What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rogue Wave
Andrew and his fiancée, Hannah, are on board a whale-watching boat in the Bay of Fundy when the vessel is hit by a rogue wave. Thirty-eight people are rescued by the coast guard, but Hannah is not one of them, and she is subsequently presumed to have drowned. Some weeks later, however, a friend sends Andrew a link to a wedding video shot in southern Mexico, and who is there but Hannah, sitting next to a man her friends do not recognize. Desperate to get to the truth and find his fiancée, Andrew hires a detective, Matthew Harding, whose search takes him from New Brunswick to Mexico to the United Kingdom and finally to the caves under Peterborough, Ontario. A fast-paced thriller full of colourful characters and supernatural elements, The Rogue Wave hits the reader broadside.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2021
About the author
Paul Nicholas Mason
11 books12 followersBorn 1958 in London, England, Paul Nicholas Mason has also lived in Zimbabwe, the lower mainland of British Columbia, Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Lakefield and Newcastle. A graduate of Trent and Queen's universities, Paul now lives with his wife, Nathalie, in the small town of Cobourg, Ontario.
Paul's published work includes the novels To Our Graves, The Rogue Wave, The Night Drummer, The Red Dress and Battered Soles; a collection of children's stories, A Pug Called Poppy; and two plays, Circles of Grace and The Discipline Committee. His journalism has appeared in a number of Canadian newspapers, including the Peterborough Examiner, the Kingston Whig-Standard, and the Hamilton Spectator.
Mr. Mason retired from teaching in 2015 and subsequently launched a career in acting for film and television. As of late 2023 he had appeared in fifteen feature films and ten television series.
Paul's published work includes the novels To Our Graves, The Rogue Wave, The Night Drummer, The Red Dress and Battered Soles; a collection of children's stories, A Pug Called Poppy; and two plays, Circles of Grace and The Discipline Committee. His journalism has appeared in a number of Canadian newspapers, including the Peterborough Examiner, the Kingston Whig-Standard, and the Hamilton Spectator.
Mr. Mason retired from teaching in 2015 and subsequently launched a career in acting for film and television. As of late 2023 he had appeared in fifteen feature films and ten television series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 8, 2025
A mixed-genre novel, part private investigator story, part metaphysical battle between the forces good vs. evil, which left me wondering whether these genres actually could mix successfully.
Matthew Harding, a forty-something, hardboiled sleuth, with a hobby for religious statuary and for pondering the question of whether God exists, is hired by Andrew, a respectable art forger, to track down his fiancée. Hannah disappeared in a rogue wave that swept their tourist boat off the coast of New Brunswick and was presumed dead at the time; however a You Tube video later revealed her attending a wedding in Oaxaca, Mexico in the company of some bad looking hombres.
Matthew’s search takes him from New Brunswick to Mexico and then to Salisbury, England where he seems to be shadowed by bad guys and yet helped out in trouble spots by good angels who keep appearing and reappearing along his journey. I wondered whether the author was pulling from a tour he had taken to these places, for Matthew plays the quintessential tourist, doing touristy things as he searches for clues. Scenes in in all three locations are well described – good, if you plan to take a similar tour.
The recovery of Hanna seems to end up rather passively until Matthew returns to Toronto where the real showdown begins. The reason for Hannah’s kidnapping is a bit flimsy – a lot of trouble to go to to add another prostitute to a human trafficking ring, when a visit to a poorer European country, or the luring of illegal immigrants to the UK would have sufficed—unless the Canadian Hannah was the bait to draw in Matthew. This made me wonder whether the detective story really needed to happen in order for us to get to the real battle between the powers of good vs. evil. The ending was your typical Marvel comics superhero battle which went over the head of this reader looking for a good detective story.
The other limitation I found was that this short novel, with very short chapters, had a heck of a lot of characters in it, limiting the author’s ability to flush each one out properly; apart from Matthew, everyone else was just a name carrying out a specific action to advance the plot. But if you want a page turning, fast-paced plot, this is a book for you.
