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The Blood-Dimmed Tide (John Madden, #2)

Rennie Airth

Start date: November 15, 2025

Finish date: December 7, 2025

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Second book in this series.
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What Members Thought

Jun 02, 2014 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club-reads, books-to-read-next

This is the second in the original John Madden trilogy: River of Darkness, The Blood-Dimmed Tide and The Dead of Winter. With a fourth book, The Reckoning, out soon, it seemed a good opportunity to re-visit the original novels, which I enjoyed when they were first released.

The Blood Dimmed Tide is set in 1932 and John Madden has since married Dr Helen Blackwell, who he met in the first book. Having left the police force, Madden is now a country gentleman – enjoying farming and fatherhood and hav This is the second in the original John Madden trilogy: River of Darkness, The Blood-Dimmed Tide and The Dead of Winter. With a fourth book, The Reckoning, out soon, it seemed a good opportunity to re-visit the original novels, which I enjoyed when they were first released.

The Blood Dimmed Tide is set in 1932 and John Madden has since married Dr Helen Blackwell, who he met in the first book. Having left the police force, Madden is now a country gentleman – enjoying farming and fatherhood and having put the nightmares of his earlier life behind him. However, while passing through the small hamlet of Brookham, near their home, Madden and his wife spot a crowd gathered and stop to see if they can help. A young girl, twelve year old Alice Bridger, has vanished on her way to a party and a search is organised to help find her. It is Madden who, along with his local constable, Will Stackpole, finds the body of the missing girl.

Although Madden is no longer involved in police work – and Helen is keen to ensure that he is not enticed back to Scotland Yard – there are many other characters who will be familiar to readers of the first book. Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair and, now Detective Sergeant, Billy Styles, both make a reappearance; as does psychoanalyst Dr Franz Weiss, who advised Madden in River of Darkness. As always, author Rennie Airth does a great job of painting a picture of the time when this book is set. England is very much in a grip of the depression and there are many men out of work and homeless. One of the possible witnesses to Alice’s murder was a tramp, who the police are keen to track down, and this allows for side stories about gypsies and tramps in the area at the time.

We are also aware, through Dr Weiss, of the rise of Nazism and problems in Europe. When it appears that the police are hunting a serial killer, the storyline involves Berlin police chief Arthur Nebe and a visit from a Berlin police Inspector. If you like historical mysteries, with excellent plotting and characters, this is a fantastic novel. It is best, in my opinion, to read the novels in order, although this does work as a stand-alone book. I am really enjoying re-reading these books and hope that a fourth novel means that the author may even write more books using these characters in the future.

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Feb 16, 2024 Bev rated it really liked it

Shelves: bought-2019, early-20th-c, historical-fiction, british-mystery, mount-tbr-2024, historical-mystery, mystery, police-procedural

1932, Britain. Since the dreadful deaths in The River of Darkness, the first of the John Madden books, Madden has retired from the force to become a country farmer--both out of inclination and because his wife was upset at his injuries at the end of the last case. But just as an old hunting dog will stir at the bugle's call, the former police inspector can't resist lending a hand when a young girl goes missing from a village near his home. And when he is the one to discover the battered body he 1932, Britain. Since the dreadful deaths in The River of Darkness, the first of the John Madden books, Madden has retired from the force to become a country farmer--both out of inclination and because his wife was upset at his injuries at the end of the last case. But just as an old hunting dog will stir at the bugle's call, the former police inspector can't resist lending a hand when a young girl goes missing from a village near his home. And when he is the one to discover the battered body he just can't stay away from the investigation. Fortunately, his old team don't mind the help--in fact, they'll take all the help they can get when their one trail goes cold and evidence is found that this isn't the culprit's first killing. And when they find a gap in similar killings in Britain, they wonder if killer took his talents to the continent for a few years. Soon they are working with the German police and the Secret Service to track a murderer who doesn't mind where he kills as long as he can get away with it...

Airth likes his mysteries steeped in psychology--whether it's a damaged soldier from WWI or a psychopathic killer of young girls. Good, solid analysis of the culprit's character--and analysis entirely appropriate to the story's time period. Airth also gives us good, solid police work...tracking down clues, interviewing witnesses, and the rest of the daily procedures that lead to solving a case. And all without boring the reader with detail or slowing the pace. I really enjoyed the introduction of the German police officer Probst and wish we could have seen more of him. Given that the books are heading into WWII territory, I'm doubtful that we'll see him again (unless--since he has expressed his feelings on the Nazis--he decides to leave Germany for England) and that is a shame.

It is a testament to Airth's abilities as a mystery author that I'm ranking this so high. I have great difficulty with stories about children in danger and a serial killer targeting young girls was definitely a hard topic for me. But the writing is terrific and I was very invested in the characters--not just Madden and his wife, but all of them...down to Sam Watkins and his dog Sally and the tramps who helped Madden discover some of the vital clues.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. ...more

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