Red Tide: A Billy Knight Thriller

By Jeff Lindsay

From Jeff Lindsay, the bestselling author of the DEXTER series, comes the long-awaited sequel to his debut novel, TROPICAL DEPRESSION, featuring ex-cop Billy Knight.

Billy Knight wants to ride out Key West’s slow-season with the occasional charter and the frequent beer. But when he discovers a dead body floating in the gulf, Billy gets drawn into a deadly plot of dark magic and profound evil. Along with his plucky, gun-happy friend, Nicky, and Anna, a resilient and mysterious survivor of her own horrors, Billy sets out to right the wrongs the police won’t, putting himself in mortal peril on the high seas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Oct 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781626817203

Reviews for Red Tide

[laura6thomas-5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Billy’s looking for a relaxing off-season in the charter fishing business. Helping a friend move some sail boats, he’s dragged into a murder mystery. Nicky, along for the ride and some beers, is doing some practice shooting with his new gun. What he mistakes for a coconut floating in the distance turns out to be a dead Haitian man.When local police shrug it off as another drowned refugee, Nicky, like a dog with a bone, worries Billy into digging into the case. It’s more than a dead body. It’s mass murder, and Nicky puts his faith in Billy to dig out the truth, make the lazy officials get involved.What neither counted on was going up against a bocor, one who delves in dark voodoo magic and zombies.There’s a lot worse things than drowning on the high seas.It’s fun to be back with Billy and Nicky. Billy is a bit of an introvert, wanting to be left alone. Nicky, on the other hand, is the comic relief. He’s always operating his enthusiasm at one hundred percent.Billy is working through a break up with his girlfriend and exploring a new romance with a mysterious girl, Anna, who has her own demons to overcome.Nicky is his usual wacky self, until the discovery of the body. Now he’s full on rabid, worrying Billy until he agrees to look into the problem.It’s never a dull moment in Key West.I enjoy the setting for this series. Living on the Gulf Coast, it feels familiar. The humidity and sudden storms. The lackadaisical attitude and lifestyle of the tropics. And especially the dress code, shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops. I always dread winter when I have to wear layers and put shoes and socks on.The plot is familiar too. Living so close to the area, the plight of the Haitian refugees is often aired on our local news. I have no doubt what happens in this book happens in real life. Just like the illegal border crossings from Mexico to the US, the coyotes do some similar atrocities.The fact this can and does happen in real life makes the connection to the story stronger, more engaging. It makes you think, feel the outrage, and empathize with the characters.This is another thrilling chapter in the series. One I recommend to all thriller fans.

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Billy Knight, ex-LA cop and now charter boat operator, is trying to enjoy his retirement in Key West Florida despite a recent split from his long-time girlfriend. To try to break him out of his post-breakup funk, his Aussie friend, Nick, convinces him a fishing expedition is just the ticket. However, on the trip, they come across a body. When they contact the Coast Guard, they learn this is an all-too-common occurrence – someone is dumping Haitian refugees in the ocean by the hundreds but no one seems interested to do anything and that includes Billy. But Nicky is determined that someone must do something and that Billy should be that someone. He enlists Anna, a beautiful Russian immigrant who has survived horrors of her own, to persuade Billy and soon the trio are on the trail of a ship called the Black Freighter and its captain who is offering to bring refugees from Haiti to the US for a hefty price and is somehow compelling them to leap to their deaths miles from any shore. Red Tide is the second in the series by author Jeff Lindsay but the first I’ve read. It is told in the first person by Billy who, despite his best efforts, lives up to his surname – he is protective, romantic, chivalrous and kind to small animals and people but with a penchant for a good bar fight which is kind of a modern-day equivalent of jousting. He also has a great sense of self-deprecation and humour which helps to reduce the tension of some very dark scenes. The rest of the cast including Nick, Anna, and the mysterious Deacon are less well-defined but still likeable. This is a well-plotted novel with plenty of action and suspense and, if you’re a fan of Dexter or thrillers in general, this is definitely one for you.