This is the latest book in a series. The story is told via a dual storyline. There is a lot of tension. This is a multi layered story. A gripping read

I have enjoyed this whole series and this one is definitely the best. DI Ben is back with another case that I couldn't solve and the atmosphere is electric.

I can't believe this is already the sixth book in the series, and even though I haven't read all of them, I would suggest you do. Book was a thrilling read, keeping the reader entertained, enthralled and gripped throughout! Hope there is a seventh book in the series.

The most fantastic series of books, this is the final one so far and I’ve read them all, totally hooked and can’t wait for the next one. The tales for these islands bring everything to life.

I liked the fact that there was a double plot to this story – the solving of a 'cold case' and also the hunting down of detective Ben Kitto. Have enjoyed all these stories set in the Isles of Scilly and hope that this won't be the last.

The Brutal Tide by Kate Rhodes.
The Isles of Scilly Mysteries: 6.
REVENGE
DI Ben Kitto made many enemies in his time working as an undercover officer for the Met police, none more ruthless and calculating than gang leader Craig Travis.
IS WORTH
Travis has longed to make Kitto pay for his role in getting him convicted – and that day has finally arrived. Now, a dark and twisted killer is heading for the Scilly Isles, one who has waited a long time for revenge.
WAITING FOR . . .
With Kitto busy investigating the discovery of a body on the islands and distracted by the imminent arrival of his first child, his defences are down. He has so much to lose.
And Travis will stop at nothing to take it all from him.
Really good series. Gripping read. 4*.

I'm loving this series and love DI Kitto. I had high expectations and found this story satistying, gripping, and highly entertaing.
Plenty of twists, a solid plot that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

The pages almost turn themselves and when I was finished I couldn’t stop thinking about the story’s incredible twists, turns, and surprises. This intriguing and thought-provoking thriller was a pleasure to read!

The Brutal Tide is the latest book in the Ben Kitto series. Ben has to solve an old mystery when a body is found. He also has to deal with ramifications from the past when someone is trying to kill everyone involved in a case with him. In many ways, the story is intriguing yet sad, and the ending is a bit nerve-racking. as a bit nerve-wracking.

I started reading the Ben Kitto series since the first book, Hell Bay, came out and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them, loving the small island setting, the small community vibe, and the well-developed characters.

The Brutal Tide is the sixth book in this series whose protagonist is DI Ben Kitto. Born and raised in Bryher, one of the smallest Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast, he returned to the island after a career in London. In this new novel, one of his old cases from London risks ruining the normal life he’s created for himself in Bryher.

Craig Travis was one of the most dangerous gangsters in London and it was thanks to Ben’s undercover work that he was captured and sent to jail. Now, he’s dying of cancer, but he’s determined to take his enemies down with him, sending a dangerous killer after the people who betrayed him and sent him to jail, including Ben Kitto.

In the meantime, on Bryher, bones are found buried in a building site and stolen before they can be properly examined. Searching for the identity of both the victim and the killer, Ben locks down the island, hoping to stop a killer from leaving and another from arriving. But can he stop a killer looking for revenge?

The Brutal Tide is another fantastic addiction to this series. I love the suspense and the twists. One would think that on an island with a couple of hundreds of people it would be easy to find the killer. But there are so many layers to the case and a series of possible suspects that it’s not at all easy to figure out the truth. I loved how the story is split between Ben’s investigation and the killer’s path of revenge for Craig Travis, making it difficult to put it down (I read it in one day!).

The character of Ben Kitto is wonderful. On the personal side, he is looking forward to fatherhood, although he and his girlfriend can’t seem to agree on baby names. On the professional side, he’s still haunted from his work in London, he often clashes with his arrogant superior, and he’s forced to suspect people he considers friends.

The Brutal Tide is a gripping and exciting read with a few twisty mysteries and rising suspense. I really enjoy this series and I am already looking forward to the next book!

I LOVE the Ben Kitto series!!!!
I also keep on pestering my husband to go on a short break to the Isles of Scilly!!! LOL!!! Yes I know a bit sad but what can I say, Kate Rhodes is that good of an author. The Isles of Scilly are simply beautifully described, you just want to go there!!!
So happy that Ben is finally living with Nina even though he has some work to do in their relationship.
I only am a sucker for a series incorporating a dog and Shadow is a star character all of his own.

Once again a fantastic mystery needs solving along with challenges from a previous life on the force.

Absolutely fantastic murder mystery with all the feels. Could not recommend it highly enough!

