Revenge of the Tide

May 10, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes was for me the hidden gem of the year and left me itching to read her next one. Just like in the debut novel the story centres on a female Genevieve who is forced to face her past. Genevieve has excaped her old life in London working as a sales exectutive by day and a pole dancer at a gentelman's club by night. Having saved up money she buys herself a houseboat and moves to Kent. Genevieve's hopes though of leaving the past behind are shattered when af...more Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes was for me the hidden gem of the year and left me itching to read her next one. Just like in the debut novel the story centres on a female Genevieve who is forced to face her past. Genevieve has excaped her old life in London working as a sales exectutive by day and a pole dancer at a gentelman's club by night. Having saved up money she buys herself a houseboat and moves to Kent. Genevieve's hopes though of leaving the past behind are shattered when after having a housewarming party with old friends from London and new ones at the boatyard a body washes up beside her boat. Genevieve recognises the body as her friend Caddy who she worked with at the club.

This event will destroy her thoughts of sanctuary at the boatyard and put her on edge as to why Caddy was killed. Genevieve's thoughts go to Dylan an employee at the club were she worked. When she had enough of working there it was Dylan who lent her the money to make up what was needed to get her boat and relocate. The only provision being that she had to take a parcel from him and he would collect it at another time. Clearly Genevieve had done something to convince Dylan she could not stay working at the club but what? Something that was confirmed when Genevieve was confronted by a group of men on her boat, one she recognises as a heavy from the club and bashed.

The best of part for me was the mystery of the story and characters. Clearly there was a connection with club and Caddy's death but what and why did Dylan give Genevieve the money and the package to look after? The Author cleverly goes back and forth from the present to Genevieve's time at the club, slowly revealing details while leaving things hanging for the ending. Into the Darkest Corner was always going to be a hard act to follow but overall the book doesnt disappoint. Once again the storyline and characters are very believable and with enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most picky murder mystery fans it all adds up to a great read. (less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Delee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointed-with-the-ending, psychological-thriller, owned, ebooks, reviewed

DARK TIDE introduces us to Genevieve Shipley- a women who is leaving behind her stressful life in London to live out her dream of living on a houseboat. The story moves smoothly back and forth from past and present. In Genevieve's past she had a high paying sales job and had also taken on a job as an erotic dancer in a club to make some extra cash fast. In present time she is living on her boat in Kent "Revenge of the Tides" and fixing it up herself. The book starts on the day of her house-warmi...more DARK TIDE introduces us to Genevieve Shipley- a women who is leaving behind her stressful life in London to live out her dream of living on a houseboat. The story moves smoothly back and forth from past and present. In Genevieve's past she had a high paying sales job and had also taken on a job as an erotic dancer in a club to make some extra cash fast. In present time she is living on her boat in Kent "Revenge of the Tides" and fixing it up herself. The book starts on the day of her house-warming (or should I say boat-warming party?) where her past and present friends are about to meet...after the party a body is found. It is someone from her past life, but how this body got there, and why, is something you will have to read the book to find out.

I liked this book. I didnt love it like I loved her last book HUMAN REMAINS, and I didn't absolutely loooooooove this book like I did her first book INTO THE DARKEST CORNER. It was surprising to me I didn't like it more, because out of all the the characters Elizabeth Haynes has written, this was the character I had the most in common with. I too bought a houseboat, gutted it, and with the help of people much handier than I am - fixed it up with the intention of on living on it. I also worked as a bartender for a lot of my adult life, and turned a blind eye to some of the seedier things going on behind the scenes, so I thought that out of the three books, this was going to be my favorite...but it wasnt.

The parts of this book that I ended up enjoying the most took place at the marina where Genevieve is surrounded by her new found "boat life" friends. A band of interesting characters that she quickly bonds with and become like family. This is what I had imagined (or hoped) my life would have been like (sans dead body) if I had actually moved on the boat full time. I liked Genevieve in this setting much more than when she was at the club dancing. "Exotic dancer Genevieve" got on my nerves. Her character was forever explaining that she started dancing at the club to raise lots of fast cash and because it was such great exercise, and also mentioned her slick moves on the pole each and every time she was dancing or about to dance- moves that nooooooooooobody else in the club was capable of doing. Yes I get it. The money is great, the exercise is wonderful, and nobody dances better than yooooou.