I recall the black magic books of Dennis Wheatley from half a century ago, where the occult was layered over the war-time spy genre, and that seemed to work, for Wheatley spent more time developing his characters and the theory behind the magic, and placing it at a time when the world was in turmoil during WWII – evil was expected to be walking the land. Wheatley’s books were also quite long. Given our shrinking attention spans today, we have no time for Wheatley, but then I wonder with books like The Rogue Wave, which are pared to the bone, whether we can do justice to this mixing of genres without slumping into cartoon faire?
Matthew Harding, a forty-something, hardboiled sleuth, with a hobby for religious statuary and for pondering the question of whether God exists, is hired by Andrew, a respectable art forger, to track down his fiancée. Hannah disappeared in a rogue wave that swept their tourist boat off the coast of New Brunswick and was presumed dead at the time; however a You Tube video later revealed her attending a wedding in Oaxaca, Mexico in the company of some bad looking hombres.
Matthew’s search takes him from New Brunswick to Mexico and then to Salisbury, England where he seems to be shadowed by bad guys and yet helped out in trouble spots by good angels who keep appearing and reappearing along his journey. I wondered whether the author was pulling from a tour he had taken to these places, for Matthew plays the quintessential tourist, doing touristy things as he searches for clues. Scenes in in all three locations are well described – good, if you plan to take a similar tour.
The recovery of Hanna seems to end up rather passively until Matthew returns to Toronto where the real showdown begins. The reason for Hannah’s kidnapping is a bit flimsy – a lot of trouble to go to to add another prostitute to a human trafficking ring, when a visit to a poorer European country, or the luring of illegal immigrants to the UK would have sufficed—unless the Canadian Hannah was the bait to draw in Matthew. This made me wonder whether the detective story really needed to happen in order for us to get to the real battle between the powers of good vs. evil. The ending was your typical Marvel comics superhero battle which went over the head of this reader looking for a good detective story.
The other limitation I found was that this short novel, with very short chapters, had a heck of a lot of characters in it, limiting the author’s ability to flush each one out properly; apart from Matthew, everyone else was just a name carrying out a specific action to advance the plot. But if you want a page turning, fast-paced plot, this is a book for you.
I recall the black magic books of Dennis Wheatley from half a century ago, where the occult was layered over the war-time spy genre, and that seemed to work, for Wheatley spent more time developing his characters and the theory behind the magic, and placing it at a time when the world was in turmoil during WWII – evil was expected to be walking the land. Wheatley’s books were also quite long. Given our shrinking attention spans today, we have no time for Wheatley, but then I wonder with books like The Rogue Wave, which are pared to the bone, whether we can do justice to this mixing of genres without slumping into cartoon faire?
January 2, 2021
The Rogue Wave by Paul Nicholas Mason is an exciting supernatural thriller that will entertain and intrigue from the start.
Life is more than we can see, hear and touch. Life is a spiritual battle that we do not always understand. Evil seeks to deceive and trick us. We must keep our eyes and heart firmly fixed on Jesus.
Whilst investigating a case, a P.I. comes up against a series of coincidences. As they ramp up, it seems like someone is trying to thwart his movements.
The reader tries to follow the clues and solve the case at the same time as the characters. I failed to predict the outcome – again!
The Rogue Wave is a cosmopolitan novel as we travel from Canada to Mexico to Salisbury all from the safety of our armchair. It was a thrilling, compulsive and sinister read that I can highly recommend.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
Life is more than we can see, hear and touch. Life is a spiritual battle that we do not always understand. Evil seeks to deceive and trick us. We must keep our eyes and heart firmly fixed on Jesus.
Whilst investigating a case, a P.I. comes up against a series of coincidences. As they ramp up, it seems like someone is trying to thwart his movements.
The reader tries to follow the clues and solve the case at the same time as the characters. I failed to predict the outcome – again!
The Rogue Wave is a cosmopolitan novel as we travel from Canada to Mexico to Salisbury all from the safety of our armchair. It was a thrilling, compulsive and sinister read that I can highly recommend.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
May 1, 2021
What starts as a standard detective story quickly veers into a layered metaphysical and spiritual journey. At 159 pages it’s a taut read with good pacing and a cast of interesting characters.
September 8, 2025
There's a reason why black & white, good vs evil narratives are more common in children's literature. Generally speaking, these narratives are too simple to hold an adult's attention. The exception may be adults who identify as Christians, but even the Bible has ambiguities and (for better or worse) contradictions that are not present in the average good vs evil narrative. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for The Rogue Wave.
The Rogue Wave is simple, painfully simple. A private investigator named Matthew (undoubtedly named after Jesus's apostle) is hired to track down a missing woman. It's as straightforward a case as I've ever read, with clues handed to Matthew on a platter and obstacles overcome with ease. Perhaps because this isn't a mystery novel. This is a Christian morality tale in which Matthew's real challenge has less to do with finding a missing woman, and more to do with the forces of evil.
But even as a Christian morality tale, this isn't particularly interesting. Matthew doesn't struggle with any inner demons ("inner demons" referring to any personal issues Matthew may have, not the demons he encounters in his dreams) and the outer demons are, like every other obstacle, easily overcome.
I was particularly irked by Matthew's encounter with two university students (one described as a "large woman with her hair dyed purple" studying Post-Colonial theory, and the other "tall and thin" with a "high, rather reedy voice" - in other words, a "soy boy"). The only time Matthew isn't a saint is when he's talking to this couple, and I have no reason to believe that it was the author's intention to show Matthew's weakness of character. The soy boy's field of study has been debunked, and the large woman is "genderfluid" (something that seems, in the moment, so putrid that even the soy boy is uncomfortable with it) and tainted by campus activism (she claims to have been "involved with BDS and anti-Zionism work" and to have "got some academic credit for it," thus extending the author's and character's judgement to academic institutions - perhaps blaming them for corrupting youths). The fact that Matthew is "relieved" when he doesn't see the couple again may confirm my suspicions about the author's intentions.
I'd like to give the author the benefit of the doubt, but that's not possible while this novel is dripping with Christian holier-than-thou moralism, and while Christofascisms is on the rise in North America.
The Rogue Wave is simple, painfully simple. A private investigator named Matthew (undoubtedly named after Jesus's apostle) is hired to track down a missing woman. It's as straightforward a case as I've ever read, with clues handed to Matthew on a platter and obstacles overcome with ease. Perhaps because this isn't a mystery novel. This is a Christian morality tale in which Matthew's real challenge has less to do with finding a missing woman, and more to do with the forces of evil.
But even as a Christian morality tale, this isn't particularly interesting. Matthew doesn't struggle with any inner demons ("inner demons" referring to any personal issues Matthew may have, not the demons he encounters in his dreams) and the outer demons are, like every other obstacle, easily overcome.
I was particularly irked by Matthew's encounter with two university students (one described as a "large woman with her hair dyed purple" studying Post-Colonial theory, and the other "tall and thin" with a "high, rather reedy voice" - in other words, a "soy boy"). The only time Matthew isn't a saint is when he's talking to this couple, and I have no reason to believe that it was the author's intention to show Matthew's weakness of character. The soy boy's field of study has been debunked, and the large woman is "genderfluid" (something that seems, in the moment, so putrid that even the soy boy is uncomfortable with it) and tainted by campus activism (she claims to have been "involved with BDS and anti-Zionism work" and to have "got some academic credit for it," thus extending the author's and character's judgement to academic institutions - perhaps blaming them for corrupting youths). The fact that Matthew is "relieved" when he doesn't see the couple again may confirm my suspicions about the author's intentions.
I'd like to give the author the benefit of the doubt, but that's not possible while this novel is dripping with Christian holier-than-thou moralism, and while Christofascisms is on the rise in North America.
June 1, 2021
I just finished this book and absolutely loved it. My first read of the authors and I'm looking forward to reading more. I saw a write up about the book in our local paper and was especially moved because it was a local author and the book sounded interesting.
I was pulled into the book right away and enjoyed it so much from start to finish. Great characters and storyline. It kept me guessing every step of the way. Absolutely brilliant writing. You won't be disappointed.
I was pulled into the book right away and enjoyed it so much from start to finish. Great characters and storyline. It kept me guessing every step of the way. Absolutely brilliant writing. You won't be disappointed.
May 24, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was hard to put down as you just wanted to know what happened next. Great suspense. I also liked the fact it had Canadian and UK content and I recognized the cities/towns.
