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Seychelle Sullivan #5
Mourning Tide
Amazon #1 bestselling author Christine Kling returns to the waters of Florida and the Bahamas!
Mourning Tide is the first Seychelle Sullivan novel in over a decade. This sequel to Wreckers' Key begins deep in the waters of a Florida swamp where a more mature Seychelle is working aboard her salvage tug Gorda with her five-year-old son, Nestor. When she and B.J. adopted the boy, she promised herself that she would stop the reckless chasing after justice for those she loved. But when they raise the wreck of a derelict powerboat, and she discovers human bones inside, the powerful urge to find the killer takes hold of her once more.
From the heated streets of Fort Lauderdale to the crystalline waters of the Bahamas, Seychelle follows the trail of an evil out to strip her of everything she holds dear.
Mourning Tide is the first Seychelle Sullivan novel in over a decade. This sequel to Wreckers' Key begins deep in the waters of a Florida swamp where a more mature Seychelle is working aboard her salvage tug Gorda with her five-year-old son, Nestor. When she and B.J. adopted the boy, she promised herself that she would stop the reckless chasing after justice for those she loved. But when they raise the wreck of a derelict powerboat, and she discovers human bones inside, the powerful urge to find the killer takes hold of her once more.
From the heated streets of Fort Lauderdale to the crystalline waters of the Bahamas, Seychelle follows the trail of an evil out to strip her of everything she holds dear.
294 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2017
About the author
Christine Kling
27 books207 followersI have spent more than forty years enjoying “simply messing about with boats”―as Rat said to Mole in The Wind in the Willows. I've been a boat wife, mother and captain of my own boat. I've had articles and stories published in many publications including Cruising World, Sailing!, and The Tiller and the Pen, Gulfstream Magazine and Miami Noir. My first four novels are in a series about Florida female tugboat captain, Seychelle Sullivan.
As a techie person, I am intrigued by the fast changes occurring in the publishing industry and I'm trying my hand at self-publishing. I self-published CIRCLE OF BONES, a big international thriller set in the Caribbean, and SEA BITCH, a small collection of four short stories. Thomas & Mercer then offered me a 3-book contract for a re-issue of BONES, as well as the next two books in that trilogy. The new edition debuted on Feb. 19, 2013. The second book in what I now call the Shipwreck Adventures series is called DRAGON'S TRIANGLE, and the third book in the series, KNIGHT'S CROSS was released in 2015.
Today, my husband Wayne and I, along with Barney, the Yorkshire Terror and Ruby, the Wonder Dog, are living a nomadic life as we design and build our next boat.
As a techie person, I am intrigued by the fast changes occurring in the publishing industry and I'm trying my hand at self-publishing. I self-published CIRCLE OF BONES, a big international thriller set in the Caribbean, and SEA BITCH, a small collection of four short stories. Thomas & Mercer then offered me a 3-book contract for a re-issue of BONES, as well as the next two books in that trilogy. The new edition debuted on Feb. 19, 2013. The second book in what I now call the Shipwreck Adventures series is called DRAGON'S TRIANGLE, and the third book in the series, KNIGHT'S CROSS was released in 2015.
Today, my husband Wayne and I, along with Barney, the Yorkshire Terror and Ruby, the Wonder Dog, are living a nomadic life as we design and build our next boat.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 25, 2017
I was thrilled to see that Christine Kling has resurrected the Seychelle Sullivan series. It was one of my favorites when I first started reading mysteries and has not disappointed with this latest installment.
Mourning Tide picks up a few years after the last book with Seychelle on her tugboat in Ft. Lauderdale, FL finding a body on the sailboat she is salvaging. The ensuing mystery takes the reader into the life of evangelical big-money Churches and through the Abacos islands of the Bahamas. This sums up the story but does not begin to describe what a great storyteller Kling is. I was immediately pulled into the story and kept turning pages long into the night. Kling is a master of place in her books. She sets the scene and anchors her stories with such precision and exact details that there is no doubt she has well-researched her surroundings and has lived many aspects of the tales. This is the mark of a great storyteller.
I have loved this series for a long time and know you will too.
Victoria Allman
author of: SEAsoned: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain
Mourning Tide picks up a few years after the last book with Seychelle on her tugboat in Ft. Lauderdale, FL finding a body on the sailboat she is salvaging. The ensuing mystery takes the reader into the life of evangelical big-money Churches and through the Abacos islands of the Bahamas. This sums up the story but does not begin to describe what a great storyteller Kling is. I was immediately pulled into the story and kept turning pages long into the night. Kling is a master of place in her books. She sets the scene and anchors her stories with such precision and exact details that there is no doubt she has well-researched her surroundings and has lived many aspects of the tales. This is the mark of a great storyteller.
I have loved this series for a long time and know you will too.
Victoria Allman
author of: SEAsoned: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain
November 9, 2017
Always a good read
Christine always delivers and this was a great book. The only thing I didn't like was how she made the Reverend and his wife racist religious fanatics from NC. I know it had to be that way but I'm from NC and I just hope people know they don't stand for the majority. Hopefully not based on true experiences she has had with NC folks.
Christine always delivers and this was a great book. The only thing I didn't like was how she made the Reverend and his wife racist religious fanatics from NC. I know it had to be that way but I'm from NC and I just hope people know they don't stand for the majority. Hopefully not based on true experiences she has had with NC folks.
February 22, 2018
I won this book on a "Good Reads" giveaway. Thanks to the author. I am so glad I got this!
The twist at the end raised this book to 5* even though I figured who may have been the killer. I was not centered though with the one who did do it. I was leery of anyone being guilty but the main character and her boyfriend? ( I do not know if this is a mistake or not, but he was called husband and also fiance/boyfriend at different times.)
This is more of a cozy steady pace mystery. I am not much of a "cozy" mystery reader, but this one was good. It was a great book to take a break from the more violent gory reads. I also do not know if I have ever read a book in the setting where the story took place in and this part of the world.
I was also taken with the action at the end. It ends like many books with crime and investigation, but it did not go on and on to the extreme like some. Sometimes that can be pulled off, but at times you are hoping to tie up the loose ends in a shorter amount of time.
Seychelle ( A cool name I have never heard prior.) (It is so cute what she is called by the little boy in the story with using this name.) was a strong female lead. Stable; Though I did get an instinct towards danger for her with one decision it seemed she should have been more wary of. But of course, in fiction, this is bound to happen especially with a female lead.
I would like to read the first 4 books in the series and though some would like to read them first for background, I had no problem reading it as a standalone.
The twist at the end raised this book to 5* even though I figured who may have been the killer. I was not centered though with the one who did do it. I was leery of anyone being guilty but the main character and her boyfriend? ( I do not know if this is a mistake or not, but he was called husband and also fiance/boyfriend at different times.)
This is more of a cozy steady pace mystery. I am not much of a "cozy" mystery reader, but this one was good. It was a great book to take a break from the more violent gory reads. I also do not know if I have ever read a book in the setting where the story took place in and this part of the world.
I was also taken with the action at the end. It ends like many books with crime and investigation, but it did not go on and on to the extreme like some. Sometimes that can be pulled off, but at times you are hoping to tie up the loose ends in a shorter amount of time.
Seychelle ( A cool name I have never heard prior.) (It is so cute what she is called by the little boy in the story with using this name.) was a strong female lead. Stable; Though I did get an instinct towards danger for her with one decision it seemed she should have been more wary of. But of course, in fiction, this is bound to happen especially with a female lead.
I would like to read the first 4 books in the series and though some would like to read them first for background, I had no problem reading it as a standalone.
December 15, 2022
At the end of my review of Wreckers’ Key, I said I hoped Kling would write more books featuring Seychelle Sullivan. She delivered.
Seychelle, owner of a tug boat and marine salvage business, with the help of her lover/companion BJ, refloats a sunken boat only to find a skull on board, a skull that quickly is identified as belonging to the missing sister of a friend. Seychelle sets out to find out what happened to the young woman.