That being said this book is definitely worth the read- in my humble opinion.

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I thought my review might be more interesting with a photo of my boat (shout out to Karen for talking me through the uploading process.)

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Jan 11, 2013 Valentina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love a good thriller. Pretty much everyone does, so when I was given a chance to review this one, I gladly took it on. It wasn’t what I was expecting, not by a long shot.
The story starts out well, a bit slow in giving away details about the protagonist, but that happens sometimes in thrillers, to build up the suspense. The problem is that we never really get that suspense. The story moves from the past to the present, taking us back to Genevieve’s days as a stripper and bringing us to where sh...more

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Jun 12, 2013 Sandie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Genevieve has it made, or at least that's how it appears. Young and attractive, she has managed to buy a 70-foot barge that she is living on and renovating; taking a year off from working. Living on a boat has long been a dream of hers and her father, and he taught her carpentry when she was younger so that she can make it a reality.

But how does a young woman manage to raise the kind of money that purchases this dream? In Genevieve's case, she had a good job selling software. It paid well, but...more

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May 15, 2013 Simone Sinna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. I’m not even sure why, but somehow the unlikely mix a houseboat and a past life as a pole dancer, neither obvious attractions to an avid thriller reader, had me into Genevieve’s world and not wanting to leave it.
Doing up an old houseboat does have a sort of romantic appeal, she Haynes starts emerging us in there and it’s only because of the back cover blurb we know a body is going to turn up, but I wanted to keep reading anyway. The body does turn up,...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Sara Strand rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read her first book Into the Darkest Corner, which was absolutely amazing and I loved, I knew I was in for a suspense that wasn't going to work out the way I thought it would. What I hadn't planned on was for it to kind of take a turn to romance, which wasn't a bad thing- it was just unexpected.
The book is basically about Genevieve, who has a regular job during the day and after taking pole dancing classes for fun/exercise, finds herself introduced into the world of gentlemen's clubs. Sh...more Having read her first book Into the Darkest Corner, which was absolutely amazing and I loved, I knew I was in for a suspense that wasn't going to work out the way I thought it would. What I hadn't planned on was for it to kind of take a turn to romance, which wasn't a bad thing- it was just unexpected.
The book is basically about Genevieve, who has a regular job during the day and after taking pole dancing classes for fun/exercise, finds herself introduced into the world of gentlemen's clubs. She knows that she can make good money doing this and it would get her closer to her dream of buying, fixing up, and living on a house boat. What she doesn't know is that she is incredibly naive, is plunged into the dark and seedy world of backroom deals and where nothing is as simple as it seems. She meets Dylan, who is part bouncer, part grunt work guy who she can't read very well. She makes a friend, Caddy, who eventually ends up dead and floating alongside her boat.
All of the things that happen in this book you see coming- Genevieve is so incredibly naive and how she thought she could do parties and let things go a little further than pole dancing and it'd be all OK, I have no idea. What a moron. But what I absolutely, no way in hell, I could not believe it but it really happened- Dylan. Dude, I had NO IDEA about Dylan and I was flabbergasted. I had one theory that maybe he was a bad guy trying to turn good but no. It's not that, but I certainly didn't see it being what it was. Which, I'm not going to tell you because it clearly ruins it. What I don't understand is why Dylan is the way he is towards Genevieve at the very end. Is he always going to be a non-communicating asshole? Yikes.
But I absolutely loved this book. It didn't have the one liners in the book that literally haunted me and a story that scared the pants off of me like Into the Darkest Corner, but I think that means she's growing as a writer. She definitely has a talent with words and painting scenes and crafting a story around a female lead that has clear faults but is trying to hard to pull her hot mess together. Definitely an author on my favorites list.
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Mar 18, 2013 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Last year there was a ton of buzz around Haynes's debut release, INTO THE DARKEST CORNER. Having read it in just about one sitting (on an amazingly pretty afternoon here in CO), I can say that all of that buzz was warranted. INTO THE DARKEST CORNER was a pretty phenomenal and chilling read. You can imagine, then, that the expectations going into DARK TIDE were pretty high. Readers, I was not disappointed!

