Black Tide by KC Jones (2022)
There's nothing more bracing than a non-stop, breathless whirlwind day at the beach that turns grisly, horrific, and suspenseful to excruciating degrees.
Tearing through this book, the print equivalent of one of those summer butter-popcorn movies, reminded me of that amusement park ride that just looks like a big boat that simply sways back and forth like a pendulum. Once you get on it, you realize it's plunging your center of gravity so relentlessly, you and your fellow riders are screaming for mercy..
You couldn't find two more damaged souls than Mike and Beth - he's a suicidal failed ex movie producer tormented by tragedy and she's a wandering housesitter with a long sad history of alcoholism and abuse. They manage to stumble into a one night stand on a stretch of Oregon beach.......and awaken to an impossible but all too real nightmare - a ghastly alien invasion apocalypse, complete with an onslaught of vile, terrifying creatures, fully equipped with snapping jaws, razor teeth and tentacles.
From that point on, it's a perpetual, breathless, bloody Worst Day At The Beach for Mike, Beth and Jake, the big sweet dog left by the homeowners Beth was sitting for. One nightmarish reversal-of-fortune piles up after another as the trio find themselves trapped and hunted by a variety of monsters.
And in the midst of the fierce siege they're under, a surprising and most unlikely ally joins them in their increasingly desperate struggle to survive.
Author KC Jones was obviously more than inspired by the "A Quiet Place" films and Stephen King's novella "The Mist" (both book and film).........his main contribution here comes from compressing all the horror into one single afternoon, which renders any reader incapable of putting the book down for even a minute. For anyone who fondly recalls the chills and thrills they had from those summertime fun rides like "Jaws" and "Aliens", this one should zoom right to the top of your TBR list. 4 stars (****)
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