Tideline
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Review
`A dark and evocative thriller where a woman abducts a teenage boy and holds him hostage in her house in Greenwich' --Sun
Brilliantly written and totally gripping. I loved it. --S. J. Watson
An impressive debut from a writer we're certain to hear more about if she can fulfil the promise and ambition of this first thriller... There are hints of a young Daphne du Maurier in Hancock's cool, evocative prose as she reveals the terrifying extent of Sonia's obsession... Beautifully worked and with a sharp eye for the menace in the commonplace, it lingers in the memory like a Schubert melody, and casts a distinctive spell --Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail
A clever, creepy thriller about misplaced affection and abduction, with a riverside location as an eerie backdrop --Marie Claire
A sparklingly creepy debut thriller with the most brilliant premise --Daily Mirror
This creepy, well-written debut is reminiscent of John Fowles's The Collector, but with the genders reversed... The efficacy of this sort of psychological thriller depends largely on the plausibility of the main characters, and with Sonia, Hancock pulls of the considerable feat of "writing mad" convincingly enough for us to understand the logic of her actions --Laura Wilson, The Guardian
A dark and unsettling tale of abduction and entrapment with all the obsessive power of Stephen King's Misery and Thierry Jonquet's Tarantula . . . I found myself desperate to know more all the way through - until the final shell-shock moments, which left me open-jawed. If you loved the psychological thrills of Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson or Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes, or the desperate measures to cover crimes of Graham Reece's Mice, then this is for you. We're just going into the second week of 2012 and already a book of the year has clearly risen to the surface. --Keith Walters, Books and Writers
`Incredibly descriptive and chilling all at once, this thriller is an accomplished debut from Penny Hancock' --Star
`Evocative thriller' --Choice magazine
Brilliantly written and totally gripping. I loved it. --S. J. Watson
An impressive debut from a writer we're certain to hear more about if she can fulfil the promise and ambition of this first thriller... There are hints of a young Daphne du Maurier in Hancock's cool, evocative prose as she reveals the terrifying extent of Sonia's obsession... Beautifully worked and with a sharp eye for the menace in the commonplace, it lingers in the memory like a Schubert melody, and casts a distinctive spell --Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail
A clever, creepy thriller about misplaced affection and abduction, with a riverside location as an eerie backdrop --Marie Claire
A sparklingly creepy debut thriller with the most brilliant premise --Daily Mirror
This creepy, well-written debut is reminiscent of John Fowles's The Collector, but with the genders reversed... The efficacy of this sort of psychological thriller depends largely on the plausibility of the main characters, and with Sonia, Hancock pulls of the considerable feat of "writing mad" convincingly enough for us to understand the logic of her actions --Laura Wilson, The Guardian
A dark and unsettling tale of abduction and entrapment with all the obsessive power of Stephen King's Misery and Thierry Jonquet's Tarantula . . . I found myself desperate to know more all the way through - until the final shell-shock moments, which left me open-jawed. If you loved the psychological thrills of Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson or Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes, or the desperate measures to cover crimes of Graham Reece's Mice, then this is for you. We're just going into the second week of 2012 and already a book of the year has clearly risen to the surface. --Keith Walters, Books and Writers
`Incredibly descriptive and chilling all at once, this thriller is an accomplished debut from Penny Hancock' --Star
`Evocative thriller' --Choice magazine
Review
'It's such a thrill to read a book as deliciously dark and richly evocative as Tideline. From the first page to its shocking finale it draws you into its world and won't let go. A wonderful debut... I took Tideline on my travels, thinking it would last me a couple of weeks. Two days later I'd finished it, having stayed up all night, and was telling everyone I met they had got to read it. Brilliantly written and totally gripping. I loved it' S J Watson, author of BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP 'TIDELINE is very clever and very chilling, and the surprises keep on coming until the very end... It is incredible that such a gripping thriller can also be so compassionate in its dealings with its characters' Julia Crouch, author of CUCKOO 'A gripping account of a woman on the edge, who commits appalling crimes and offers them up in a tone of quietly rational domesticity' NJ Cooper
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Really recommend this excellent thriller. The startling story line full of twists, some thoughtful psychological insight into the motivations of the characters, *and* it's well-written.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Penny Hancock's `Tideline' is the author's debut novel and, for a first book, this is an excellent start; it is unsettling, chilling and very gripping. Sonia, in her early forties, is a voice coach who teaches from her beautiful home in Greenwich, called River House, which is set beside the River Thames. Her husband, Greg, who is often away on business and her daughter, Kit, studying at university, are keen for Sonia to sell up, but Sonia grew up at River House, and now that the house has been left to her in her father's will, she is adamant that she will never move away. The river, she feels, is in her blood; her most intense moments of happiness and of sadness were experienced at River House and there is no way she will ever willingly leave it.
