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The Rising Tide
Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops above the Devonshire coast, her own thriving business, a devoted husband, and two beloved children. Then one morning, time stops. Lucy's husband has disappeared, and their family yacht is found abandoned far out at sea. As a once-in-a-generation storm frustrates the search for her husband, Lucy pieces together what happened onboard. And then she makes a fresh discovery--one that plunges her into a nightmare more shocking than any she could have imagined.
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews
May 10, 2021
‘The Rising Tide’ captures perfectly, the claustrophobic North Devon fishing village of Skentel in winter, bracing itself against the harsh and freezing North Atlantic waters, but when villager Daniel goes missing at sea, aboard his yacht the Lazy Susan, there’s also a storm of life threatening proportions on its way, and believe me, that isn’t all!
One minute Lucy and her husband Daniel and their two children, are leading an ordinary everyday life, but when the yacht was found out at sea, with no one on board, life as they know it will change forever, and truly, there are some massive, life changing events to come.
I don’t want to say too much about this one, as the complex storyline turns on its head, over and over again, with twist after twist, and I should hate to give anything away. The tension however, was unbearable, and needless to say, it was impossible to put down - talk about holding your breath and hoping for the best! Absolutely brilliant!
*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press, for an ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
One minute Lucy and her husband Daniel and their two children, are leading an ordinary everyday life, but when the yacht was found out at sea, with no one on board, life as they know it will change forever, and truly, there are some massive, life changing events to come.
I don’t want to say too much about this one, as the complex storyline turns on its head, over and over again, with twist after twist, and I should hate to give anything away. The tension however, was unbearable, and needless to say, it was impossible to put down - talk about holding your breath and hoping for the best! Absolutely brilliant!
*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press, for an ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
June 9, 2023
EXCERPT: 'Message four, received today, 12.17 p.m.'
Crackles on the line. Clicks and whistles.
'...Lucy...'
It's him. It's Daniel.
And yet something in his voice - dark, alien - isn't Daniel at all. In an instant, Lucy knows she's utterly unprepared for how bad this might get.
Around her, the playground darkens. The sound of children's voices fades. Time slows, then stops completely. Parents and offspring become graveyard statues welded to a tarmac sea. Colour seeps from their skin, their clothes. Lucy feels no wind in her hair, no speckling of rain on her cheeks. Her heart doesn't beat. The blood in her veins doesn't flow.
The phone is clamped so tightly to her ear that the hiss and burr of static fill her head. She concentrates hard, as if by deciphering those electronic shrieks she can divine Daniel's location, his intent. She hears wind, or what sounds like it. A chaotic symphony of whistles and chirrups, as if the broadcast is reaching her from deep space.
Lucy feels sure the connection is about to drop entirely. And then, with a buzzing that makes her wince, the clarity on the line is restored and she hears something else, something she didn't expect, another voice, fainter than the first, one that she recognizes as clearly as her own: 'Daddy, no-'
ABOUT 'THE RISING TIDE': HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?
The news doesn't strike cleanly, like a guillotine's blade. Nothing so merciful. This news is a slovenly traveller, dragging its feet, gradually revealing its horrors. And it announces itself first with violence - the urgent hammering of fists on the front door.
Life can change in a heartbeat.
Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops above the Devon coast, a devoted husband and two beloved children.
Then one morning, time stops. Their family yacht is recovered, abandoned far out at sea. Lucy's husband is nowhere to be found and as the seconds tick by, she begins to wonder - what if he was the one who took the boat? And if so, where is he now?
As a once-in-a-generation storm frustrates the rescue operation, Lucy pieces together what happened onboard. And then she makes a fresh discovery. One that plunges her into a nightmare more shocking than any she could ever have imagined . . .
MY THOUGHTS: In a market awash with pale imitations, The Rising Tide is a true psychological thriller. I was thrilled from the first page to the last; never quite on an even keel, always a little off balance, never entirely sure who to believe. That was one enjoyable, wild ride, and I want to do it all over again!
All the words that are bandied about, hold true for this, Sam Lloyd's second novel. Intense. Thrilling. Suspenseful. Breathtaking. Twisty. Heart pounding. Jaw dropping. Chilling. Compelling. And even all banded together, they don't do The Rising Tide justice. It is all those things and more. Sam Lloyd scares me. He had me on the edge of my seat, nails digging into my palms, crying out, 'No, no, no, no!' as I read. Twenty four hours after finishing The Rising Tide, I still get breathless thinking about it.
Who are these people, Sam Lloyd's characters? Is Daniel a monster? Or a loving father and stepfather? Is Lucy cold, calculating, cheating and manipulative? Or is she a loving mother who has had her world ripped apart?
My favourite characters are the delightful Bibi Trixibelle Carter, a very sharp eighty something year old, the doomed Detective Inspector Abraham Rose and, of course, Lucy's daughter Billie.
The Rising Tide is at the very top of my favourite books list for 2021, and I seriously doubt that anything is going to displace it. Five stars are simply not enough. The Rising Tide deserves a whole galaxy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheRisingTide #NetGalley
I: #samlloyd #randomhouseUK
T: @samlloydwrites @BantamPress
#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #fivestarread #psychologicalthriller #suspense #thriller
THE AUTHOR: Sam Lloyd grew up in Hampshire, where he learned his love of storytelling. These days he lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and a dog that likes to howl.
DISCLOSURE: A huge thank you to Random House, Transworld Publishing, Bantam Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Crackles on the line. Clicks and whistles.
'...Lucy...'
It's him. It's Daniel.
And yet something in his voice - dark, alien - isn't Daniel at all. In an instant, Lucy knows she's utterly unprepared for how bad this might get.
Around her, the playground darkens. The sound of children's voices fades. Time slows, then stops completely. Parents and offspring become graveyard statues welded to a tarmac sea. Colour seeps from their skin, their clothes. Lucy feels no wind in her hair, no speckling of rain on her cheeks. Her heart doesn't beat. The blood in her veins doesn't flow.
The phone is clamped so tightly to her ear that the hiss and burr of static fill her head. She concentrates hard, as if by deciphering those electronic shrieks she can divine Daniel's location, his intent. She hears wind, or what sounds like it. A chaotic symphony of whistles and chirrups, as if the broadcast is reaching her from deep space.
Lucy feels sure the connection is about to drop entirely. And then, with a buzzing that makes her wince, the clarity on the line is restored and she hears something else, something she didn't expect, another voice, fainter than the first, one that she recognizes as clearly as her own: 'Daddy, no-'
ABOUT 'THE RISING TIDE': HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?
The news doesn't strike cleanly, like a guillotine's blade. Nothing so merciful. This news is a slovenly traveller, dragging its feet, gradually revealing its horrors. And it announces itself first with violence - the urgent hammering of fists on the front door.
Life can change in a heartbeat.
Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops above the Devon coast, a devoted husband and two beloved children.
Then one morning, time stops. Their family yacht is recovered, abandoned far out at sea. Lucy's husband is nowhere to be found and as the seconds tick by, she begins to wonder - what if he was the one who took the boat? And if so, where is he now?
As a once-in-a-generation storm frustrates the rescue operation, Lucy pieces together what happened onboard. And then she makes a fresh discovery. One that plunges her into a nightmare more shocking than any she could ever have imagined . . .
MY THOUGHTS: In a market awash with pale imitations, The Rising Tide is a true psychological thriller. I was thrilled from the first page to the last; never quite on an even keel, always a little off balance, never entirely sure who to believe. That was one enjoyable, wild ride, and I want to do it all over again!
All the words that are bandied about, hold true for this, Sam Lloyd's second novel. Intense. Thrilling. Suspenseful. Breathtaking. Twisty. Heart pounding. Jaw dropping. Chilling. Compelling. And even all banded together, they don't do The Rising Tide justice. It is all those things and more. Sam Lloyd scares me. He had me on the edge of my seat, nails digging into my palms, crying out, 'No, no, no, no!' as I read. Twenty four hours after finishing The Rising Tide, I still get breathless thinking about it.
Who are these people, Sam Lloyd's characters? Is Daniel a monster? Or a loving father and stepfather? Is Lucy cold, calculating, cheating and manipulative? Or is she a loving mother who has had her world ripped apart?
My favourite characters are the delightful Bibi Trixibelle Carter, a very sharp eighty something year old, the doomed Detective Inspector Abraham Rose and, of course, Lucy's daughter Billie.
The Rising Tide is at the very top of my favourite books list for 2021, and I seriously doubt that anything is going to displace it. Five stars are simply not enough. The Rising Tide deserves a whole galaxy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheRisingTide #NetGalley
I: #samlloyd #randomhouseUK
T: @samlloydwrites @BantamPress
#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #fivestarread #psychologicalthriller #suspense #thriller
THE AUTHOR: Sam Lloyd grew up in Hampshire, where he learned his love of storytelling. These days he lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and a dog that likes to howl.
DISCLOSURE: A huge thank you to Random House, Transworld Publishing, Bantam Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
January 3, 2022
A wild, intense ride!
A distress call from Lucy's husband comes into the Coastguard station. "Is he okay?" Lucy asks. She is told that he is still missing.
Something happened out there in the sea. Lucy has to face reality.
A gripping, fast paced story with a great cast of characters. I really enjoyed Detective Abraham Rose. He was authentic and suffered from his own state of denial.
The guessing and the twists don't let up until the last page, which seemed fitting.
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my review copy. OUT March 1, 2022
A distress call from Lucy's husband comes into the Coastguard station. "Is he okay?" Lucy asks. She is told that he is still missing.
Something happened out there in the sea. Lucy has to face reality.
