Savage Tide

Mystery fans who enjoy British police procedurals and who are on the look out for something new, slightly different but wholly compelling and definitely addicting, may want to check this new series by Glenn Chandler, featuring Detective Inspector Steve Madden and his pragmatic and reliable sergeant, Jasmine Carol. Set in the city of Brighton, these dark and intriguing mystery novels (two so far) kept me totally engrossed from beginning to end. The first in the series is "Savage Tide:" a shockingly dark and riveting mystery novel about the horrific murder of Madden's estranged son, Jason, and Madden's efforts to not only discover why his son was so brutally murdered, but to avenge it as well. Detective Inspector Steve Madden's life has not been an easy or serene one foe quite a while now -- his wife has left him and married another and he is estranged from his only son, Jason. Which is why he is rather pleased when Jason suddenly turns up out of the blue, wanting to talk. It turns out that Jason is gay and wants for his father to know this, accept the fact and meet the young man that Jason is in love with. Except that father and son never really get to talk about things because the next time Madden sees his son is at the site where Jason has been savagely and brutally murdered. Because of his personal involvement, Madden is not allowed to investigate Jason's murder. And when the detective in charge of the case makes a quick arrest, Madden wants to believe that the police have got his son's murderer and that it is all over. Except that he doesn't believe that the police have the right man, or that the case has been successfully resolved. And so, totally against procedure and with the quiet contrivance of DS Jasmine Carol, Madden begins to investigate Jason's murder and discovers things about his son he wished he never had to know... "Savage Tide" truly was a page turner from beginning to end. Not because it was a thriller so to speak, but because it was a quiet little mystery novel, full of pain and an understanding of human frailties, that skillfully written and full of suspense and interesting plot twists and turns. Glenn Chandler definitely kept me guessing for quite a while! Add to all this a series protagonist, Steve Madden, who is intelligent, tenacious and engaging, and you know that you've found a series to sit up and take notice of. "Savage Tide" was a treat of a read from beginning to end: it kept me happily glued to the pages for that entire Portland to Japan leg of my flight --I barely noticed how uncomfortably cramped things were! Especially recommended for readers who enjoy Ian Rankin's Rebus mystery novels.