The Darkest Tide by Peter Hanington

A mutilated body washes up at the beach in Brighton and stirs memories for an elderly gentleman who is in the early stages of dementia. So the first mystery is who the body belongs to and second, who committed this awful crime and why.

The prologue shows what type of book this is by depicting a brutal tortuous murder, indicating criminal gang activities.  However, it happened in the past and the present seems a much calmer place. All the gangsters from that time are dead or aging, and an Albanian family now runs the organised crime in the town. But the secrets of the past face being unearthed, especially now that at least one of the old order has a memory problem.

The story covers two timelines and it is told from many perspectives, one being the daughter of the man with dementia. She is a nurse who visits care homes and is innocently caught up in the aggro without knowing why.  There are many colourful characters and while I didn't always keep up with who was who from the old guard, the story doesn't suffer too much. The central characters are rounded and credible. It is good to see older adults taking centre stage as well.

This is an atmospheric, evocative and compelling story with a pacy, engaging  and well crafted plot that covers themes of memory, loyalty, friendship and revenge as well as the underbelly of society. The final twist at the end I didn't care for much, it seems a bit of a stretch in credulity. But that is a tiny blip in an otherwise great read with a real threat of danger throughout.

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Published by John Murray Press on 7 May 2026.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

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