Time and Tide: A Novel

On a quiet Monday morning, an unexpected appointment unsettles the delicate balance at Kings Lake Central. A new Detective Inspector takes up the post, while veteran investigator Detective Sergeant D.C. Smith, chooses this moment to submit his resignation. With just months left before retirement, Smith must confront not only his own future, but also the uncertain fate of the department he will leave behind.

Meanwhile, a body is discovered on the Norfolk salt marshes: a stranger dead after a prolonged and violent murder. What appears at first to be a straightforward case gradually reveals its complex origins in the previous century. The investigation takes the team into the dark world of organized crime, as they cross paths with mobsters, boxers, and an aging starlet, each of whom has something to hide.

The case unfolds through careful, methodical work, and with it come growing strains within the squad—heightened by the presence of the new DI and the specter of Smith’s impending retirement. In the months that remain, DC Smith must consider what it means to leave, and whether the officers he has guided are ready to continue without him.