...dark tides rising!

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Dark Tides (The Fairmile series #2) by Philippa Gregory       


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1670 and King Charles II has been restored to the throne of England. Alinor Reeckie and Alys Stoney have moved fromm the Tidelands at Foulmire to Southwark where they've set up a warehouse catering to smaller businesses. Brother Ned, a soldier with Oliver Cromwell, would not live under a king. He has migrated to the Americas searching for the freedom he yearns for, but he might just find that independence threatened by war between the settlers and the First Nations peoples of the area.

A Venetian woman claiming to be Elinor's son Rob's wife visits along with a baby son. Rob, a physician is dead, drowned in the dark tides Venice Lagoon. Not only does  Elinor not 'feel' it. After all Rob grew up in similar territory "in the paths between sea and land”. That's important given Elinor's gifts. I do not like his widow Livia "Nobildonna da Ricci” at all. 

Added to this, James Avery, Elinor's former lover who repudiated her, has returned looking for absolution.

As Ned's story and that of his family merge I find myself somewhat distracted by the switching between his story and that of the women. I'm sure it's going somewhere, only not now.

Is Darktides as as powerful as Tidelands? I'm unsure. I have been completely engrossed with how Livia cajoles her way into people's lives using her wit, her beauty and her vanity. She's so manipulative! How this plays out is compelling. I do like the way the action crosses between all the players, from the widow to Rob's niece Sarah. A story that in part intrigues and closes earlier circles.


An Atria Books ARC via NetGalley 

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