Genevieve has long dreamed of buying a boat - a houseboat she can live on and fix up and may...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Liz Wilkins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

I have recently re-read this book and as I did not review it previously, here we go. Genevieve has left her stressful life in London and now spends her days renovating her barge in Kent, socialising with other barge owners and generally enjoying a slower pace of life. After a "boatwarming" party, a body washes up against her barge, her two worlds collide and she is thrust into intrigue. At this point we begin to realise there is more to Genevieve's London life than we understood initially. Eliza...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Luanne Ollivier rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5/5
I read Elizabeth Hayne's debut novel, Into the Darkest Corner, last summer and really enjoyed it. I was quite eager to sink my teeth into her next book - Dark Tide. Haynes returns with another suspenseful tale of a woman in peril.

Genevieve is good at her sales job but it's going to be a long time before she saves enough money to pursue her dream - to buy a boat and live on it. So she decides to ramp things up and takes a job pole dancing at a private club in London. Just dancing, nothing ex...more 3.5/5
I read Elizabeth Hayne's debut novel, Into the Darkest Corner, last summer and really enjoyed it. I was quite eager to sink my teeth into her next book - Dark Tide. Haynes returns with another suspenseful tale of a woman in peril.

Genevieve is good at her sales job but it's going to be a long time before she saves enough money to pursue her dream - to buy a boat and live on it. So she decides to ramp things up and takes a job pole dancing at a private club in London. Just dancing, nothing extra.

Cut to the second narrative. Dream achieved - Genevieve has done it - she is living on and fixing up a barge. The night after a boat warming party with some old friends from London and new friends from the marina she's docked at, a strange bumping against her hull awakens her. It's a body in the water - and she knows who it is.

Through a dual set of narratives, we cut from present to past, all of it leading to the question - what happened in London?

I really enjoyed this format and the eking out of information as the back story slowly filled in and the present day hurtled forward. Haynes kept me quickly turning pages with her foreshadowing.

With Into the Darkest Corner, I became quite involved with Catherine, the lead character. In Dark Tide, I felt like more of an observer. Genevieve didn't garner quite the same emotional response from me. I found her to be self serving, shallow and I honestly questioned her decisions at times.

All the elements are here for a good read - danger, romance and unanswered questions. And it was a good read for me. It just didn't grip me as much as her first book. Dark Tide was written as part of 2010's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Although the book has, of course, been edited since then, it still felt a bit formulaic and by the numbers. I'm not sure if North American readers will be familiar with a genre of tell all British women's magazines such as Chat. They focus on real people telling their usually shocking true stories in a first person narrative. This is what Genevieve's recounting reminded me of.

I did enjoy the description of life on the boat and Genevieve's renovations - they sparked a daydream of a living on a houseboat! There were perhaps a few too many references to pole dancing techniques and moves.

But all in all, Dark Tide was a great escapist read, easily devoured in a day. I do like this author and will be eagerly waiting to read the North American release of her third book, Human Remains.
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Jan 30, 2013 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, mystery-thriller-suspense

Before reviewing the book, I'm offering a word of praise for the author's ability to write correctly. I'm a picky reader, and things like trite sayings, incomplete sentences, misused words and overused slang put me off. Ms. Haynes knows how to write, and I appreciate that. This isn't a literary work, so don't expect Jane Austen. I'm just saying that the author knows how to put a sentence together. This is a suspense novel, mostly told in the first person. I'm not sure I buy the underlying premis...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Veronica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: advance-reader-books, e-books

This is Elizabeth Haynes' second novel and she follows her pattern of the main character dealing with her past while furthering her story in the present. Genevieve is living on a boat she purchased herself and is slowly fixing up. The beginning of the story was a little boring. Genevieve throws a party and invites her old London friends and her new friends at the marina where her boat is docked. It is the same old story of the London friends thinking they are too good for the boat owners. It see...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Alison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: highly-recommended, read-in-2012

I thought Elizabeth Haynes' first novel, Into the Darkest Corner, was an amazing achievement for a new author and was even more surprised to discover that I knew the author via an online forum! But I approached this, her second book, with some trepidation - was the first novel beginners' luck, and how would this one ever compare? I'm pleased to say Revenge of the Tide is every bit as good as the first book and really demonstrates that the writer is extraordinary talented.

At the start of Revenge...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Victoria rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brit-lit, mystery-thriller

Haynes’ second novel, following Into the Darkest Corner, fails to exceed the excitement and suspense of her debut. It rambles overly long, and ultimately the plot’s insubstantial nature make it difficult to be invested in truly caring what happens to any of these rather two-dimensional characters. The story, similar to her first novel, flits back and forth between the heroine’s, Genevieve’s, current life on a houseboat and her former life in London as an account representative by day and a pole...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Into The Darkest Corner
By
Elizabeth Haynes

My " in a nutshell" summary...

A houseboat and a floating body...yikes!

My thoughts after reading this book...

I truly love to read English mysteries. This one began with a party and a dead body. Main character Genevieve left her full time career in business and her part time career in pole dancing to buy and renovate a houseboat. Yep...I found that concept a bit implausible, too.
In fact...I found the entire working at this "gentleman's club" and working "...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Ray Palen rated it 3 of 5 stars

With her sophomore effort, British novelist Elizabeth Haynes has fallen prey to the trap laid out by extremely high expectations following a terrific debut novel. INTO THE DARKEST CORNER was an instant international classic and one of the best thrillers of the past ten years. Detailing the horrors of an abusive relationship that novel pulled no punches and left quite an imprint on the reader.

With DARK TIDE, originally released in the U.K. as REVENGE OF THE TIDE, Haynes has created a solid, if so...more With her sophomore effort, British novelist Elizabeth Haynes has fallen prey to the trap laid out by extremely high expectations following a terrific debut novel. INTO THE DARKEST CORNER was an instant international classic and one of the best thrillers of the past ten years. Detailing the horrors of an abusive relationship that novel pulled no punches and left quite an imprint on the reader.

With DARK TIDE, originally released in the U.K. as REVENGE OF THE TIDE, Haynes has created a solid, if sometimes formulaic, thriller with a different kind of protagonist. Genevieve Shipley is a driven and determined woman trying to find her place in the world. She worked at a boring, dead-end office job during the day and then began to moonlight at a Gentleman’s Club called The Barclay to make some extra cash.

Genevieve’s dream is to own a houseboat and live on it. To escape the hustle and bustle of London and dock her ship in the port of some sleepy British village. She does so well as an exotic dancer that she no longer needs her day job and resigns it without notice. It wouldn’t be a thriller without danger and there are plenty of dangerous characters involved with The Barclay.

The boss, a gruff bloke named Fitz, is prone to having some of his special clients over for private parties and dinners where only the most select dancers are invited. Assisting Fitz is his ‘bodyguard’, a large fellow named Dylan. Genevieve begins to become one of Fitz’s top employees and that puts her directly in contact with some clients who do not have the best of intentions.

Dylan and Genevieve begin to show feelings for each other and he wants to get her away from Fitz and the club. He offers to spot her 50K to help her get her boat and only asks that she take a ‘package’ of his with her and keep it unopened and hidden until he contacts her on a private cell phone and requests it.

Genevieve purchases her houseboat, curiously named Revenge of the Tide, and puts The Barclay behind her. She decides to throw a party on her new floating home and invites a mix of London chums and fellow houseboat neighbors. Unfortunately, Genevieve’s past literally catches up with her as the party is disrupted by a floating body that has washed up next to it. The corpse looks very much like a fellow dancer from The Barclay who had been invited to the party. Thus begins the thriller portion of DARK TIDE as Genevieve finds herself completely in the dark as to what is happening and trapped between a police investigator she instantly falls for, thugs who tie her up and wreck her boat, calls from the mysteriously absent Dylan about his package and overly curious neighbors who put their noses where they shouldn’t.

DARK TIDE is a decent read and Haynes’ writing keeps things suspenseful. It’s just difficult to figure out the motivation of her protagonist, Genevieve, who should be a little less clueless as to the circumstances she finds herself in. Most dangerous of all, DARK TIDE falls prey to the Achilles heel that derails many well-intentioned thrillers, it has too much heart.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader
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Mar 07, 2012 Lindsay (Little Reader Library) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction

'I wasn't a victim, though, was I? Not yet, anyway.'

Revenge of the Tide introduces us to Genevieve Shipley, a young woman who, as we meet her, is enjoying the life she had dreamed of; she is living on a barge at a marina on the river Medway in Kent, working away at decorating and renovating it to her requirements, and socialising contentedly with the other 'liveaboard' folk who are moored up nearby. It's an entire world away from her previous lifestyle in London, where she worked in a pressurise...more 'I wasn't a victim, though, was I? Not yet, anyway.'

