Betrayal and Distrust

Dark Tide Rising
by Anne Perry
Ballantine Books
© 2018

Who kidnaps Kate, wife of wealthy Harry Exeter, and demands a king’s ransom? The money paid, Kate’s release still goes awry. in Dark Tide Rising, Inspector William Monk stands amid a conundrum. He and Harry Exeter followed the kidnappers’ instructions to the letter. Who knew and betrayed them? Mistrust oozes up from the Thames like the famous London fog. How can Inspector Monk untangle the web of betrayal and distrust surrounding his chosen team of River Police?

Dark Tide Rising hinges on Inspector Monk’s honesty, his love for his wife and his willingness to see the best in others. His team hangs together by mutual trust despite the secrets of some, including John Hooper, Monk’s second in command. Based on his own experiences, Monk makes assumptions regarding Harry Exeter, about whom he knows almost nothing. Those assumptions steer Monk astray into a slow dance of mistrust of the wrong people.

Dark Tide Rising is slow-moving at times, especially during the book’s middle section describing the investigation. For example, the peripheral involvement of Hester Monk and Will, the Monks’ adoptive son, in investigating two of Monk’s subordinates to clear them of the crime, does little to move the story forward. Likewise, neither does the backstory about Hester’s friend, Crow, the doctor who works at a clinic for the poor.

Overall, Dark Tide Rising is good, but not one of the best within Perry’s William Monk series. There is little action as most of the drama is psychological. Monk seemed too willing to believe it was one of his men who betrayed the secrets of the ransom plan rather than looking hard at a man he had just met and about whom he knows next to nothing. Without disclosing too much of the ending, one wonders how certain facts, which come tumbling out towards the end of the novel, got into the hands of someone who’s in jail.

I received an ARC in return for writing an honest review.