The Dark Tide

Holy crap, was this book bad! Like 'terrible' bad! And the strange thing is, is that it really didn't start out that way. I remember being 30% into the book and being extremely mad that my bus wasn't a bit later since I had to put it down. Cut to me at 60% and I started thinking "Why am I STILL reading this?!" In fact, the only reason I finished it was because by that time I was already 60% in and thinking "What the hell. I need a long-ish book to up my page average..."

My main gripe with The Dark Tide was that it was boring. After the first initial 30%, it just started going downhill. I seriously didn't want to pick the book up after that. I kept thinking "And I care why?" Yes, it was incredibly snarky of me, but my God, I was bored! show more That should excuse my snarkalicious behavior shouldn't it? Speaking of snark: the romance. Sigh.

By the way, that wasn't a good "OMG, they are incredibly cute" sigh, but rather "WHY is a romance even being written in this book!" sigh. I have seen many a mystery ruined because the author thought it was imperative to put a romance into the mix just so the book blurb could read "Intrigue, Espionage, and ROMANCE! This book has it all!" And normally, what it has isn't good. Sure, there are exceptions. Dennis Lehane's Kenzie & Gennaro series is fantastic (the romance is actually my favorite part of the series) and Jennifer Lane's With Good Behavior did the whole romance suspense thing beautifully, but those are about the only ones. The Dark Tide didn't. At all. These two are madly in love after seeing each other like three times throughout the year she's supposed to be mourning her husband and they're already in love. In fact, she gives him that part of herself that she's always kept hidden even from her husband of 24 years. Blach! What is that part supposed to be? Shallowness? Annoyingness? Seriously, I'm dying to know. Only I'm not. Not really.

Needless to say, I did NOT like The Dark Tide. It was superficial, cliche, and oh my GOD was it BORING! I'm just so incredibly happy that it was a free Kindle pre-order and I didn't waste any money on it. Besides that, SKIP IT! show less

Pretty decent read. The plot was compelling, but really needed to be tightened up a bit. The book was just too long and I just wanted to get through it at one point even more than I wanted to know how it would end. The characters were also pretty two-dimensional. The author does give the two main characters a back story, but the characterizations are very superficial. All in all, I felt that the book had a lot of potential, but didn't quite live up to that potential.

The Dark Tide was a Kindle free download and I’m a sucker for a mystery/thriller. I had never read Andrew Gross, but now will look for more from him.
I enjoyed the book a lot. It was engaging from the start and held my interest all the way through.
The characters were very well developed and I didn’t have to suspend common sense too often over their actions. I found police Lt. Ty Hauck to have the quality I expect in a detective… he just can’t let things go, especially when it’s an attractive widow and her kids that need his help. Then throw in a few unsavory bad guys, some international intrigue and vast sums of missing money and you have a fast paced thriller.
I searched and found two more books with Ty Hauck as the show more protagonist; they are certainly on my To Read list.
The one drawback, it wasn’t as much of a mystery for the readers as for the characters, but that was okay. show less

I like to think of some books as “magnet books.” You put it down, but it keeps pulling you back. The Dark Tide was a magnet for me. You know what’s basically going to happen early on, but you want to enjoy the ride to see how all the characters, dead bodies, cars, boats, get to the end. Although, I did feel like I was sitting in the backseat of the Mustang rather than the front with the main characters. Magnet pull wasn’t as strong for them. But, if you like a good story, nice easy read, this book ride is a smooth one.

Charles Friedman runs a hedge fund. One day he took the Metro into Manhattan and terrorists blew up the train.
Karne Friedman sees the news on TV in a sceen that must have been what many wives were experiencing at 9/11.
The same day there is a hit and run in Greenwich. When Lt. Ty Hauck investigates, he finds Charles name and cell number on a piece of paper in the victim's pocket.
Charlie never made it home. 111 people die in the train including the three bombers.
Things are never the way they seem. Karen is threatened by two men looking for a large amount of unaccounted money. Then on the anniversary of the bombing she's watching a news recapsule and sees her husband leaving the train station covered with ash.
Finally, Karen's daughter is show more threatened and Karen asks Ty for help in finding where her husband is hiding and why.
Gross does a fantastic job with his story. His talent toward building suspense and keeping the action going is unsurpassed. The characters were well drawn although I question Charlie's motivation in his decision making.
My heart was racing so much in reading this story that I thought I'd need medication.
Highly Recommended. Should have won the award for "Best Thriller of the Year." show less

The Dark Tide
by Andrew Gross

I received this book from Library Thing as an Early Reviewer copy. As I am a fan of James Patterson’s books, I was anticipating this author Andrew Gross to tell a very good story and in an exciting way.

Right off the bat this book engages the reader and holds your interest from the explosive beginning to the terrifying end.

We all dread the thought of not saying a good “good bye” to our loved ones. Karen Friedman says farewell to her husband who decides at the last minute to take his car in for repairs and take the train instead to work. Later on in the day, it finally becomes clear to her that her husband is on the train that has just exploded. Her husband is gone…and her life changes.

Within a short show more time, Karen is threatened by two men and becomes very confused at what or who Charles Friedman was involved with. Is her husband really dead?

With the assistance of Ty Hauck, a local detective following the leads of another case, they join forces to solve the mystery of Charles Friedman.

This book is recommended for those who like a thrilling mystery and I look forward to Andrew Gross’s next book. show less

This book hooked me from the beginning...kept my interest throughout. The characters were engaging and the plot was superb. A smooth, fairly light read... just when I started to get a bit bleary eyed near the end, a surprise got me right back in again.

This is the story of a happily married woman, whose world falls apart on a typical, average morning, when her husband decides to take the car in for repairs. An explosion rocks the subway later that morning, and a train that she suddenly realizes her husband had taken to work, after dropping off the car, is one that has been obliterated in the explosion. Later, she realizes her husband has perished in the tragic event.....or has he?

As the story unfolds, surprising things happen and Karen show more discovers more about her husband than she ever wanted to know....he had a very secret life that she knew nothing about. With the help of a detective named Ty Hauck, they delve into the mystery of Charles Friedman.

Offshore accounts, deception, safe-deposit boxes full of money....murder. Karen soon realizes that her life and the lives of her 2 children may be at risk as she tries to learn if her husband is actually alive and hiding somewhere, as she believes.

The story flows smoothly for the most part, bogs down a bit near the end, but then picks up again shortly before the conclusion.

There were some errors and typos that I caught, but I'm sure they will be taken care of before the final printing.

Overall, a very good second novel by a promising writer. I plan on seeking out his first book, and will also be on the watch for novel #3 in the future. show less