Michael Bay would hate this book

I chose this book because I got a discount code from Kobo. I got to choose this one from ten titles and I have no idea why I picked it; probably because the rest seemed even more unappetising. I have even less of a clue as to why I picked it up except that I wanted to read something easy and I’m saving Outlander for my upcoming beach holidays. I’m glad I picked it up, though.

Spring Tide starts with the murder of a pregnant woman: on a desolate beach in a remote part of Sweden, two people bury her in the sand with only her head left free. As the tide rises, they leave her there and walk away.

A good two and a half decades later, we meet Olivia, a twenty three year old student at the police academy. Her class receives the assignment to look into old cases to see what has gone wrong before. As she investigates, she discovers intriguing clues and refuses to let go.

On the other side of town, wealthy businessman Bertil is informed of her activities and becomes very, very nervous.

Meanwhile, all through Stockholm, homeless people are attacked. The attacks are filmed and placed on a website.

Spring Tide isn’t a fantastic book. Some of the characters aren’t worked out very well, the conclusion is toe-curlingly manipulative and predictable, and the staccato writing style could do with a bit of flair. But still, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The mystery is gripping enough to keep you guessing and while not all of the characters are equally interesting, most of them are believable and likeable (and refreshingly normal). Most importantly, though, it was refreshing to read a thriller where everyone had some damn common sense. There are no irate shootouts or desperate reveals (except for one near the end, which I will ignore). When Olivia is threatened by some goons, she doesn’t cower in her apartment or go on a Tarantinoesque revenge-fuelled rampage: she calls the police and stays in her apartment.

All in all, Spring Tide was a pleasant surprise and gripping enough to keep me reading. I’m not a die-hard fan, but the normalcy and level-headedness, at least, were an interesting novelty.