Fatal Tide

by Iris Johansen

A high-stakes treasure hunt…A twisted trail of murder…A secret one woman may die to discover…

Number one New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen last electrified readers with Dead Aim and No One to Trus t. Now she offers a new pulse-pounding thriller that takes suspense writing to an all-new deep below the surface, where a ruthless killer strikes without warning, without mercy...and with the deadliest intent.

Melis Nemid is treading in dangerous waters--and she’s about to be dragged under. As a marine researcher, Melis knows all too well the dangers that can lurk under even the calmest surfaces. But not even she can guess how deep the darkness runs. Only one oceanographer ever came close to discovering the deadly mystery that lies beneath the sea--and he seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Now Melis is the last one who knows the truth. And someone is determined that the truth will die with her. For what Melis knows about the deep-sea mystery is only part of a nightmarish past torn by violence. She thought she had put that past behind her when she arrived at her Caribbean island home to research dolphin behavior.

But her peace--and her life--is about to be shattered by the arrival of a savage killer. Someone--for reasons unknown even to Melis--is cutting a path of destruction and death that leads directly to her.Only one man can save her--a man who claims to be a fellow oceanographer. He will seek to gain Melis’s trust, getting close to her secret and her life. But what this enigmatic man really wants, Melis may not discover until it’s too late. Because whoever is after her knows her nightmares intimately, and soon she will be forced to relive them all over again. Except for the final nightmare. The one she can’t possibly survive.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Romance, Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Mystery Thriller

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2003

About the author

Iris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success.

She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.

IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.

http://www.irisjohansen.com

Reviews

[Pbwritr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Drove me crazy. Exaggerated characters. I can't believe this is a bestselling author. I only read it because I didn't have anything else to hand. Poorly written.

[Lindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was okay. I finished it in a day. Easy to read and simple narrative. The characters were toeing the line of mary-sue. A pretty girl who has few friends in the world (besides her two dolphins) is forced to work with super wealthy business man/marine Kelby as they search for a lost sea-city. The book wasn't incredibly riveting, but it was alright.

The reason I gave this book a 1 star review instead of 3 was because the author introduced this Apache character. He's a side character (I can't even remember his name) but he introduces himself as a shaman to everyone and anyone he meets. It's supposed to be silly and funny. The character claims he can read people's minds and do "white magic" on them. Every time this character shows up he's making some crack about casting spells, or about doing his shaman dance. The only thing this showed me was how ignorant the author is.

I'm really sick of seeing white people portray Native Americans this way. It wasn't cute, it wasn't funny; it was racist. My fiancee is Cherokee, so this is probably a soft spot for me - but I see it often enough to speak up when I see Natives portrayed like this. They have a culture and a lifestyle. Please research it before you cast an Apache character, Ms Johansen.

Aside from that, the book was just alright.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t put down this book! The story is so unique and so cute. I love that it involves lost cities, mysteries and dolphins. Who doesn’t love dolphins?

Though I hate to say I didn’t like what Phil had sacrifice just for his dreams. He is such an asshole.

This story is just so good. I love everything about it. Iris is indeed incomparable!

(However I am still looking for her other books from booksale. :D )

[Heather Scheer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about a young woman named Melis who is a marine researcher. She doesn't have any real family left except for her step-father, Phil Lontana. Phil is an oceanographer who is in search of an acient underwater city, the lost city of Merinth. He had been searching for the underwater city for years. Melis has no interest in helping him find it. Years ago, Phil and Melis were on a dive when they found two dolphins off the coast of Cadora, one of the Canary Islands, during one of their trips searching for the lost city. The dolphin were about two years old. Melis played with them and named them Pete and Suzie, and they have been her bodyguards ever since. Melis now lives on a remote island in the Carribbean where she researches dolphin behavior. Phil has gone missing. A handsome man named Kelby meets with Melis after Phil's death because he wants to find the lost city and believes Melis could help him find it. People are dying and it has something to do with Melis. Archer, a drug runner, who is an international arms dealer with a "rap sheet that reads like an encyclopedia", is making frequent threatening calls to Melis. He is also known as a sadistic and savage killer. This book is full of nail biting suspense and will keep you on the edge of the recliner, because Kelby, who comes out of nowhere is very sexy and something seems to be happening between he and Melis as he tries to persuade her into helping him find the long lost city while Archer continues to haunt and threaten her. I would recommend this book to young women ages 15-80. It was an easy read and held my interest between romance,ocean research and thrilling suspense.