Revenge of the Tide introduces us to Genevieve Shipley, a young woman who, as we meet her, is enjoying the life she had dreamed of; she is living on a barge at a marina on the river Medway in Kent, working away at decorating and renovating it to her requirements, and socialising contentedly with the other 'liveaboard' folk who are moored up nearby. It's an entire world away from her previous lifestyle in London, where she worked in a pressurised, constantly demanding sales environment during the day, and as a high earning pole dancer in an exclusive gentleman's club at night. As the novel opens, Genevieve is preparing for a boat-warming party that she's hosting that evening, and she has invited new friends from the other boats, and also some old friends from her life back in London; as she admits to herself, it's a 'mismatched group of people'. But when she makes a horrifying discovery that night, a body washed up right by her barge, the old life she thought she had left behind five months ago intrudes on the new, and her hard-earned peace and safety is shattered.

Into the Darkest Corner was the first novel by Elizabeth Haynes, and it was Amazon's Best Book of the Year 2011. It was also my personal favourite book of 2011, an absolutely cracking read that I have happily recommended to many fellow readers and will continue to do so. Therefore, to say that I was excited in my anticipation of the author's next book would be an understatement. I was also a bit nervous; how would the author follow on from her debut, would I enjoy it, would I find it compelling too? The answer to both is a definite yes.

I found the storyline gripping and I finished the book in a couple of sittings, kept intrigued by the way that what happened in the past is slowly revealed bit by bit as the novel progresses, the narrative moving from the present to the past, back and forth, building up our curiosity and the suspense about what Genevieve was involved in back then. Back in the present, the investigation into the body found at the marina continues, another alarming discovery is made, and the calm life aboard becomes anything but for Genevieve. The novel's title is also the name of the boat Genevieve has bought; upon purchase she learned that it is unlucky to change the name, so she keeps it as the Revenge of the Tide, and she loves the boat, seeing it as her protector; 'living aboard such a majestic, beautiful boat made me feel a bit safer, a bit less lonely. And it looked after me and hid me away from view. Boats were supposed to be female, but I always thought of the Revenge as male: a big, quiet gentleman, someone who would keep me safe.' Nevertheless, however homely the barge seemed to be becoming, it feels like the name is rather ominous, and Genevieve's need to feel safe and hidden now reveals a little about her feelings for the past.

I was intrigued by Genevieve herself; she is strong and independent, determinedly driven by the thought of her future escape to life on the boat, but despite this strength, she is flawed and naive too at times; she believes she has a handle on everything and everyone, but there is a darker, crueler side to some that she hadn't suspected. Somehow she sustains the demanding schedule of her day job and the evenings dancing, keeping her fit, enjoying it and providing such a fast way for her to raise the money she needs to fund her dream. The dialogue really flows well, the police questioning rings true, and the author creates and fleshes out rounded characters too; I could picture Genevieve visiting Malcolm and Josie along the pontoon. I really enjoyed Revenge of the Tide. Roll on novel number three, please!
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Apr 02, 2013 Kelly Hager rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like her first book, Into the Darkest Corner, this book is almost relentless. It's not as creepy as that one was, but I was still completely enthralled.

Also like her first book, this book goes back and forth in time. We see Genevieve in trouble and while we see the effects of that trouble, we also see the actions that led up to it.

I loved Genevieve. She's nervous---because who wouldn't be? She's attacked and she knows that she's dealing with dangerous people---but she's also one of those people...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Sandie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-books, brit-lit, contemporary-lit, thrillers-and-mystery

More a character study in the eccentricities of the human animal than a murder mystery, DARK TIDE by Elizabeth Haynes is definitely not a page turner. It is more an examination of the life choices made by ex-sales representative and part time pole dancer (also ex) Genevieve Shipley, and how they are affecting her present pursuits. She has sought sanctuary and solace from the pressures of life in London by purchasing a houseboat with the money she earned in the course of practicing her dual profe...more

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May 04, 2012 Beadyjan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: psychological-chillers

Exciting writing - This author certainly has the knack of grabbing your attention and immersing you in the storyline. Like her first book
Into the Darkest Corner she builds tension and suspense from the events surrounding a woman getting herself into a sticky situation and trying to extricate herself, whilst very humanly not always making the decisions which are best for her.

