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The Darkest Tide: When memories wash up, things can get deadly
Not yet published
Expected 29 Jan 26What happens when you can no longer keep a secret?
When Arthur Cotton sees a body washed up on the beach, difficult memories come flooding back. He kept the books for the Brighton mob back in the day and got out on friendly terms. But retirement came with conditions - mainly to keep his mouth shut. Fifty years on, it's trickier. Dementia is taking hold and he's getting leaky. His former bosses are worried. Arthur didn't just keep their accounts, he also kept their secrets. Now there's going to be a reckoning.
It's up to Arthur's daughter, Susan, a carer for the elderly, to find out what her father knows. What he's been saying and to whom. There are dangerous people around, and they're beginning to lose their patience. She'll have to turn detective to encounter a Brighton she barely knew existed, and to turn up parts of her father's past that are just as dark.
Peter Hanington delves into Brighton's shadowy corners in this gripping new series starring the brilliant Susan Cotton.
When Arthur Cotton sees a body washed up on the beach, difficult memories come flooding back. He kept the books for the Brighton mob back in the day and got out on friendly terms. But retirement came with conditions - mainly to keep his mouth shut. Fifty years on, it's trickier. Dementia is taking hold and he's getting leaky. His former bosses are worried. Arthur didn't just keep their accounts, he also kept their secrets. Now there's going to be a reckoning.
It's up to Arthur's daughter, Susan, a carer for the elderly, to find out what her father knows. What he's been saying and to whom. There are dangerous people around, and they're beginning to lose their patience. She'll have to turn detective to encounter a Brighton she barely knew existed, and to turn up parts of her father's past that are just as dark.
Peter Hanington delves into Brighton's shadowy corners in this gripping new series starring the brilliant Susan Cotton.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 29, 2026
3 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Peter Hanington
5 books31 followersPETER HANINGTON worked for BBC Radio 4's Today programme for 14 years and throughout the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts. He initiated the special guest editor programmes and worked on special projects including collaborations with the Manchester International Festival and Glastonbury.
He still works for the BBC and lives in London.
He still works for the BBC and lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 23, 2025
A fast paced read. Focuses on Arthur a man with dementia and the circle of people connected to him. An enjoyable read with action in every chapter. I didn’t see the twist at the end.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Briefly - A really good read, dark and pacey.
In full
Arthur Cotton sees a body washed up on Brighton beach and it brings back memories. That's something that is less easy for Arthur these days. He was an accountant however the accounts he kept were for the Brighton criminal fraternity back in the day. Now he's in a residential home with dementia. He was almost never (!) involved in the dark deeds at the sharp end however his peaceful retirement was on the condition of secrecy. His old bosses are concerned that the secrets he keeps may be leaking and, as far as they are concerned, there is only one solution. Arthur's daughter Susan, a nurse, becomes involved to try and help him.
While Arthur walks around places he once knew a lot about and makes some notes, Susan and some of the old "coffin dodgers" are involved in piecing together the old stories. In particular Robert, now an antiques dealer, is the man who tried to protect Arthur as far as he could. He is a man who does know many dark secrets but has always looked out for Arthur, Susan and her daughter. Back in the day a knock on the door from Robert did not bode well.
The story is told in a then and now format with stories from the late 1960s generally involving Arthur and Robert paired with current events in 2019. These involve the older generation but also Susan and her daughter. As a nurse she calls on some people who may have some knowledge of what happened in the old days.