When Sonia answers her door one winter's day, she finds Jez, the fifteen-year-old nephew of her friend, Helen, calling to see if he might borrow an album that Sonia's husband offered him. Sonia invites Jez inside, pours him a drink, and whilst she sits watching him, she feels an overwhelming urge to keep him with her. She gives Jez too much alcohol, locks him in her husband's music room and plans how she can prevent him from leaving. Sonia's desire to keep Jez in her possession is prompted by traumatic events that happened when she was a teenager, when she felt an intense and obsessive love for Sebastian, a young man, who filled her every waking moment with a powerful need for him, and who left her under very tragic circumstances.
The telling of the story is divided between Sonia, in a first person narrative, and Helen in a third person narrative. The chapters narrated by Sonia are strong and almost claustrophobic, pulling the reader in immediately; we can feel Sonia's desperation and her intense need to keep Jez with her, so that even though we know she is behaving in an alarming and irrational manner, we almost feel a sympathy for her, for she is clearly psychologically unwell. As the story develops we learn why Sonia feels compelled to behave the way she does, what happened to her and Sebastian, and why her father felt it necessary to end his own life.
Although parts of this story may seem rather far-fetched, Penny Hancock writes convincingly and her descriptive language is very good, especially when she describes Sonia's feelings about the river; she writes: "When the tide's out, you can hear the water on the shingle. There's a constant background rhythm. But when it's in, the sounds can catch you off-guard. Haven't you heard the pontoon? It sounds like a child crying...and you get those sudden surges when a boat goes by, the ebb and the flow...like life..."
With this story (which I found somewhat reminiscent of John Fowles`The Collector') Penny Hancock has written a compelling and unsettling psychological thriller about the destructive power of obsession, of memories that won't remain dormant, and about the darkness that lies deep within.
4 Stars.
When Sonia answers her door one winter's day, she finds Jez, the fifteen-year-old nephew of her friend, Helen, calling to see if he might borrow an album that Sonia's husband offered him. Sonia invites Jez inside, pours him a drink, and whilst she sits watching him, she feels an overwhelming urge to keep him with her. She gives Jez too much alcohol, locks him in her husband's music room and plans how she can prevent him from leaving. Sonia's desire to keep Jez in her possession is prompted by traumatic events that happened when she was a teenager, when she felt an intense and obsessive love for Sebastian, a young man, who filled her every waking moment with a powerful need for him, and who left her under very tragic circumstances.
The telling of the story is divided between Sonia, in a first person narrative, and Helen in a third person narrative. The chapters narrated by Sonia are strong and almost claustrophobic, pulling the reader in immediately; we can feel Sonia's desperation and her intense need to keep Jez with her, so that even though we know she is behaving in an alarming and irrational manner, we almost feel a sympathy for her, for she is clearly psychologically unwell. As the story develops we learn why Sonia feels compelled to behave the way she does, what happened to her and Sebastian, and why her father felt it necessary to end his own life.
Although parts of this story may seem rather far-fetched, Penny Hancock writes convincingly and her descriptive language is very good, especially when she describes Sonia's feelings about the river; she writes: "When the tide's out, you can hear the water on the shingle. There's a constant background rhythm. But when it's in, the sounds can catch you off-guard. Haven't you heard the pontoon? It sounds like a child crying...and you get those sudden surges when a boat goes by, the ebb and the flow...like life..."
With this story (which I found somewhat reminiscent of John Fowles`The Collector') Penny Hancock has written a compelling and unsettling psychological thriller about the destructive power of obsession, of memories that won't remain dormant, and about the darkness that lies deep within.
4 Stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Sonia lives on the edge of the river Thames in Greenwich. Her husband works away and her daughter has flown the nest. When fifteen year old Jez, a nephew of one of her few friends, comes round to borrow a CD, she feels an overwhelming urge to keep him safe. She gets him drunk and convinces him to sleep it off but the next day she does not let him leave. She starts making up excuses for him to stay and soon Jez finds he cannot leave.
It's an uncomfortable read. The narrative is told in first person, split between Sonia and her friend, Helen. For some reason it seems easier to relate to a criminal that knows they are doing something wrong. Sonia obviously has become a bit unhinged but she also comes across as naïve, not really realising the consequences of what she's doing. At the start, the loss of a loved one is hinted at and in flashbacks we learn of an unhealthy relationship she had as a teenager herself. At times she mistakes Jez for someone else and occasionally her actions towards him seem completely at odds with her need to "keep him safe".
Whilst most the book is devoted to Sonia, Helen comes across as selfish and not particularly believable. Even if you do not like your sister, surely you would be worried when your nephew goes missing? Alcoholism is to blame but her drinking doesn't come across as extreme in the text. Perhaps the fault of first person narration, Sonia is too wrapped up in Jez to comment and Helen is in denial.
Do not get me wrong, Tideline is not badly written but the sense of unease I had towards Sonia's actions put me off a bit. It's not a gripping "oh my god they're going to die" type unease but just that what she is doing is wrong and she can't see that. It did put me in mind of Stephen King's Misery at times. It is Penny Hancock's first novel and I would certainly read more from her in the future if the subject matter were different enough.
I did enjoy the setting on the banks of the Thames. It is something Sonia is fond of, refusing to sell the house as she can't bear to part with the river. It holds memories of a past best forgotten and I think her family sees that. There is the contrast of the beauty that Sonia sees with the reality of its grime and danger.
It's an uncomfortable read. The narrative is told in first person, split between Sonia and her friend, Helen. For some reason it seems easier to relate to a criminal that knows they are doing something wrong. Sonia obviously has become a bit unhinged but she also comes across as naïve, not really realising the consequences of what she's doing. At the start, the loss of a loved one is hinted at and in flashbacks we learn of an unhealthy relationship she had as a teenager herself. At times she mistakes Jez for someone else and occasionally her actions towards him seem completely at odds with her need to "keep him safe".
Whilst most the book is devoted to Sonia, Helen comes across as selfish and not particularly believable. Even if you do not like your sister, surely you would be worried when your nephew goes missing? Alcoholism is to blame but her drinking doesn't come across as extreme in the text. Perhaps the fault of first person narration, Sonia is too wrapped up in Jez to comment and Helen is in denial.
Do not get me wrong, Tideline is not badly written but the sense of unease I had towards Sonia's actions put me off a bit. It's not a gripping "oh my god they're going to die" type unease but just that what she is doing is wrong and she can't see that. It did put me in mind of Stephen King's Misery at times. It is Penny Hancock's first novel and I would certainly read more from her in the future if the subject matter were different enough.
I did enjoy the setting on the banks of the Thames. It is something Sonia is fond of, refusing to sell the house as she can't bear to part with the river. It holds memories of a past best forgotten and I think her family sees that. There is the contrast of the beauty that Sonia sees with the reality of its grime and danger.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A well-written and atmospheric thriller
I've been in a reading slump lately and failed to engage with most of the books that I've picked up. This book has cured all that. Read more
Published 3 days ago by C. Colley
The most enthralling and original thriller I have read in years
Tideline is one of those rare novels which unsettles just as much as it entertains. From the moment you step over the threshold into the central character Sonia's Thameside home,... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Max75
Disappointing ending, but otherwise a gripping read
TIDELINE tells the story of Sonia, a woman who takes a sixteen-year-old boy hostage at her London home. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Brida
Tideline by Penny Hancock
I enjoyed reading this book. It was clear that the main character had psychological issues which made her do what she did but it kept the reader guessing right until the end as to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kitty
Thoroughly satisfying
The atmospheric setting and deliciously disturbing protagonist make 'Tideline'a gripping read from start to finish. Read more
Published 2 months ago by LizCardiff
An Original Debut Thriller
As clichéd as it may sound I was hooked from the very first page of `Tideline' and found it very difficult to put down. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Simon Savidge Reads
Disappointing
I bought this book after listening to Penny Hancock on Radio 2 and was intrigued. Being a Londoner myself and growing up on the River Thames in Kew, I could relate to the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by apricot
Penny Hancock's first Novel
What a great first novel! It is refreshing to come across a book so well written and observed. Deeply involving, this book draws you in. Read more
Published 3 months ago by ThePeterKnight
Intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying read
An interview with the author prompted me to order "Tideline". The premise sounded intriguing and the idea of the plot revolving round the "relationship" between a middle aged... Read more
Published 3 months ago by pinkfeebee
Okay but overated debut
Despite the hype surrounding Penny Hancock's debut novel, the experience of reading this work of fiction is allot less spectacular then some people would have you believe. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. R. Hadfield
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