The Dark Tide

This book kept me in suspense. A very enjoyable read.

Charles Friedman is a hedge fund manager who lives in Greenwich, Conneticutt.He takes his car to the shop and rides the train into work. The train is destroyed in an explosion. There is no trace of Charles. It is presumed that he has been killed. The name of Friedman's company is Harbor Capital. Ty Hauck, a Lieutenant on the Greenwich Police Dept. comes into the story investigating a hit and run. The hit and run turns out to be connected to Charles Friedman. Karen Friedman, the wife of Charles has accepted that Charles is dead. Karen is visited by two men claiming that Charles has misappropiated $250 million dollars. Karen's daughter is also threatened by a stranger. Karen spots Charles in a filmed documentary. She begins a quest to see if he is still alive and where he might be. She and the Lieutenant Ty Hauck take a trip to the British Virgin Isles. Close on their heels are some killers named Dietz and Hodges. The true villain in this story will also be shocking. This is a very good book that you will enjoy reading.

The premise of THE DARK TIDE is a fascinating one. A terrorist attack takes place, sending multiple explosions through Grand Central Station. A train carrying Charles Friedman, a partner in a small but successful commodities brokerage firm, arrives simultaneously. He leaves behind his wife Karen and two teenaged children. Unbeknownst to Karen, though, Charles had been in deep trouble. He cut corners here, bent rules there, and did all sorts of unethical things with the money of people who do not take such disrespect lightly. They're not the type to file a lawsuit or complaint with a regulatory commission; they make their displeasure known up close and personal. After the bombing, those who had been unhappy with Charles --- sending him warnings, some subtle, some not so --- are now visiting Karen, operating on the premise that she knew exactly what her husband was doing. Karen, deep in grieving, of course had no idea what Charles was up to. She has nothing to give these people, who even go so far as to threaten her daughter. And this, my friends, is just the beginning of THE DARK TIDE, Andrew Gross's sophomore solo effort. I believe it's both a blessing and a curse to be known primarily as the co-author of several novels when your writing partner is one of the world's most successful, best-known authors. The blessing is that it gets your name out there; the curse is that people might wonder if you can make it on your own steam. In Gross's case, that question would seem to have been answered in the affirmative with his debut, THE BLUE ZONE. With THE DARK TIDE, it is immutably settled that the answer remains yes. Gross's latest novel contains the basic stock characters we love, embraced by an exciting and riveting plot with ever-accelerating forward motion: Karen, the damsel in distress; a number of mysterious bad guys lurking in the shadows who jump out and do terrible things at inopportune moments; and a damaged but solid good guy who you can easily cheer on. The latter is Lieutenant Ty Hauck, Chief of Detectives of the Greenwich Police Department. Hauck enters Karen's circle --- and vice versa --- when he launches an investigation into a hit-and-run incident in Greenwich only hours after the terrorist explosion. One of the few clues that Hauck possesses is a slip of paper in the dead man's pocket that bears Charles Friedman's name and telephone number. At first the connection seems innocuous enough --- Charles had an automobile restored at the body shop where the deceased worked --- but as Hauck slowly begins to discover, there is much more to this death, and to Charles, than meets the eye. Hauck's investigation leads him from The Hamptons to rural South Jersey to Pensacola and back again. The answer though lies in the Caribbean, where the biggest surprise of all awaits, and multiple forces converge for justice, revenge and, perhaps most important, closure. It takes a final, bloody resolution in Greenwich, however, before answers are provide

I have now read both of Andrew Gross's books, The Blue Zone and The Dark Tide. I am convinced he is here to stay among today's top authors of suspense fiction that has just enough facts to keep your brain thinking and wanting more. His characters and locations are very well described and the stories well scripted. Karen Friedman has a happy family consisting of her loving (or so she thought), husband, two children, Samantha and Alex, and family pet dog Tobey. Husband Charles is a highly successful investment banker who was thought of also being so by his associates in his business, and in giving his family a very nice life. The kids were into sports and Karen was always there with her support and Charles when he could make it. The neighbors of their upscale neighborhood thought very highly of the entire family All of the above was true for many years of their marriage until Charles was in a commuter train bombing in Grand Central Station. This threw the family, the company Charles worked for, and their friends into deep sorrow. That is except for the ones involved in the money laundering schemes that Charles had been performing for many years, all of which his family knew nothing about. Many felt they had been swindled through Charles' actions and they wanted their securities and money back! Lieutenant Ty Hauck of the Greenwich Police Department was a local hero from high school and college and had worked his way up in the department. He was highly thought of and worked on some tough cases. Ty became involved in the death of Charles Friedman when it became apparent that the hit and run of a young man was somehow tied into Charles disappearance. At first Karen's worry was that Charles was buried in the rubble of one of the still burning train cars. Her mind wondered all over the place until some identification was found that led the authorities to believe that Charles had been in the destruction and was dead. Time went on without any sign of Charles body and no word from him to anyone. Karen and the remaining family went through hard times trying to invent a new life. Eventually a detective came to the Friedman's house to ask Karen some questions unrelated to the bombing. The detective happened to be Ty Hauck and the purpose of his visit was to see if the family knew the man that had been killed in the hit and run that had taken place at about the same time and near where the bombing occurred. The family did not know of the man but Karen and Hauck seemed to hit it off personally noticing each other from the beginning. The killings increased, some seemingly related and some not, so more authorities became involved. One part of the investigation led to another until Hauck was delving too deep for some apparently involved in the deep-rooted problems Charles had created. Hauck was led to other parts of the world and back again as he continued to find clues to the work and people that Charles had worked for and against.

I thought the Blue Zone was a fantastic read, and this even surpasses that great effort. His writing has matured. This novel is another incredible page turner. It is impossible to put down. But what's most appealing is how well it holds together. The reader, once again, is satisfied at the end because the entire story holds together flawlessly which makes it very creible. To me, that's the key to a great thriller...it's exciting and believable. I can't wait for his next book.