmates at school, but the love between father and son was wonderful to read. It’s really all any child needs in my opinion and no amount of material wealth will make up for the love and attention of parents. Ricky’s father scrimped and saved to send his son to swim camp and training, sacrificing everything he may have saved to give his son a better future was just such a wonderful touch. So maybe white-trash in terms of hard cash, but in my opinion richer than any millionaire in terms of love. May sound a little clichéd, but still holds true, just because you are poor doesn't mean to say you have to behave like trash. Ricky's dad is very proud of his son and has done a great job in raising his son alone. A fact he can be very proud of indeed! This is just one of the aspects of this story that I enjoyed a lot.
Anyway, Ricky has his summer job now as not to burden his father too much financially and this job should fill the coffers a little before going to college. When he arrives at the Mermaid Inn the greeting is very cool to say the least. Not what you would expect when starting a new job. As time goes by he learns that the young lifeguard who was there the previous summer had disappeared without a word or trace and is still missing. It has been so long now that there is possibly very little hope of finding him alive or he never wants to be found again. From here on in the book had me in it's grip and I couldn't put it down. The writing was vivid, descriptive and my head was full of imagery. Where I live the Germans have word for when you read a book ~ Kopfkino ~ translated literally means “head cinema” but the meaning is one of when you are reading the imagination takes over and you have a film going on in your head. This Greg definitely achieved for me.
As Ricky starts to meet people in the town, listens to what they have to say about it and its legends of mermen, this whole town seems to live from what little tourism there is and the Mermen legend permeates absolutely everything. The whole atmosphere starts to become more sinister. Seriously, it was like you get the feeling everyone is hiding something, there is something going on but it’s just very ephemeral and fleeting at the beginning ..……the plot thickens. Ricky takes it upon himself to start asking and finding out a little more about the town's history, its people and in so doing puts himself into more danger. These legends of mermen go right back to the Native Americans who originally inhabited the bay, but since that time people have still disappeared on a regular basis right up to modern times. Pure legend or is there more modern influences at work? I loved the way the author brings the legends of these mermen to life by using Ricky's dreams and nightmares as a vehicle to give them life. Maybe there are more supernatural powers at work here than it first appears. It got me almost believing that quite possibly these mermen really do exist. Again the Kopfkino took over and it was as though Ricky’s dreams were my own.
Cecily, the owner’s niece of The Mermaid Inn and Alana, the waitress at the local diner, both try to warn Ricky that what is happening to him is exactly what happened to the lifeguard before! oh dear! It was like history was repeating itself and the girls are really concerned for him. It certainly raised the mystery-thriller plot a notch higher.
Hhhmmmm, things start to get very curious indeed. People giving him cryptic warnings to be careful and not to trust certain characters. While reading I was thinking, “why the hell is Ricky not taking these warnings seriously,” especially when the warnings are coming from people, like Cecily and Alana, who seem to be genuine enough and concerned for his welfare. I could have slapped Ricky myself for ignoring these warnings. For being so mule-headed. It was as if he was looking for trouble on purpose!
At about 60% of the way in to the book I was thrown such an unexpected turn of events with a plot twist I seriously didn't see coming. I’m usually pretty good at working things out, but I seriously did not see this one coming at all! Placed me in a bit of a flat spin and left me a little discombobulated for a minute to say the least. Well, for me this is something that was skilfully done. When the author gives you the feeling that everything seems to be normal and that the MC is really doing nothing unusual and then........wham.........you get a revelation you didn't see coming! LOVED it! However, the main thing here is that it still ties in nicely with everything that had gone before where you have one of those forehead slapping moments and the only thing you can say first is “WTF!” and then after a “Duh!” of course the clues were there all the time.
From here on in I couldn't put the book down. I needed to get to the bottom of this mystery too. All the time shouting at Ricky not to be such an idiot, to listen to those people that are trying to warn him of the danger. But does he listen to me? Nooooo.........does he hell the like! Right up until the very end where I received another revelation, yes….another one, all is revealed and everything makes sense - thank goodness!
When I was a teenager it was next to impossible to find stories, normal stories and not necessarily romance stories where the MCs are just gay. It was always the hero (man) sailing off in to the sunset with his new love, inevitably a female MC. A little stereotypical I know, but I think you get the picture. But not only with literature, with films, with romance, with magazines, with TV shows, etc. Therefore it is wonderful today to think we have authors writing what could be described as excellent mainstream stories but the characters are gay. The story isn’t about their “gayness” but about who they are as people and characters within the story. In this book Greg also deals with some of the darker and seedier parts of gay culture, but that’s OK for me too as it’s real and only adds to the whole mystery-thriller experience. It shows the good and bad of gay culture in one book, but then that’s only a reflection of society in general anyway.
Greg has written for me personally a great book. A great murder-mystery, with plot twists and revelations skilfully done and a writing style that flows wonderfully. So is this an M/M romance? Well, I can only say that if you are expecting MCs to be falling in love with lusty erotic love scenes in every chapter then you will be a little disappointed. However, if you like a good murder-mystery with an M/M theme, then READ this book. There is a romance, but the romance doesn't have a HEA I'm afraid. A bitter sweet ending with closure that brought a tear to my eye for sure. This is what I like about such books and this will not be the last book I’ll be reading from Greg Herren for sure.
Well, before I start let's say with this book I have taken a bit of a sidestep away from the traditional M/M romance and decided to read what is essentially a pure murder-mystery. Why did I decide to do this? Well, sometimes I just need a change, but don't panic I haven't wondered off course too much, there is still most definitely an M/M theme running through this book. That's what I liked so much, for me this book is a murder-mystery story foremost where the M/M love is there, but we only get a glimpse of it right at the very end. And beautifully done it was too, left me with a watery eye for sure.
Ricky gets a summer job as a lifeguard at a place called the Mermaid Inn located in Mermaid Bay off the gulf cost near a run-down town called Latona in Alabama. Greg sets the scene perfectly and I could really envisage this old Victorian style hotel on the coast nestled in the dunes, but a sinister atmosphere hangs in the very air. Ricky has got the job to try and pay for his college fees as he has got a scholarship to Tuscaloosa due to his swimming. I could so feel his determination, admired and respected him. Coming from a poor family, where his mum died early and basically through his whole childhood was brought up by his dad. They may have been poor and Ricky classed as white-trash by his fellow classmates at school, but the love between father and son was wonderful to read. It’s really all any child needs in my opinion and no amount of material wealth will make up for the love and attention of parents. Ricky’s father scrimped and saved to send his son to swim camp and training, sacrificing everything he may have saved to give his son a better future was just such a wonderful touch. So maybe white-trash in terms of hard cash, but in my opinion richer than any millionaire in terms of love. May sound a little clichéd, but still holds true, just because you are poor doesn't mean to say you have to behave like trash. Ricky's dad is very proud of his son and has done a great job in raising his son alone. A fact he can be very proud of indeed! This is just one of the aspects of this story that I enjoyed a lot.
Anyway, Ricky has his summer job now as not to burden his father too much financially and this job should fill the coffers a little before going to college. When he arrives at the Mermaid Inn the greeting is very cool to say the least. Not what you would expect when starting a new job. As time goes by he learns that the young lifeguard who was there the previous summer had disappeared without a word or trace and is still missing. It has been so long now that there is possibly very little hope of finding him alive or he never wants to be found again. From here on in the book had me in it's grip and I couldn't put it down. The writing was vivid, descriptive and my head was full of imagery. Where I live the Germans have word for when you read a book ~ Kopfkino ~ translated literally means “head cinema” but the meaning is one of when you are reading the imagination takes over and you have a film going on in your head. This Greg definitely achieved for me.
As Ricky starts to meet people in the town, listens to what they have to say about it and its legends of mermen, this whole town seems to live from what little tourism there is and the Mermen legend permeates absolutely everything. The whole atmosphere starts to become more sinister. Seriously, it was like you get the feeling everyone is hiding something, there is something going on but it’s just very ephemeral and fleeting at the beginning ..……the plot thickens. Ricky takes it upon himself to start asking and finding out a little more about the town's history, its people and in so doing puts himself into more danger. These legends of mermen go right back to the Native Americans who originally inhabited the bay, but since that time people have still disappeared on a regular basis right up to modern times. Pure legend or is there more modern influences at work? I loved the way the author brings the legends of these mermen to life by using Ricky's dreams and nightmares as a vehicle to give them life. Maybe there are more supernatural powers at work here than it first appears. It got me almost believing that quite possibly these mermen really do exist. Again the Kopfkino took over and it was as though Ricky’s dreams were my own.
Cecily, the owner’s niece of The Mermaid Inn and Alana, the waitress at the local diner, both try to warn Ricky that what is happening to him is exactly what happened to the lifeguard before! oh dear! It was like history was repeating itself and the girls are really concerned for him. It certainly raised the mystery-thriller plot a notch higher.
Hhhmmmm, things start to get very curious indeed. People giving him cryptic warnings to be careful and not to trust certain characters. While reading I was thinking, “why the hell is Ricky not taking these warnings seriously,” especially when the warnings are coming from people, like Cecily and Alana, who seem to be genuine enough and concerned for his welfare. I could have slapped Ricky myself for ignoring these warnings. For being so mule-headed. It was as if he was looking for trouble on purpose!
At about 60% of the way in to the book I was thrown such an unexpected turn of events with a plot twist I seriously didn't see coming. I’m usually pretty good at working things out, but I seriously did not see this one coming at all! Placed me in a bit of a flat spin and left me a little discombobulated for a minute to say the least. Well, for me this is something that was skilfully done. When the author gives you the feeling that everything seems to be normal and that the MC is really doing nothing unusual and then........wham.........you get a revelation you didn't see coming! LOVED it! However, the main thing here is that it still ties in nicely with everything that had gone before where you have one of those forehead slapping moments and the only thing you can say first is “WTF!” and then after a “Duh!” of course the clues were there all the time.
From here on in I couldn't put the book down. I needed to get to the bottom of this mystery too. All the time shouting at Ricky not to be such an idiot, to listen to those people that are trying to warn him of the danger. But does he listen to me? Nooooo.........does he hell the like! Right up until the very end where I received another revelation, yes….another one, all is revealed and everything makes sense - thank goodness!
When I was a teenager it was next to impossible to find stories, normal stories and not necessarily romance stories where the MCs are just gay. It was always the hero (man) sailing off in to the sunset with his new love, inevitably a female MC. A little stereotypical I know, but I think you get the picture. But not only with literature, with films, with romance, with magazines, with TV shows, etc. Therefore it is wonderful today to think we have authors writing what could be described as excellent mainstream stories but the characters are gay. The story isn’t about their “gayness” but about who they are as people and characters within the story. In this book Greg also deals with some of the darker and seedier parts of gay culture, but that’s OK for me too as it’s real and only adds to the whole mystery-thriller experience. It shows the good and bad of gay culture in one book, but then that’s only a reflection of society in general anyway.
Greg has written for me personally a great book. A great murder-mystery, with plot twists and revelations skilfully done and a writing style that flows wonderfully. So is this an M/M romance? Well, I can only say that if you are expecting MCs to be falling in love with lusty erotic love scenes in every chapter then you will be a little disappointed. However, if you like a good murder-mystery with an M/M theme, then READ this book. There is a romance, but the romance doesn't have a HEA I'm afraid. A bitter sweet ending with closure that brought a tear to my eye for sure. This is what I like about such books and this will not be the last book I’ll be reading from Greg Herren for sure.
August 31, 2014
One of my favorite things when reading a mystery is not being able to figure it all out, but enjoying getting to the destination and finding the clues spread out behind me and realizing all I was missing was the right perspective. Dark Tide, though a YA thriller, has that sense in abundance, with not just one, but two major turns that threw me for a loop but gave that sense of hindsight.
Obviously, I'm not going to put any spoilers in this review. The basic set-up is this - Ricky, a young man from a poor family who has an upcoming swimming scholarship for school that won't cover everything, drops his plans for a summer job with his father on almost no notice to take a job as a lifeguard at the Mermaid Inn for the summer. The Mermaid Inn is in a small town with no lack of secrets - not the least of which is what happened to last year's lifeguard, a young man very much like Ricky who simply vanished.
Herren skillfully plays with reader expectations here, leading you one way only to turn you another, and there are revelations throughout Dark Tide that delivered shocks to the system. Again, with a bit of reader hindsight, I was left smiling and pleased at the surprises.
Character is king here. Ricky is pretty quick to realize nothing - and especially no one - is exactly as first appearances would lead him to believe. And throughout it all, there's the biggest question of all: what happened to the last young man in his position?
Obviously, I'm not going to put any spoilers in this review. The basic set-up is this - Ricky, a young man from a poor family who has an upcoming swimming scholarship for school that won't cover everything, drops his plans for a summer job with his father on almost no notice to take a job as a lifeguard at the Mermaid Inn for the summer. The Mermaid Inn is in a small town with no lack of secrets - not the least of which is what happened to last year's lifeguard, a young man very much like Ricky who simply vanished.
Herren skillfully plays with reader expectations here, leading you one way only to turn you another, and there are revelations throughout Dark Tide that delivered shocks to the system. Again, with a bit of reader hindsight, I was left smiling and pleased at the surprises.
Character is king here. Ricky is pretty quick to realize nothing - and especially no one - is exactly as first appearances would lead him to believe. And throughout it all, there's the biggest question of all: what happened to the last young man in his position?
February 24, 2016
I really enjoy the mysteries that this author creates.
Great mystery! This story of a mermaid legend and mysterious disappearances locked me in a state of intrigue through out the entire story.
In a small way, it reminds me of Dorien Grey's style where the lead character is gay, solves a mystery, and (without any erotica) you are transfixed into a world of mystery.
I've been desperate to find stories like this one on audibles. This author definitely has a new fan.
Great mystery! This story of a mermaid legend and mysterious disappearances locked me in a state of intrigue through out the entire story.
In a small way, it reminds me of Dorien Grey's style where the lead character is gay, solves a mystery, and (without any erotica) you are transfixed into a world of mystery.
I've been desperate to find stories like this one on audibles. This author definitely has a new fan.
July 23, 2018
Bored at first. Erroneous details irrelevant to the plot and character dragged out the pacing of the story, and was distracting towards the character development. But pushing that aside, and skipping a few needless details (did we really need so many pages detailing the layout of that gym?) I found myself really enjoying the characters more than I enjoyed the plot.
The ending came a little too easy for the protagonist, and the climax was barely a page or so long, but the characters and backstory was haunting.
No spoilers, but the mystery was extremely intriguing until twists came out of left field and the moment the killer was mentioned I already knew who it was. Which means that the only mystery is why the killer was killing those men, but that mystery is never resolved. There's even a line that says so.
It's the characters that make this story worth reading.
The ending came a little too easy for the protagonist, and the climax was barely a page or so long, but the characters and backstory was haunting.
No spoilers, but the mystery was extremely intriguing until twists came out of left field and the moment the killer was mentioned I already knew who it was. Which means that the only mystery is why the killer was killing those men, but that mystery is never resolved. There's even a line that says so.
It's the characters that make this story worth reading.
January 10, 2019
So, I bought this really, really cheap off Amazon and put it on my shelves. I didn’t even read the synopsis, when I picked it up yesterday I had it in my head (from the cover) that this was going to be some kind of smutty merman kinda story. And I can only apologise because I was wrong. This story follows a teenager spending his last summer before university earning money as a lifeguard, in a small town with killer secrets. Is there something in the water? Well guys, you’ll have to read it to find out. This is a quick and enthralling thriller. My main criticism was that the ending seemed a bit rushed, but you can’t really complain when all you want from a book is for it not to be over!
May 7, 2015
5 heart review by Dan
This is my first book by Greg Herren, but it definitely won’t be my last! I really liked this mystery, and didn’t know whodunit until almost the last page of the book.
Ricky Hackworth needs a summer job to save up some money for his freshman year at Alabama State. He has a scholarship for swimming, but it isn’t enough to make ends meet. He applies for a job at an Inn on a bay off the Gulf of Mexico in a small town called Latona, Alabama, which he doesn’t get. But luck is on his side, and the guy who got the job quit before the season started, so the job was offered to Ricky.
Things are strange in Latona though. Why do at least a couple guys have the same merman tattoo, and why are there no tourists? Even stranger, once he gets settled, he finds out that the guy who had the job the previous year, Zach, disappeared without a trace, leaving his car, clothes, and everything else behind.