A gripping, fast paced story with a great cast of characters. I really enjoyed Detective Abraham Rose. He was authentic and suffered from his own state of denial.
The guessing and the twists don't let up until the last page, which seemed fitting.
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my review copy. OUT March 1, 2022
April 26, 2022
This book had a decent plot and some terrific mind-boggling twists that engaged many readers. I regret the writing style did not appeal to me personally. I kept reading due to a heightened interest in what happened, but its uneven pace made it a struggle for me to continue. I was bothered by its excessive wordiness and redundancy. Each time I came to a phrase or description I admired, there was a feeling of discomfort when it was repeated constantly throughout the book.
Lucy and Daniel have been together for nine years and are the proud and devoted parents of two unbelievably perfect children, Billie and Finn. The family is regarded as a picture of domestic bliss. The family has a beautiful home situated on the cliffs overlooking the cold Atlantic Ocean. The location is a North Devon fishing village during the winter months. The atmosphere is bleak and harsh, with a treacherous storm of epic proportions approaching. Daniel had built up a marine business, and Lucy opened a bar business and cafe near the waterfront.
Daniel leaves home after breakfast to go to work, and the two children leave home for their daily routines. Finn is a bright, imaginative 7-year-old boy, and their teenage daughter Billie is an intelligent environmental activist who loves the sea and its animals and plans to volunteer with Sea Shephard.
We read of the dangers small ships face with the tumultuous winds, high waves and churning freezing water once the storm lands. The descriptions of the boats enduring the storm were intense and bone-chilling. So were the later depictions of the villagers and their rain-drenched clothing. I felt the building of atmosphere was somewhat excessive. The result was cautioning me to avoid boats and even a visit to a fishing village.
Their boat, The Lazy Susan, has been found by the coastguard, empty and drifting in the sea. Daniel had made a call that there was trouble aboard. Lucy's first thought was that her husband had gone to work, and the yacht must have been stolen. Lucy's ideal life begins to be shattered, and an aura of melancholy begins. Daniel is not at his workplace, and she discovers he picked up Finn at school with the pretense of a dentist appointment. She receives a static interrupted phone call that ends with Finn shouting, "Daddy...no!" Knowing that Daniel had been on the boat with their son, she desperately tries to reach Billie by phone, but it seems to her horror that their teenage daughter is also missing
Her reaction is denial, sorrow, and rage. She now learns that Daniel's business was in trouble caused by the betrayal by his long-time friend and business partner. Was Daniel suicidal to the extent of killing their children? She tells herself that he may have taken them on the boat to protect them from some troublesome situation on land, but why not tell her? Lucy believes that Daniel would do anything to keep the family safe. She rallies the villagers to search for Daniel and the children, often lashing out at people in uncontrolled rages and damaging objects. She has no hesitation in putting her most devoted friends in danger. This unlikeable characteristic will hold her in good stead when there is a bloody, frightening action scene later.
She believes that as their mother, she knows the children are still alive despite the lack of protective equipment and have been washed up alive on shore. The villagers join in a frantic search, but many are whispering that Daniel may have killed himself and the children.
Everything takes a shocking twist when Daniel is found alive, suffering from hypothermia and injuries. Entering amidst the chaos and scandal is DI Abraham Rose. He is seriously ill with a lung disease, lonely and friendless, and keeps going by reciting Old Testament passages. Abraham considers himself to be following God's Law as an avenging angel. He is a sad, doomed, fascinating character. When Daniel has recovered enough to talk, he wants some hostile messages delivered to Lucy. Why? He reluctantly confesses that he killed both children. He is headed to prison.
There is a theme running through the book that tragedy is cleansing, and through catharsis one will emerge a better person. How does this apply to the story? Lucy seems to be still very much in love with her husband and visits him in prison. Abraham strongly believes that there is something amiss in the reactions of both Daniel and Lucy. Neither one is to be trusted. What are they concealing or lying about? Can the answers be found in recent wills drawn up by the family? Was the motive financial, and is Lucy involved in the plot?
Be prepared for a trajectory-altering mind-boggling twist revealing what actually happened aboard the boat. When the truth comes out, it is even more horrendous than could be imagined. The children are still missing, and Lucy is determined to have a friend take her out to look for them. There will be more deaths, heartbreak, and injuries before the story reaches a stunning action-filled conclusion.
There was much to praise in this book. The story is powerful, but it was difficult to connect with the unreliable protagonists. Those who enjoy psychological thrillers will adore some of the unexpected twists. I felt the story was too long for maximum effect, overly wordy and repetitious, but great storytelling was there. I am now curious to read Sam Lloyd's previous book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this thriller.
Lucy and Daniel have been together for nine years and are the proud and devoted parents of two unbelievably perfect children, Billie and Finn. The family is regarded as a picture of domestic bliss. The family has a beautiful home situated on the cliffs overlooking the cold Atlantic Ocean. The location is a North Devon fishing village during the winter months. The atmosphere is bleak and harsh, with a treacherous storm of epic proportions approaching. Daniel had built up a marine business, and Lucy opened a bar business and cafe near the waterfront.
Daniel leaves home after breakfast to go to work, and the two children leave home for their daily routines. Finn is a bright, imaginative 7-year-old boy, and their teenage daughter Billie is an intelligent environmental activist who loves the sea and its animals and plans to volunteer with Sea Shephard.
We read of the dangers small ships face with the tumultuous winds, high waves and churning freezing water once the storm lands. The descriptions of the boats enduring the storm were intense and bone-chilling. So were the later depictions of the villagers and their rain-drenched clothing. I felt the building of atmosphere was somewhat excessive. The result was cautioning me to avoid boats and even a visit to a fishing village.
Their boat, The Lazy Susan, has been found by the coastguard, empty and drifting in the sea. Daniel had made a call that there was trouble aboard. Lucy's first thought was that her husband had gone to work, and the yacht must have been stolen. Lucy's ideal life begins to be shattered, and an aura of melancholy begins. Daniel is not at his workplace, and she discovers he picked up Finn at school with the pretense of a dentist appointment. She receives a static interrupted phone call that ends with Finn shouting, "Daddy...no!" Knowing that Daniel had been on the boat with their son, she desperately tries to reach Billie by phone, but it seems to her horror that their teenage daughter is also missing
Her reaction is denial, sorrow, and rage. She now learns that Daniel's business was in trouble caused by the betrayal by his long-time friend and business partner. Was Daniel suicidal to the extent of killing their children? She tells herself that he may have taken them on the boat to protect them from some troublesome situation on land, but why not tell her? Lucy believes that Daniel would do anything to keep the family safe. She rallies the villagers to search for Daniel and the children, often lashing out at people in uncontrolled rages and damaging objects. She has no hesitation in putting her most devoted friends in danger. This unlikeable characteristic will hold her in good stead when there is a bloody, frightening action scene later.
She believes that as their mother, she knows the children are still alive despite the lack of protective equipment and have been washed up alive on shore. The villagers join in a frantic search, but many are whispering that Daniel may have killed himself and the children.
Everything takes a shocking twist when Daniel is found alive, suffering from hypothermia and injuries. Entering amidst the chaos and scandal is DI Abraham Rose. He is seriously ill with a lung disease, lonely and friendless, and keeps going by reciting Old Testament passages. Abraham considers himself to be following God's Law as an avenging angel. He is a sad, doomed, fascinating character. When Daniel has recovered enough to talk, he wants some hostile messages delivered to Lucy. Why? He reluctantly confesses that he killed both children. He is headed to prison.
There is a theme running through the book that tragedy is cleansing, and through catharsis one will emerge a better person. How does this apply to the story? Lucy seems to be still very much in love with her husband and visits him in prison. Abraham strongly believes that there is something amiss in the reactions of both Daniel and Lucy. Neither one is to be trusted. What are they concealing or lying about? Can the answers be found in recent wills drawn up by the family? Was the motive financial, and is Lucy involved in the plot?
Be prepared for a trajectory-altering mind-boggling twist revealing what actually happened aboard the boat. When the truth comes out, it is even more horrendous than could be imagined. The children are still missing, and Lucy is determined to have a friend take her out to look for them. There will be more deaths, heartbreak, and injuries before the story reaches a stunning action-filled conclusion.
There was much to praise in this book. The story is powerful, but it was difficult to connect with the unreliable protagonists. Those who enjoy psychological thrillers will adore some of the unexpected twists. I felt the story was too long for maximum effect, overly wordy and repetitious, but great storytelling was there. I am now curious to read Sam Lloyd's previous book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this thriller.
February 4, 2022
Maritime Thriller.
Lucy is living the good life. Finally. Her husband and two children along with a thriving business, have created a domestic felicity in a coastal Cornish town where she’s found her place.
But, her entire world is turned upside down when their boat is discovered drifting offshore prior to an incoming storm. As the details trickle in, time is running down for Lucy to save the people she loves.
Brooding and emotional, this book takes on the bluish-gray mood of the surrounding ocean while successfully incorporating the melancholy and manic desperation of a woman searching for her children and husband. The pace and tone were pitch perfect.
I loved the seaside setting! It sounded so picturesque and I daydreamed of one day visiting while researching photos of the area - taken on sunnier days of course.
Another Book Depository purchase - I’m so drawn to books set in the UK, even with all the options we have here that I've become a regular customer.
Lucy is living the good life. Finally. Her husband and two children along with a thriving business, have created a domestic felicity in a coastal Cornish town where she’s found her place.
But, her entire world is turned upside down when their boat is discovered drifting offshore prior to an incoming storm. As the details trickle in, time is running down for Lucy to save the people she loves.
Brooding and emotional, this book takes on the bluish-gray mood of the surrounding ocean while successfully incorporating the melancholy and manic desperation of a woman searching for her children and husband. The pace and tone were pitch perfect.
