The Darkest Tide: When memories wash up, things can get deadly

Paperback Published on: 19/11/2026
Price: £10.99
Free UK delivery on orders over £25, otherwise £3.99
Coming soon
Published 19/11/2026
Make and edit your lists in your account
No stock available in any shop.
Coming soon
Published 19/11/2026
No stock available in any shop.

Bookseller Reviews

View all
The Darkest Tide
A wonderful and gripping thriller!
The Darkest Tide is a stunning and gripping mystery thriller set in the beautiful seaside town of Brighton. Covering themes of family, memory, forgetfulnes... READ MORE
Emma at Waterstones Blackburn

Synopsis

What happens when you can no longer keep a secret?

When Arthur Cotton sees a body washed up on the beach, difficult memories come flooding back. He kept the books for the Brighton mob back in the day and got out on friendly terms. But retirement came with conditions - mainly to keep his mouth shut. Fifty years on, it's trickier. Dementia is taking hold and he's getting leaky. His former bosses are worried. Arthur didn't just keep their accounts, he also kept their secrets. Now there's going to be a reckoning.

It's up to Arthur's daughter, Susan, a carer for the elderly, to find out what her father knows. What he's been saying and to whom. There are dangerous people around, and they're beginning to lose their patience. She'll have to turn detective to encounter a Brighton she barely knew existed, and to turn up parts of her father's past that are just as dark.

Peter Hanington delves into Brighton's shadowy corners in this gripping new series starring the brilliant Susan Cotton.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: John Murray Press
  • ISBN: 9781399821018
  • Number of pages: 464
  • Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

View all
The Darkest Tide
A really good read, dark and pacey
Arthur Cotton sees a body washed up on Brighton beach and it brings back memories. That's something that is less easy for Arthur these days. He was an ac... READ MORE
Nigel
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
A Gripping Tale of Guilt and Redemption!
This visceral thriller dives deep into Brighton’s criminal underbelly, led by Arthur, a man haunted by his history as a "fixer" accountant for a local firm... READ MORE
Diane Elizabeth Taylor
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
A gripping thriller digging into Brighton's dark underbelly- excellent
Having not read any of the William Carver series by Peter Hanington, there were no preconceptions as to what to expect from The Darkest Tide. But once star... READ MORE
Stephen - The Bookworm
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
Multilayered with lots of tension, malice and suspense!
At the centre of this story is Arthur Cotton who kept the books for the Brighton mob back in the day and got out on friendly terms. But retirement came wit... READ MORE
helen_t_reads
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
Very enjoyable gritty gangster novel
A brilliant opener to the new Brighton Series starring Susan Cotton. Susan is a district nurse who looks after a lot of elderly patients and has no idea a... READ MORE
Lynda’s Book Reviews
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
Good British Crime Read
A very good novel hopefully the start of a new series. Set in modern day Brighton with flashbacks to 1969 the major the changes in the cities underworld a... READ MORE
Steven Capel
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
Good read
I really enjoyed reading this. Susan is a nurse, her patients are several of the elderly residents of Brighton, she spends most of her time worrying about ... READ MORE
K MacLean
The Darkest Tide
A fantastic read.
Arthur Cotton was always good at keeping his mouth shut … until he got older and Dementia changed things for him. Fifty years ago, he was part of a Bri... READ MORE
Dee Groocock
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
A revelation of human frailty, a mixture of dark and light. ‘The Darkest Tide’ is dipped like a seaside pier donut in sugar and blood. Brighton, and the best, and worst, of humanity colliding until the explosive final pages.
If you didn’t know Brighton before, then this book brings it to life in three, and on occasions four, dimensions. There are a host of Brighton characters,... READ MORE
Matthew Farmer
The Darkest Tide
An Excellent Read
The Darkest Tide is the latest book by Peter Hanington and what will hopefully become a new series as it is an excellent read with an engaging dual timelin... READ MORE
Lee Carson
Verified Purchase
The Darkest Tide
A good murder, mystery, thriller
This is a really good read; it is about Arthur Cotton and his daughter, Susan. Arthur is getting on in years, and he has signs of dementia. Susan works as ... READ MORE
Yvonne Bastian
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
The Darkest Tide
A real gem of a thriller!
This was a real gem of a thriller full of the unexpected with so many twists and turns I was barely able to keep up. Even the last line of the book was a r... READ MORE
Annette Librarian
The Darkest Tide
A tale of long time revenge
As a young man Arthur became the book keeper for a vicious organised crime gang based in 1960s Brighton. Now in the 20i20s and with the beginnings of dimen... READ MORE
John Davies