Since the very first night at Mermaid Inn, Ricky has been having extremely vivid nightmares about carnivorous mermen. Then at the local library he finds a book by a local historian which details the strange disappearances over the years in and around where the town of Latona now sits. The Native Americans had tales of Merfolk, the French colonist’s expedition to the area disappeared without a trace, some pirates disappeared without a trace, and a whole lot of young men seem to have disappeared without a trace. Where did they go? And is Ricky next? Are there really carnivorous mermen living under the bay?
There is a major plot twist somewhere in the middle of the book which involves Ricky, which I didn’t see coming at all. It was like….really? Then pieces of the puzzle started to come together in my mind.
I loved this book. It was very well written and edited. I suspected several people held the clues to what happened to Zach, but like I said I wasn’t sure until almost the last page.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good m/m related mystery. There isn’t any direct sex in the book, so if that is important to you, you should move on, but otherwise, give it a shot. I think you’ll love it like I did!
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!
This is my first book by Greg Herren, but it definitely won’t be my last! I really liked this mystery, and didn’t know whodunit until almost the last page of the book.
Ricky Hackworth needs a summer job to save up some money for his freshman year at Alabama State. He has a scholarship for swimming, but it isn’t enough to make ends meet. He applies for a job at an Inn on a bay off the Gulf of Mexico in a small town called Latona, Alabama, which he doesn’t get. But luck is on his side, and the guy who got the job quit before the season started, so the job was offered to Ricky.
Things are strange in Latona though. Why do at least a couple guys have the same merman tattoo, and why are there no tourists? Even stranger, once he gets settled, he finds out that the guy who had the job the previous year, Zach, disappeared without a trace, leaving his car, clothes, and everything else behind.
Since the very first night at Mermaid Inn, Ricky has been having extremely vivid nightmares about carnivorous mermen. Then at the local library he finds a book by a local historian which details the strange disappearances over the years in and around where the town of Latona now sits. The Native Americans had tales of Merfolk, the French colonist’s expedition to the area disappeared without a trace, some pirates disappeared without a trace, and a whole lot of young men seem to have disappeared without a trace. Where did they go? And is Ricky next? Are there really carnivorous mermen living under the bay?
There is a major plot twist somewhere in the middle of the book which involves Ricky, which I didn’t see coming at all. It was like….really? Then pieces of the puzzle started to come together in my mind.
I loved this book. It was very well written and edited. I suspected several people held the clues to what happened to Zach, but like I said I wasn’t sure until almost the last page.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good m/m related mystery. There isn’t any direct sex in the book, so if that is important to you, you should move on, but otherwise, give it a shot. I think you’ll love it like I did!
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!
December 8, 2014
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The idea behind "Dark Time" by Greg Herren was a great one. A young man getting a summer job only to find out the entire town is harboring a secret and his life is now at risk? Who wouldn't want to read it? But while the idea was there, the execution of the story was not as great.
The synopsis explains a story of mystery and thrills and was aimed at a YA & Teen audience, yet some of the content was not that of which I would allow any child of mine to read. A lot of sexual undertones and insinuations pushed this past the likes of young teens. Herren also took a story that would have been great in a 3rd person perspective and made it into a 1st person P.O.V. Ricky, the main character, is the P.O.V you are reading in, yet you know none of his actual thoughts or feelings. His secrets are secrets even to the reader, who is suppose to be Ricky. Being in a 1st person P.O.V, this story came across very confusing because of the changes in who Ricky actually was and what his intentions were. Not exactly a horrible criticism because I would have loved this book had it not been for the viewpoint. It made it unbelievable because we should have known our own character.
Aside from a confusing story line, synopsis not matching the book much, and a little off on the age appropriateness, the characters were well developed and the writing was great. Herren definitely knows how to build his characters from the ground up.
While it was not my favorite, I can see how this would appeal to a target audience.
The idea behind "Dark Time" by Greg Herren was a great one. A young man getting a summer job only to find out the entire town is harboring a secret and his life is now at risk? Who wouldn't want to read it? But while the idea was there, the execution of the story was not as great.
The synopsis explains a story of mystery and thrills and was aimed at a YA & Teen audience, yet some of the content was not that of which I would allow any child of mine to read. A lot of sexual undertones and insinuations pushed this past the likes of young teens. Herren also took a story that would have been great in a 3rd person perspective and made it into a 1st person P.O.V. Ricky, the main character, is the P.O.V you are reading in, yet you know none of his actual thoughts or feelings. His secrets are secrets even to the reader, who is suppose to be Ricky. Being in a 1st person P.O.V, this story came across very confusing because of the changes in who Ricky actually was and what his intentions were. Not exactly a horrible criticism because I would have loved this book had it not been for the viewpoint. It made it unbelievable because we should have known our own character.
