The Rising Tide

Found adrift off the North Devon coast with no one on board, the Lazy Susan is towed into Skentel Harbor. Lucy Locke’s fear for her husband Daniel’s life in the icy Atlantic waters grows by the second as the worst storm in living memory intensifies. Miraculously, he’s pulled from the raging waters, unconscious but alive, only for the tension to ratchet back up; Lucy’s daughter from a prior relationship and her young son with Daniel are missing. Were they on the yacht with Daniel?

From his hospital bed, a recovering Daniel claims the children were not with him, while a desperate Lucy rallies the locals and the coastguard to mount a search. Through flashbacks, though, details emerge about Lucy’s wild youth and her first pregnancy, and about Daniel’s failing business, which raise worrying questions. Can wife and husband be trusted?

Whether implicated or not, Lucy and Daniel face despairingly demanding challenges and monstrously cruel choices as the story unfolds. Given the enormity of the plot’s climactic events, the history that drives them is far from convincing, but the desperation, the horror, and the evil that jump from the page make The Rising Tide a powerful, heart-stopping read.