Crocodile Tears is one of those books I picked up on a whim because the synopsis intrigued me and which I started reading with no expectations. That I read almost 500 pages in one sitting should tell you something. It has a few pacing issues and is slightly repetitive at times, but on the whole, it’s an engrossing read with rich worldbuilding, intriguing characters and a compelling plot told across multiple timelines, and I honestly couldn’t put it down.

Xanthe Walter’s four book Dark Waters series is set in a dystopian not-too distant future in which a series of massive underwater earthquakes caused the sea levels to rise, the ice caps to melt and saw entire countries (such as the Netherlands) and cities (New York, Venice, most of central London) submerged. With millions of people displaced and in desperate need of shelter and basic necessities, a refugee crisis the like of which the world has never seen quickly ensued, and the scarcity of resources led to the development of a system of Indentured Servitude where people would sell themselves and their services in exchange for better living conditions or money for their families for a set length of time.

Around sixty years later, in October 2095, Josiah Raine, one of the country’s top investigators, is having a very rare day off. He works for one of the private companies that now undertakes the detective work formerly the purview of the police (the police service having been considerably reduced), and on this day every year for the past seven years, he’s commemorated the death of his beloved husband, Peter, by giving some TLC to the vintage car Peter loved, listening to some of Peter’s favourite Pre-R(ising) music and indulging, just a little bit, in his own love of fine chocolate. His boss at Inquisitus knows better than to disturb him on this day – so when she does, he knows it must be for something important. She wants him to lead the investigation into the murder of a celebrity photographer and holographer, which is likely to be a high-profile case, and she doesn’t trust anyone else to handle it.

Josiah agrees and makes his way to the address he’s been given in one of the most expensive areas of New London, where the body of Elliot Dacre is still lying in the middle of the now blood-soaked carpet in the luxurious living room. The room itself is rather disconcerting, covered as the walls are in holopics, most of them displaying the image of a beautiful and intense young man whose face vaguely rings a bell, but whom Josiah can’t place. He learns the man is Alexander Lytton – a convicted criminal sold into Indentured Servitude by the courts for an eyewatering sum of money. Indies killing their houder (owner) is not an uncommon crime and Lytton’s association with Dacre (for whom he was clearly more than a servant) makes him a definite person of interest – if not the prime suspect.

The present day storyline focuses on the murder investigation and the uneasy relationship developing between Josiah and Alex. They don’t trust each other – with good reason – and although Josiah finds it increasingly difficult to believe in Alex’s guilt, he knows the massive amount of circumstantial evidence stacked against him would convict him in any court. But he’s not interested in a speedy conviction of the wrong man; he wants to find the real killer – and to find the truth of the infuriating, enigmatic Alexander Lytton, to discover what lies behind the blank façade of the perfect, dutiful IS he presents to the world.

There are two other storylines in the book, one that tells the story of how Alex, spoilt rich kid and son of a wealthy industrialist became an Indentured Servant (IS or indie), the other following the younger Josiah in his army days, and showing how he met and fell in love with Peter.

In 2082, aged seventeen, Alex caused the car crash that killed his mother and severely injured his brother. Unable to escape the constant media attention and online hatred spewed at him, his father’s resentment and his own, crushing guilt, he’s in a bad place and getting worse. He’s created a don’t-give-a-shit persona and is locked in a self-destructive spiral, figuring that as everyone in the country thinks he’s a villain, he might as well be one. Witnessing Alex’s race towards rock-bottom is heartbreaking – he’s badly damaged and deeply flawed and he screws up repeatedly but he doesn’t deserve the horrible betrayal that sets him onto the path towards becoming the subdued, broken and subservient young man he has become by the time we meet at the beginning of the book.

Also in 2082, Josiah, one of a very few non-indies allowed to join the army, has taken a new posting with a peacekeeping force in France, and from the very first is just the teeniest bit smitten with his rather eccentric CO, Captain Peter Hunt. Peter may not be an Adonis, but he’s intensely charismatic; he’s kind and warm and funny and cares deeply about the job he’s there to do. Josiah and Peter’s love story is sweet and charming and provides some much needed lightness and humour in what is, overall, a pretty dark story. I liked that we actually get to see how their relationship developed and to see them happy together – it makes it easier to understand Josiah’s grief and inability to move on.

The world the author has created is fascinating – and more than a little disturbing – with information imparted as appropriate to the story rather than in info dumps. While there are, as I said at the beginning, some pacing issues (I got a bit frustrated with the interruptions to the murder investigation until I realised the stories in the other timelines are just as compelling) once the story really got going, I was utterly engrossed by it and felt like I was holding my breath until I reached the end!

As this is the first in a four book series, don’t go in expecting a speedy or simple resolution or an HEA because you won’t find either of those things. The good news is that the remaining three books in the Dark Waters series are scheduled for release between now and September, so there isn’t too long to wait if, like me, you’re hooked on the story and characters and can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Note: I’ve marked the sensuality rating as ‘warm’ because there are several sexual situations in the book, although they are not hugely detailed and none are between the two leads.