Aside from a confusing story line, synopsis not matching the book much, and a little off on the age appropriateness, the characters were well developed and the writing was great. Herren definitely knows how to build his characters from the ground up.
While it was not my favorite, I can see how this would appeal to a target audience.
February 16, 2017
It might be helpful for some folks to know that the main character is gay. Also there's an undercurrent of young men being abused/used by older men in this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2014
Its hard to say too much about this thriller without spoiling a major part of the plot but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all the twists and turns that came with it.
Ricky Hackworth is a teen swimmer in need of cash so he takes a job as lifeguard at Mermaid Inn, he is very similar to Zach, the lifeguard from the previous summer who vanished without a trace and Ricky can't help but get involved with trying to find out what happened to Zach, could someone really just vanish without a trace?
At a certain part of this book I thought it was going to go the way of a mythical mermaid story but it is actually a straight up thriller. It did feel like the ending was wrapped up really quickly but the action really ramps up in the final 2 chapters and I appreciated the quick pace. This was a very fast read which I enjoyed a lot and I would certainly check out Greg Herren's next books.
Ricky Hackworth is a teen swimmer in need of cash so he takes a job as lifeguard at Mermaid Inn, he is very similar to Zach, the lifeguard from the previous summer who vanished without a trace and Ricky can't help but get involved with trying to find out what happened to Zach, could someone really just vanish without a trace?
At a certain part of this book I thought it was going to go the way of a mythical mermaid story but it is actually a straight up thriller. It did feel like the ending was wrapped up really quickly but the action really ramps up in the final 2 chapters and I appreciated the quick pace. This was a very fast read which I enjoyed a lot and I would certainly check out Greg Herren's next books.
February 18, 2016
This review can also be found here: http://goo.gl/Ybcas9
DARK TIDE started off good. I was excited to read about a mystery. Ricky decides to get a job in Latona as a lifeguard to make some extra money before he goes off to college. On his first day, Ricky discovers that the last lifeguard who worked at the inn went out one night and just disappeared. Ricky decides to take it upon himself to figure out what happened to the last lifeguard. The book was going well until 70% through the book when I got a bomb dropped on me. The plot twist that occurred surprised me, and then it made me a little angry. I wasn’t expecting it and it kind of ruined the book for me. The ending was kind of abrupt.
DARK TIDE started off good. I was excited to read about a mystery. Ricky decides to get a job in Latona as a lifeguard to make some extra money before he goes off to college. On his first day, Ricky discovers that the last lifeguard who worked at the inn went out one night and just disappeared. Ricky decides to take it upon himself to figure out what happened to the last lifeguard. The book was going well until 70% through the book when I got a bomb dropped on me. The plot twist that occurred surprised me, and then it made me a little angry. I wasn’t expecting it and it kind of ruined the book for me. The ending was kind of abrupt.
April 22, 2015
This mystery novel starts off just plan and normal. Ricky takes a summer job as a lifeguard but he finds out that the guy who was there last year, had disappeared. What happened to him? And why do people around him act so strange? The noises Ricky keeps hearing in the night, don't help also. Maybe he finds somebody he can trust in this city to get to the bottom of the story.... without being killed, that is...
August 14, 2014
Read for honest review
I really loved this book! It wasn't some crazy supernatural. This could very well happen, the lengths we go for love. The author could have made the main character just like every other cookie cutter character, but he didn't and I like that! Very smooth to read with an "Ah ha!" Loved it! Could see this as a movie
I really loved this book! It wasn't some crazy supernatural. This could very well happen, the lengths we go for love. The author could have made the main character just like every other cookie cutter character, but he didn't and I like that! Very smooth to read with an "Ah ha!" Loved it! Could see this as a movie
August 25, 2016
For a mystery, this is my go to author. Whether YA or not, this is a great mystery from Greg Herren. No plot give-aways but wish I found out more with the merman tattoos and the aftermath! Great read and like all his others, I sped through it and didn't want to put it down.
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