The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd
Publisher: Bantam
Press
Release date: 8 July
2021
Price: £12.99
Format: Hardcover [also
available as eBook and Audiobook}
Reviewed by Adam Colclough
In the space of a few
hours the family yacht is found adrift and abandoned, her husband and children
have disappeared, and an epic storm is disrupting attempts to find them. The
world Lucy thought she had created for her family suddenly looks terrifyingly
fragile.
Lloyd’s second novel,
looks like a strong candidate to be one of the thrillers of the year. He shows
a master’s touch for using the dramatic landscape of the Devonshire coastline
to ramp up the tension and mirror the turmoil experienced by his characters.
Unsurprisingly given the setting, one county along from her stamping ground,
the ghost of Daphne Du Maurier hovers over the book making approving and even
slightly jealous noises.
Lloyd has written a
narrative that is often painfully dark and that refuses to shy away from the
cruelty of which humans are capable, leavening the lump of this with an
awareness of how tragedy can bring out resilience in those experiencing it.
This is shown by a cast of characters who are defined by their flaws as well as
the exceptional situation they find themselves in.
This is a darkly
atmospheric and sometimes deeply unsettling thriller from a writer with a
powerful gift for keeping his audience permanently on edge.
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