Riptide

by James Humphreys

Sergeant Sarah Delaney has been sent to Caxton in the early hours of the morning to investigate a sighting - the bodies of a man and a woman on the mist-covered beach. As a murder investigation is launched, Sarah is forced to confront many ghosts from her past, including the enigmatic inhabitants of the Red House, and the local coastguard.

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 10, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

James Humphreys (born 1967) is a British political analyst and author. He worked as a civil servant, negotiating environmental legislation with the European Union and later becoming Head of Corporate Communications at the Prime Minister's Office. He was Professor of Government at City University London from 2005 to 2009.[2]

He is a member of the Green Party and became chair of the party in 2008. He is an adviser to the Green Member of Parliament Caroline Lucas.

He further works as a political consultant, for the firm Woodnewton and is a trustee of the Woodland Trust.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Kara]

Mystery kept me guessing

This mystery kept me guessing. I did not expect the ending although the story was so well-written that once the end was revealed it made perfect sense. This is the second novel, I've read by Humphreys. I will be looking out for more.

[Ciara Lucie]

This book just felt unrealistic, the way the characters acted and spoke to each other didn’t flow well, the only half decent thing was the setting, although even that was a little bit boring

[P.D.R. Lindsay]

This is a well written British police proceedural. Young PC Sarah Delaney has to return to the scene of her boyfriend's death to search for two bodies seen on the beach. They've vanished!

As she and her colleagues try to sort out the puzzle more puzzles from the past turn up. It's a nice twisty plot, the characters are well drawn and the ending is satisfying.

The novel is a good read for those who enjoy a well written, detective mystery without too much blood, gore, violence, or profanity.

I am still refusing to award star ratings when I cannot keep them private. I don't see why I should affect a writer's needed rating with 3 or fewer stars just because of my preferences.