The Dark Tide

Adrien English Mysteries, Book 5

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Chris Patton

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

When a half-century old skeleton tumbles out of the wall in the midst of the renovation of Cloak and Dagger Bookstore renovation, Adrien turns to hot and handsome ex-lover Jake Riordan -- now out-of-the closet and working as a private detective. Jake is only too happy to have reason to stay in close contact with Adrien, but there are more surprises in Adrien's past than either one of them expects -- and one of them may prove hazardous to Jake's own heart.

©2010 MLR Press (P)2013 Josh Lanyon

Well Done Josh & Chris

When I read this book, it was my least favourite of the series.
Chris performance was, as always, perfect. I had looked forward to hearing what he would do with this story. He went beyond my expectation. I spent half the book weeping.
Now I get to go back and listen to the whole series at once!
Thanks Josh for creating Adrien and Jake, and thanks Chris for helping bring them to life. Thanks for a great series...

Highly recommended series

Perfect Ending for a perfect series.

Where does The Dark Tide rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 5 out of several hundred over many years.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jake Riordan has faced the reality of his situation with honor and dignity, paid the price and is ready to move on with his life in a positive way. Jake doesn't wallow, and he exudes a strength of character and a focus that is admirable and fairly rare in literature today and especially in M/M stories. When he needs to say something he says it, and when he needs to display emotion he does, but with an economy and style that speaks volumes about Josh Lanyon's skill and ability to understand and translate his characters into sympathetic and extremely compelling entities.

Which character – as performed by Chris Patton – was your favorite?

Adrien English

If you could take any character from The Dark Tide out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Adrien English

Any additional comments?

Josh Lanyon is a master of the detective genre, with a 21st century flavor. Lanyon's stories, plotting, characterizations, and relationships are bar none. His writing is subtle, elegant, funny and poignant and his scene-setting and pacing, a must in all books, but especially murder mysteries, is exquisite. He never insults his readers' intelligence by explaining in too much detail and expecting that they won't understand references from previous books in the series or songs, quotes or cryptic remarks sprinkled along the way. Everything makes sense in these stories and everything he writes supports the story. Characters act like real people in real and harrowing situations and they learn and grow and change in organic ways. The relationships he writes are rich and complex, never quick and easy--but when two characters finally 'get it,' they and the reader are rewarded in spades.

Chris Patton is the perfect narrator for the Adrien English stories. His voice IS Adrien and yet he is able to make Jake and every other character unique, distinct and believable. His pacing is great; the characters and story come alive with his skill and ability to inject drama, humor, sensuality, and tension in just the right degrees. He never mispronounces a word, even foreign words, and his character changes are lightning fast. Listening to Dark Tide after reading it brought an enriched dimension to the story and the writing that was highly satisfying.

I enjoyed this audiobook immensely.

"Baby you win.You can take the brass knuckles off.

Any additional comments?

Jake Riordan character was written and performed beautifully in this story. Not to say Andrien's character wasn't performed to perfection as well!

It's just Jake's character is transformed from this hot headed, angry, self hating, confused, scared barely even human, to this beautiful man subdued and patient and in love.

How my heart broke when Jake finally explains what happened on that d@mn boat from book 4. - sigh-

This story is a mystery wrapped in a beautiful romance and a new beginning for Jake and Adrien. And good Lord do they need a new beginning!

The BESTEST MM romance mystery series yet!!!

Josh Lanyon rules

If you could sum up The Dark Tide in three words, what would they be?

Awesome, Mysterious , Funny

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adrien I love his sardonic wit and its well exemplified it this series. Hes smart and sexy too .

Which scene was your favorite?

the boat scene at the end of novel, It broke me down, built me up and broken me again. damn fine writing when a listener is so invested in the characters

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and I ran around all day doing so, and found myself listening to the entire series AGAIN. Chris Patton is a terrific narrator, each voice he used for the characters stayed the same the entire series and i knew the minute i heard the voice whom was speaking. Josh Lanyon weaves an incredible story, with realistic male and female characters kudos

Any additional comments?