Read
January 30, 2021It's my own book, so I won't review it. The launch date is April 15 of 2021...
November 6, 2023
I was excited for this book as the premise seemed interesting and it mentioned a city I spent a lot of time in.
Unfortunately the premise did not live up to expectations, the pacing of the novel was very strange and the writing was very amateurish. There were so many characters added who served little to no purpose, and many scenes that just took you out of the book to listen to the author feed his own confused reflections of the world through the main character as a mouthpiece. Ultimately these scenes had no value to the plot or any character development.
The content of the book also seemed to be quite poorly researched, and the true nature of the "paranormal" element is never revealed nor does the conclusion leave you with any intrigue as to what happened. Nothing happening in the book has any reason other than "this thing happened because the plot needs to advance."
Other than that it was just cliche.
Unfortunately the premise did not live up to expectations, the pacing of the novel was very strange and the writing was very amateurish. There were so many characters added who served little to no purpose, and many scenes that just took you out of the book to listen to the author feed his own confused reflections of the world through the main character as a mouthpiece. Ultimately these scenes had no value to the plot or any character development.
The content of the book also seemed to be quite poorly researched, and the true nature of the "paranormal" element is never revealed nor does the conclusion leave you with any intrigue as to what happened. Nothing happening in the book has any reason other than "this thing happened because the plot needs to advance."
Other than that it was just cliche.
April 18, 2021
A novella of international and fantastic adventure.
August 22, 2021
I don't usually read white dude's thriller novels because they're always like I'm a gruff detective guy, my wife is dead, etc. etc. but I thought oh this one's Canadian, why not give it a shot. Jesus Christ. So poorly paced and weirdly short, the writing was very juvenile, like a 10th grader's english assignment, and there were so many unnecessary parts. There were characters that got introduced and given a whole backstory just for the MC to have a snide comment in his head and then nothing of consequence ever happened with them, also the way the author treats "wokeness" just felt weird, like the gender-fluid character and the inner-monologue is being a stripper good or bad business that was happening. Also the passage with the comments about "queers" was that necessary? at all? maybe a 1.5, but just barely. So incredibly thankful that it WAS short though because I don't think I could've finished this at full length.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2021
Detective Matthew Harding is hired by Andrew to solve a case of his missing fiancé. The couple was out whale watching when a rogue wave hits, the woman is the only body not recovered. Weeks later, Andrew is sent a video from Mexico where his wife appears to be attending a wedding.
This is a quick 160 page read that dives into a mystery with paranormal aspects. The story takes us from Toronto to New Brunswick to Mexico and to the UK. I really had no clue where the plot was going to go but had increasing feelings of dread as I progressed. The Rogue Wave is a well paced mystery filled with intrigue and good vs. evil, but I do wish it was longer!
This is a quick 160 page read that dives into a mystery with paranormal aspects. The story takes us from Toronto to New Brunswick to Mexico and to the UK. I really had no clue where the plot was going to go but had increasing feelings of dread as I progressed. The Rogue Wave is a well paced mystery filled with intrigue and good vs. evil, but I do wish it was longer!
March 21, 2023
I picked this little book up because it takes place to home in New Brunswick. St Andrew’s. St Stephen. Fredericton. But h my, it did not stay there! This story took the most incredible turn and just blew me away.
January 31, 2021
3.5*
A good quick little thriller but perhaps at time too convenient!
Full review to come.
{The book was gifted to me by the author)
A good quick little thriller but perhaps at time too convenient!
Full review to come.
{The book was gifted to me by the author)
September 14, 2021
An intriguing story with vivid characters that kept me in suspense right to the end. I will read this one again!
January 21, 2022
Not what I was expecting but you will through the pages quickly and enjoyed every bit of it.
February 16, 2022
Short story
Interesting story but I found because of how short the story was it never fully developed and in the end felt rushed.
Interesting story but I found because of how short the story was it never fully developed and in the end felt rushed.
March 8, 2023
A compelling page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
April 20, 2024
Really excellent book! Such a mastery of language!
July 25, 2023
this book sucked
May 18, 2024
Vibrant characters and an intriguing unusual story.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews