View source for The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick

{{infobox1
|title=The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley)
|sort=Relentless Tide (DCI Daley)
|author=Denzil Meyrick
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The sixth book in a series which seems to be gathering more followers. A good read.
|rating=4
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=424
|publisher=Polygon
|date=September 2018
|isbn=978-1846974120
|website=http://www.birlinn.co.uk/Denzil-Meyrick/
|cover=1846974127
|aznuk=1846974127
|aznus=1846974127
}}

The site was rumoured to have been the home of Viking warlord Somerled, so the discovery by Professor Francombe and her team of archaeologists of the graves of three women initially caused great excitement, which rapidly turned to horror when they realised that the women had died just over twenty years ago.  The graves would bring some closure though - these were the bodies of the three missing victims of the 'Midweek Murderer' who operated in Glasgow in the early to mid nineties.  It was also an opportunity for DCI Jim Daley to confront a failure in his past.  He'd been on the original case and the murderer had never been found.  He'd also lost a close friend and made some enemies, one of whom would return to taunt him when Police Scotland's Cold Case Unit arrived on the scene.

The story moves between the present day in Kinloch, home of DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott, and various locations in southern Scotland in 1994.  You'll need to pay attention to which time span you're in as the difference between DCI Jim Daley and DC Jim Daley is only one letter, but more than two decades and a wealth of power and influence.  It's worth concentrating a this is a very neatly constructed plot with a twist at the end which I didn't see coming.

The book would read well as a standalone: I have listened to some earlier books as audio downloads and read another but there's enough backstory in ''The Relentless Tide'' to bring you up to date but without making fans of the series wonder why they've bought the book.  There are one or two mild spoilers for earlier books, but nothing too major.  Daley's estranged wife is still causing him problems, but Brian Scott is off the booze and onto a health kick (smoking doesn't count, apparently) and into running.  The present-day location - Kinloch - is fictional but evokes coastal south-west Scotland perfectly and many of the locals we've met in earlier books are here again.  Even if you've not met them before you'll look forward to meeting them again.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

We were impressed by another twist at the end which we didn't see coming in the last DCI Daley book: [[Well of the Winds (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick|Well of the Winds]].

[[Denzil Meyrick's DCI Daley books in chronological order]]

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