Lucy and Daniel Locke live in a small Cornish fishing village with their two children. It all seems very normal and happy until Daniel's boat is found drifting with no one on board. Things go downhill fast when both children are also revealed as missing and the weather also takes a turn for the worse and the sea becomes rough.

The book includes flash backs of Lucy's life and reveals aspects of her life that become relevant even if they don't seem it at the start of the book. These flashbacks were done really well and didn't get confusing at all. Sam Lloyd did a great job at portraying the emotions the characters are feeling.

This book is intense, gripping and well written. There are short chapters so it feels very fast paced but because the story is tense I feel the short chapters are appropriate. The characters are also well written and they're far from perfect making them seem all the more real. I don't really have any criticism for this book, I really enjoyed it. If I had to really criticize it, I'd maybe say that the culprit was a bit lost in the drama of the rest of the book but it didn't make me bring down the rating.

In the end this is a very sad story but it takes you on a wild ride before you get there and figure it all out. I somehow missed The Memory Wood but after reading this one I'll be picking it up and giving that one a go too.

Rising Tide really gives you the feeling that you are being overwhelmed by the stormy sea. Lucy's husband Daniel has gone missing amidst financial worries. It quickly emerges that he has taken their children out on their yacht in the worst possible weather but why? The search at sea for them is perfectly described, encapsulating the true horror of the conditions and the cruel sea itself. Our sympathy for both Lucy and Daniel are tested as a back story emerges. Does Lucy have a grasp on reality? A parallel story with Abraham, the investigating officer is beautifully written as he comes to terms with a terminal condition and chooses to follow God's way rather than convention to find the missing children. The last part of the book is breathtaking as our worst fears are realised and it just stretches credibility with some show of super human strengths.

This for me was a rather slow-burn novel. The start definitely hooked and intrigued me, and the drip-feed of clues through the book kept me guessing, but the real winner is the last 10%. What a wild ride! The middle did lose my interest at times (although not for long at all) and I absolutely raced through the end!
It was a complex and cleverly plotted thriller, and one that makes me reach for 'The Memory Wood' with gusto.
The ending was excellent, and filled with emotion, heartache and tension. Seriously impressive!
The atmosphere of the book oozed out of the pages, and Lloyd set the scene incredibly well. As he says himself, "the sea is a character in it's own right."
A really enjoyable thriller that definitely deserves recommendations!

Wow. What an amazing read. Kept me hooked throughout. Heart wrenching scenes and amazing character development

After reading and loving Sam Lloyds debut book The Memory Wood I was excited to read this one. I was a bit apprehensive though would it be as good. Well I needn’t have worried as The Rising Tide is an absolutely brilliant suspense thriller that if full of mystery and intrigue. After I had finished reading the first chapter I just knew this book was going to be a brilliant read. The story and the characters were excellent . A few red herrings thrown in and for me lots of OMG moments.

A good thriller that keeps you guessing throughout. Lucy's husband Daniel, takes his boat out with Lucy's two children with him and then disappears. The boat is found floating in the midst of a storm and eventually Daniel is found in an immersion suit, but no sign of the two children.

As the investigation continues, there are lots of twists and turns and Abraham Rose, the Detective with a higher purpose, tries to solve it all.

A good read!

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. I really enjoyed his debut last year so was excited to read this.

It didn’t dissapoint! This is a incredible book that was shocking ,and completely unpredictable.

Written with excellent writing that sets the scene and tone of the story. You think it’s going one way to be shocked.

Every mothers worst nightmare is played out in these pages and you can feel Lucy’s pain.

Excellently plotted ,fast paced ,gripping and chilling.

Published 24th June

I read Lloyd’s debut thriller last year, which made my top ten and when I heard he’d written another book, I had to read it! The Rising Tide does not disappoint.

I really enjoy Lloyd’s writing - it’s so clever and his plotting is on the next level - you really don’t see the big reveal coming. He also manages to bring such feeling to his books - and as he writes thrillers that’s no mean feat! You really feel the urgency and the emotion as his main character gets pulled through the wringer. What I also really loved about this one is that Lucy isn’t a shrinking violet who needs to dig deep to face her foe - she’s already hard as nails. Similarly, Lloyd uses multiple viewpoints to slowly reveal the plot which helps add to the tension - and all those moments where you’re desperate to find out what happens next. I can’t wait to read book no. 3!

This was an interesting domestic suspense novel! I didn't particularly feel engaged or gripped all the way through but it was definitely a good read.

Oh. My. Word. This book is INCREDIBLE. If thrillers are your jam then you seriously NEED to read this immediately. It’s super intense, edge-of-your-seat, read it through your fingers gripping and it’s shot straight into my top 5 favourite books of the year, without a doubt!

The narrative is set in a small seaside town, and the immense magnitude and power of the sea haunts every page. While the novel gets off to a pacy start, a pace which, in fact, never really falters throughout, the full horror of the situation that Lucy finds herself in unravels much more slowly. Just when you think things can’t get any worse… 😬

While the whole village community joins together to support Lucy, a police officer from a nearby force is brought in to establish what has really happened. Because it’s certainly not as simple a mystery as was first thought. DI Abrahams is a very strange character, and it’s unclear whether he’s 100% trustworthy. Having said that, if you’d have asked me if any of the characters could be trusted I would probably have said “no”; I was suspicious of absolutely everyone!