The more I read of this book the more it drew me in. The latter part of the book was very hard to put down. This is really quite a dark read in places with a well worked sense of foreboding. The pace was very good to me. There's violence here and some may not like that. Certainly some of the coffin dodgers stop dodging and bystanders are affected too. If the secrets do come out what will the impact be on those who are still around to hear them? I really did find this very readable and didn't get all the twists! I'd happily read another set in Brighton and I will look at the author's earlier books. A very good 4 star read.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author and publisher in exchange for a fair review
In full
Arthur Cotton sees a body washed up on Brighton beach and it brings back memories. That's something that is less easy for Arthur these days. He was an accountant however the accounts he kept were for the Brighton criminal fraternity back in the day. Now he's in a residential home with dementia. He was almost never (!) involved in the dark deeds at the sharp end however his peaceful retirement was on the condition of secrecy. His old bosses are concerned that the secrets he keeps may be leaking and, as far as they are concerned, there is only one solution. Arthur's daughter Susan, a nurse, becomes involved to try and help him.
While Arthur walks around places he once knew a lot about and makes some notes, Susan and some of the old "coffin dodgers" are involved in piecing together the old stories. In particular Robert, now an antiques dealer, is the man who tried to protect Arthur as far as he could. He is a man who does know many dark secrets but has always looked out for Arthur, Susan and her daughter. Back in the day a knock on the door from Robert did not bode well.
The story is told in a then and now format with stories from the late 1960s generally involving Arthur and Robert paired with current events in 2019. These involve the older generation but also Susan and her daughter. As a nurse she calls on some people who may have some knowledge of what happened in the old days.
The more I read of this book the more it drew me in. The latter part of the book was very hard to put down. This is really quite a dark read in places with a well worked sense of foreboding. The pace was very good to me. There's violence here and some may not like that. Certainly some of the coffin dodgers stop dodging and bystanders are affected too. If the secrets do come out what will the impact be on those who are still around to hear them? I really did find this very readable and didn't get all the twists! I'd happily read another set in Brighton and I will look at the author's earlier books. A very good 4 star read.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author and publisher in exchange for a fair review
October 29, 2025
Having not read any of the William Carver series by Peter Hannington, there were no preconceptions as to what to expect from The Darkest Tide. But once started, this was a book that grabbed and couldn't be put down.
This is a story set in Brighton- south coast England. Having lived there and knowing the town , some books don't quite capture the essence of the city ( "unapologetically odd- like Brighton itself" ) but Peter Hannington has perfectly captured the darker underbelly and extremes behind the scenes of the mad tourist city..
This is a tale of coastal gangland- gangs of the sixties and retribution fifty years later.
Arthur and Robert were joined together through their involvement in crime in the 1960s- Arthur is now in a care home with vascular dementia - but he has secrets that if ever revealed could cause serious problems. Robert owns an antique shop and is still aware of the city's darker side.
Arthur's daughter Susan- a carer - knows nothing of her father's past until events conspire to reveal her father's dark past. When a headless torso is found on Brighton beach, Arthur knows that this is linked to his past. Someone is blackmailing the man who controlled the area half a century before( and he wants revenge) and soon other older gang members ( cockney coffin dodgers) are found dead. Who is behind the killings and the blackmail? Susan begins to "join the dots " and fears for her father and other older residents in care homes.
This is the first in a Brighton series. Tautly plotted , fast-paced and gripping with some good one liners .Peter Hannington has written a great thriller. Bring on the sequel - it was great to be reminded of landmarks and locations
Thank you to Baskerville Pulsing and John Murray Press and Netgalley for the advance copy
Quote: “Politicians,’ she would say, ‘are like nappies. They need changing regularly.’
This is a story set in Brighton- south coast England. Having lived there and knowing the town , some books don't quite capture the essence of the city ( "unapologetically odd- like Brighton itself" ) but Peter Hannington has perfectly captured the darker underbelly and extremes behind the scenes of the mad tourist city..
This is a tale of coastal gangland- gangs of the sixties and retribution fifty years later.
Arthur and Robert were joined together through their involvement in crime in the 1960s- Arthur is now in a care home with vascular dementia - but he has secrets that if ever revealed could cause serious problems. Robert owns an antique shop and is still aware of the city's darker side.
