The Rising Tide
Set in 1799, this is the third of Patrick Easter’s crime thrillers featuring Tom Pascoe, a former Royal Navy captain turned river surveyor for London’s newly formed Marine Police. Although the author does slip in salient elements of the backstory, I think it would have helped to have read the other books in the series, as a significant theme here is Tom’s struggle to beat the “demon drink” to which he has resorted following the murder of a woman he loved by his sworn enemy, French agent, André Dubois.
In this adventure, the discovery of a murdered man’s body in the Thames leads into a complex tale involving the slave trade, the abolitionist movement and possible treason. Unfortunately, the only witness to another killing is himself on the run and at the mercy of powerful men. The narrative has multiple viewpoints, including that of the several villains, so for a good deal of the story, we are one step ahead of Tom and his companions, willing them to discover the truth.
This is an authentically dour and grimy narrative, realistically downbeat. It reeks of the old Thames, its wharves and riverside, with the Isle of Dogs a bleak marshland frequented by duellists. The strongest part of the book was the brilliantly realised cat-and-mouse game between Tom and Dubois, but (perhaps unfortunately!) I found the Frenchman the most compelling character – Marseilles street thug turned soldier, turned government agent and assassin.
Recommended for those who like naval and crime fiction, and for its vivid depiction of river life and Georgian London.
