Review: Dark Tide by Elizabeth Haynes

Genevieve is following her dream of leaving the hectic London life, buying a houseboat to fix up and live on for the next year. She invites old friends from London as well as more recent ones to a “boat-warming” party. Genevieve loves her new home, finding the waves beating against the hull of her boat quite soothing. However, the night of her boat-warming party, everything changes. Genevieve wakes to hear something hitting against the side of her boat. It’s quite typical for garbage to find itself lodged there, so she thought nothing of it.  Until she saw what was causing the noise: the body of a young woman.

Seeing the woman’s body takes her back to her life in London. She recognizes the woman as a close friend she had while living in London. Her past comes flying back at her; she can’t let her new friends know about her night-job as a dancer at The Barclay, a private member’s club. When she left London, she vowed never to return. When other mysterious things start happening, she has no choice but to call the man who saved her from that life…the man who told her never to call him.

Told in alternating time frames, flashing back between Genevieve’s previous life in London and her current life, Haynes expertly crafts a genuinely thrilling read. As she did with her previous novel Into the Darkest Corner, Haynes gets inside the head of the female lead character, producing a protagonist who is incredibly strong yet also full of flaws. This novel is truly a study in one woman’s reaction to the life she found herself immersed in. Was it all worth it? Teetering on the side of danger in order to obtain the life she’s dreamed of?

While Dark Tide wasn’t nearly as intense or chilling as Haynes previous novel it certainly still kept me up late at night. Genevieve’s character was one I quickly became invested in; she’s incredibly smart and talented, not putting up with anyone standing in the way of her dream. So, she lets her heart get in the way not once, but twice. Who hasn’t, right? My only complaint was that, for such a strong and committed young woman, at times it seemed that she relied far too much on the men in her life. I don’t necessarily think this was intended by the author but it’s something I found lessened the impact of the book a bit.

All in all, though, Dark Tide is an incredibly intense, addictive read. Haynes knows thrillers, and she excels at writing incredibly genuine female protagonists. I cannot wait for more! Highly recommended.