Do you like a good police thriller? Then check out The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross, 'cos its definitely got the goods: lots of plot twists, character development that enhanced the plot without bogging it down, exotic Caribbean locales, and enough action to keep things moving without spinning them out of control. On the whole, its a nice balance of elements that makes this one of the better representatives of its genre.
Here's the skinny: Charles Friedman, a successful east-coast investment broker with a dark secret, tragically dies in a terrorist attack in Grand Central Station. His wife, beautiful and resourceful Karen, and his two kids are devastated. As they gradually pick up the pieces, they are suddenly approached by intimidating strangers that seek repayment for enormous sums of money that Charles seems to have lost or stolen. As their demands become more threatening, Karen turns to local detective Ty Hauck, who is investigating a seemingly unrelated hit-and-run that occured in Greenwich, Connecticut on the same day as the attack in New York City. Something about the victim, a red-haired young man named Abel Raymond, keys in on a tragic event in Ty's own personal history and won't let go of him. Gradually, evidence is uncovered that links the hit-and-run with the shady dealings of Karen's dead husband. Motivated by his crime-solving instincts, the growing mutual attraction between himself and Karen, and his own painful past, Detective Hauck starts to cross boundaries and break rules in his obsessive quest for the truth.
While this may all sound pretty familiar, the author handles the material with aplomb. The dialogue never seems over-the-top; it sounds like real people talking about real situations, though those situations are extraordinarily tense at times. Furthermore, the characters don't seems stereotyped even though, as a detective thriller, the book is by definition a bit formulaic. Andrew Gross seems to know how to add just enough character development to make us care about the characters without sacrificing the forward momentum of the plot, which as always is the key element in this genre. Yes, there is some violence and some sex and a few shocking twists, but these are measured in such a way that the book isn't ABOUT violence, sex and shock-value. There is a nice sense of maturity about this book.
On the whole, I found The Dark Tide to be an engrossing read. Check it out and see what you think!
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