The "revenge of the tide" is the name of a boat which Genevieve has bought, in a bid to escape the rat race, and renovate....more Exciting writing - This author certainly has the knack of grabbing your attention and immersing you in the storyline. Like her first book
Into the Darkest Corner she builds tension and suspense from the events surrounding a woman getting herself into a sticky situation and trying to extricate herself, whilst very humanly not always making the decisions which are best for her.

The "revenge of the tide" is the name of a boat which Genevieve has bought, in a bid to escape the rat race, and renovate. Leaving her previous high flying life in London and her old acquaintances and friends behind, she is living on the boat which she has only partly renovated.

When she throws a boatwarming party and invites a few of her city friends she's not sure whether they'll mix well with her new boatyard chums, but all seems to go fairly well - until she is woken early the next day by the sound of something bumping against the hull - only to discover a body and it looks familiar ....

We jump back and forth with consummate ease between today and a couple of years earlier where her double life in London is gradually revealed as something slightly risque - and risky! She treats many of her so called friends with such scant regard its hardly surprising she got herself on the wrong side of so many people - yet these very human frailties made her all the more real.

Events begin to spiral out of control and it seems that her old life has followed her and someone may be bearing a grudge against her.

The book made fabulous reading - a real page turner and virtually unputdownable. The only reason I have given it 4 rather than 5/5 is that I felt some of her motives were so questionable I was unable to work out why she made some of her decisions - I didn't really quite get her sheer desperation to renovate a boat and her willingness do do almost anything to achieve this. Also the ending was just a teeny touch unsatisfactory and left me wondering just what would happen to one or two of the characters I had really grown to like a lot (and she seemed to have done too) who suddenly didn't seem to be of any importance to her at all.(less)

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May 22, 2013 Lynne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok … so I need to stop comparing Elizabeth Haynes’ novels to her first one “Into the Darkest Corner” – which I personally thought was a wonderfully complex suspenseful thriller. “Dark Tide” was a disappointment. I wanted to like it. I really did. But frankly … reading about a stripper who decides to escape London to fix up a boat and keeps wondering “what that mysterious package” she is holding onto is … but never looks at it … just doesn’t do it for me. I can’t fault Haynes on her research – I’...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Simon Lipson rated it 4 of 5 stars

I actually preferred this book to Haynes's feted debut novel, Into The Darkest Corner. ITDC was, I felt, a little too self-conscious, a little over-written, a little bit 'thriller-by-numbers'. She certainly succeeded in conveying a pervasive claustrophobic gloom, but in sticking so religiously to her present day/past toggling, the book became repetitive and in need of a good edit. In Revenge, you can feel the author relaxing into her prose and her characters. She uses the present day/past concei...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Soma "Insomnia Of Books" rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I dove blindly into this book. I had not idea what it was about, or who the author was, nothing. Well, I liked some parts, some other parts were just not my cup of tea.
Genevieve escaped her London life and moved to an isolated boat in a little town for many reasons. One of them being associated with a mysterious package in her boat. But the past is never too far behind, and when one night, she invites her old friends to a party on her boat, everything starts to unravel...
The plot is the one t...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, physical-copy, three-star-reviews

See more reviews at The Best Books Ever!

Dark Tide is a mystery following Genevieve, a former Londoner who quit her high-powered sales job to follow her dream and move out onto a houseboat to get away from it all. She also leads a bit of a double life -- in order to more quickly achieve that dream, she takes up a second job dancing at a gentlemen's club. The book bounces back and forth between the present, where Genevieve is dealing with the fallout from discovering the body of a friend from the...more See more reviews at The Best Books Ever!

Dark Tide is a mystery following Genevieve, a former Londoner who quit her high-powered sales job to follow her dream and move out onto a houseboat to get away from it all. She also leads a bit of a double life -- in order to more quickly achieve that dream, she takes up a second job dancing at a gentlemen's club. The book bounces back and forth between the present, where Genevieve is dealing with the fallout from discovering the body of a friend from the club, and the past, as we follow Genevieve as she manages her two jobs and all of the chaos that happens when the two accidentally wind up mixing.