Kling keeps the tension low-key throughout most of the book, keeping the reader alert and on-edge, wondering what will happen next. Then she ramps it sky high when it looks like Seychelle could lose everyone she loves.
The book ends on a note that could mean this will be the last Seychelle Sullivan book. Or it could mean future books will be going in a different direction.
I hope this isn’t the last book.
Seychelle, owner of a tug boat and marine salvage business, with the help of her lover/companion BJ, refloats a sunken boat only to find a skull on board, a skull that quickly is identified as belonging to the missing sister of a friend. Seychelle sets out to find out what happened to the young woman.
Kling keeps the tension low-key throughout most of the book, keeping the reader alert and on-edge, wondering what will happen next. Then she ramps it sky high when it looks like Seychelle could lose everyone she loves.
The book ends on a note that could mean this will be the last Seychelle Sullivan book. Or it could mean future books will be going in a different direction.
I hope this isn’t the last book.
January 21, 2019
Mourning Tide by Christine Kling is book 5 of the Seychelle Sullivan mystery series, set in contemporary Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Together with her partner B.J., Seychelle is dedicated to raising their adopted son Nestor. Nestor's father was murdered, his mother Catalina died giving birth. Seychelle's top priority is keeping Nestor safe, so she turns down salvage assignments that seem potentially dangerous.
Raising an old wreck that has drifted into the mainstream of a river, a hazard to other boats, seems straightforward. She sets out on her salvage boat Gorda to tow in the wreck, with "co-captain" Nestor and her trusty dog Abaco. As the wreck rises, she discovers human bones aboard. Suddenly she's in the middle of a crime scene again. Seychelle wants to leave crime detection up to law enforcement, but when her friends are endangered, she must act. The victim from the wreck is Grace, a friend's daughter. Seychelle is consumed by guilt that she didn't save the girl years ago. She leaves Nestor in B.J.'s capable care, and investigates the events back when Grace went missing. She learns disturbing facts about a cult evangelist and his employees, many of whom go missing or die "accidentally".
On a cruise in the Bahamas with B.J. and Nestor, Seychelle has a double agenda: quality time with her family, but also to keep tabs on the evangelist. When Seychelle, B.J. and Nestor are kidnapped, Seychelle must outwit a desperate and clever killer to save her family.
Raising an old wreck that has drifted into the mainstream of a river, a hazard to other boats, seems straightforward. She sets out on her salvage boat Gorda to tow in the wreck, with "co-captain" Nestor and her trusty dog Abaco. As the wreck rises, she discovers human bones aboard. Suddenly she's in the middle of a crime scene again. Seychelle wants to leave crime detection up to law enforcement, but when her friends are endangered, she must act. The victim from the wreck is Grace, a friend's daughter. Seychelle is consumed by guilt that she didn't save the girl years ago. She leaves Nestor in B.J.'s capable care, and investigates the events back when Grace went missing. She learns disturbing facts about a cult evangelist and his employees, many of whom go missing or die "accidentally".
On a cruise in the Bahamas with B.J. and Nestor, Seychelle has a double agenda: quality time with her family, but also to keep tabs on the evangelist. When Seychelle, B.J. and Nestor are kidnapped, Seychelle must outwit a desperate and clever killer to save her family.
July 15, 2017
I read the Wreckers’ Key 10 months ago and was elated to receive its sequel, Mourning Tide, the fifth in the Seychelles Sullivan series. Like the author’s Shipwreck Adventures and the other works in this series, an exciting story is interwoven with complex characters and enriched with the author’s knowledge of local history, geography and, of course, sailing. The story flows so easily and keeps the reader absorbed in it because the author has lived and sailed in the locales where the action takes place. I heartily recommend the book and look forward to more from Christine Kling.
August 1, 2018
Wonderful Series
The five books of Seychelle Sullivan's adventures are so beautifully written with mystery and mayhem that the reader simply cannot put them down. The characters grow and develop in such a way, they become real. The adventures have twists that keep you guessing and enough suspense to keep you reading long past your bedtime.
