I must admit, I thought the front cover of this book was horrible and, unfortunately, the actual story wasn't much better. I hated how police officer, Helen Jamison, was mocked by both her female and male colleagues because she was a size 18 and not covergirl pretty, regardless of the fact she was highly intelligent and capable. This really disgusted me.

Cal McGill was a rather bland main character although I did enjoy the mystery surrounding his grandfather's death and his knowledge of the tides was interesting. However, the plot was slow with little action so I found it a slog to finish. I was glad when I reached the last page and was thrilled that Helen got her revenge! ( )

Not enough detail about currents to be interesting from that point of view, but persevered. Story easily predicted (wristwatches etc).

Clearly made an effort to write 'believable female characters', without success. ( )

Cal McGill interest in the oceans was sparked by the story of his Grandfather, lost at sea during the war, now Cal is a PhD student mapping currents and tides in the North Atlantic. His sideline as an ecological activist gets him arrested and into the orbit of the Edinburgh police force. The publicity from his arrest leads to contact from a woman who knows some of the background to his Grandfather's death and Cal is determined to find out the truth and right a wrong. Meanwhile the publicity has also meant that Cal is contacted by Basanti who needs his help to solve another mystery, altogether more current and dangerous.

I do enough 'detective' novels a lot but it is a crowded genre and a book needs to be really special to stand out from the rest. This is an interesting and exciting new voice with a slightly different twist to the norm. The two strands of the narrative are both gripping in their own right and open up things hidden from society - child abuse and the guilt carried by a small community. The book is a relatively non-complex read, I started it in the late evening and finished the next morning, there isn't a lot technical detail which is a blessing as it could get really confusing. I look forward to more. ( )

This is the first volume of the The Sea Detective series. The main protagonists, which are also likely to be found later are Cal McGill a marine biologist who calculates the currents of the sea and can therefore say where a beach property originally came into the sea. The detective Helen Jamieson of the police Edinburgh working with Cal and an Indian girl who was sold for the sex trade with children.
In this book you get to know the protagonists. Cal is looking at what has happened to his grandfather in 1942 and is struck by a wall of silence and rejection. Helen tries to find her place inside the police and the Indian girl experiences the hell since she was abused for years.
The story is exciting and I will read the sequels of this series. ( )

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1662717697 ( )