A DARK AND TWISTED TIDE finds former London police officer Lacey Flint living in a house boat on the Thames River and working for the River Police. Following her last harrowing case and narrow escape from it, she has decided that she wants some peace in her life. Joining the squad that looks after the river, she finds a little peace even though it lacks the excitement of her former job.

At least until the morning she stumbles across a dead body.

You see, Lacey has taken to swimming in the Thames each morning before work. While not the smartest of activities due to the almost toxic condition of this river, she finds it exhilarating. However, on this particular morning she finds much more than she bargained for when the linen wrapped skeleton is practically thrust at her.

This is the beginning of a new and very puzzling case for Lacey as she is drawn back into the fold, at least temporarily, to help solve the murder. Old friends are back as well. Dana Tulloch, along with her team, is in charge of finding out what happened. In addition, the ever sexy, enigmatic Mark Joesbury also makes a few guest appearances.

Rather quickly, it is apparent that someone wants Lacey to be a part of whatever strange and deadly game is being played, and she is willing to go along. But she just may be risking her life in doing so because even Lacey Flint is not immune to murder.

A DARK AND TWISTED TIDE is the newest entry in the Lacey Flint series, and one of the strangest. You can always depend on Sharon Bolton to throw some really wide curves in her plots, and this one is right up there with the best of them. I was taken by the virtual hand and led down a path of eeriness, nerve jangling tension, and, at times, just outright terror. Beautifully crafted scenes fed the horror that I already felt at the continually dangerous risks that Lacey kept taking in order to solve more than one mystery.

Cracking open a new Lacey Flint book is a lot like sitting down to coffee or tea with an old friend. Granted, she would be a friend that is adventurous and always has something exciting going on in her life, but that only adds to her allure. Sharon Bolton has become one of my favorite writers in recent years and I always know that her books will thrill me and hold me captive until the very last page. Even then, I am left craving more because I know that Ms. Bolton already has something special in mind for me in her next book. Once you allow her very intense Lacey Flint into your life; you will never want to let her go.