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Fin Fleming Sea Adventure #3
Dark Tide: The Fin Fleming Scuba Diving Mystery Series
Fin Fleming, chief underwater photographer at famed oceanography institute RIO, finds her friends Gus and Theresa’s baby abandoned on their boat in RIO’s marina. Fin knows they would never willingly leave Angel alone, and it doesn’t take long for the kidnapper to contact her with demands.
As ransom, the kidnapper asks for the exact amount of Gus’s potential reward payout from the salvage operation completed in Sunken Death. But RIO hasn’t received the payout yet, and the kidnapper insists the ransom must come from Gus’s share of the reward. No other funds will do. He calls every hour asking if they’ve received the money yet.
Until he doesn’t.
DS Scott and his team are on the case, and for once, they’ve asked for her help. She’s willing to pitch in, of course, but she has a pretty full plate of her own. She’s busy juggling her regular job, trying to bring RIO’s new CFO up to speed, and working hard to keep Angel happy and cared for. Her ex-husband Alec Stone is still trying to get credit for her photography, and her estranged parents drop an unexpected bombshell on her. There’s a killer shark in the area and someone is stealing dive tanks from RIO’s scuba shack. And it all falls to Fin to manage.
She certainly has her hands full. Will she find Gus and Theresa before it’s too late?
As ransom, the kidnapper asks for the exact amount of Gus’s potential reward payout from the salvage operation completed in Sunken Death. But RIO hasn’t received the payout yet, and the kidnapper insists the ransom must come from Gus’s share of the reward. No other funds will do. He calls every hour asking if they’ve received the money yet.
Until he doesn’t.
DS Scott and his team are on the case, and for once, they’ve asked for her help. She’s willing to pitch in, of course, but she has a pretty full plate of her own. She’s busy juggling her regular job, trying to bring RIO’s new CFO up to speed, and working hard to keep Angel happy and cared for. Her ex-husband Alec Stone is still trying to get credit for her photography, and her estranged parents drop an unexpected bombshell on her. There’s a killer shark in the area and someone is stealing dive tanks from RIO’s scuba shack. And it all falls to Fin to manage.
She certainly has her hands full. Will she find Gus and Theresa before it’s too late?
272 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2022
99 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 21, 2025
Deel 2 was leuker, ik miste Liam :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2022
Enthralling series! Fin’s still.. eh, Fin.
This series is truly engaging. A thrill ride. And unique in so many ways!
I love the twists & turns, & in Book 3 in particular there is something really special!
What the author came up with is so original I was blown away; I never saw it coming.
(I doubt anyone can/could!?!)
Sharon Ward’s aquatic world building clearly comes from her own firsthand experiences with everything the ocean & diving has to offer.
Both positive & negative, in rich living color (I know she brings me “right there” with the characters in the story- I can see & feel every detail), & with every book I lean new things via her knowledge of both the technical aspects of diving & boating as well as marine biology.
Through perfectly executed & sequenced events, tension continually builds. Spurred on even further by increasingly adrenaline-filled situations.
This 3rd book in the series, Dark Tide, is just as great as the 1st two. But it’s more of a “slow burner”; the action & plot build the longer you read. Whereas the 1st & 2nd books felt like the author’s foot was smashed down on the gas pedal from the 1st page until the last!
Now … although you’ve likely never read any of my other reviews prior to this one regarding this series, this is where I would “normally” state my opinion on Fin.
And though you’ve not read allllll the reasons I find her so unlikable, I’m tired of writing about her. It’s bad enough I have to read about her.
I will say this, however…..
Here we are at the end of Book 3. And Fin STILL has not yet matured an iota.
Fin remains the same spoiled, “poor me,” 12 year old girl in a woman’s body & adult world.
Two quick Fin “lowlights” from Book 3 you can look forward to (NOT spoilers…)…..
#1. How she reacts to a very lucrative, executive job offer. Like a giant, unprofessional, baby. It’s just bizarre. I’m shocked ANYONE wants to work with her really, no matter who her rich & famous parents x3 are.
#2. Oh that green monster of yours, Fin - it’s side-by-side with you all the way through this story once more.
My “favorite” in this category for Book 3, however— as Fin was unceasingly “burning with envy” due to all the usual suspects & situations again unfortunately — involved an infant.
Oh yes, that’s correct. Fin was alllll kinds of jammed up & bent out of shape because her father gave A BABY …. attention.
She even had to write in her diary about it to try & simmer down. (It didn’t work.)
(Hey? I wonder if Fin has a little lock & key for her diary? And she has sticker’s on the front with rainbows & stuff, that say, “Private Property!!”? You know, all that stuff you do when you’re 12….)
And yes, my eyes are certainly broken from all the eye rolling I suffer through! Lol
Anyway! Other than Fin’s insufferable immature, bratty, naïveté, total self-centeredness (+ massive insecurities), & knee jerk jealousy problems … that’s but a tiny blemish on what’s a awesomely phenomenal story overall!
I’m off to dive into Book 4 now.
I’m excited to see what surprises Sharon Ward’s wickedly creative imagination has conjured up for us next!
Based on the last three books … it could be anything?! I cannot wait!! :)
This series is truly engaging. A thrill ride. And unique in so many ways!