I can say enough praises about these stories or the perfection of the vocal representation. Im sold I auto buy Josh Lanyon's stories and audiobooks.

I hate that it's over........

“If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.” ~ Michel de Montaigne

There really are no words I can find to describe how amazing this series is, but I can tell you that The Dark Tide is the perfect ending to Adrien and Jake's story. I've seen some reviewers refer to this installment as 'sappy' but I couldn't disagree more. Romantic, yes! But it's poignant, intriguing, and steamy - and, most importantly it's my kind of happily ever after - hard fought, and well deserved.

Once again, Chris Patton has given the perfect voice to Adrien, Jake, and the entire story.

I'm heartbroken that this series is over because I've loved every moment I've spent reading it...every page, every sentence, every word.

I hope this isn't goodbye ...

If you could sum up The Dark Tide in three words, what would they be?

Great American Novel.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jake Riordan is more fully fleshed out in this latest whodunit/romance by Josh Lanyon -- an author whose prose is as clean and refreshing as sierra spring water. Through the intricately plotted mystery, Jake's inner-life of turmoil is cleverly revealed without breaking the character's penchant for few words. Getting to know Jake heighten the star-crossed romance with Adrien English, and elevated this novel to a new literary peak.

What about Chris Patton’s performance did you like?

Chris Patton's reading is expert. Mr. Patton is able to modulate the tone, quality and speed of his voice to master eccentricities of each character. I wish Mr. Patton performed all of Mr. Lanyon's book, because less face it, all are not equal.

Who was the most memorable character of The Dark Tide and why?

The most memorable character was Jinx/Jane Powers. She was fearless woman of power and prowess.

Any additional comments?

Josh Lanyon is good enough to write a great American novel that could qualify for the Pulitizer Prize in fiction.

A favorite mystery - story, characters, narration!

If you could sum up The Dark Tide in three words, what would they be?

Mystery, life, love.

What other book might you compare The Dark Tide to and why?

For really good mysteries with a touch of romance: The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, Stranger on the Shore, and The Dark Horse and The White Knight, also by Josh Lanyon.

What about Chris Patton’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed every second of Chris Patton's performance. From (audio)book one in this series, i fell in love with his voice, and his rendition of characters i love so dearly is simply perfect.

Any additional comments?

This is an audiobook i'll be listening to many many times. Highly recommended!

The Tide is High

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would. The mystery was intriguing and I like how Jake and Adrien are finally on the same page.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dark Tide?

for me it was when they visited the owner of The Tide in the nursing home. I have made that trip quite often myself and relate to the situation all to well. Visiting a resident one day, and the next day they are gone with no warning. Brought back memories...

What does Chris Patton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Chris is very talented and his voice is also quite soothing. He fits these novels perfectly and lately is seems as if pairing the right book with the right narrator is very challenging. I love these stories as the written word, but Chris adds an extra dimension to them. To me they are all worth the credits. Good job, Josh.

If you could rename The Dark Tide, what would you call it?

I wouldn't.....

Any additional comments?

This is an Audible experience done right.

Series is a hard one to rec to new readers

This was really the first time we see Jake and Adrien working alongside each other again since book two. But this time, everything’s on the table. No more secrets. I was still hesitant about Jake, but it actually didn’t take me long at all to like him again? Which is a bit disconcerting because of how terrible he was towards Adrien in book three. Would I like a guy in real life that’s like Jake? No. He got violent and abusive when he felt that he was about to be outed. I get that he was scared, and has been for around 40 years, but he’ll never not be the guy that hurt Adrien that one time.

Content notes include homomisia, violence, death by cop, racism, mentions of Nazis, and mentions of Harry Potter.

The story is interesting enough. For the first time in this series, I was actually more invested in the romance aspect of Adrien and Jake’s relationship than I was about the mystery. I can’t really put my finger on it, but the whodunnit got a little wrapped up in the “technical” details about who people were and who they were to each other. Too much for me to really care about a decades old body found in Adrien’s newly purchased building.

Adrien’s bookstore is doing well, and Adrien bought the other half of the building in the hopes of expanding his bookstore. During construction, the construction crew happened upon a dead body in the unused third floor of that side of the building. The body was shoved underneath the floorboards and whoever it was that died, died a long time ago.

Interestingly enough, Adrien is the target of multiple break-ins. It’s as if someone wants to break into the building where the body was located. There was always a rumor about the place that a musician vanished and was never heard from again after living in the seedy hotel Adrien’s bookstore had once been, and the locals think he was murdered. Interesting side note. I mentioned in the review for the last book that having two Paul’s were confusing? Well, enter another character named Paulie St. Cyr. There’s a lot of Paul’s in this series.

Adrien is still uncertain about his and Jake’s relationship. It’s a rocky one. Although undeniable at this point that Jake does feel something for Adrien, he had no problem leaving Adrien behind before. And it’s that line of thinking that leave Adrien doubting himself. Adrien is also dealing with recovery after open-heart surgery. He’s spent most of his life believing that he’ll never grow old before dying, that now the realization of his mortality is quite a shock to him.

There’s one hilarious bit in this book is that Adrien is suddenly the hot young bachelor in this book. While Adrien has a lot on his mind about life in general, all his exes decided to come back into town, vying for his affections. Granted, it’s not like he has a lot of exes. But there is his first boyfriend from college (Mel), his boyfriend after the fiasco with Jake (Guy), and Jake himself who knows he screwed everything up with Adrien. It’s a bit of levity in an otherwise dark series with gruesome murders.

I do love Adrien’s relationship with his sisters. I find it odd though that his youngest stepsister, Emma, is fourteen, because she reads much way younger. If her age was never stated, I would have guessed seven or eight to be honest. I’m not entirely sure I still know of any 14-year-olds playing with Barbies? The first edition of this book was written over ten years ago, but it hasn’t been that long. I don’t remember 14-year-olds acting like that. So, that was odd to me, but I do love Adrien’s stepsisters, and even his overprotective mother.

Jake has gone up in brownie points in this book. BUT. He’s still pretty awful. He does apologize to Adrien a lot in this book. And he does try to make it up to Adrien for past behavior. *shrugs* As a fictional character, I guess I like Jake well enough now. Much more than two books ago, that’s for sure. This just isn’t a series I would recommend though because the payoff with the slow burn romance just isn’t there. Waiting until nearly the end of this book for everyone to finally confess their feelings and actually agree to be a couple? This is the last full novel for this series. Yes, there’s a novella to tie up low ends and for us to finally see Adrien and Jake together, but it’s really not enough. It’s disappointing.

The ending is abrupt. AGAIN. It’s ridiculous how each of the books end, because it’s like the characters are in the middle of a conversation and there should be so much more to say, but nope. That’s it. The end. I’ve gotten used to it at this point? But I can’t say I’m happy about it. The mystery aspect of the story gets solved literally at the VERY end of this book, and in dramatic fashion. And that’s it. Hopefully the author has learned since this series because these book endings are awful.

Adrien and Jake

Only positive and grand superlatives can describe - for me - the brilliant writing , characters development, plots of this book and it's series in itself.

Adrien and Jake are unforgettable characters , I know I will be revisiting for years to come.

Chris Patton is a star. He narration is magnificent.

so so good

this is a review for the whole series. amazing writing, wonderful narration. a fitting audio version of this fantastic series. once again, I am bereft to be leaving Adrien and Jake behind

Another great series from Josh Lanyon

Listened to all of the series and then listened to whole series again... Really enjoyed the mystery and the tenuous love affair that continues throughout the series. Chris Patton is so good at narrating or well acting out the story... He really added to the experience as a whole. Good job!
More please Josh and Chris... I was a lot late to the party but better late than never.

Enjoyable Story

A well written story with and interesting  concept.  The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.