I loved the seaside setting! It sounded so picturesque and I daydreamed of one day visiting while researching photos of the area - taken on sunnier days of course.
Another Book Depository purchase - I’m so drawn to books set in the UK, even with all the options we have here that I've become a regular customer.
April 1, 2021
Lucy Locke’s happy life in the coastal town of Skental changes on a dime when her husband Daniel maydays from their boat. The events that follow are the stuff of nightmares. DI Abraham Rose is the lead place investigator.
Having been utterly blown away by Sam Lloyd’s debut The Memory Wood I awaited this one with eager anticipation and I’m so not disappointed!! This is a fast paced, suspenseful, heart pounding, jaw dropping, mind blowing chiller of a thriller. It has a complex plot full of fascinating elements as the author creates an atmosphere that compliments and enhances the plot line. Here the sea and weather are magnificently utilised as portents of tragedy, with monumental waves, malevolent skies making it feel like Armageddon. The perpetrator who creates the revengeful mayhem is a cruel Lucifer type figure and to me DI Rose feels like Aslan or a crusader knight with his biblical quotes, he’s the source of good in this battle of good versus evil. I love his character. The characters are flawed apart from Lucy’s children Billie and Fin who light up the pages especially Fin with his creative imagination, he’s just a delight. Lucy is an enigma, you can’t tell if she’s good as people in Skental think she is or whether she’s bewitched them. I like how the author has continued the fairytale element in this thriller and we ain’t talking Disney here but full on Grimm. The inclusion of philosophy especially the idea of purging, purification and renewal though suffering is an interesting angle. This is an extremely well written novel with evocative and creative descriptions, some original metaphors and similes which are particularly strong when using natural features to highlight the disaster occurring. The end is so tense and emotional at times as you will the characters on. I love that a lot of this is set at sea which adds its own unique dimension.
Overall, another compelling and powerful novel of someone’s living nightmare with descriptions to match, its impossible to put down. I love it and it’s an easy five stars from me. Just suspend disbelief that Lucy can manage so much with broken ribs, the pain of which I can testify too!!!
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld, Bantam Press for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
Having been utterly blown away by Sam Lloyd’s debut The Memory Wood I awaited this one with eager anticipation and I’m so not disappointed!! This is a fast paced, suspenseful, heart pounding, jaw dropping, mind blowing chiller of a thriller. It has a complex plot full of fascinating elements as the author creates an atmosphere that compliments and enhances the plot line. Here the sea and weather are magnificently utilised as portents of tragedy, with monumental waves, malevolent skies making it feel like Armageddon. The perpetrator who creates the revengeful mayhem is a cruel Lucifer type figure and to me DI Rose feels like Aslan or a crusader knight with his biblical quotes, he’s the source of good in this battle of good versus evil. I love his character. The characters are flawed apart from Lucy’s children Billie and Fin who light up the pages especially Fin with his creative imagination, he’s just a delight. Lucy is an enigma, you can’t tell if she’s good as people in Skental think she is or whether she’s bewitched them. I like how the author has continued the fairytale element in this thriller and we ain’t talking Disney here but full on Grimm. The inclusion of philosophy especially the idea of purging, purification and renewal though suffering is an interesting angle. This is an extremely well written novel with evocative and creative descriptions, some original metaphors and similes which are particularly strong when using natural features to highlight the disaster occurring. The end is so tense and emotional at times as you will the characters on. I love that a lot of this is set at sea which adds its own unique dimension.
Overall, another compelling and powerful novel of someone’s living nightmare with descriptions to match, its impossible to put down. I love it and it’s an easy five stars from me. Just suspend disbelief that Lucy can manage so much with broken ribs, the pain of which I can testify too!!!
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld, Bantam Press for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
March 29, 2022
Lucy had everything until the morning that the family yacht was recovered far out to sea, her husband is missing. Was he on the yacht? Where is he now? What happened? Getting these questions answered will not be so easy as a storm is raging....
Many are loving this book while I found it to be good not great. Although I enjoyed it, I wasn't wowed by it. I had a hard time connecting with Lucy. There are many twists and turns but even those did not push the rating higher for me.
As I mentioned, others enjoyed this more than I did, so please check out their reviews.
Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Scarlet and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Many are loving this book while I found it to be good not great. Although I enjoyed it, I wasn't wowed by it. I had a hard time connecting with Lucy. There are many twists and turns but even those did not push the rating higher for me.
As I mentioned, others enjoyed this more than I did, so please check out their reviews.
Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Scarlet and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
July 10, 2021
Last year, Sam Lloyd’s first novel ‘The Memory Wood’, a nightmarish tale of abducted children and dark woods, raced up the best seller charts, a feat I anticipate will be followed by ‘The Rising Tide’. It is an intense and compelling thriller where a woman watches her life as she knows it is slowly destroyed and her family threatened.
Lucy and Daniel Locke are happily married with a young son Fin, as well as a teenage daughter, Billie born before Lucy met Daniel. Together they have built an idyllic life in the small fishing village of Skentel on the North Devonshire coast. While Daniel started and built up a successful marine business, Lucy opened a bar, The Drift Net which has become a community hub not only for food and music but also for local art. They live in a large house they rescued from dereliction, perched high on the cliffs of Mortis Point, with a bird’s eye view of the harbour and the township. The whole family loves the ocean, sailing or swimming whenever they can. It seems like they have the perfect life, but everything is about to change for Lucy in the blink of an eye.
It all begins when Lucy’s bar manager and friend, Bee hammers on her door to tell her the coastguard found their boat, the Lazy Susan, drifting out to sea. Daniel who Lucy thought was at work, had made a mayday call to say he was in trouble but no one was on board when the boat was found. Next Lucy discovers that she is unable to contact either of her children and has no idea where they are. With the mother of all storms approaching across the Atlantic, Lucy begs the community for help to find her family.
Lloyd’s writing is rich and evocative as impending doom and claustrophobia start to close over Lucy and her family. The monstrous storm and the ocean it whips up parallel Lucy’s torment as she struggles to believe her family will be found safe and well. It’s a storm the like of which has never been seen before, even on this windswept coast:
Off to starboard, waves sacrifice themselves upon the shattered altar of Mortis Point. Plumes of spray climb heavenward, whipped into spume by tearing wind. Overhead, chariot wheel clouds scythe towards the land.
Into the midst of this chaos, strides DI Abraham Rose like a true avenging angel. He’s a loner of a man, stricken with a terrible disease eating away his lungs, who recites religious passages to drive himself and the investigation:
Abraham is a detective inspector but he’s something more than that. He’s God’s blunt-edged tool, formed at speed from the roughest clay to hand. Inelegant, uncivilized, but crudely effective
He knows there is something wrong with this investigation. Something that Lucy is not telling him but he can’t get a handle on why this is happening to her. Is she the vibrant force for good that everyone says she is or does she have a darker side, as suggested by events during her youth before she returned to Skentel. Daniel is also popular amongst the community, but he also had a rocky start to life, spending some time in prison as a teenager, so it’s no wonder neither of them trust the police. Abraham can’t tell if they are conspiring together or some outside monstrous evil has somehow wormed itself into their lives. He also feels the impending force and power of the storm and its forewarning of change:
Ever since he glimpsed that black wall moving in from the Atlantic, he’s sensed the approach of something transformative. It’s not just the slow-motion destruction of Lucy Locke.
Overall is the theme of katharsis – purification through destruction followed by renewal. However, Lucy knows there will be no renewal for her if she loses her family and she is impelled to find them at all cost. The plot is brilliantly paced, driven by the atmospheric writing, emotionally heart rending in places and climaxing with a brutal scene on the high seas. I think this might just be my pick for top thriller of the year.
With many thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for a copy to read. Original review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...
Lucy and Daniel Locke are happily married with a young son Fin, as well as a teenage daughter, Billie born before Lucy met Daniel. Together they have built an idyllic life in the small fishing village of Skentel on the North Devonshire coast. While Daniel started and built up a successful marine business, Lucy opened a bar, The Drift Net which has become a community hub not only for food and music but also for local art. They live in a large house they rescued from dereliction, perched high on the cliffs of Mortis Point, with a bird’s eye view of the harbour and the township. The whole family loves the ocean, sailing or swimming whenever they can. It seems like they have the perfect life, but everything is about to change for Lucy in the blink of an eye.
It all begins when Lucy’s bar manager and friend, Bee hammers on her door to tell her the coastguard found their boat, the Lazy Susan, drifting out to sea. Daniel who Lucy thought was at work, had made a mayday call to say he was in trouble but no one was on board when the boat was found. Next Lucy discovers that she is unable to contact either of her children and has no idea where they are. With the mother of all storms approaching across the Atlantic, Lucy begs the community for help to find her family.
Lloyd’s writing is rich and evocative as impending doom and claustrophobia start to close over Lucy and her family. The monstrous storm and the ocean it whips up parallel Lucy’s torment as she struggles to believe her family will be found safe and well. It’s a storm the like of which has never been seen before, even on this windswept coast:
Off to starboard, waves sacrifice themselves upon the shattered altar of Mortis Point. Plumes of spray climb heavenward, whipped into spume by tearing wind. Overhead, chariot wheel clouds scythe towards the land.
