A Dark and Twisted Tide (Lacey Flint Novels)

A Dark and Twisted Tide is the fourth book in the series featuring Lacey Flint. She was a detective in the London Metropolitan Police but has requested demotion to the uniform ranks of the River Police. In theory, this will give her a quiet life after the exertions in the first three novels but, as is always the case, her plans follow the example of the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men and gang aft a-gley.

In this case, she’s out swimming in the River Thames — not the most sensible thing to do even if you are a strong swimmer — when she finds a dead body. This is more strange than it should be. There are many “floaters”, i.e. dead bodies waiting to be found. But it’s almost as if this body was left in place for her to find. If that was true, it would suggest the killer was watching our heroine: not the most reassuring of thoughts.

Although this is slightly slow in starting and enjoyment will be muted if you have not read the earlier books in the series, this builds into a highly effective thriller with a well-developed plot threatening the life of our heroine.