The Killing Tide

Written by Jean-Luc Bannalec

Narrated by Graham Halstead

Deep sea fishers, dolphin researchers, smugglers, and an island shrouded in myth in the middle of the rough Atlantic ocean: Commissaire Dupin had sworn he would never again investigate on the ocean, but his fifth case takes him offshore, off the west coast of Brittany on a beautifully sunny day in June. He lands on the unique Ile de Sein, populated by more rabbits than people, where the hairdresser arrives by boat and which was formerly inhabited by powerful witches and even the devil himself. In front of this impressive backdrop-between the islands of Molene, Ouessant, and the bay of Douarnenez-Dupin and his team follow a puzzling case that pushes them to their very limits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Feb 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781515949473

Jean-Luc Bannalec

Jean-Luc Bannalec lives in Germany and the southerly region of the French department of Finistère. In 2016 he was given the award Mécène de Bretagne. Since 2018 he has been an honorary member of the Académie Littéraire de Bretagne. He is also the author of Death in Brittany, Murder on Brittany Shores, The Fleur de Sel Murders, The Missing Corpse, The Killing Tide, The Granite Coast Murders, and The King Arthur Case.

Reviews for The Killing Tide

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mr. Bannalec seems to be having translator problems. I noticed it first with The Missing Corpse, translated by Sorcha McDonagh (really loopy word choices) and now The Killing Tide translated by Peter Millar (full of partial sentences). Overall, this is not the best of the series, This one isn't the best of the Brittany Murder series but really, all of these books are pretty good.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A woman is found dead with her throat slashed open in the bin of fish guts at the local fish auction house. She was known to have stirred up trouble with the local fishermen by demanding sustainable fishing practices.Then a second woman is found in the graveyard of plague victims with her throat slashed in the same manner. She was also a supporter of sustainable fishing practices and a protector of dolphins.Recently the two had been seen together out on each other's boats and had purchased new equipment for their boats. Upon investigating Dupin discovers that all of their technology is missing.Along with this plot, enter a man with criminal practices running a huge fishing & smuggling enterprise, who ends up being the 2nd victim's father.A 3rd corpse is found on a far-off part of the area, murdered in the same manner and with a tenuous connection to the 2 women.Again I skipped a good portion of Dupin's ruminations, but the story had an interesting turn, in that the two women were working together searching for a treasure & any number of people were watching them closely when they went out to sea together...Sadly we never got to know the women when they were alive.

[brianewilliams · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's an inconclusive whodunit murder mystery. The story is set in present day Brittany on the west coast of France. It's a rural area far from cosmopolitan Paris, the hometown of the protagonist/narrator, Commissaire Georges Dupin. The atmospheric setting overwhelms the mystery story, crowding out what is essentially a police procedural. Dupin is assisted by two inspectors. and one of them is prone to delivering rambling history lectures whenever possible. The flow of the story gets blocked by these diversions and obscures the ecological commentary about the state of the fishery, a central theme of the story. Dupin runs on caffeine from his numerous espresso fixes. More crucial is the omnipresent support of his assistant, Nolwenn, who is a standout character. The mystery story is squeezed into a 48-hour time frame which artificially ramps up suspense. The ending is twisty, but anti-climatic. This is the fifth of a series and can be read as a standalone, although Dupin's backstory would be missed without having read the previous books in the series.

[19anne44 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There were so many characters that I had trouble keeping track. A map would have been incredibly useful and perhaps a glossary because I knew nothing about different kinds of fishing boats and fish. I enjoy the local legends.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

smuggling, small-town, superstitions, suspense, law-enforcement, Brittany, procedural, historical-research, cultural-exploration, translated,*****Where to start telling why I loved this book so much? !The police procedural is exceptionally well done with due diligence above and beyond the call. Plenty of suspense, too. Commissaire Dupin is so very real and human, in the way of Commissario Montalbano and Dr Siri Paiboun although he is not so much into fantastical things. No doubt about the merits of that part. The knife murders of three people in just over a day is monstrous.For those of us who also geek folklore and history, this is truly a treasure trove of information. For those who live with the sea in any part of the world, there is beautiful descriptions of island life anywhere but especially off the coast of Brittany. And seals! I never knew that this area hosted seals! For those who go out to the sea in boats there's appreciation of the hard work and dangers. For environmentalists there is clear and horrifying descriptives of poaching and waste. And then there's the smuggling of cigarettes!Don't forget to thank the unnamed translator.I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press / Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!