Into the midst of this chaos, strides DI Abraham Rose like a true avenging angel. He’s a loner of a man, stricken with a terrible disease eating away his lungs, who recites religious passages to drive himself and the investigation:
Abraham is a detective inspector but he’s something more than that. He’s God’s blunt-edged tool, formed at speed from the roughest clay to hand. Inelegant, uncivilized, but crudely effective
He knows there is something wrong with this investigation. Something that Lucy is not telling him but he can’t get a handle on why this is happening to her. Is she the vibrant force for good that everyone says she is or does she have a darker side, as suggested by events during her youth before she returned to Skentel. Daniel is also popular amongst the community, but he also had a rocky start to life, spending some time in prison as a teenager, so it’s no wonder neither of them trust the police. Abraham can’t tell if they are conspiring together or some outside monstrous evil has somehow wormed itself into their lives. He also feels the impending force and power of the storm and its forewarning of change:
Ever since he glimpsed that black wall moving in from the Atlantic, he’s sensed the approach of something transformative. It’s not just the slow-motion destruction of Lucy Locke.
Overall is the theme of katharsis – purification through destruction followed by renewal. However, Lucy knows there will be no renewal for her if she loses her family and she is impelled to find them at all cost. The plot is brilliantly paced, driven by the atmospheric writing, emotionally heart rending in places and climaxing with a brutal scene on the high seas. I think this might just be my pick for top thriller of the year.
With many thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for a copy to read. Original review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...
January 29, 2023
Lloyds books does something to you. I felt raw and exposed by the story, emotions and beautiful writing that transported me to another sphere. It’s hard not to be affected by the acute and bewildering loss Lucy faces. You feel as confused and hurt as her, and really hope all will go well. I also liked the detective, he truly cared as will the reader. I promise you won’t be disappointed if you read this book!
December 23, 2021
Lucy Locke has come a long way since arriving back to her hometown with a small child in tow. She met the love of her life Daniel, they both started successful businesses, and the two had another beautiful child. But all of it is about to come crashing down when Daniel unexpectedly takes the family boat out just before a storm. The boat is found abandoned and barely afloat, and Daniel is nowhere to be found. As the events take a turn from bad to unimaginable, can DI Abraham Rose piece things together before it’s too late?
I don’t want to say too much more about the plot because this just builds and builds and is full of plenty of twists and turns. And wow does it sink its hooks into you. I’d highly recommend setting aside a large chunk of time before picking this one up, because you absolutely won’t want to put it down, especially after the halfway mark. The Rising Tide is a true psychological thriller: it has that rare blend of pulse pounding action with well-done psychological suspense. I never quite knew where things were going or who to trust, but let me tell you, I *needed* to find out.
This had a very cinematic feel to it and I think it would make for a fantastic movie, but it stands on its own as a novel with amazing action imagery. Flashback snippets of Lucy’s past were woven throughout the story which added depth to the character and the story, and were done very well in my opinion. The characters here felt layered and nuanced, and like real people versus stock characters or mere plot devices. I’m not entirely sure I buy the villain’s motivation/plan, but that’s pretty much my only criticism here. My pulse pounded, my heart broke, and I was thoroughly entertained by this book.
After reading I immediately went to check on the author and was surprised to find this is only his second book. The description of his debut (The Memory Wood) already has me incredibly intrigued. I can’t wait to get my hands on it, as well as any future offerings from Sam Lloyd. You can get your hands on this one March 1, 2022.
CW: There is a very graphic description of a brutal marine hunting technique. In my ARC copy, this is in chapter 20.
Many thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton and Company for an advanced copy of this title for review.
I don’t want to say too much more about the plot because this just builds and builds and is full of plenty of twists and turns. And wow does it sink its hooks into you. I’d highly recommend setting aside a large chunk of time before picking this one up, because you absolutely won’t want to put it down, especially after the halfway mark. The Rising Tide is a true psychological thriller: it has that rare blend of pulse pounding action with well-done psychological suspense. I never quite knew where things were going or who to trust, but let me tell you, I *needed* to find out.
This had a very cinematic feel to it and I think it would make for a fantastic movie, but it stands on its own as a novel with amazing action imagery. Flashback snippets of Lucy’s past were woven throughout the story which added depth to the character and the story, and were done very well in my opinion. The characters here felt layered and nuanced, and like real people versus stock characters or mere plot devices. I’m not entirely sure I buy the villain’s motivation/plan, but that’s pretty much my only criticism here. My pulse pounded, my heart broke, and I was thoroughly entertained by this book.
After reading I immediately went to check on the author and was surprised to find this is only his second book. The description of his debut (The Memory Wood) already has me incredibly intrigued. I can’t wait to get my hands on it, as well as any future offerings from Sam Lloyd. You can get your hands on this one March 1, 2022.
CW: There is a very graphic description of a brutal marine hunting technique. In my ARC copy, this is in chapter 20.
Many thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton and Company for an advanced copy of this title for review.
June 10, 2021
I must be getting soft but I couldn’t not give this book the full 5 stars! It was so raw and desperate. Thirty seven year old Lucy Locke has left her sketchy past behind and she and husband, Daniel, have their crumbling but much loved home, their two beautiful children and their businesses are thriving. Well Lucy’s business is thriving, she runs the multi purpose Drift Net in the small town of Skentel on the coast of Cornwall. The Drift Net is a cafe, come art space, come community hub. Daniel and his business partner, best friend Nick Povey, run a marine engineering business but there are problems. Nothing that can’t be fixed.
But one day Lucy’s world comes crashing down. Her husband’s yacht, the Lazy Susan has been found drifting out at sea and there is a monster storm brewing. The coast guard has towed the boat back to port but there is no sign of Daniel. Worse is to come. Lucy learns that Daniel has taken their young son, Fin, out of school for a non-existent dental appointment. The mayday call from her husband is non sensical but she can clearly hear Fin Saying “no, daddy!” He is on the yacht - WAS on the yacht with Daniel. Then Lucy learns her 18 year old daughter, Billie is also missing.
Lucy’s fear is palpable. Search and rescue is scrambled, a helicopter joins the search but Lucy needs to be out there too, searching for her family. She persuades her former boyfriend, Jake, to take her out in the worsening weather. The sea is monstrous, repeatedly swamping the sturdy little boat. I felt seasick just reading it! Then suddenly, they see the rescue helicopter. It is winching someone aboard. But Lucy’s joy is short lived. Her husband has been saved but where are her children? And why did Daniel take them out in this wild weather?
Lucy is like an enraged mama bear. She is certain that Daniel loves her and the children but the police won’t even let her talk to him. Why did he do this? Lucy will stop at nothing to save her children but when she finally realises what is going on she is chilled to the bone. This can’t be happening! This book was so tense and intense. It is all about Lucy’s fear and you feel it acutely. As a mother myself I could really relate to it all. Lucy was such an awesome character. A former ‘wild child’ she has found the love of her life and returned to her roots to raise her children. In the end she realises she has to sacrifice everything she held dear to have a chance at redemption.
Wow, what an emotional roller coaster. I highly recommend this book to all thriller lovers. It will leave you breathless. It was my second book in a row featuring a cruel sea and it certainly added an element of drama to an already very dramatic story. I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
But one day Lucy’s world comes crashing down. Her husband’s yacht, the Lazy Susan has been found drifting out at sea and there is a monster storm brewing. The coast guard has towed the boat back to port but there is no sign of Daniel. Worse is to come. Lucy learns that Daniel has taken their young son, Fin, out of school for a non-existent dental appointment. The mayday call from her husband is non sensical but she can clearly hear Fin Saying “no, daddy!” He is on the yacht - WAS on the yacht with Daniel. Then Lucy learns her 18 year old daughter, Billie is also missing.
Lucy’s fear is palpable. Search and rescue is scrambled, a helicopter joins the search but Lucy needs to be out there too, searching for her family. She persuades her former boyfriend, Jake, to take her out in the worsening weather. The sea is monstrous, repeatedly swamping the sturdy little boat. I felt seasick just reading it! Then suddenly, they see the rescue helicopter. It is winching someone aboard. But Lucy’s joy is short lived. Her husband has been saved but where are her children? And why did Daniel take them out in this wild weather?
Lucy is like an enraged mama bear. She is certain that Daniel loves her and the children but the police won’t even let her talk to him. Why did he do this? Lucy will stop at nothing to save her children but when she finally realises what is going on she is chilled to the bone. This can’t be happening! This book was so tense and intense. It is all about Lucy’s fear and you feel it acutely. As a mother myself I could really relate to it all. Lucy was such an awesome character. A former ‘wild child’ she has found the love of her life and returned to her roots to raise her children. In the end she realises she has to sacrifice everything she held dear to have a chance at redemption.
Wow, what an emotional roller coaster. I highly recommend this book to all thriller lovers. It will leave you breathless. It was my second book in a row featuring a cruel sea and it certainly added an element of drama to an already very dramatic story. I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 28, 2022
We're approaching the denouement. I know it'll be devastating for us both.
The storm of the century is approaching the Devon coast, so Lucy Locke is baffled when she hears that her husband, Daniel, has inexplicably taken their boat out to sea. She's downright horrified when she discovers that he's taken both of the couple's children with him, as well. I can't really tell much more without ruining the suspense, and plenty of plot details.
Trust NONE of the characters in this fun, roller coaster ride of a book.
The storm of the century is approaching the Devon coast, so Lucy Locke is baffled when she hears that her husband, Daniel, has inexplicably taken their boat out to sea. She's downright horrified when she discovers that he's taken both of the couple's children with him, as well. I can't really tell much more without ruining the suspense, and plenty of plot details.
Trust NONE of the characters in this fun, roller coaster ride of a book.
November 14, 2021
A stand alone thriller published 2021
A none debatable 5 star read.
Be in no doubt, this book will take over your life and I for one was a willing participant.
This breaths new life into, what can be, a tired genre.
There’s just so much to commend it knowing where to start is the problem.
Beautifully written? Yes.