[Holly Ristau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Same story. Bright beautiful damaged woman, surrounded by lots of men and 2 dolphins. Rich playboy meets her, they hate each other. They love each other. Just like the other Johansen book I ended up listening to because it was all I had to listen to. I liked the Dolphins. But won't listen to another one of these books where there is only one woman major character and the love scenes are so forced and unbelievable I found myself yelling at my car's CD player then trying to fast forward through...amazing that this author is so popular. I don't get it.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had a very easy-to-read narrative, which made it quick to get through, but I found the characters were quite flat. I had no real idea of Kelby, and his face was completely blurred out in my imagination because he was so one-dimensional, which was a fault of all the characters. I was left wanting more with so much of the stuff described in the book, from Marinth to Kafas. There could have been a very rich background woven with that information that just came disjointedly. I wanted more, and it wasn't really in a good way. I liked that Melis was very strong-willed, but I don't know if it was just me being feminist or what, but I was left kind of cold with the idea that all she needed was a strapping, strong-willed man and it would 'fix' all her problems.
Though, not all the things in the book were bad. I really liked Melis's interaction with the dolphins, and the descriptions about her relationship with them.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encompassing murder, betrayal, blackmail, and treasure. The novel begins by jumping straight into the action, revealing each character as the story unfolds. It's not the typical mystery that I read, however, I really enjoyed how it was written. Tons of detail and dialog, though not over detailed. Allowing the reader to make their own assumptions. I enjoyed the way the time frame did not drag on, but jumped ahead to the next action scene, apposed to filling the gaps with descriptions of the surroundings. For those who become emotionally involved with the story, as I do, you can empathize with the main character, feeling her pain and (in a way) living her nightmares with her. As a whole it is an all-around good read.

[Oliviana Georgescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi-am dorit să citesc această carte de când am aflat că despre personajul principal, Melis, descoperim câteva lucruri impresionante în Fascinația Dansatorului, al treilea volum din seria Dansatorul Vântului, deși cartea de față nu face parte din serie, fiind de sine-stătătoare. Astfel, protagoniștii poveștii din Fascinația Dansatorului, ajung la un moment dat în Istanbul, la un bordel unde copiii erau exploatați sexual. Cei doi vor reuși să o salveze din acel coșmar pe Melis, o fetiță de unsprezece ani. În "Ultima scăpare" aflăm povestea tinerei Melis, ceea ce s-a întâmplat cu ea la câțiva ani după captivitatea sa. Cartea are o latură psihologică, făcând în repetate rânduri referire la emoțiile Melisei, la felul în care reușea - mai mult sau mai puțin - să gestioneze amintirile întunecatei perioade din copilărie. 
De când avea şaispezece ani, Melis îl însoţise pe Phil Lontana, un oceanograf pasionat, în expedițiile acestuia. Ea însăși avea o mare pasiune: studiul delfinilor, al căror comportament avusese ocazia să îl observe în timp ce călătorea alături de Lontana - pe care îl considera tatăl ei vitreg - pe vasul acestuia, "Ultima casă ". Declanșatorul acțiunii cărții este o scrisoare primită de Melis de la Phil Lontana, care semăna periculos de mult cu un testament, în care o ruga să ia legătura cu Jed Kelby, un multimilionar aventuros, oceanograf ca și Phill.
https://www.delicateseliterare.ro/vis...

[Rhapsody · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another romance in which the heroine was sexually abused as a child. Now an adult, she lives on an island by herself, caring for a pair of dolphins. She teams up with Kelby, a rich, dangerous adventurer, when she's put in danger for knowing the location of an Atlantis-like city under the sea.

It was ok. I got a little impatient, especially at the start. I like romance novels not to be so dominated by the suspense and mystery stuff. I don't know... A very bla experience, but maybe just because I'm preoccupied with other stuff atm and couldn't read it very carefully.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book for a long while and just now got around to listening to it. I liked the angle of the dolphins. I think that element edged this up to 3 stars.

The characters weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked and the romance felt sketched in. I wasn't sure how they got from point A (where the met) to point M (where they were sharing beds and willing to make huge sacrifices for each other). It felt kind of pubescent.

[Christine Kirchoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this awhile ago but forgot to post it here. Great book!

[Esther Somorai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 8-12-2016
What a read. What an adventure. Suspense and danger at every turn of the page.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read thriller by an author I've read off and on for a while. In 'Fatal Tide', dolphin researcher Melis lives in solitude on a tropical island, far from the demons of her troubled past. Her mentor, Phillip, who set her up on the island, is off at sea on his endless pursuit to find the lost city of Marinth. When Phillip's boat explodes, Marinth is forced to abandon her idyllic existence, as she is soon found by Phillip's main rival, Kelby, whose search for Marinth is just as fervent and he is eager to get his hands on the results of Phillip's research, which he believes Marinth possesses. At the same time, she is being stalked by Archer, an evil man who also wants some of Phillip's documents, but not the ones that would lead him to Marinth. Both men are relentless in their pursuit of Melis, not to mention their pursuit of each other, though they take very different tactics to get to her. Kelby takes the gentle, somewhat seductive, approach, while Archer goes straight to Melis' past hoping to break her down until she finally gives up her knowledge.
It was an OK book, but very predictable. There were some curveballs thrown in, but Johansen wasn't too subtle and I saw 2 of the 3 main ones coming, and once one of those was confirmed, the 3rd wasn't too hard to imagine. I was glad that the dolphins played a bigger role late in the book, as that is what drew me in to the summary and I was a bit disappointed that much of the story occurred away from Melis' island paradise, but at the same time, I didn't want to imagine it spoiled by the ugliness of the rest of the book.
If you are triggered by stories of sexual abuse, you may find some of the scenes too intense.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Stars

I’m being generous by rounding up to 2 stars because… 🐬🐬. Very predictable plot, main characters had no depth, and other characters felt like caricatures. Something is terribly wrong when the only characters I liked or believed were the dolphins, Pete and Susie. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[J.W. Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to push to finish this book. I wasnt drawn to either of the two leads, even with the backgrounds and trauma and the mysteries and murders, this was just lacking something

[Michelle Samis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It kept me interested right to the end

[Camisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting. I found it difficult to read or get into however.

[Eshe Mūrutani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an OK book. It wasn't as suspenseful as originally stated in the reviews. But it was good.

[Vincent Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iris Johansen never disappoints me, and this book was just what I expected of IJ. The suspense takes you to the edge, the story reads like a movie, and the characters connect with the reader and vice-versa. The book is easy to read, it's fast-paced and thrilling.

Melis Nemid is treading in dangerous waters—and she’s about to be dragged under. As a marine researcher, Melis knows all too well the dangers that can lurk under even the calmest surfaces. But not even she can guess how deep the darkness runs. Only one oceanographer ever came close to discovering the deadly mystery that lies beneath the sea—and he seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Now Melis is the last one who knows the truth. And someone is determined that the truth will die with her. For what Melis knows about the deep-sea mystery is only part of a nightmarish past torn by violence. She thought she had put that past behind her when she arrived at her Caribbean island home to research dolphin behavior.

But her peace—and her life—is about to be shattered by the arrival of a savage killer. Someone—for reasons unknown even to Melis—is cutting a path of destruction and death that leads directly to her.Only one man can save her—a man who claims to be a fellow oceanographer. He will seek to gain Melis’s trust, getting close to her secret and her life. But what this enigmatic man really wants, Melis may not discover until it’s too late. Because whoever is after her knows her nightmares intimately, and soon she will be forced to relive them all over again. Except for the final nightmare. The one she can’t possibly survive.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melis Nemid’s self-imposed isolation on her own Caribbean island studying dolphins (especially Susie & Pete) is interrupted by a strange communication from her foster father, Phil Lontana. Melis travels to Athens in search of Phil just in time to see him and his ship blow up. This is the first in a series of horrendous tragedies, and Melis contacts wealthy oceanographer Jed Kelby’s for help in finding out who is behind it all. They work out an uneasy agreement to find Phil’s Atlantis-like underwater city, Marinth, and to discover who’s threatening Melis and her friends. Along the way they confront both of their pasts while dealing with psychopaths and killers to come to a satisfying conclusion.

Well done, fast moving. Melis has a disturbing past as a child prostitute, which plays a major part of the story. The past and her current sexual experiences are not graphical portrayed, but sex plays a major part in the story. Language.

[Peggy Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melis is doing work with dolphins. Her foster father and another man are in competition to find a lost city under water (like Atlantis.) Is it myth or reality? Who wants it the most and what are they willing to do to locate this ancient city? And, of course, Melis and her dolphins are thrown right in the middle.

I love Iris Johansen's books because they are so "out there" different. Her books are more action than suspense. Shootings and stabbings and tough hardened women and men. There's usually a treasure being uncovered or some science experiment being worked on. And the action spans the entire globe. So much fun.

The down side is I'm offended with her use of the name Jesus and title Christ as curse words. Oh how I wish she'd find another way to curse in her books.

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melis Nemid is a Marine researcher she knows something that has already caused one oceanographer to disappear from the face of the earth....And thats only part of a past torn by betrayal and violence. Malis thought she had put the past behind her when she came to the Carribean island home to research Dolphin behavior. But her life - and her peace are about to be shattered by a savage killer who is cutting a path of death and destruction that leads directly to her. Whoever the killer is he or she knows her fears intimately. And soon she will be forced to relive them all over again. Except for the final nightmare- the one she can,t possibly survive.

[Linda Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book 'Fatal Tide' authored by Iris Johansen. It had a lot of suspense that kept my attention level up throughout, and I was also fascinated while reading about the dolphins named Pete and Susie that hung out with Melis on the island.

Iris seems to nearly always have some really good twists/turns to her stories that I find rather intriguing, and finishes up with a totally surprising ending. I definitely recommend it as a "good read" and a page turner.

[Regan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I've read this one before -- just with different titles --- Melis isn't all that different from Eve except Melis has her dolphins which are interesting and Eve has Bonnie....but then all her female characters are pretty much the same unemotional women. The story is dialogue driven with virtually no narrative and little to no emotion. I keep reading the series because every so often there is a gem in there.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Melis Nemid, an oceanographer who plays with dolphins, loses the man who was like a father to her, she is going to have to dog up secrets better left buried and fight for her life as she discovers a killer is after her and what she knows. The author takes the reader on a mystery thrill ride with a touch of romance and the heartwarming addition of beautiful dolphins to the tale.Great job in a reader friendly story from an author that readers always can count on for a great story.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melis is a marine researcher living on a private island in the Caribbean. She has a troubled past, but is enjoying her quiet life. Of course, things don't stay quiet, and her life ends up in danger. Suspenseful and entertaining.

This book is not part of a series, but the main character, Melis Nemid, does make an appearance in the Eve Duncan series and the Hannah Bryson series.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually love Iris Johansen's suspense books, but I couldn't get into this one. There seems to be alot of random characters and I wasn't sure how most of them related to each other. The hero and heroine seemed to be searching for something call "marinth". I gave up after 70 pages, so I'm not sure if marinth is a person, a place, or a who knows what. DNF.

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wonder Filled Book

I always enjoy Iris Johansen. I especially love her strong female and male characters. While they have often gained their strength from soul crushing experiences, they still find a way to love. This books is no different and does remind me of the Eve Duncan series. Can’t wait to read her next book.

[Kyvel Eicher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how everything that happens in this book happens for a reason. One thing leads or links to this other thing. The thoughts and emotion behind this book is beautiful. Talking about how kids live in Kafas out there is scary and opens readers mind about this world. The dolphins are funny, I like how she includes them and they play a major role in finding Marinth!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than the title, the book is quite good. This time around, the author introduces dolphins into the mix. This is a great way to learn just a bit more about dolphins while enjoying tales of shipwrecks, explosions, and double crosses.