The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd | Book Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd
Published by Transworld Books on June 24, 2021
ISBN: 9781473568914
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Suspense, Action & Adventure, Crime, Family Life, General, Women, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Psychological, Domestic, Literary
Pages: 400
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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'Beautifully written, incredibly evocative with a real sense of place and of the sea. Heart-stoppingly tense' Catherine Cooper, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CHALET
The new pulse-pounding thriller from the bestselling author of THE MEMORY WOOD.******
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, 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 . . .
******
Praise for Sam Lloyd:
'Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent.' Daily Mail
'Stunning prose and compulsive reading.' Lesley Kara
'An intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller.' Shari Lapena
'A beautifully written, fast-paced thriller.' Heat
'A darkly chilling and original novel . . . a series of twists keeps readers captivated until a shocking climax.' Daily Express
'Brilliant writing, a terrifying story, and characters so real it feels like you know them.' Samantha Downing
'A truly chilling story.' Woman & Home

“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.

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ABOUT SAM LLOYD

Sam Lloyd grew up in Hampshire, making up stories and building secret hideaways in his local woods. These days he lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and a dog that likes to howl. The Memory Wood, his debut thriller, has sold in fifteen international territories and has been optioned for film.

Website

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