Fatal Tide
by Iris Johansen
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Book Reviews of Fatal Tide
Book Review: exciting romantic thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Lontana's Island in the Lesser Antilles is the refuge of Melis Nemid, a woman who loves the dolphins Pete and Susie that she trains as if they were own children. She doesn't like or trust men except foster father Phil Lontana or the crewmembers of his shop the Lost Home. Phil is obsessed with discovering the location of Marinth, an island of an advanced civilization that sunk beneath the sea millennia ago.Arms dealer Hugh Archer wants the research notes concerning the weapon that Phil developed that can cause earthquakes because a Mideast terrorist group is willing to pay much money for it. When Phil refuses to deal, Archer blows up the ship with Phil aboard and goes after his protégée Melis who he knows has the location of the research notes. When Melis also refuses to deal, he kills her closest friend forcing her to team up with billionaire Jed Kelby who will help her kill Archer if she leads him to the location of Marinth.
Though feeling somewhat comic book in nature, FATAL TIDE is an exciting romantic thriller that starts off at light speed and just picks up speed until the climax is over. In between chase scenes, the two protagonists find room for romance but the real scene-stealers are the two dolphins, more loving and civilized than most of the humans in the novel. Melis will engage reader empathy especially when the audience discovers the extreme trauma she suffered as a child. Nobody will pity her though because she has grown into a strong woman who is not afraid to mete out justice to those who deserve it.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: Absolutely excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, Fatal tide is certainly a page turner! I have read a couple of other Iris Johansen novels and must admist that I think this is the best one I have read! .... this lady knows her stuff!Iris Johansen (IJ) manages to fill her story's with both factual and interesting themes: this one involves dolphins (and the training of), and a lost city ........ and let me tell you it is one heck of a story!
Yes, IJ does infuse this story with a leading lady who has had a very abusive past (we're talking child abuse here) .... in fact, one would think that the kind of abuse this women had been through would be repugnant as a story-line for a fiction novel BUT IJ puts an angle on the abuse that puts you in the "shoes" of the leading lady enabling the reader to understand the psyche of an abused child and the effect of the abuse in adulthood .... the 'honest and emotional' dialogue is perfect for the setting and the story is exceptional.
I didn't actually choose this book myself, a friend lent it to me, and I have to say that this was an excellent story, with the best characterisation and plot that I have read in a long, long time: I started this book at 6pm and had finished by 2am .... and I have a baby!
If you are looking for a page turner, that is interesting and adventurous, with some sex/romance chucked in sporadically then this is definitely worth your while!
Good reading to you, Kristina
Book Review: OK, But Not Ms. Johansen's Best...
Summary: 3 Stars
Melis Nemid lives on her own island in the Carribean w/no one but her dolphins for companionship. She's supported by her "foster father" a wealthy treasure hunter named Phil Lontana. She had a tough childhood, sexual abuse being involved, so she has a problem trusting people. When her foster father dies in a boat explosion, Melis teams up w/filthy rich (where does this girl find all these rich dudes?) ex-Navy Seal Jed Kelby to find his murderer. Jed wants Melis to help him find the mythical city of Marinth. Bad guy Hugh Archer wants to possess Melis and beat Kelby to finding the mythical city. And he has no qualms about hurting people to do so. So the chase is on...Melis's horrific childhood reviewed pretty vividly and in some detail. I know child sex abuse happens, but I really don't need to hear the nitty gritty details, thanks so much. That turned me off from the whole story. And as some other reviewers have pointed out, the bad guys are really, really, bad and the good guys are ever so good.
I've read most of Ms. Johansen's books and liked most of them. If you are new to her books, I'd recommend starting w/one like "And Then You Die" or "Long After Midnite". This book is by no means terrible, but it was not one of her best, in my opinion, too dark.
Book Review: Heart-pounding, but not fatal
Summary: 4 Stars
Marine researcher, Melis Nemid, works with dolphins, Pete and Susie, on an isolated Caribbean island. She shares a secret about the mysterious underwater city of Marith with her foster father, Phil Lontana. After Phil's boat blows up, Melis is the only person alive with information pertaining to Marinth. It is information that someone wants at any cost. Her friends, her dolphins, her very sanity are threatened in order to get the information. Jed Kelby, an ex-Navy Seal, is also looking for Marinth. He and Melis become partners in the hunt for the madman threatening Melis. Along the way, Jed helps Melis deal with the scars of her past as they embark on a new emotional journey. The first few chapters were very confusing and I was not sure if I would like this book. Many characters were introduced rather quickly and the premise of underwater cities was a little off the wall for me. Once I had the characters straight, the story unfolded at a quick pace and became very engrossing. The primary and secondary characters are engaging. The dolphins almost steal the show and I would not be surprised if Iris Johansen's next book features Nicholas Lyons as the protagonist. This is a good, light read that will appeal to fans of the romantic suspense genre.
Book Review: Queen of Choppy Sentences
Summary: 1 Stars
After reading my first Iris Johansen novel (No One to Trust), I have been compelled to review as much of her work as I can manage to help warn off those with more discriminating literary palates. I realize there are masses of readers who enjoy the simple plots and one dimensional characters Iris continues to churn out, but the next time you read one of her books, count how many times she uses the following phrases:
"She stiffened."
"Her lips tightened."
"She Tensed."
"Terror tore through her."
I am convinced she has these phrases and more set up as macros in her word processor. By my count in Fatal Tide, she used "She Stiffened" 32 times, and then there were derivatives of that as well.
She also peppers the text with one or two word "sentences" that do nothing but irritate. Her narrative is limited to superficial descriptions of the setting and monotonous reused peeks into the characters thoughts.
Ms. Johansen clearly is still a dime store romance novelist who is trying unsuccessfully to write thrillers. I guess it's working out well for her though since she has these snores displayed all over department store book racks.