Arthur's daughter Susan- a carer - knows nothing of her father's past until events conspire to reveal her father's dark past. When a headless torso is found on Brighton beach, Arthur knows that this is linked to his past. Someone is blackmailing the man who controlled the area half a century before( and he wants revenge) and soon other older gang members ( cockney coffin dodgers) are found dead. Who is behind the killings and the blackmail? Susan begins to "join the dots " and fears for her father and other older residents in care homes.
This is the first in a Brighton series. Tautly plotted , fast-paced and gripping with some good one liners .Peter Hannington has written a great thriller. Bring on the sequel - it was great to be reminded of landmarks and locations
Thank you to Baskerville Pulsing and John Murray Press and Netgalley for the advance copy
Quote: “Politicians,’ she would say, ‘are like nappies. They need changing regularly.’
November 14, 2025
I loved the William Carver series but the curmudgeonly reporter had perhaps come to the end of the road but Peter Hanington has more than come up trumps with this wonderful evocative thriller that introduces Arthur Cotton the ex Brighton mob accountant from the late 1960’s and his resilient daughter Sarah - a carer for the elderly but in reality far far more.
The other hero in the book is Brighton itself with its dark nooks and crannies both today and 50 years ago brilliantly exposed.
Arthur is in the first throes of dementia and is caught up in a blackmail plot involving the former Mr Big of the Brighton crime scene. The story rotates from the past to the present as we are introduced to a series of grotesque characters who ran the town way back when but despite their age are as dangerous now as they ever were.
The denouement is shocking and surprising with a totally unexpected twist and the book entertains all the way through and is a triumph of good writing, excellent plotting and the depiction of unforgettable characters.
A fantastic start to what surely will be a wonderful new series.
Highly recommended.
The other hero in the book is Brighton itself with its dark nooks and crannies both today and 50 years ago brilliantly exposed.
Arthur is in the first throes of dementia and is caught up in a blackmail plot involving the former Mr Big of the Brighton crime scene. The story rotates from the past to the present as we are introduced to a series of grotesque characters who ran the town way back when but despite their age are as dangerous now as they ever were.
The denouement is shocking and surprising with a totally unexpected twist and the book entertains all the way through and is a triumph of good writing, excellent plotting and the depiction of unforgettable characters.
A fantastic start to what surely will be a wonderful new series.
Highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A gripping tale of guilt and redemption!
This visceral thriller dives deep into Brighton’s criminal underbelly, led by Arthur, a man haunted by his history as a "fixer" accountant for a local firm. Now suffering from vascular dementia, Arthur is racing against his own fading mind to right past wrongs, but his old employers, and a lethal new wave of Albanian gangsters aren't ready to let the secrets die.
The heart of the book lies in its messy, complex loyalties. From Arthur’s bond with his morally compromised lifelong friend and ex colleague Robert, to his nurse daughter Susan’s fierce, protective drive, the characters are etched with startling depth.
It’s a multiple layered, gritty exploration of atonement and the heavy price of family protection.
With a shock ending I could never have predicted executed as meticulously as Arthur’s notebooks, this is a masterclass in suspense that leaves you rooting for the sinners. An outstanding read perfect for fans of gritty thrillers!
This visceral thriller dives deep into Brighton’s criminal underbelly, led by Arthur, a man haunted by his history as a "fixer" accountant for a local firm. Now suffering from vascular dementia, Arthur is racing against his own fading mind to right past wrongs, but his old employers, and a lethal new wave of Albanian gangsters aren't ready to let the secrets die.
The heart of the book lies in its messy, complex loyalties. From Arthur’s bond with his morally compromised lifelong friend and ex colleague Robert, to his nurse daughter Susan’s fierce, protective drive, the characters are etched with startling depth.
It’s a multiple layered, gritty exploration of atonement and the heavy price of family protection.
With a shock ending I could never have predicted executed as meticulously as Arthur’s notebooks, this is a masterclass in suspense that leaves you rooting for the sinners. An outstanding read perfect for fans of gritty thrillers!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews