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The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross

Contributed by: Merrimon Crawford on 5/7/2008

Chilling financial suspense with emotional depth

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross
Publisher: WIlliam Murrow (March 2008)
ISBN-13: 9780061143427

For Charlie and Karen Friedman, one morning starts off like every other morning except for the threat Charlie received, a threat he kept secret from his family. One moment changes everything. When Charles takes his car into the shop, he breaks his normal routine and takes the train into his work. An explosion rips through the train station just as the Metro-North train pulls into Grand Central Station. In the flash of a moment, a nice domestic scene becomes a nightmare for Karen. Not only does she have to have to deal with the uncertainty of her husband's fate and comfort her children somehow, questions about her husband's financial dealings intrude upon her grief, adding questions about the man the man she loves and what secrets he has kept from her. Karen never involved herself with her husband's work and financial dealings before, but now she has no choice as others now pry into his past.

The day of the explosion, a hit and run accident interrupts the tranquil life of Ty Hauck, once head of the Violent Crimes Unit on the Greenwich police force. Having worked the information office when the Trade Towers were hit, Hauck knows all too well what to do and he begins collecting names of those now missing. A call comes in and suddenly he must investigate a possible murder. Hauck's examination of the body turns up a couple of possible clues, including a Post-It note with the name Charles Friedman in the dead man's trousers. Hauck's investigation leads him to Karen. With his past experience of 9/11, Hauck understands Karen's dilemmas with a sense of empathy that helps her give expression to her grief. When a year later, Karen uncovers a shocking clue about the events of Charlie's last day, she turns to Hauck for help. Together and separately, Karen and Hauck follow this new clue all the way to its end with investigations into all the hidden details of her husband's financial world and into the lives of families affected by his past dealings.

A fast-paced thriller, The Dark Tide pulls together seemingly unrelated events into a complex suspenseful tale of international fraud. Andrew Gross weaves together disparate threads in just the right measure as he looks into the families and lives of all affected by shadowy figures and seemingly isolated events. One decision here and another there by men often with a noble ideal or purpose turns deadly when a decision threatens to unravel a financial scheme. Relentless in his pursuit of justice, Hauck follows the trail into every nook with a persistence and intuition others cannot match. Only a man as determined as Hauck, only an officer willing to bend and break some of the rules and procedures himself in the pursuit of true justice can track down the ruthlessness of the villains who know no limit to what they will do. Hauck's resolve motivates him to pursue all the intricate connections to their shocking end.

Andrew Gross's brilliant characterization gives The Dark Tide an emotional depth beyond a thriller with clever plot twists and turns as the mystery unfolds. Hauck's past history makes him uniquely suited to the case at hand. Hauck feels the pain of the victims and their families in ways that touch them and enrich their lives in the midst of their despair. Hauck's pursuit of villains is not just a job or a puzzle to be solved. Hauck becomes a force beside Karen as she tries to uncover all the secrets of her husband's life. By confiding in Hauck, Karen starts to put her life back together again. Hauck stands by her, not pushing her but allowing her to process the event and her loss as he hunts down the clues. Andrew Gross gives just as much attention to the plot details, the histories and the emotional depth of his secondary characters such as the family of AJ Raymond, the hit and run victim. The Dark Tide provides an unsettling glimpse into a corner of the financial world where greed insinuates itself into characters, overshadowing all else. Andrew Gross gives a chilling portrait of the denial used to justify financial fraud and the consequences that one moment, one decision, can have for the lives of his characters and the lives surrounding theirs.




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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Merrimon Crawford

Arvada , CO

Merrimon Crawford has posted 121 stories and 14 comments since joining on 12/15/2006. Merrimon Crawford 's average story rating is 4.92.
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