Brilliantly crafted? Yes.
Page turning? Yes.
On and on it goes.
It’s a long time since I’ve read a book that took my emotions and tossed them around like I was inside a washing machine and sticking with the laundry analogy at the end I was completely wrung out.
A loving couple with two children, a teenager daughter and a young son, seem to be living the perfect life in a small English fishing village.
That was until the husband appears to be lost at sea. Lucy, the mother is frantic but little does she know that this day is only going to get worse, much worse.
Start the spin cycle.
For once the hype surrounding this book is not hyperbole. It really is as good as everyone says it is.
In fact it’s even better.
Yes, OK, I liked it, it’s great.
A none debatable 5 star read.
Be in no doubt, this book will take over your life and I for one was a willing participant.
This breaths new life into, what can be, a tired genre.
There’s just so much to commend it knowing where to start is the problem.
Beautifully written? Yes.
Brilliantly crafted? Yes.
Page turning? Yes.
On and on it goes.
It’s a long time since I’ve read a book that took my emotions and tossed them around like I was inside a washing machine and sticking with the laundry analogy at the end I was completely wrung out.
A loving couple with two children, a teenager daughter and a young son, seem to be living the perfect life in a small English fishing village.
That was until the husband appears to be lost at sea. Lucy, the mother is frantic but little does she know that this day is only going to get worse, much worse.
Start the spin cycle.
For once the hype surrounding this book is not hyperbole. It really is as good as everyone says it is.
In fact it’s even better.
Yes, OK, I liked it, it’s great.
December 3, 2023
Oh my heart! I had to wait a while after I finished this for my blood pressure to return to normal.
Lucy Locke has a beautiful home on the clifftops above the Devonshire coast, her own thriving business, a devoted husband and two beloved children. Then one morning their family yacht, the Lazy Susan, is found abandoned far out at sea as a once-in-a-lifetime storm is approaching. Lucy's husband Daniel is missing and then things go from bad to worse.
I found this book to be exceptionally tension-filled and exciting and was half scared to keep turning pages, not sure if I wanted to know what happened aboard the Lazy Susan. During the first half I was beginning to dislike Lucy a lot. Even though she was extremely worried, which is understandable, she so often put her friends' lives at stake on and in the water that I was grrring under my breath. By the end I was apologizing in my mind. I liked the detective, poor Abraham Rose, despite his bible verse quoting. He seems to be very perceptive and unaffected by people's exteriors. There was no way I could've ever guessed where this story was going but it touched me in many ways. There was a bit too much repetition of some phrases but overall I can't fault this book.
Thanks to the London Public Library once again for the loan of this book. I can't wait to see what Sam Lloyd does next. Actually I guess he's already done it so now I can't wait for the library to get copies of The People Watcher.
Lucy Locke has a beautiful home on the clifftops above the Devonshire coast, her own thriving business, a devoted husband and two beloved children. Then one morning their family yacht, the Lazy Susan, is found abandoned far out at sea as a once-in-a-lifetime storm is approaching. Lucy's husband Daniel is missing and then things go from bad to worse.
I found this book to be exceptionally tension-filled and exciting and was half scared to keep turning pages, not sure if I wanted to know what happened aboard the Lazy Susan. During the first half I was beginning to dislike Lucy a lot. Even though she was extremely worried, which is understandable, she so often put her friends' lives at stake on and in the water that I was grrring under my breath. By the end I was apologizing in my mind. I liked the detective, poor Abraham Rose, despite his bible verse quoting. He seems to be very perceptive and unaffected by people's exteriors. There was no way I could've ever guessed where this story was going but it touched me in many ways. There was a bit too much repetition of some phrases but overall I can't fault this book.
Thanks to the London Public Library once again for the loan of this book. I can't wait to see what Sam Lloyd does next. Actually I guess he's already done it so now I can't wait for the library to get copies of The People Watcher.
April 2, 2021
This one started a little slowly but then picked up pace and turned into a twisty and intriguing read. Suspension of disbelief is required at times but the story was interesting enough to carry it, especially the breakneck pace towards the end. I didn't love it as much as The Memory Wood, possibly because I didn't entirely connect to the main character, however, Sam Lloyd is definitely now on my list of authors to watch out for.
April 20, 2022
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Sam Lloyd, and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Happy to finds new authors to enjoy, I turned to this piece by Sam Lloyd, as the dust jacket blurb caught my attention. Lloyd tells a gripping tale that is sure to make the reader take notice. While living in a seaside town, Lucy soon discovers that her family yachts is missing, as is her husband. When the boat is located, it’s empty and there’s no sign of her husband either. Thus begins a series of events that not only forces Lucy to take notice, but also leaves a chill running down her spine. How quickly things can change, changing a bucolic town to a place of worry. Lloyd weaves quite the tale and forces the reader to take note throughout this mysterious story.
Lucy is living the life that she always wanted on the Devon Coast, with a family that she loves and all the dreams she’s ever hoped to acquire.All comes crashing down and changes in the blink of an eye one day, forcing Lucy to rethink everything she thought that she knew.
A hard knock at the door changes it forever, when Lucy’s alerted that the family yacht has been recovered out in the water. There’s no trace of her husband, which sends Lucy into a fit of panic. However, it all comes into perspective soon thereafter and Lucy is forced to wonder whether her husband may have orchestrated something as part of a larger plan, one that she was not privy to at any point.
When the rescue mission begins, Lucy has high hopes that it will come to provide answers quickly and everything will prove to be a major mistake. However, a horrible storm blows in and Lucy discovers something that changes her mind in an instant. Still, she has hopes that it is all a bad dream, one from which she can wake soon and hit the rest button, once at for all. However, there is that lingering feeling in the back of her mind that emerges, leaving Lucy to ponder if she might be the one being played in all this. A chilling tale that proves Sam Lloyd has what it takes to develop a great thriller for readers to enjoy.
I’ve had a mix of success and disappointment when it comes to new writers over the past while. Even as some praise the work of a writer, I feel as though I might have missed the mark and am left to scratch my head. While I did enjoy Sam Lloyd’s piece, I am left feeling as though everyone else got something that I could not find, at least based on the reviews I have seen. Lloyd knows how to tell a story and keeps the reader in the middle, but it was not as impactful as I would have liked.
Lucy remains a wonderful protagonist, at the centre of the entire piece. Her early revelations of having the ‘perfect life’ left her vulnerable throughout the piece, something Lloyd uses to his advantage in the writing process. There is a grittiness to her, especially as the story unfolds, leaving Lucy one who refuses to stand down or deny what’s going on. She needs answers and will stop at nothing to get them, even as she is deceived with every step she takes. It is surely Lloyd’s superior abilities that puts all this on display for the reader to synthesise.
Thrillers are sometimes the hardest novel for me to enjoy, as I need a hook from the early stages to pull me into the middle. Many authors prefer the slow reveal, which may work for some, but I am overly fickle when it comes to narrative development. Lloyd does well to set the scene in this book, offering the reader something they can enjoy, while also keeping it innocent for the early pages of the book. A handful of well-developed characters keep the reader learning on a constant basis and forces the reader to attach early on. The plot was sound and kept me wanting to know more, even if things did not go in the direction I had hoped most of the time. I am curious to see how Sam Lloyd writes its other parameters and so I think that it might bode well to give the other novel out there a chance to see how it stands up to this one. All in good time.
Kudos, Mr. Lloyd, for a decent piece of writing. I am happy so many found it so impactful and wonder if I am the anomaly here.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Happy to finds new authors to enjoy, I turned to this piece by Sam Lloyd, as the dust jacket blurb caught my attention. Lloyd tells a gripping tale that is sure to make the reader take notice. While living in a seaside town, Lucy soon discovers that her family yachts is missing, as is her husband. When the boat is located, it’s empty and there’s no sign of her husband either. Thus begins a series of events that not only forces Lucy to take notice, but also leaves a chill running down her spine. How quickly things can change, changing a bucolic town to a place of worry. Lloyd weaves quite the tale and forces the reader to take note throughout this mysterious story.
Lucy is living the life that she always wanted on the Devon Coast, with a family that she loves and all the dreams she’s ever hoped to acquire.All comes crashing down and changes in the blink of an eye one day, forcing Lucy to rethink everything she thought that she knew.
A hard knock at the door changes it forever, when Lucy’s alerted that the family yacht has been recovered out in the water. There’s no trace of her husband, which sends Lucy into a fit of panic. However, it all comes into perspective soon thereafter and Lucy is forced to wonder whether her husband may have orchestrated something as part of a larger plan, one that she was not privy to at any point.
When the rescue mission begins, Lucy has high hopes that it will come to provide answers quickly and everything will prove to be a major mistake. However, a horrible storm blows in and Lucy discovers something that changes her mind in an instant. Still, she has hopes that it is all a bad dream, one from which she can wake soon and hit the rest button, once at for all. However, there is that lingering feeling in the back of her mind that emerges, leaving Lucy to ponder if she might be the one being played in all this. A chilling tale that proves Sam Lloyd has what it takes to develop a great thriller for readers to enjoy.
I’ve had a mix of success and disappointment when it comes to new writers over the past while. Even as some praise the work of a writer, I feel as though I might have missed the mark and am left to scratch my head. While I did enjoy Sam Lloyd’s piece, I am left feeling as though everyone else got something that I could not find, at least based on the reviews I have seen. Lloyd knows how to tell a story and keeps the reader in the middle, but it was not as impactful as I would have liked.
Lucy remains a wonderful protagonist, at the centre of the entire piece. Her early revelations of having the ‘perfect life’ left her vulnerable throughout the piece, something Lloyd uses to his advantage in the writing process. There is a grittiness to her, especially as the story unfolds, leaving Lucy one who refuses to stand down or deny what’s going on. She needs answers and will stop at nothing to get them, even as she is deceived with every step she takes. It is surely Lloyd’s superior abilities that puts all this on display for the reader to synthesise.
Thrillers are sometimes the hardest novel for me to enjoy, as I need a hook from the early stages to pull me into the middle. Many authors prefer the slow reveal, which may work for some, but I am overly fickle when it comes to narrative development. Lloyd does well to set the scene in this book, offering the reader something they can enjoy, while also keeping it innocent for the early pages of the book. A handful of well-developed characters keep the reader learning on a constant basis and forces the reader to attach early on. The plot was sound and kept me wanting to know more, even if things did not go in the direction I had hoped most of the time. I am curious to see how Sam Lloyd writes its other parameters and so I think that it might bode well to give the other novel out there a chance to see how it stands up to this one. All in good time.
Kudos, Mr. Lloyd, for a decent piece of writing. I am happy so many found it so impactful and wonder if I am the anomaly here.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
March 21, 2022
Just before a massive storm is about to hit their small fishing village, Lucy Locke's husband Daniel unexpectedly takes their yacht out. When the yacht is recovered at sea, Daniel is nowhere to be found. DI Abraham Rose is assigned to the case, and starts to bring to light things from Lucy's past that she hoped would remain a secret.
Talk about a wild ride! The author did a fantastic job creating the atmosphere of the quaint fishing town and what it feels like to be in an unrelenting storm. As Lucy searches for Daniel, you can feel her dread and anxiety. For me, The Rising Tide started off with a bang, lulled a tad in the middle, and then had my adrenaline pumping towards the end. It is very cleverly plotted and had me guessing until the very end. For most of the book, I wasn't sure what to think about Lucy, but DI Abraham Rose I loved from the start. He is such an interesting character and adds a lot to the story. This was my first Sam Lloyd novel and I really enjoyed it, and now want to check out his previous book, The Memory Wood. 4 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Talk about a wild ride! The author did a fantastic job creating the atmosphere of the quaint fishing town and what it feels like to be in an unrelenting storm. As Lucy searches for Daniel, you can feel her dread and anxiety. For me, The Rising Tide started off with a bang, lulled a tad in the middle, and then had my adrenaline pumping towards the end. It is very cleverly plotted and had me guessing until the very end. For most of the book, I wasn't sure what to think about Lucy, but DI Abraham Rose I loved from the start. He is such an interesting character and adds a lot to the story. This was my first Sam Lloyd novel and I really enjoyed it, and now want to check out his previous book, The Memory Wood. 4 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
June 2, 2021
“The True end of tragedy is to purify the passions.” Aristotle.
In a way I feel me taking The Rising Tide on was a bit masochistic. I have always had an indescribable fear of the sea. I think it has something to do with how little we know about it. It is a body of swelling emptiness, an ebbing flow of desolation and destruction. Water can give life but it can take it away just as easily. Lucy Locke and her family love the ocean, her children have grown up around it and in it, just what happens when a storm of a lifetime heralds the discovery of their family yacht with her husband, Daniel, nowhere to be found.
Sam Lloyd has a way of delivering recognizable thriller themes and shaking them up and cutting your throat with them. He led us down a path that was unexpected and littered with danger and threatening shadows. The Rising Tide is narrated by Lucy Locke who lives in the coastal town of Skental with her husband, Daniel, and two children, Fin and Billie. Her perfect life is soon turned on its head when Daniel maydays their boat and the shocks and turns catapult from that point onwards. The investigation is led by DI Abraham Rose, an eccentric police officer that is devout to his religion and married to his job.
Lucy is a pillar of the community and her marriage to Daniel is held in high regard. People are envious of their success in both business and love. They have a pretty spectacular house upon Mortis Point (a previous hanging site) Daniel is the joint owner of Locke-Povey Marine and Lucy built up The Drift Net a local art, music, and café venue. Their life together is starting to become unraveled with financial concerns with Locke-Povey Marine.
If you think that the events in The Rising Tide are random or left to chance fear not, Llloyd gives you exactly what you need when you need it. The narrative is smooth and gives an exemplary balance between emotion and action. This story will make you feel deep waves of pain and worry. The author has been able to bridge the gap between reader and story and I felt both conflicted and happy when the story came to a close. So much happened, to overcome, it blew me away.
The Rising Tide utilized the ocean, threatening skies, and storms as the birth of tragedy and purification. DI Rose seems like a force for good in a battle of good vs evil. He refers to biblical quotes to enhance his position and performance. At one point during the story, it felt like we moved from the written word to pure, raw emotion.
The Rising Tide is a story of one woman’s life unraveling, a story of pure escapism that loves to play with your heart, full of buried secrets that will have you guessing to the very end.
In a way I feel me taking The Rising Tide on was a bit masochistic. I have always had an indescribable fear of the sea. I think it has something to do with how little we know about it. It is a body of swelling emptiness, an ebbing flow of desolation and destruction. Water can give life but it can take it away just as easily. Lucy Locke and her family love the ocean, her children have grown up around it and in it, just what happens when a storm of a lifetime heralds the discovery of their family yacht with her husband, Daniel, nowhere to be found.
Sam Lloyd has a way of delivering recognizable thriller themes and shaking them up and cutting your throat with them. He led us down a path that was unexpected and littered with danger and threatening shadows. The Rising Tide is narrated by Lucy Locke who lives in the coastal town of Skental with her husband, Daniel, and two children, Fin and Billie. Her perfect life is soon turned on its head when Daniel maydays their boat and the shocks and turns catapult from that point onwards. The investigation is led by DI Abraham Rose, an eccentric police officer that is devout to his religion and married to his job.
Lucy is a pillar of the community and her marriage to Daniel is held in high regard. People are envious of their success in both business and love. They have a pretty spectacular house upon Mortis Point (a previous hanging site) Daniel is the joint owner of Locke-Povey Marine and Lucy built up The Drift Net a local art, music, and café venue. Their life together is starting to become unraveled with financial concerns with Locke-Povey Marine.
If you think that the events in The Rising Tide are random or left to chance fear not, Llloyd gives you exactly what you need when you need it. The narrative is smooth and gives an exemplary balance between emotion and action. This story will make you feel deep waves of pain and worry. The author has been able to bridge the gap between reader and story and I felt both conflicted and happy when the story came to a close. So much happened, to overcome, it blew me away.
The Rising Tide utilized the ocean, threatening skies, and storms as the birth of tragedy and purification. DI Rose seems like a force for good in a battle of good vs evil. He refers to biblical quotes to enhance his position and performance. At one point during the story, it felt like we moved from the written word to pure, raw emotion.
The Rising Tide is a story of one woman’s life unraveling, a story of pure escapism that loves to play with your heart, full of buried secrets that will have you guessing to the very end.
August 6, 2021
The Rising Tide is the second novel by British author, Sam Lloyd. As soon as she hears Daniel is missing, Lucy Locke wonders if it is intentional. After the appalling disloyalty of his business partner, Nick Povey, things aren’t going well at Locke-Povey Marine and she knows Daniel is worried that they will lose everything.
He has taken their forty-year-old yacht, The Lazy Susan out on a morning when a monster storm is imminent. Is her beloved husband taking the most radical step he can to ensure his family’s survival? Does he think that insurance money will replace a husband and father? Lucy is grateful that seven-year-old Fin is at school and his eighteen-year-old half-sister Billie, at college, so she can deal with this without distraction.
The reality, as it is gradually revealed, turns out to be much worse. The whole of Skentel mobilises, and the Drift Net, Lucy’s own café/gallery/live music venue becomes a hub for managing the search. The media are, of course, drawn to the tiny Devon fishing village for the drama; an ailing DI Abraham Rose arrives to ascertain exactly what has led to this potentially tragic incident, and if it can be mitigated; a case likely to be his last.
The reasons for Daniel’s actions, as they are eventually disclosed, are shocking, chilling even. More cannot be said without spoilers.
This is a cleverly constructed atmospheric thriller that keeps the reader guessing with every twist and turn of the plot. The main narrative is carried by Lucy, of whom the reader will begin to wonder quite how reliable, how honest, how selective the story she tells might be. Interspersed with this are occasional pieces from an anonymous voice whose sanity is quickly under question. An utterly superb, wonderfully atmospheric British thriller.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Pigeonhole and Transworld Digital.
He has taken their forty-year-old yacht, The Lazy Susan out on a morning when a monster storm is imminent. Is her beloved husband taking the most radical step he can to ensure his family’s survival? Does he think that insurance money will replace a husband and father? Lucy is grateful that seven-year-old Fin is at school and his eighteen-year-old half-sister Billie, at college, so she can deal with this without distraction.
The reality, as it is gradually revealed, turns out to be much worse. The whole of Skentel mobilises, and the Drift Net, Lucy’s own café/gallery/live music venue becomes a hub for managing the search. The media are, of course, drawn to the tiny Devon fishing village for the drama; an ailing DI Abraham Rose arrives to ascertain exactly what has led to this potentially tragic incident, and if it can be mitigated; a case likely to be his last.
The reasons for Daniel’s actions, as they are eventually disclosed, are shocking, chilling even. More cannot be said without spoilers.
This is a cleverly constructed atmospheric thriller that keeps the reader guessing with every twist and turn of the plot. The main narrative is carried by Lucy, of whom the reader will begin to wonder quite how reliable, how honest, how selective the story she tells might be. Interspersed with this are occasional pieces from an anonymous voice whose sanity is quickly under question. An utterly superb, wonderfully atmospheric British thriller.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Pigeonhole and Transworld Digital.
March 18, 2023
Holy smokes!!! The Rising Tide might only be Sam Lloyd's second thriller, but it reads more like his seventieth. There was so much happening in this book and the plot ends up being not only very complex but completely gut-wrenching as well. I was ugly crying at the end of the book and that is not at all what I was expecting would happen going into it. I didn’t really find too many clues as to what was going on while I was reading, so some people may find certain things to come from left field. This didn’t bother me though, and it actually didn’t even surprise me all that much but that is most likely because there wasn’t really much of an inkling in the story about what was to come. There are lots of suspenseful moments especially as we are coming to the end of the book, and I was going to go to the gym but held off because there was no way I was going to put it down until the last page was done.
The one thing that was lacking for me was the audiobook, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the main narrator Anna Wilson-Jones. Her pacing felt WAY off, and even on a 3x speed and above she still had weird pauses which was very distracting. I can usually listen to a book faster than reading it, but in this case, I feel like reading it would have been better. I could also hear her swallow at certain times and was just not impressed with the quality of her audio as a whole. The other narrator, Charles Armstrong, had a rather small part, but I really enjoyed him, and I kinda wish he would have read detective Abraham Rose’s parts as well though that would have taken away from the setup a little. I would normally recommend the audiobook over the book, but in this case, I am going to say you would be much better off reading The Rising Tide. Aside from my issues with the audio, this book completely blew me away and I will be on the lookout for future books from Lloyd. So happy to have found this author!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The one thing that was lacking for me was the audiobook, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the main narrator Anna Wilson-Jones. Her pacing felt WAY off, and even on a 3x speed and above she still had weird pauses which was very distracting. I can usually listen to a book faster than reading it, but in this case, I feel like reading it would have been better. I could also hear her swallow at certain times and was just not impressed with the quality of her audio as a whole. The other narrator, Charles Armstrong, had a rather small part, but I really enjoyed him, and I kinda wish he would have read detective Abraham Rose’s parts as well though that would have taken away from the setup a little. I would normally recommend the audiobook over the book, but in this case, I am going to say you would be much better off reading The Rising Tide. Aside from my issues with the audio, this book completely blew me away and I will be on the lookout for future books from Lloyd. So happy to have found this author!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
April 25, 2022
This was atmospheric, tension filled and mesmerizing. The story starts with a bang and just never lets up. The twists and turns are astounding, believable and so well plotted.
The Rising Tide opens with Lucy Locke realizing that her husband is missing at sea during one of the worst storms in the town’s history. When the empty boat washes up at shore without Daniel and the police start to investigate there seems to be far more at play than just an accident at sea.
Over the course of the book I went from being horrified for Lucy to suspicious of her about a dozen times. The layering of the story and the slow reveals shift the narrative from under you without you even realizing it. It is dark and moody and you can feel the angry and stormy sea come through the pages. The characters are well rounded and even the side characters are fleshed out well. It really is beautifully done.
The Rising Tide opens with Lucy Locke realizing that her husband is missing at sea during one of the worst storms in the town’s history. When the empty boat washes up at shore without Daniel and the police start to investigate there seems to be far more at play than just an accident at sea.
Over the course of the book I went from being horrified for Lucy to suspicious of her about a dozen times. The layering of the story and the slow reveals shift the narrative from under you without you even realizing it. It is dark and moody and you can feel the angry and stormy sea come through the pages. The characters are well rounded and even the side characters are fleshed out well. It really is beautifully done.
August 8, 2021
This for me was a rather slow-burn novel. The start definitely hooked and intrigued me, and the drip-feed of clues through the book kept me guessing, but the real winner is the last 10%. What a wild ride! The middle did lose my interest at times (although not for long at all) and I absolutely raced through the end!
It was a complex and cleverly plotted thriller, and one that makes me reach for 'The Memory Wood' with gusto.
The ending was excellent, and filled with emotion, heartache and tension. Seriously impressive!
The atmosphere of the book oozed out of the pages, and Lloyd set the scene incredibly well. As he says himself, "the sea is a character in it's own right."
A really enjoyable thriller that definitely deserves recommendations!
It was a complex and cleverly plotted thriller, and one that makes me reach for 'The Memory Wood' with gusto.
The ending was excellent, and filled with emotion, heartache and tension. Seriously impressive!
The atmosphere of the book oozed out of the pages, and Lloyd set the scene incredibly well. As he says himself, "the sea is a character in it's own right."
A really enjoyable thriller that definitely deserves recommendations!
June 25, 2022
Abraham is a detective inspector but he’s something more than that. He’s God’s blunt-edged tool, formed at speed from the roughest clay to hand. Inelegant, uncivilised, but crudely effective.
I really enjoy a good maritime drama and the start of The Rising Tide has this in spades with an air-and-sea search and rescue operation activated for a man, his son and step-daughter, missing off the coast of Devon, while a devastating storm front approaches from the Atlantic. The yacht is found abandoned, its seacocks open, the father plucked from the sea claiming to have drowned the boy and teenager. A distraught mother does not know what to believe, her life suddenly shattered.
From the beginning we know that whoever is responsible for this modern take on a Greek tragedy has a few horses loose in the top paddock. The investigating officer, DI Abraham Rose, is a religious man from the outer fringes of bible-belting Christianity, succumbing to some horrible disease. Both husband and wife, years earlier, had a past to hide and the husband’s business is in trouble, thanks to a shady partner.
Many readers have enjoyed this, but for me, the landward side was a yawn with obvious mistakes made and the blind faith of the mother adding to my frustration, (not helped by the present tense narration). The story is long on flashbacks and short on detail:
It picks up at the end, back at sea, though I would have drowned sixteen times over in the time it took to read it. So overall, a good book but one that did little for me.
I really enjoy a good maritime drama and the start of The Rising Tide has this in spades with an air-and-sea search and rescue operation activated for a man, his son and step-daughter, missing off the coast of Devon, while a devastating storm front approaches from the Atlantic. The yacht is found abandoned, its seacocks open, the father plucked from the sea claiming to have drowned the boy and teenager. A distraught mother does not know what to believe, her life suddenly shattered.
From the beginning we know that whoever is responsible for this modern take on a Greek tragedy has a few horses loose in the top paddock. The investigating officer, DI Abraham Rose, is a religious man from the outer fringes of bible-belting Christianity, succumbing to some horrible disease. Both husband and wife, years earlier, had a past to hide and the husband’s business is in trouble, thanks to a shady partner.
Many readers have enjoyed this, but for me, the landward side was a yawn with obvious mistakes made and the blind faith of the mother adding to my frustration, (not helped by the present tense narration). The story is long on flashbacks and short on detail:
It picks up at the end, back at sea, though I would have drowned sixteen times over in the time it took to read it. So overall, a good book but one that did little for me.
June 6, 2021
WOAH! Now that was intense! After that pulse pounding finale I’d better sit and catch my breath for a while, and collect my thoughts. Make sure to enter this thriller willing to leave all your preconceptions at the door, because they will be challenged in this dark, terrifying race against time.
But let’s start at the beginning, shall I? Lucy and Daniel Locke are a happy couple living with their two children in a small seaside community on the treacherous Cornish coast. Both are people of the sea – Daniel owns a marine business together with his old childhood mate, and Lucy has built up a successful food venue in a town that relies on both fishing as well as tourism. Their beautiful home overlooks the ocean that is an integral part of their existence, and their life seems idyllic to any stranger peering in through the windows. Until the day one of Lucy’s friends and employees comes running up to her house to inform her that their boat has been found drifting out to sea, abandoned. And Lucy’s world comes crashing down ....
Sam Lloyd is an author who is new to me, but it didn’t take me long to find out that he is an absolute master at creating a claustrophobic, atmospheric background on which he will paint his terrifying, pulse pounding thriller. Step 1: describe an idyllic seaside village that instantly makes everyone want to pack up on go there on holidays. Step 2: there is a monster storm brewing in the distance. Step 3: a missing husband, missing children and a race against all the forces of nature in the faint hope that you will see your loved ones alive again. This was not a story for the faint of heart! As the black storm clouds gathered on the horizon, the dark secrets also came out of the town’s cracks and crevices, putting absolutely everything you had come to believe under scrutiny. I read most of the story with my white knuckles shoved in my mouth, hardly daring to breathe as the drama unfolded.
A real psychological thriller is one that makes me constantly doubt everything and everyone, even my own perception of reality, and Sam Lloyd manages this seemingly effortlessly by making all his characters somewhat unreliable, even the setting, which unleashed a terrifying force of nature onto its hapless inhabitants. This, people, is how you create unbearable tension! As much as I loved Lucy and my heart bled for her, I also never fully trusted her. I had so many theories as the story unfolded, and yet found myself tapping in the dark for most of it. My only comfort is that it took seasoned detective DI Abraham Rose quite some time to get on the right trail as well, and even if he wasn’t the world’s most stable of characters himself, he was at least able to follow the clues much better than I could.
All in all, THE RISING TIDE will appeal to readers who love a claustrophobic, atmospheric setting but prefer an action packed story to a slow-burning mystery. If you are looking for fast-paced, then you have come to the right place, as this adrenaline-fuelled finale will leave you gasping for air. My only advice is that you allow enough time to read this book in one sitting, as it’s impossible to put down once the dark clouds of impending doom start appearing on the horizon. This definitely made it onto my favourites list and I can’t wait to read more from this author in future!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam Press for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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But let’s start at the beginning, shall I? Lucy and Daniel Locke are a happy couple living with their two children in a small seaside community on the treacherous Cornish coast. Both are people of the sea – Daniel owns a marine business together with his old childhood mate, and Lucy has built up a successful food venue in a town that relies on both fishing as well as tourism. Their beautiful home overlooks the ocean that is an integral part of their existence, and their life seems idyllic to any stranger peering in through the windows. Until the day one of Lucy’s friends and employees comes running up to her house to inform her that their boat has been found drifting out to sea, abandoned. And Lucy’s world comes crashing down ....
Sam Lloyd is an author who is new to me, but it didn’t take me long to find out that he is an absolute master at creating a claustrophobic, atmospheric background on which he will paint his terrifying, pulse pounding thriller. Step 1: describe an idyllic seaside village that instantly makes everyone want to pack up on go there on holidays. Step 2: there is a monster storm brewing in the distance. Step 3: a missing husband, missing children and a race against all the forces of nature in the faint hope that you will see your loved ones alive again. This was not a story for the faint of heart! As the black storm clouds gathered on the horizon, the dark secrets also came out of the town’s cracks and crevices, putting absolutely everything you had come to believe under scrutiny. I read most of the story with my white knuckles shoved in my mouth, hardly daring to breathe as the drama unfolded.
A real psychological thriller is one that makes me constantly doubt everything and everyone, even my own perception of reality, and Sam Lloyd manages this seemingly effortlessly by making all his characters somewhat unreliable, even the setting, which unleashed a terrifying force of nature onto its hapless inhabitants. This, people, is how you create unbearable tension! As much as I loved Lucy and my heart bled for her, I also never fully trusted her. I had so many theories as the story unfolded, and yet found myself tapping in the dark for most of it. My only comfort is that it took seasoned detective DI Abraham Rose quite some time to get on the right trail as well, and even if he wasn’t the world’s most stable of characters himself, he was at least able to follow the clues much better than I could.
All in all, THE RISING TIDE will appeal to readers who love a claustrophobic, atmospheric setting but prefer an action packed story to a slow-burning mystery. If you are looking for fast-paced, then you have come to the right place, as this adrenaline-fuelled finale will leave you gasping for air. My only advice is that you allow enough time to read this book in one sitting, as it’s impossible to put down once the dark clouds of impending doom start appearing on the horizon. This definitely made it onto my favourites list and I can’t wait to read more from this author in future!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam Press for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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July 3, 2021
The Rising Tide is a claustrophobic and palpably tense police procedural with a cleverly crafted plot; deviously twisting you one way and then another and taking you on a wild thrill ride. It's evocative and fast paced, compulsive and beautifully written and the setting almost becomes a character in itself. A recommend read.
May 28, 2023
Το δεύτερο βιβλίο του Sam Lloyd μετά "Το δάσος της μνήμης".
Στο πρώτο του μέρος το βιβλίο είναι αρκετά αργό, γεμάτο περιγραφές και σχεδόν καθόλου δράση. Στο δεύτερο μέρος όμως τα πράγματα αλλάζουν, η δράση κυριαρχεί. Έξυπνο, με αρκετές ανατροπές και αγωνία.
5/5
Στο πρώτο του μέρος το βιβλίο είναι αρκετά αργό, γεμάτο περιγραφές και σχεδόν καθόλου δράση. Στο δεύτερο μέρος όμως τα πράγματα αλλάζουν, η δράση κυριαρχεί. Έξυπνο, με αρκετές ανατροπές και αγωνία.
5/5
February 28, 2022
Thank you so much to Samy Llyod, Scarlet Suspense, and The Mysterious Bookshop for my copy of The Rising Tide. The book is about Lucy Locke, a woman who has build a wonderful life with her husband and who children in a small fishing village overlooking a harbor. After a huge storm, Lucy's yacht is found empty and her husband is missing. As the search goes on, Lucy's sense of terror and dread gets worse and worse. She is forced to face the fact that the ocean is a dangerous place and not everything there will stay hidden.
Thoughts: I loved the chilling and claustrophobic feeling of this book. There was so much tension that kept building and lots of twists to keep you on your toes. It was a great psychological thriller that messes with your mind and you never quite know what to believe. Who are theses people really, and what are their intentions? I loved the setting and couldn't put the book down. It was fast-paced and almost felt like a movie. It was a great story and so fun to read- 4.5- stars!
Thoughts: I loved the chilling and claustrophobic feeling of this book. There was so much tension that kept building and lots of twists to keep you on your toes. It was a great psychological thriller that messes with your mind and you never quite know what to believe. Who are theses people really, and what are their intentions? I loved the setting and couldn't put the book down. It was fast-paced and almost felt like a movie. It was a great story and so fun to read- 4.5- stars!
July 19, 2021
Wow this was a brilliant, twisty book, so full of red herrings that I really didn't know who the culprit was until the end. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.
June 15, 2021
Sam Lloyd’s “The Memory Wood” was billed as a must read of 2020 and I have to agree, it was for me an easy five star read and I enjoyed it immensely. Knowing that this author writes like an emotional rollercoaster, I knew I’d need hankies at the ready for his new novel “The Rising Tide” and boy did I need them!
Living close to a coastal harbour myself and regularly hearing the Air-Sea Rescue helicopter and helping support my local RNLI, I found I was right at home with the setting of the story. Even the once in a lifetime storm, which the story evolves around, I’ve witnessed and seen how destructive it can be. This is what made the story so realistic and as a mother, this book constantly tore at my heart big time. Such a powerfully emotive book, I didn’t come up for air and it was with a heavy heart that I finished this book, after been so passionately engrossed.
The author, Sam Lloyd has been described as a ‘rare new thriller talent’ and considering both of his books have been emotionally original, captivating and containing twists and turns aplenty, it’s a very justifiable comment. His characters are just perfect for the roles they play and Detective Inspector Abraham Rose is a man I will not forget in a hurry.
Beautifully written and beyond atmospheric, “The Rising Tide” is this years must-read and comes highly recommended.
Another fab 5 stars.
Living close to a coastal harbour myself and regularly hearing the Air-Sea Rescue helicopter and helping support my local RNLI, I found I was right at home with the setting of the story. Even the once in a lifetime storm, which the story evolves around, I’ve witnessed and seen how destructive it can be. This is what made the story so realistic and as a mother, this book constantly tore at my heart big time. Such a powerfully emotive book, I didn’t come up for air and it was with a heavy heart that I finished this book, after been so passionately engrossed.
The author, Sam Lloyd has been described as a ‘rare new thriller talent’ and considering both of his books have been emotionally original, captivating and containing twists and turns aplenty, it’s a very justifiable comment. His characters are just perfect for the roles they play and Detective Inspector Abraham Rose is a man I will not forget in a hurry.
Beautifully written and beyond atmospheric, “The Rising Tide” is this years must-read and comes highly recommended.
Another fab 5 stars.
April 12, 2022
In „Sturmopfer“ zeigt Sam Lloyd, wie man seine Charaktere so richtig quält. Das, was Lucy ertragen muss, ist kaum zu toppen. Nicht nur, dass ihr Mann trotz Unwetterwarnung mit dem Boot rausfährt und verschwunden bleibt, nein, es kommt schlimmer. Viel schlimmer. Es handelt sich um eine Tragödie unvorstellbaren Ausmaßes. Der Autor holt alles an Schmerz raus, was möglich ist, so dass auch die Leserschaft einiges ertragen muss.
Dazu kommt, dass vieles unberechenbar ist: Das Wetter, das Meer – und die Figuren. Man sieht Lucy leiden und leidet automatisch mit ihr, erfährt aber auch, dass sie kein unbeschriebenes Blatt ist und zum Selbstbetrug neigt. Hat sie gar etwas mit dem Drama zu tun? Was ist wirklich passiert? Und warum?
Der Autor schreibt in kurzen Sätzen, sorgt für Tempo, insbesondere anfangs und am Ende. Der Mittelteil wirkt gemäßigter, enthält einige Wiederholungen.
Der Showdown hätte packender nicht sein können, mag manchen allerdings zu viel des Guten sein. Für mich hat es gepasst, mehr hätte den Rahmen gesprengt und eine Kürzung nicht geschadet, kritisieren möchte ich ihn aber nicht, dafür war er mir zu aufregend und ich zu involviert.
Ein paar Kleinigkeiten haben mich gestört, z.B. die vielen kursiv geschriebenen Wörter, die meinen Lesefluss abgebremst haben. Insgesamt bin ich aber angetan. Der Thriller hält einige Überraschungen bereit, hat mich gefesselt, verblüfft und nervös gemacht. Ein echter Pageturner!
Dazu kommt, dass vieles unberechenbar ist: Das Wetter, das Meer – und die Figuren. Man sieht Lucy leiden und leidet automatisch mit ihr, erfährt aber auch, dass sie kein unbeschriebenes Blatt ist und zum Selbstbetrug neigt. Hat sie gar etwas mit dem Drama zu tun? Was ist wirklich passiert? Und warum?
Der Autor schreibt in kurzen Sätzen, sorgt für Tempo, insbesondere anfangs und am Ende. Der Mittelteil wirkt gemäßigter, enthält einige Wiederholungen.
Der Showdown hätte packender nicht sein können, mag manchen allerdings zu viel des Guten sein. Für mich hat es gepasst, mehr hätte den Rahmen gesprengt und eine Kürzung nicht geschadet, kritisieren möchte ich ihn aber nicht, dafür war er mir zu aufregend und ich zu involviert.
Ein paar Kleinigkeiten haben mich gestört, z.B. die vielen kursiv geschriebenen Wörter, die meinen Lesefluss abgebremst haben. Insgesamt bin ich aber angetan. Der Thriller hält einige Überraschungen bereit, hat mich gefesselt, verblüfft und nervös gemacht. Ein echter Pageturner!
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