Between Tides

A quiet Suffolk town. Two men who have spent their lives hiding. One river that refuses to let the past stay buried.

When St John Maltravers returns to his family home on the River Deben, he brings only silence, shame, and the ruins of a London life he can no longer bear to face. The house is unchanged, but he is haunted by the mistake that cost him his career, his confidence, and the fragile safety he once believed he had.

Across town, Jost Dekker has lived his whole life in Woodbridge: working at the boatyard, keeping his head down, and keeping himself invisible. Years ago he tried to step into the world he longed for and learned exactly how quickly it could turn on him.

When St John and Jost cross paths again-first by chance, then by intention-something stirs that neither of them has words for. What begins as cautious recognition becomes a slow‑burn connection forged through river walks, night encounters, and the unspoken ache of two men who have spent years trying not to be seen.

But in a small town in the late 1980s, eyes are everywhere. Rumours spread. Doors close. Safety is a fragile thing.

To choose each other, St John and Jost must also choose visibility-risking the gossip, the judgment, and the consequences they both fear.

Set against the tidal rhythms of the Suffolk coast, The River Between Us is a tender, atmospheric love story about shame and courage, the cost of silence, and the beautiful, terrifying possibility of finally being known.

For readers of:

• Tin Man by Sarah Winman
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
• Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers
• Julian Barnes, Maggie O'Farrell, and slow‑burn queer literary fiction

A deeply felt, quietly powerful novel about two men learning-against every instinct-to choose love over fear.