Im not sure I took a breath for at least the last 50 pages, and it kept me up way too late because I just had to finish it. I think I loved The Rising Tide even more than Lloyd’s first novel, The Memory Wood, which made my top 15 of last year. If you buy one book this month, make it this one!

With thanks to the publisher for gifting me an e-copy to review.

The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd
Rating *****. 4.7/5
A really good read which kept me going into the wee small hours in the morning because like the ebb and flow of the tide I kept changing my mind on who exactly were the goodies and baddies.
Lucy and Daniel Locke are a hard working couple, happily married with two children. Billie, an 18 year old who feels strongly about the environment and marine life; she has a great future ahead of her. Fin, 7 years old, a real cutie who tells fantastic stories. He is small for his age but has a huge heart and appeal.
The Lockes have had some tough times but due to determination, hard work and a belief in what they are doing, they have achieved a good professional and personal standing in their community. That is until the night of the once in a century, catastrophic storm.
Suddenly, Lucy can’t trust anyone. Her family have been torn apart.
Crag-faced detective Abraham Rose is sent to investigate. A strong man but with devastating problems, nevertheless he sets out to investigate a continuing unraveling set of clues. No one is as they seem.
Well written novel with brilliant depiction of the storm and the devastation that follows. Shockingly brilliant. Great strong, believable characters, loved Fin and Abraham. Sam Lloyd is an author to look out for.
I would like to thank Sam Lloyd, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Rising Tide. In return I have written an unbiased and honest review.

The perfect family being hunted by a psychopath.

Lucy has a good life, no, a great life in Devon. She owns a beautiful café/restaurant/art gallery (for local artists to exhibit their work). She’s married to Daniel, who is stepfather to Billie, daughter from a previous relationship and Fin, their son. Yes, they’ve had problems in the past, but nothing they couldn’t sort out. They’re facing one now – Daniel’s partner in his boat business has suddenly announced that he’s sold his share in the business to a conglomerate and it’s left them struggling financially. Lucy is looking through Daniel’s financial records trying to make sense of everything when there’s a pounding on the door. It’s Bee, her assistant at Drift Net (the café) with shocking news – their boat, The RNLI have recovered their boat, The Lazy Susan but there’s no one on board. However, a flare had been fired from the boat. Lucy rushes down to the harbour and learns that Daniel, Billie, and Fin are missing. But why?

I’m very seldom left terrified while reading a book, however, Sam Lloyd ensured that I needed to read very fast without a break for a decent night’s sleep to follow this drama. Set against a backdrop of a terrible storm both on land and sea which leaves behind destruction, I raced with Lucy, the RNLI, and DI Abraham Rose and Lucy’s ex-boyfriend, Jake as they try to find Daniel, Billie, and Fin.

Sam Lloyd has a fantastic imagination and between the storm and one of the evillest psychopaths I’ve ever encountered (between pages) this book left me feeling drained but filled with praise in discovering this new author. A truly brilliant book!

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

This is both a totally unputdownable thriller and a clever work of interesting characters. It’s the ill, Bible-quoting detective, Abraham Rose, that lifts this above the usual thriller and adds depth but this is fast-paced and will have you on the edge of your seat. I was rocked in all directions, like a passenger on a stormy sea, and I really cared what happened. Shocking, twisting, unpredictable- I really recommend this.

Set against the background of the cold, English coastline, The Rising Tide has all the ingredients for a page turning thriller.

✨An eerie setting
✨The inability to recognise who’s telling the truth
✨Plot twists galore
✨Characters that are hard to trust

If you’re a fan of Jane Harper, you’ll enjoy this one.

From reading other reviews ( this is a habit I seem to have after I’ve read a book) I’m in the minority as this story never really gelled with me. Pages and pages of drama that led absolutely nowhere then weird things said or done that I just didn’t enjoy.

Just like Sam Lloyd's The Memory Wood, I could not out this book down. Twist and turns. Tears and anger. Fear and tension. This book had it all. A brilliant setting for this novel and the harshness of the sea has been so well captured. I can't wait to see what Lloyd has in store for us next.

What a superb read this was. The thriller was maintained throughout the whole story which kept twisting and turning. Can’t wait to read more by this great author.

Thanks to #netgalley for advanced copy of this fabulous book
It follows the lives of Daniel, Lucy, Billie and Fin Locke who live and work in a small fishing town on southern coast of England. Daniel has a boat business he part owns with his best friend Nick Povey and Lucy runs a local coffee/art/ music shop that is really successful
Not a bad place for a girl who started out from art school as a single mum to Billie, she has no idea who her father is but has taken her child to Spain until her lover got too possessive then escaped to Portugal and final returned to her home town and found Daniel
Then one morning she is told their boat has been found drifting at sea it has been brought back to harbour but no one is on it, she now knows her husband and her son were on the boat so were are they? And is Billie with them? Yes she is. And one of the biggest storms in a decade is coming how will they find her family? And why has Daniel taken her children out to sea in this terrible weather.
Then they find him and rescue him and the torment just begins for Lucy

The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd is his second book and it is a masterclass in storytelling, it is taut, keeps the reader engaged and is a nerve wracking roller coaster read. It is frightening, sad, moving, traumatic, emotional and I think it is one of the best books I have read this year.
Highly recommended

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Great book! Even better than The Memory Wood. Loved Detective Rose and Lucy.