The Tide of Deception: Mystery on the Coast of Maine

In Steve J. Hantzis’ sophomore book, The Tide of Deception: Mystery on the Coast of Maine, the reader travels from small-town coastal Maine, to Russia and Korea, and all the way to the bottom of the ocean. Mixing mystery, history, oceanography, and romance into one book, The Tide of Deception follows the story of Sandy as her chance meeting with Brian leads her into a world far beyond that of a simple budding relationship once she meets Brian’s well-connected family. Enticed by the opportunity to view highly classified research regarding a local tide anomaly that piques both her personal and professional interests, Sandy finds herself suddenly submerged into an international game of chess that reaches far beyond the familiar shores of Boothbay.

More than a mystery, The Tide of Deception is a book about both international espionage as well as the human desire for both knowledge and connection—and how these desires drive our choices in life and relationships with one another. Inspired by real events and narratively driven by the miraculous nature of the world, The Tide of Deception is the perfect summer read for mystery and nature lovers alike.

“Lore is history, both real and imagined.”
An obsession with an anomalous tide, housing associations both personal and professional, pulls a scientist into a world not of her making. Like the tide she chases, she is drawn into depths past her imagination and far beyond the shores of her hometown. Sandy is a Boothbay girl, born and raised, a Mainer through and through. A mystery haunts her, lures her, and she finds herself amid people and predicaments far beyond the way her life should be in her desire to solve it.