Time and Tide

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S TIME AND TIDE ABOUT?
A new DI has been named at King's Lake—and it's a person we've run into before—and it's a bridge too far for DC Smith. He's been thinking about retiring since the first book, and that thought's been getting louder. He'd probably stick it out for a little longer if not for this new boss, but...so he turns in his papers and starts to prepare to leave.

But first, there's a murder to solve. Smith sets out for what's likely the last time with his team and their new DI to solve the case of a suspected figure in organized crime being murdered in a small tourist town.

Everyone tries to treat this as just a typical investigation, but the specter of Smith's retirement looms over everything. This is Smith's last chance to impart his training on his team—Chris Waters in particular. Waters is doing his best to prove to his mentor that he's ready to fly solo (all the while trying to soak up anything he can). Smith's also busy trying to put his team in the best positions for their career—even if their immediate future is under the DI that led him to resign.

Also, he should probably figure out what he's going to do when he doesn't have a job anymore.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT TIME AND TIDE?
So, I know there are more books in the series, which takes a little sting out of it, but I wasn't ready for Smith to leave Kings Lake.

I thought the story meandered a bit more than I'm used to, but it worked. It felt appropriate for the time. It's not just Smith's upcoming retirement, there's a lot about changing of times, former careers/lives, the past defining people, and so on. It's probably the most obvious that Grainger's been about matching the themes of the plotlines, but I'm not going to complain.

Like I said, I know there are more books to come in the series, so it's not an ending—or really the beginning of the end—it's a transition novel. Things are going to change, and while I'm not necessarily a fan of change, I'm betting that Grainger's going to pull it off. He's doing so already.

On top of that, we get the typical wise and witty Smith with his very capable team unearthing secrets, and making sure the truth is revealed. Narrated by the man who continues to make these characters come to life and elevates the already well-written text. You really can't go wrong with this series.

This one really has that ‘time slipping through our hands' feeling for Smith and that Faulkner quote “The past is never dead. It's not even past.” is resonant throughout. Bittersweet goodbyes and new beginnings are in the air.

In that spirit the case is solved by on the page noticeable contributions by the whole squad and the change that's come to Lake is unexpectedly good.