I highly recommend this series, you'll love sailing over the ocean and enjoying all the beautifully described scenery.
The five books of Seychelle Sullivan's adventures are so beautifully written with mystery and mayhem that the reader simply cannot put them down. The characters grow and develop in such a way, they become real. The adventures have twists that keep you guessing and enough suspense to keep you reading long past your bedtime.
I highly recommend this series, you'll love sailing over the ocean and enjoying all the beautifully described scenery.
April 10, 2019
So good to be back in Seychelle's world. Kling delivers another solid, well-plotted mystery and gives us an update on her little family. B.J. & Nestor are wonderfully drawn characters.
Seychelle, having promised her friend she'd try to find his missing sister, intrudes into a strange group who are not at all what they seem and winds up endangering her family.
Seychelle, having promised her friend she'd try to find his missing sister, intrudes into a strange group who are not at all what they seem and winds up endangering her family.
May 25, 2018
Above Time
This is so fine a series. If you can start at 1 and read all through, do. I love FL and the coast and boats and to to have a woman captain is just the thing. And a mystery too!
This is so fine a series. If you can start at 1 and read all through, do. I love FL and the coast and boats and to to have a woman captain is just the thing. And a mystery too!
January 24, 2020
Well Spun Tale
Well constructed plot, believable characters, and well supported dealing language. Enjoyable from first to last page, looking forward to more in the Seychelle saga......
I
Well constructed plot, believable characters, and well supported dealing language. Enjoyable from first to last page, looking forward to more in the Seychelle saga......
I
May 19, 2020
What a great series!
I have enjoyed the characters in this series immensely. The story line is fantastic. The locations described are like going on vacation and having a great adventure. Thanks for writing these books. Hope to see the story continue some day!
I have enjoyed the characters in this series immensely. The story line is fantastic. The locations described are like going on vacation and having a great adventure. Thanks for writing these books. Hope to see the story continue some day!
November 26, 2022
Decent read...
It is obvious that Ms. Kling is very knowledgeable on the workings of all things marine, but most of the technical jargon was lost on me. Still a decent read on a long road trip.
It is obvious that Ms. Kling is very knowledgeable on the workings of all things marine, but most of the technical jargon was lost on me. Still a decent read on a long road trip.
March 3, 2023
Great ending
Many ends tied up. Jumped five years but made it seem plausible (come on, skipped over diaper changes, infant illnesses, baby milk, bottles, and feedings, all cleverly done).
Many ends tied up. Jumped five years but made it seem plausible (come on, skipped over diaper changes, infant illnesses, baby milk, bottles, and feedings, all cleverly done).
July 3, 2017
The best Seychelle Sullivan novel yet: Intricately crafted characters, a very intriguing plot with surprising twists and a nautical environment accurately described by an author who has lived it!
July 30, 2017
Loved it
April 1, 2018
Predictable but still an enjoyable read. Some growth for Seychelle. BJ is awesome as usual.
I need a vacation to the islands.
I need a vacation to the islands.
October 24, 2018
Another excellent thriller in the Seychelle Sullivan series. It’s great to catch up on Seychelle’s personal life as well.
July 12, 2022
Kingdom
An interesting read even for someone who isn't into boating, sailing etc. I did have most of the story worked out but it was no less interesting.
An interesting read even for someone who isn't into boating, sailing etc. I did have most of the story worked out but it was no less interesting.
November 12, 2022
Wonderful Series!
I could not stop reading these books. Fast paced, great characters, wonderful story line. I could not get enough!
Thank you!
I could not stop reading these books. Fast paced, great characters, wonderful story line. I could not get enough!
Thank you!
March 16, 2023
Absolutely outstanding novel. One of my favorites in the series. What an ending!
March 9, 2022
Love
The freedom wind and water gives us always heals the soul and clears the mind. This book brought this back to me. Thank you
The freedom wind and water gives us always heals the soul and clears the mind. This book brought this back to me. Thank you
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews