by Nicholas Cockayne

Created on: March 24, 2008   Last Updated: July 26, 2009

Brutal murders, a tortured detective, fragile relationships, drug taking and hedonistic excess, and all in Britain's gay capital. Welcome to 'Savage Tide'.

'Savage Tide' (2003) is Glenn Chandler's detective story set in the sea side city of Brighton in Britain. Set amid the alternative lifestyles and gay culture of the colourful city, Chandler spins his reader a story that will challenge preconceptions and redefine your ideas of normality.

Steve Madden is the protagonist, a cynical detective left tortured by jealousy and longing from a broken marriage. When his son Jason returns home from university to tell Steve that he's gay, Madden handles the situation badly, leaving a rift between father and son that he knows he must repair. So Madden arranges lunch with his son Jason the next day, to talk things over and undo the damage to their relationship. Unfortunately for Madden, he'll never get that chance. Called to the scene of a brutal murder the next day, he realises that's he doesn't have to worry about talking to his son any more. His son will never talk to anyone again. Jason is the murder victim.

This is the setting that has Madden, backed by feisty partner Jasmine, delving deep into the heart of Brighton's gay scene to uncover the truth about what happened to his son. Following the clues into a world of prostitution, drug abuse, and homosexuality, Madden comes to realise that he never knew his son at all.

Chandler is the writer and creator of the popular detective series 'Taggart' on ITV, and you can really feel the influence of his television drama credentials when reading 'Savage Tide'. Each scene is very filmic, written for atmosphere and effect, and Brighton is excellently portrayed, captured perfectly in Chandler's writing.

The characters are fairly stock material, stereotypical and easy to relate to. The bitter cynical detective, the feisty side kick, the guiltless millionaire, the transsexual prostitute who calls everyone "honey", the flamboyant homosexuals, the corpulent and corrupt colleague and the by-the-books superior. It's all there, and often straight from detective fiction characters 101. The character's themselves are not particularly entertaining.

Neither is the plot. In much the same vein as televised detective stories, every element revolves around the central murder. There are no loose ends, and the reader isn't left wondering whether the murder will be solved, but just how all the different elements slot into place

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