Dark Tide

January 14, 2013
Haynes follows her well-received debut, Into the Darkest Corner (2011), with an intense psychological thriller. Genevieve Shipley made good money at her software sales job in London, but dancing at an exclusive gentleman’s club was more lucrative. She succeeded in earning enough money to quit both jobs and now lives on a houseboat in a Kent marina. Her first party on the boat ends abruptly with her finding the body of lap dancer Caddy Smith, the only friend Genevieve had at the Barclay Club, floating in the water nearby. Genevieve believes she was the real target, and that the Barclay owners are after the package she agreed to hold for the club’s bouncer with whom she had a brief relationship and who’s now unreachable. A convincing portrayal of a woman who’s both naïve and self-confident elevates the solid plot, which alternates between the present and the past when Genevieve chose to ignore the illegal goings-on at the club. Agent: Adrian Weston, Adrian Weston Literary Agency.

January 1, 2013
In this follow-up novel to her 2012 debut, Into the Darkest Corner, British writer Haynes once again follows a woman navigating dangerous waters. Genevieve hated every minute of her high-pressure corporate job. Then she stumbled upon pole dancing as a way to exercise and let off steam. The more she dances, the better she becomes, and soon she's working at a private and very exclusive men's club on weekends, making big money. But, as with all things that seem too good to be true, there is a catch: The club's owner, Fitz, is shady, and many of his dealings are not legal. Soon, Genevieve also must deal with her heinous boss showing up at the club and making her life miserable at her day job. Finally fulfilling her lifelong dream to buy and live on a houseboat, she manages to get hold of enough money to buy an old barge and fix it up, but that leads to even more intrigue, with a mysterious package, the death of a friend whose body is dumped in the water near Genevieve's boat, new neighbors at the marina and a man who may or may not be using her. The story is told by flashing back and forth between the present, when Genevieve works contentedly on her boat as her past races to catch up with her, and the past, when, as Viva, she swung half-naked on a pole and pandered to men for money. Although the story is engaging and keeps the reader wondering, Genevieve's behavior, while good for moving the plot along, makes no sense from the perspective of a single woman alone and in danger. And, in the end, most readers will experience a profound sense of much ado about nothing when the mystery comes to light. The story of a not very virtuous young woman whose secrets threaten to destroy others is well-told but ultimately a letdown.

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Starred review from January 1, 2013

Burnt out in her high-powered sales job, Genevieve leaves London for life on a barge in Kent. To make this possible, she takes a second job as a pole dancer at a posh gentlemen's club in London. The money is great and the workout is better than a gym, but the owner is creepy and her boss in her day job shows up one night, blowing her cover and forcing her to have sex with him or quit. She quickly earns enough to buy Revenge of the Tide and moves aboard, living in a tiny marina and making new friends. But her dream life unravels the night of her boat-warming party when the body of a friend from the club washes up near her boat. Not wanting to reveal her past or how she earned the money to buy Revenge, Genevieve is evasive with the police. Then she receives mysterious calls, her boat is ransacked, and she can't reach the one person who links her present danger with her past at the club. A police detective seems helpful and certainly attractive, but our protagonist is reluctant to trust him. VERDICT Told in alternating narratives that intertwine Genevieve's past and present, this dark, sexy, heart-pounding thriller is a chilling and highly satisfying follow-up to Haynes's acclaimed debut, Into the Darkest Corner, Amazon UK's Best Book of 2011. Genevieve is a smart, likable, well-drawn character whom readers will be delighted to see in future books. This is a must read for mystery/thriller fans. [See Prepub Alert, 9/17/12.]--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2013
The age-old story of good girl turned bad gets a fresh look in the intriguing saga of a London pole dancer with a mission. Genevieve's father died, along with his dream of buying an old boat and restoring it, but Genevieve is determined to follow Dad's dream. It's doubtful that dream allowed for his daughter becoming a pole dancer, but Genevieve hates her high-pressure sales job and finds that dancing will increase her income substantially. Then she gets an offer she can't refuse, hide a small package for a few months in return for big money. She buys a boat, moves on board, and hides the package. A few months later, she has a party, but one of her dancer friends turns up dead, floating in the marina. Genevieve suddenly realizes that the package she is holding may be trouble, and trouble surely comes. The two story lines of her city life and boat life are neatly interwoven, taut as a nautical knot and dangerous as a rogue wave. Lisa Jackson, Chevy Stevens, and Lisa Unger fans will find much to like here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)