The jumping back and forth in time can be somewhat confusing. At least in the ARC I reviewed, there weren't always clear indications of when these time shifts were happening, so sometimes I'd move into a new section thinking "but so-and-so wasn't at Genevieve's boat" or otherwise being confused. Those sort of shifts in narration are almost always tricky, so it would have been nice even if there was just a nice little line divider or something other than some extra spacing.

Genevieve is an interesting character who can be difficult to like at times. On one hand, she is determined to get her way and live her dream -- she is going to live on this houseboat and she is not going to let anything stop her. She is educated and is pretty no-nonsense. On the other hand, she can be frustratingly naive -- she seems to have no idea what she's gotten herself into at the club she dances at, and I feel like a lot of her problems in the "present day" part of the story could have been avoided if she'd been more truthful and less stubborn. The way she's written, she just comes across as very disconnected, so sometimes it's hard to sympathize with her, even when bad things are happening.

I did like the look at Genevieve's dual life -- her all-business persona when she was dancing at the club, compared with her more laid back lifestyle with her fellow house-boat friends at the marina. And it was neat to try to put the pieces together to figure out what was going on, who was after Genevieve, etc. There were a few aspects which were obvious, and some which I didn't see coming. One character, I was suspicious of from the first time he appeared -- fortunately, I wasn't completely right with my guesses on that one, but he still wasn't acting entirely out of the goodness of his own heart. I was a little bit unsatisfied with the ending -- I didn't buy the romance aspect to the story, and the ending really hinges on that, so other readers may not be annoyed by it.

This book does have a fair amount of violence (to people mostly, and one animal), drinking/drug use, and sexual situations (though nothing described too graphically). Elizabeth Haynes' previous novels, Human Remains and Into the Darkest Corner, have gotten pretty excellent reviews, and I'm hoping to check those ones out in the future too.(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Julie (julie37619) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Genevieve has always dreamed of owning a houseboat, and her increasing dissatisfaction with her job and life in the city drives her to make some quick cash as a dancer at a high-end gentleman's club. Things go according to plan until the night her boss shows up and recognizes her. She agrees to hide a mysterious package for a bouncer at the club in exchange for fast cash - her ticket out of London. But just a few weeks after she has settled into a quiet life on her houseboat, a body washes up at...more Genevieve has always dreamed of owning a houseboat, and her increasing dissatisfaction with her job and life in the city drives her to make some quick cash as a dancer at a high-end gentleman's club. Things go according to plan until the night her boss shows up and recognizes her. She agrees to hide a mysterious package for a bouncer at the club in exchange for fast cash - her ticket out of London. But just a few weeks after she has settled into a quiet life on her houseboat, a body washes up at her dock - a face from the past - and her newly found peaceful life turns into a nightmare.

Writing
I chose to review this one based on my love for Haynes' debut novel, Into The Darkest Corner. I was really impressed with her first novel, but I wasn't as blown away by this one. I liked the characters fine and I really liked the plot, but nothing jumped out at me as being above average for the genre. Also, I was bothered by Genevieve's love interest and the way their story developed. I didn't feel like their back story justified her level of devotion to him. I would have liked to see more of a basis for their intense feelings.

Entertainment Value
While I wasn't as impressed with the writing in this one, I definitely thought the suspense and plot were as entertaining. I was into the story, liked all of the characters, and cared about the outcome. It kept me up late at night and I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading, which are two ways I know I'm reading a good thriller.

Overall
If you like the thriller genre or if you enjoyed Into The Darkest Corner, I recommend it. As much as I liked the story, I had a few qualms about the way the sex industry is portrayed. It's nothing that I haven't seen in many other books, but it's kind of a trend I've noticed in fiction and don't really like - the sex industry portrayed as a lucrative and empowering choice for women. I think I'm going to do a full post on my feelings on it in the future, but for now I'll just say that I think the percentage of women involved in the sex industry who are making lots of money and are participating in it by choice despite the wide range of opportunities they have is minuscule compared to the number of books that depict it that way.(less)

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Mar 20, 2013 June rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First off I would like to thank Harper books for giving me this opportunity to read this sophomore effort by Haynes. I received my copy for free through Goodreads read first program. I did not read her debut novel but after Dark Tide I feel inclined to do so. Dark Tide begins rather slowly and then picks up pace after the discovery of a floating body. It revolves around a main character named Genevieve, she keeps her secrets closed to the audience and as the story unfolds so does she. At first y...more First off I would like to thank Harper books for giving me this opportunity to read this sophomore effort by Haynes. I received my copy for free through Goodreads read first program. I did not read her debut novel but after Dark Tide I feel inclined to do so. Dark Tide begins rather slowly and then picks up pace after the discovery of a floating body. It revolves around a main character named Genevieve, she keeps her secrets closed to the audience and as the story unfolds so does she. At first you come to realize Genevieve has changed her life dramatically, moving from London and quitting her job to renovate and move onto a houseboat.
Later you realize the purchase of the houseboat has more to do with Genevieve's personal background rather than the mystery itself. Chronologically the reader is moved forward after Genevieve has been living on the houseboat for several months. After a body is found floating near the docked boat you are introduced to some of the main characters through flashbacks. Without giving many spoilers the reader starts unraveling the type of lifestyle that Genevieve was partaking in while living in London.
The story itself is well plotted and the flashbacks are interspersed at good points, allowing for a suspenseful mystery to unravel. The characters themselves though are not overly "fleshed out", so to speak. This was the main area that I felt that Haynes could have been more exhaustive in. I would like to have seen a more emotional insight into Genevieve. She is an intelligent character yet makes some very unintelligent decisions. What was the compelling force behind her actions to lead a double life and take some calculated risks to achieve a life change that she desired? With a little more patience she would have still been able to achieve the change but without any of the risks. What really led her to be so reckless? Those were the things that made me hesitate while reading, I wanted a clearer picture of Genevieve's mental state. Other than that, Dark Tide is an enjoyable and easy read. I loved Haynes locational descriptions and a glimpse into the daily life on a houseboat. I think she did a superb job of making a simple plot with characters that showed flaws but at the same time had redeemable moments. Also it allowed readers to look into the underbelly of crime in London. She did not glamorize the criminal lifestyle. She did allow readers to understand that people that get involved in such things are not always what they appear to be. If you enjoy a slow unraveling of past indiscretions than I think you too will enjoy Dark Tide.(less)

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Jun 12, 2013 Melissa Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Elizabeth Haynes does it again with Dark Tide (interestingly enough, the version I read was titled "Revenge of the Tide". Genevieve is a software salesperson by day who finds a second job at night to find ways to earn more money so she can live her childhood dream. The circumstances surrounding her past is a mystery until she reveals it, little by little, to uncover her past, and a dangerous world that came with it. Again, Haynes manages to capture the reader's imagination and attention and Dark...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Alexis Villery rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Genevieve has settled into her new life remodeling her new home and boat, Revenge of the Tide. She's left her sales job, her pervert boss, and her secret night job and finally earned a year of peace. She's content live on her boat and connect with the small residential boating community. Things change when an old friend's body washes up next to Genevieve's boat. Convinced that her past is finally catching up with her, Genevieve tries to reconnect to her past while keeping her knowledge from the...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

A lot of reviews claimed that this book, Haynes’ second book, was nowhere near as good as her debut novel. Despite this, I really enjoyed the book; the characters were well written, and the story unfolded very nicely, tying in past and current events in a compelling way. The action was well thought out, and the sense of suspense throughout worked well. I was a little disappointed at how the book ended; I felt that a lot of interesting ideas were not tied up or given any conclusion, rather left f...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received an ARC through a Goodreads FirstReads giveaway.

From the description, I was expecting a typical thriller: lots of action and not much else. Instead, I found a slow-burner of a suspense novel with a bit of romance. Haynes has an engaging voice that made it very easy to sink completely into the story, and the main character, Genevieve, is certainly relate-able.

I loved the two main settings of the book: the marina, and the Barclay. Neither houseboats or private mens' clubs are things I kn...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Lin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is another book that I've been avoiding because the good reviews I've heard come with the added "author...friend of mine..." that tend to make me wary, and again I've been pleasantly surprised. This is the author's second book, a slow thriller that starts with a dead body washed up next to a houseboat. The story is told in two timelines: we hear of Genevieve's reaction to the body being found,and we also hear about her past, and how she came to be on the houseboat in the first place. The tw...more

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