I love the twists & turns, & in Book 3 in particular there is something really special!
What the author came up with is so original I was blown away; I never saw it coming.
(I doubt anyone can/could!?!)
Sharon Ward’s aquatic world building clearly comes from her own firsthand experiences with everything the ocean & diving has to offer.
Both positive & negative, in rich living color (I know she brings me “right there” with the characters in the story- I can see & feel every detail), & with every book I lean new things via her knowledge of both the technical aspects of diving & boating as well as marine biology.
Through perfectly executed & sequenced events, tension continually builds. Spurred on even further by increasingly adrenaline-filled situations.
This 3rd book in the series, Dark Tide, is just as great as the 1st two. But it’s more of a “slow burner”; the action & plot build the longer you read. Whereas the 1st & 2nd books felt like the author’s foot was smashed down on the gas pedal from the 1st page until the last!
Now … although you’ve likely never read any of my other reviews prior to this one regarding this series, this is where I would “normally” state my opinion on Fin.
And though you’ve not read allllll the reasons I find her so unlikable, I’m tired of writing about her. It’s bad enough I have to read about her.
I will say this, however…..
Here we are at the end of Book 3. And Fin STILL has not yet matured an iota.
Fin remains the same spoiled, “poor me,” 12 year old girl in a woman’s body & adult world.
Two quick Fin “lowlights” from Book 3 you can look forward to (NOT spoilers…)…..
#1. How she reacts to a very lucrative, executive job offer. Like a giant, unprofessional, baby. It’s just bizarre. I’m shocked ANYONE wants to work with her really, no matter who her rich & famous parents x3 are.
#2. Oh that green monster of yours, Fin - it’s side-by-side with you all the way through this story once more.
My “favorite” in this category for Book 3, however— as Fin was unceasingly “burning with envy” due to all the usual suspects & situations again unfortunately — involved an infant.
Oh yes, that’s correct. Fin was alllll kinds of jammed up & bent out of shape because her father gave A BABY …. attention.
She even had to write in her diary about it to try & simmer down. (It didn’t work.)
(Hey? I wonder if Fin has a little lock & key for her diary? And she has sticker’s on the front with rainbows & stuff, that say, “Private Property!!”? You know, all that stuff you do when you’re 12….)
And yes, my eyes are certainly broken from all the eye rolling I suffer through! Lol
Anyway! Other than Fin’s insufferable immature, bratty, naïveté, total self-centeredness (+ massive insecurities), & knee jerk jealousy problems … that’s but a tiny blemish on what’s a awesomely phenomenal story overall!
I’m off to dive into Book 4 now.
I’m excited to see what surprises Sharon Ward’s wickedly creative imagination has conjured up for us next!
Based on the last three books … it could be anything?! I cannot wait!! :)
June 21, 2022
If you're looking for a fun new series, the Fin Fleming adventures are the best kind of escape reading. This book hooked me on page 1! I won't give anything away, but this was one of the creepiest - and I mean that in the best possible way - openings to a book that I've read in a long time. I was so immersed in this latest installment of Fin Fleming's adventures that I took a break from Netflix and devoured this book in one weekend! I really love all the characters but Fin steals the show. Do yourself a favor and order DARK TIDE and the other two books in the series.
October 19, 2023
This book had so much going on that I think all of the storylines suffered a little. As a diver myself, you have to accept that the author took some liberties on describing the diving scenes as some are just not realistic. At least she acknowledges the risks and complications in making risky decisions. Following Fin on this journey was fun, but less believable. It was a good story but I found myself skimming some parts.
April 20, 2023
Good but some problems
Kept me reading but some illogical plot and emotional reaction glitches. If my best friend was kidnapped and her baby left alone I would never have acted the way main character did.
Kept me reading but some illogical plot and emotional reaction glitches. If my best friend was kidnapped and her baby left alone I would never have acted the way main character did.
May 31, 2022
Love this series. It will be a long summer waiting for the next book in this series which won't release until late November! Can't wait for Fin's next chapter - Killer Storm.
July 22, 2022
Fully immersed…
in this entire mystery series. Can’t wait until book 4 to be reunited with Fin, Maddy & everyone else! The boats are as much of characters as the people.
in this entire mystery series. Can’t wait until book 4 to be reunited with Fin, Maddy & everyone else! The boats are as much of characters as the people.
February 9, 2023
Twisty! Couldn't put it down!
September 22, 2023
Love this series!
October 13, 2023
The story jumped the shark a little (pun intended), but still a satisfying read. A few too many stories running at once, but I can’t help it — I’ll read the next one I’m sure.
December 14, 2024
What a wild twist on an abduction for the main characters friends. A fun twist that I didn’t expect. Lots of action and good character building. Love this book
June 20, 2025
5 stars because for the first time ever in reading, I had no idea who the antagonist was. I had 2 other people as possibilities and wasn't even tracking the actual person- talk about shocked.
December 5, 2022
Another in the book series by Sharon Ward offers an escape from everyday life and into the scuba kingdom of Fin Fleming. Fin has a problem when her good friends, Gus and Lisa disappear and the police don't seem to be making headway with their investigation. This novel provides excellent descriptions of Fin's diving adventures and lots of interesting characters. A compelling read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews