Tidewater [Mass Market Paperback]

Antoinette Stockenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2001

Newly married and settled in coastal Farnham, Massachusetts, Sarann Bonniface finally has a steadfast, respectable husband at her side and an elegant roof over her head. Now she intends to concentrate on the most pressing matter at hand: taming her newly rebellious teenager.

Through Sarann is well aware her daughter isn't thrilled to have a new stepfather, it never occurs to her that Abigail might go looking for the birth father she never knew--or that he can even be found. Ben McElwyn is so mired in the myth Sarann created that even she isn't sure who he really was. But she's about to find out...

As Sarann's once idyllic days begin to spin out of control, someone is playing games with her mind, and she no longer trusts anyone around her. Not her resentful daughter. Not her brooding husband. Not Ben. Maybe not even herself...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A contrived plot and a predictable villain mar Stockenberg's latest tale of romantic intrigue (following Safe Harbor). Sarann Bonniface, whose mother suffered from schizophrenia, wonders if she too is degenerating into madness when she begins experiencing increasingly bizarre instances of forgetfulness. She receives little emotional support from her rich, controlling new husband, Rodger who is chiefly concerned with maintaining his pristine reputation as the headmaster of one of New England's most prestigious boarding schools or from her rebellious 12-year-old daughter, Abby. Barely aware of her mother's distress, Abby is solely concerned with uncovering the identity of her birth father, and through diligent Internet probing, she discovers that her father is a defrocked police officer, now a private investigator, named Ben McElwyne. Ben's reappearance and his growing affection for Sarann and his daughter is the primary strength of this story, and Rodger's heavy-handed ploy to alienate Sarann from her daughter for his own devious means merely detracts from this more compelling plot thread. Although Stockenberg is skilled at portraying complex family relationships, this novel's weak characterizations and predictable plot will do little to earn her a wider readership.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Antoinette Stockenberg is pure magic."--Susan Elizabeth Phillips

"Ms. Stockenberg takes her place alongside LaVyrle Spencer as a writer of depth and preception."--Under the Covers Book Reviews

"Anotoinette Stockenberg is one of my all-time favorite authors...As far as I'm concerned, [she] is the only writer working today who could bean heir to Mary Stewart's romantic suspense crown."--Teresa Medeiros

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1st edition (June 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312977301
• ISBN-13: 978-0312977306
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,417,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

USA Today bestselling novelist Antoinette Stockenberg grew up wanting be a cowgirl and have her own horse (her great-grandfather bred horses for the carriage trade back in the old country), but the geography just didn't work out: there weren't many ranches in Chicago. Her other, more doable dream was to write books, and after stints as secretary, programmer, teacher, grad student, boatyard hand, office manager and magazine writer (in that order), she achieved that goal, writing over a dozen novels, several of them with paranormal elements. One of them is the RITA award-winning EMILY'S GHOST.

Stockenberg's books have been published in eleven languages and are often set in quaint New England harbor towns, always with a dose of humor. She writes about complex family relationships and the fallout that old, unearthed secrets can have on them. Sometimes there's an old murder. Sometimes there's an old ghost. Sometimes once-lovers find one another after half a lifetime apart.

Her work has been compared to writers as diverse as LaVyrle Spencer, Nora Roberts, and Mary Stewart by critics and authors alike, and her novels have appeared on bestseller lists in USA Today as well as the national bookstore chains. Her website features sample chapters, numerous reviews, and many photos. www.antoinettestockenberg.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tidewater, June 28, 2001

By 

Christy Marchand (Greenwell Springs, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tidewater (Mass Market Paperback)

Antoinette Stockenberg can always be relied upon to deliver a quality product that will keep you in your reading chair long past your bedtime. This latest gem, Tidewater, has a great plot and is peopled with finely drawn characters, all of whom come packed with their own intriguing baggage - in particular, her hero, Ben McElwyn. I have one word for Ben - Whew! What woman can resist the idea of a scruffy, hunky loner who has carried a torch for his lost love for years? Lucky, lucky Sarann. :) Another particular skill of Ms. Stockenberg is her ability to completely nail the voice of her younger characters; in this case, spunky, rebellious Abby. Congratulations to Ms. Stockenberg for another triumph.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has it all!, June 19, 2001

By 

Teresa Medeiros "New York Times Bestseller" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tidewater (Mass Market Paperback)

As a reader, this book satisfied me on many levels. It has a touching romantic reunion, gut-twisting suspense, and wrenching emotional impact. I especially liked the development of the "villain" because it was done so subtly that even I began to doubt my perception of him. Ms. Stockenberg excels at novels that explore the mother/daughter relationship and this one is no exception. If you like suspense, romance, and family relationships all wrapped up in a credible story, TIDEWATER should make you very happy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD WRITER - ODD STORY!, June 30, 2001

By 

"lethe2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tidewater (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read all of Antoinnette Stockenberg's novels and have generally enjoyed them. "Tidewater" should really get 3 and 1/2 stars, but she is a writer of substance and ability, hence 4 stars. The problems between Sarann and Rodger were telegraphed without any subtlety on the writer's part. However, the ending, even with all the hints throughout the book, was blatently shocking, but did not have the appropriate build up. Ben and Abbey were the most appealing characters in the book, although Ben's transformation was also lacking appropriate development.