26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon, February 24, 2010
This review is from: The Dark Tide (Paperback)
***spoilers for previous books in this series***
The fifth and final book of the Adrien English Mystery Series *SOB*. It is always hard when a series ends for me, especially one so beloved as this one. It was exciting to read the final book to see where Adrien and Jake end up, and to reflect on their journey in the series and Josh Lanyon gave them a goodbye that they much deserved.
I picked up Fatal Shadows, the first book in this series, on a whim one day. It is only 150 pages and I read it all in one sitting. I still remember reading it and thinking, who is this Josh Lanyon person and how did he write this amazing Adrien English character? I have really only had that feeling twice - the other time with Moon Called by Patricia Briggs.
At the very end of Fatal Shadows, after the murder investigation is over, Jake turns to Adrien and says:
"You know, this won't be an easy thing, Adrien."
"The investigation, you mean?"
Jake says - "No. No, I don't mean that."
And was Jake so right. If any two people have worked hard to be together, it has been Jake and Adrien. Prime example, Jake gets married - to a female, during this series. It was worth it though - the heart ache, the waiting between books - Adrien is one of my all time favorite characters, and Jake - he more than makes up for his past behavior in The Dark Tide.
Adrien's life is going through many changes. He is recovering from heart surgery, correcting a faulty valve that has plagued him most of his adult life. He is also recovering from being shot, refer to drama in book four. His on/off again lover, Jake Riordan has divorced his wife, retired from the police force and has come out to his family (Jake was very deep in the closet). Adrien has been through a lot with Jake - A LOT. He is tired and truly scared that if he puts himself into Jake's arms again, he will be hurt....again.
Professionally, Adrien is remodeling his bookstore, The Cloak and Dagger to encompass a much bigger space. This would not be a proper Adrien English Mystery book without a dead body, and this time we discover a very dead body, dead for fifty years hidden under the floorboards, found during the renovations. Adrien has been through the wringer with dead bodies, so when questions arise to the skeleton's history and break-ins start occurring at the The Cloak and Dagger, Adrien's suspicions go on high alert. Adrien is not up to his normal sleuthing skills since recovering from heart surgery has him exhausted. Now that Jake is not on the police force he has started his own private investigation firm. Adrien hires him to track down clues and it gives Adrien an excuse to stay in contact with Jake.
First and foremost, The Dark Tide is the perfect ending to this series. The mystery in this one is great because after the drama in the fourth book, and with Adrien so weak after his surgery, he really couldn't be running from murdering bad guys again. Finding a fifty year old skeleton in his shop, with the mystery surrounding it, is a perfect way for him to still sleuth while recovering from surgery.
Let's face it though - what I really wanted to see was the path Jake and Adrien would take in this book. While I loved to hate Jake in previous books, I loved Jake in this book. He is out now - to everyone. I was worried how he would be able to handle it - oh, and Adrien was worried about it too :) Jake was completely understanding in all aspects of Adrien's life. He was there to make sure Adrien took care of himself after the surgery, he was there to make sure Adrien didn't get any ideas about running after leads in the investigation, and he was there to give Adrien breathing room to decide how he wanted to proceed in their relationship. We see a tender, sweet side of Jake - who knew he was so romantic? Jake's admission of love is one of my favorite lines - I'm not going to quote it here because it is more fun to read it when you are swept up in the book, but it is such a Jake thing to say.
The Dark Tide wraps up the series, and although I am sad that it is done, I feel very satisfied in the events that take place and I have many rereads of the series to come.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The whole series, March 9, 2010
This review is from: The Dark Tide (Paperback)
Although each book in this series is great on it's own, I think it's really important that they should all be read and in the right order. The whole series should be offered as a set by someone, or one large hardback containing all five books.
I don't want to review the books as such, but to comment on my feelings. By the middle of Fatal Shadows, I was in love with Adrien and Jake. By the end of A Dangerous Thing, I was delighted with where we were heading. At the end of The Hell You Say, I was devasted. Just about all the way through Pirate King, my heart was in my throat. I had to rush through The Dark Tide, to make sure they were going to be OK. Of course I could have just read the ending first to make it easy on myself, but why deny myself the delightful torture of taking the slow road.
I have read many books that I've loved, and characters that I have cared about and related to. But I have never before woken in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, worried about two fictional characters.
That Josh Lanyon was able to create two characters that I came to care about more than some of my family,
is testament to his incredible talent. In my opinion there is no award available now, that is good enough for him.
I don't know why these books struck such a chord in my heart, and obviously they won't affect everyone in the same way, but I'm sure that everyone that reads them will enjoy them. I'm not sure that I will ever get over them, or be the same again.
I'm going back now to read Dark Side at a more leisurely pace and thouroughly savour every page.
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