I am loving this series, this book has a fantastic story line set on a very atmospheric island. I was hooked from page one. It is great to see Ben develop as a character and I look forward to read more

My thoughts
D I Ben Kitto has a lot on his plate in the latest of the locked island series from author Kate Rhodes. Now living with Nina, who is pregnant and experiencing some issues. Ben is avoiding talking baby about names, so far they haven’t agreed, not to mention the marriage issue!

Then there’s the matter of the new community building which has been given permission to go ahead even though there are still some Bryher residents who are far from happy.

Maeve and Danny Trentwith are gifting the building to Bryher, where they both were born, and have come back to oversee the project. They want Ben to be openly supportive as they believe this will turn around the dissenters opinions.

When remains of a body, a male from around thirty years earlier, are found on the building site it’s soon confirmed that he was murdered.

On top of that Ben gets news from his old boss in London he is on a list of targets, one of whom has already been murdered. Before returning to the Isles of Scilly Ben was with the Met where he successfully went undercover in an operation to catch the head of a criminal gang – Craig Travis. Travis is desperate to seek revenge on the people that put him behind bars.

Danny goes missing, another body is found and bodyguards are sent for Ben’s protection. That’s a whole lot of trouble for Ben! Can he solve two murders – one old and one very recent – keep his promise to Nina and not get killed by an avenging Travis?

We do have a point of view from the killer which is interesting for it shows a mindset which has been long fostered but by being out on their own fulfilling a deadly act of revenge shows what an alternative could look like.

Shadow 🐺 is steadfastly beside Ben and is a, as always, a hero. 🐺 I can say no more!

Kate Rhodes has superbly plotted a wonderful story in The Brutal Tide which will be a treat for followers and newcomers of this exceptional series set on the Isles of Scilly. Bryher and the surrounding sea are as much a part of the story as any character is and beautifully portrayed. This is an excellent murder mystery and investigation storyline which unearths long buried, dark secrets along with the story of revenge by a ruthless and determined killer who is leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

Book: eArc kindly provided by the publishers Simon and Schuster as an ebook via NetGalley. I do love to read this series when (or before!) it is first published. I have, of course, ordered the paperback which will be out on 25 May 2023 to add to my collection.

Thanks: To Simon and Schuster for an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion, many, many thanks. I have not received any payment for this review and all thoughts are my own.

I've loved reading all the previous books in this series by Kate Rhodes, featuring DI Ben Kitto and was very pleased to receive a copy of 'The Brutal Tide'. As usual, there's no disappointment and Rhodes delivers an extremely well put together and plotted crime/thriller read with solid through-series character developments.
What I really love about these books is the setting - absolutely a central character itself and such an atmospheric backdrop, in particular the ocean around the island. There's a great sense of community and in this one, the sense of threat really drives the narrative and pace.
Ben's a great, fully rounded character who reads so easily and fluidly. In this installment, he has problems from the past and the present to solve - the threat of the present really pushes the tension and there's also Ben's imminent new fatherhood adding complexities and emotions.
Also, I do have to note - it's great to 'see' Shadow again - I've a soft spot for dogs in novels and Shadow is fantastic.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this exciting book

ben is about to become a father

but a killer is on its way to the Scilly isles to get revenge

and then skeletal remains are found that put the isles in lockdown as the body has been there for over 20 years and the killer must be someone on the isles

a tense drama with quite a few red herrings and what an ending....exciting or what

cant wait for the next book in this brilliant series

I've really enjoyed the Ben Kitto series by Kate Rhodes (and I'm not just saying that because I was a named character in book one - that's just an added bonus. The whole series has been wonderful, the island setting adding its own kind of mystique and atmosphere the stories, the author blending often dark themes with the perfect feeling of mystery and suspense. Add into that some fabulous characters and the real sense of community that exists across Scilly, and the scene is set for what has been a brilliant series of books. That is no less true of book six, The Brutal Tide, which sees everything Ben holds dear under threat and the island community facing up to a very dark part of its past.

Ben Kitto has been a wonderful character to get to know. Originally from the islands he had spent a long time working undercover for the Met Police, until a very complex and life changing case drove him back to his home lands. It is that very case which is set to haunt him once again, with a face from his past set on vengeance, a person whose guile and cunning is easily underestimated, often at your own peril. But that is just one half of the story, with Ben and the local police force investigating the discover of some very old bones at the site of a contentious new build. It seems that someone will do anything to keep that story buried, the who and why remains to be seen. It's fair to say that this part of the book is quite harrowing in its own way, but sensitively handled, so the facts inform rather than dominate the investigation or the story itself.

