BLACK TIDE by K.C. Jones – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Black Tide by K.C. Jones
Published by NIghtfire on May 31 2022
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 256
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Relentless pacing and a unique apocalyptic event make Black Tide a standout horror debut.

Just in time for summer beach season, Black Tide is a nail-biter of a thriller that will assure you’ll never want to step foot on a beach again. Jones’ tale is a creepy and often terrifying survival story with cosmic horror influences, and I had an absolute blast with it. Not only is it entertaining, but there’s also quite a bit of depth to the characters and even a bit of humor. This is K.C. Jones’ debut, and I was very impressed!

Beth is housesitting on the Oregon coast when she meets next door neighbor Mike, a movie producer who is celebrating the completion of his latest project. The two hook up after a few too many bottles of champagne, but during the night, everything goes to hell when a meteor shower ushers in an apocalyptic nightmare. At first, Mike is puzzled by the odd “meteor” he finds after an early morning walk. When he shows it to Beth, they decide to pack a picnic and go to the beach to see what else the cosmic event has left behind.

Along with Jake, the yellow lab that Beth is taking care of, they pile into Mike’s Subaru and drive down to the beach. But once they arrive, it’s clear that something isn’t quite right. Other people are there milling about and looking worried. The skies are full of weird, dark clouds, and the beach is covered with round bowling ball-like objects, just like the one Mike found. No one can get a cell phone signal, and even Jake seems nervous about something. When the police arrive and tell everyone to go home, Mike and Beth discover that their car key is missing. Something monstrous has arrived with the meteor shower, and now Mike, Beth and Jake are trapped in their car, with no way to leave. 

Black Tide was one of the scariest books I’ve read in a long time, and I was so worried for the characters that at times I had to skip to the end of the chapter to make sure everyone was ok, it was so stressful! The tension is so well done and the pacing was near perfect. There’s a bit of set-up in the beginning when we’re introduced to Mike and Beth, but it doesn’t take long for the action to pick up as the author immediately throws his characters into the deep end—so to speak. I won’t go into too much detail about what they find on the beach, but I will say the creatures they come up against are strange and otherworldly and pretty damn scary. Jones gives us just enough description but also holds back a little, so that each reader will draw their own conclusions about what these nightmares look like.

I also thought the setting was perfect. I’m not familiar with the Oregon coast, but the beach in the story has large sand dunes, which the author uses to his advantage to ramp up the tension. I also loved the way the characters slowly come to the realization that they’re trapped. At first it’s just a normal day at the beach, but little by little threats pop up and before you know it, Mike and Beth are wondering whether they’ll actually survive the day. This creeping terror is so well done, and the author throws in small events that show the threat isn’t just confined to the beach, but it could be everywhere. And I loved the explanation of why it all happened, it was pretty cool.

The characters are great too. Jones gives both Mike and Beth interesting backstories (and past traumas) that come into play during the story. Mike is mourning a loss, and Beth is still trying to come to terms with the toxic relationship with her mother, who called Beth a “human car wreck” throughout her childhood years. At thirty-three, Beth has fully embraced that moniker and can’t seem to get beyond it. The dialog between the two felt authentic as well. Beth has a mean streak and isn’t very nice to Mike at times, but I thought it worked. They’re basically strangers thrown into a terrible situation, forced to work together to stay alive, and the tension between them was fantastic.

I did have a couple of negatives, though. First, you all know I’m a big dog lover, and word of warning: things do not go well for poor Jake. I really didn’t like the way the author handled his scenes, and at one point I almost threw the book against the wall. It took me days to calm down and write this review, so sensitive dog people, do beware. I also didn’t care for the ending. A new character is introduced late in the story and it wasn’t my favorite plot twist (although other readers will probably enjoy it). And the ending is rather vague and even leaves the possibility for a sequel, although I don’t think that was the author’s intention.

But aside from these things, I can’t stress enough how much fun I had with this book. If you’re looking for an edge-of-your-seat survival story with otherworldly creatures, Black Tide is hard to beat.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.