The Dark Tide

THE DARK TIDE is one of those books for which a tidy resolution seems impossible, but the author knocks it out of the park. Charles Friedman was up to something underhanded in his Wall Street dealings, but it looks like his secret died with him when terrorists bombed the train he was on. However, for his wife, the problems are just beginning. Melissa Leo is so adept at pulling the listener through the myriad twists and turns of this novel that they'll find their hearts racing. Her interpretations of the many male characters are just as good as her portrayal of the heroine. Leo makes it easy to get lost in a good book. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

January 21, 2008
Gross, who’s partnered with James Patterson on a number of bestsellers (Lifeguard
, etc.), mixes murder, suspense, sex and romance as capably as his mentor in his assured second solo thriller (after The Blue Zone
). Charles Friedman, a New York hedge fund trader, perishes in a bombing at Grand Central Station that destroys the railroad car in which he was riding one morning from his home in Greenwich, Conn. Ty Hauck, head of the Greenwich police’s violent crime unit, enters the picture when a hit-and-run victim turns out to have a vague connection to Friedman. Soon, Friedman’s widow and her kids are threatened by men searching for vast sums of money her late husband never earned. The stakes rise as Hauck’s involvement shifts from professional to personal. While the reader will occasionally see the next drop, tunnel or curve looming far ahead, the roller-coaster thrills are still there in abundance.

February 1, 2008
In Gross's second solo thriller (after "The Blue Zone" and five best sellers cowritten with James Patterson), divorced detective Ty Hauck and recently widowed mother Karen Friedman stumble into a dangerous conspiracy. Karen's hedge-fund husband, Charles, diedor so everyone presumedin a terrorist attack in New York City's Grand Central Station. Soon after, when Karen and her children are threatened by unknown sources, she uncovers shocking details regarding her husband's business: he had lost as much as half a billion of his clients' money in questionable investments, more yet is missing from offshore accounts, and individuals once connected to him are now being killed. With Karen's help, Lieutenant Hauck follows a trail that leads to empty oil tankers with falsified manifests, hit-and-run killers, advanced government security systems, and the British Virgin Islands. Gross knows how to spin a fast-paced plot with engaging characters. Karen and Ty are forced to undergo convincing transformations as they unveil one mystery after another. Though the twists may not surprise readers, most will enjoy the ride. Recommended for public libraries.Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2008
The second solo novel from frequent James Patterson cowriter Gross is much better than his first. This one begins with a bang, as a bomb explodes in a commuter train station, killing several people, including New York City hedge-fund manager Charles Friedman. At roughly the same time, a suspicious auto accident kills a young man in Greenwich, Connecticut. The detective on that case, Ty Hauck, soon discovers an odd connection between the hit-and-run and the bombing. He investigates and discovers that Charles Friedman was not the man he appeared to be. He also forges a connection with the dead mans wife, Karen, that leads him into uncharted waters. This is a tightly written corporate-style thriller very much in the mold of Joseph Finder, with a likable protagonist and a story that combines traditional thriller elements with a more gentle, emotional subplot.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)