You'd think on an island community that keeping one killer in and one potential killer out would be quite an easy task. It's not as easy as it should be and that in itself gives a wonderful kind of tension to the novel. Will Ben's foe manage to find their way to the island or will their plans be thwarted before they even begin? And as for who is responsible for the bones on the island ... Well finding that out starts with working out who they belong to in the first place and there is a lot of back and forth and misdirection in this area to. We, and Ben, may guess the victim, although evidence is harder to come by, and we may even have an inkling about the whodunnit, but the tragic nature of teh why is very carefully fed to readers, keeping the mystery alive.

What works really well in this book is that we know who Ben has the greatest reason to fear and why. The 'killer', the person seeking their ultimate revenge is, to readers, hidden in plain sight. And for me they were a great character, playing much against expectation and using that to make them devilishly successful. There are dark moments in this book, bother murder wise and through the various deep emotions experienced by our favourite characters, but they are fleeting, the characters, and their stories, much more important to driving the impetus of the investigation than the dark deeds they have performed. There are some high stakes, high tension moment, the landscape, or in this case the seascape, playing a vital role in the books conclusion. Even when we think that everything is resolved and we might be promised a happy ending, Kate Rhodes prepares to rip that rug out from under our feet once again. I'm pretty sure she just doesn't believe in a quiet ending. I mean, where's the fun in that, right ...?

Another brilliant book in a series that is highly recommended. Perhaps it's the devil in me, but it's really given me a desire to visit Scilly now, even if the islands do seem to have a very high per capita murder rate ...

I am always excited to get my hands on the next instalment of Ben Kitto’s story and this one did not disappoint, it was brilliant! This series inspired me to visit the Isles of Scilly to see and experience their beauty and intrigue for myself. Great scene setting, great characters and great page turning drama. Love these books 📚

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for an advance copy of The Brutal Tide, the sixth novel to feature DI Ben Kitto set on the Scilly Isles.

During his time at the Met Ben worked undercover to bring down ruthless gang boss, Craig Travis. Travis has always dreamed of revenge and now he has the means to do it. A killer is gunning for Ben and Ben is distracted waiting for the imminent birth of his first child and investigating a murdered skeleton unearthed during building works.

I enjoyed The Brutal Tide, which is a fast paced, eventful read set in a location that brings its own issues. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on the reader’s preference, there are not many surprises in the novel as the killer’s identity is not a secret and is revealed at the beginning of the novel. In fact the narrative alternates points of view between Ben and the killer. This gives the read an extremely choppy feel as each voice only gets a couple of pages before switching. Furthermore I have no interest in the killers’ thoughts so it was a matter of ploughing on until the trigger was pulled and the attack happened. It all seemed highly unlikely and unsuspenseful.

The cold case is much more interesting. It has more twists and a genuine mystery attached., like who the skeleton is and why they were killed. Obviously the truth lies buried in the past, but it was engrossing to see Ben investigate.

The Brutal Tide was a mixed bag for me, but I’m sure that readers who like a more psychological read will thoroughly enjoy it. 3.5*

I’ve followed Kate Rhodes’ DI Ben Kitto series since the very beginning as I enjoy a well plotted thriller with a beautiful setting. “The Brutal Tide”has this in spades- a decades old murder victim found at a building site on the island of Bryher which is part of the idyllic Scilly Isles.
As well as trying to solve this 30 year old murder, Ben is warned that a killer from his past is making their way to the Islands and that Ben is on the hit list.
The story is told in alternative sections, from the present day assassin’s point of view and then from Ben’s as he tries to work out who the building site bones belong to and who the 30 year old murderer could be. Adding to the stress is the fact that Nina, Ben’s girlfriend is heavily pregnant and suffering from a few medical issues.
This is a book full of tension which really hots up as the assassin makes their way down to Bryher leaving dead bodies in their wake. As ever the descriptions of the islands are very evocative and make me as a reader determined to visit some day.
The sea itself plays a major part in this story- the islands are easily cut off by the ocean in bad weather and the use of boats is a way of life for most of the residents. This aspect is certainly reflected in the last part of the book and in the title itself.
“The Brutal Tide “is a five star recommended read and although it can be enjoyed as a stand alone novel I suggest that Kate Rhodes’ previous books are definitely worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for my advance copy.

The Brutal Tide by Kate Rhodes
BOOK - 445 PAGES
Published Date - 27 October 2022
Rating 5 stars

I really enjoyed this storyline! This is not my first-time reading Kate Rhodes. I liked this LOCKED ISLAND MYSTERY with DI Ben Kitto and colleagues, set in the Scilly Isles. The story has atmosphere, great characters, suspense and a lot, lot more., keeping me guessing till the end! This book is about revenge, family, secrets and great characters. I would recommend this novel.

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNTY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW