I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I couldn’t put it down. Such a great story of first loves, dreams, coming home, regret and figuring out life along with a great murder/mystery. I was a little thrown by the twist and would have really liked more insight into that! Overall a good read that I would recommend! Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the great book!

This was a really interesting read. I really enjoyed how much I was pulled into the mystery and setting of this novel. Would highly recommend if you enjoy small town stories with a bit of mystery and intrigue.

If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love this book! The story went back and forth between years while trying to piece together what crime happened and who did it. The prologue had me hooked, but it took a good 55% to really get into the book. I loved the short chapters, you got just enough information to keep you intrigued without giving away too much. The writing was beautiful, you could clearly place where you were with each scene and you really felt like you were there. There were budding relationships, loss, and some good mystery aspects.

Set in a small town, this novel begins with the tender love story of two teenagers preparing to part ways for their school plans. As life unfolds, promises are made and broken, leading to their eventual reunion as adults. The narrative, spanning multiple years, masterfully alternates between past and present, creating a richly woven tapestry of events.

The author skillfully navigates the twists and turns of the story, keeping readers guessing and deeply invested in the fate of the couple. Each chapter adds layers of depth, making it impossible not to root for a happy ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am grateful to NetGalley, the publishing company, and the author for providing an advanced reader’s copy. This novel has certainly piqued my interest in the author’s future works.

3.5 out of 5 stars
Middletide, by Sara Crouch, is an atmospheric novel that straddles a line between a coming of age story and a murder mystery.
Told in two timelines, the featured character is Elijah who, after a troubled youth, has returned to his hometown and decides to live in his family’s old cabin in the woods. A lot of description is spent on details of his new “mountain man” lifestyle as well as his angst and introspection about his former lost love, Nakita. Her character does serve as a contact point for the author to provide some warm, earthy touches of nature and Native American culture. The investigation into the murder of a local doctor feels secondary to the personal drama of Elijah’s journey to self-actualization and peace.
While this book did not provide the suspense I expected, it is good literary fiction that features good descriptive prose characters with some complexity. It is a solid debut novel and I will watch for more works by Sara Crouch in the future.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Seeking a book different from the usual (and most welcome) summer thrillers and romances? Middletide is the perfect choice for anyone seeking an atmospheric mystery, filled with strong character and small town themes as well as themes on relationships, home, and writing. A slow burn but satisfying mystery, Middletide is a complex story, as much a study in place and character reflection as it is mystery. Crouch shows off some skills in creating a stylistic tone with writing that drew me in to her world.

Thank you Atria for the review copy of Middletide. This is a really strong literary, character focused, mystery, which really works for me.

A Few notes
1. Give this one a little time to get moving, the first few chapters move back and forth in time and perspective but once the story settles into the mystery and chapters are used to mostly move into the mystery and surrounding timelines it all comes together.
2. This is a quiet book, some action/pace picks up near the end, but this is a story that is not filled with shocks and twists as much as it is in times a legal thriller (near the end).
3. If I could give one note, it might be to develop some of the goal of the early focus on the main character returning home, the return to nature/disgrace, resolving past relationships was set up nicely but later parts of the book moved away, to me, from some of these themes, leaving it to be a bit uneven in execution. In places I think some themes could have been better developed or left out. It made the book feel like part 1, setting/character themes and part 2 the legal mystery.

Moody mysterious debut novel surrounding an investigation into the death of a newly local woman. Was it suicide, murder or something else? The author infused the story with a minimum number of characters freeing the reader to enjoy the development of each. Crouch has an interesting take on the mystery involved, the lingering romance, and in the way it all comes full circle. Is a fantastic, mind-boggling debut that kept me turning pages nonstop.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Middletide
By: Sarah Crouch
Publisher: Atria
Pub Date: 6/11/2024

From debut author Sarah Crouch comes a diabolical, slow burn thriller that keeps you guessing.
Set in the PNW, Elijah is getting ready to head off to college. Leaving behind Nakita promising to return to her after he graduates but plans change. Middletide, a book Elijah wrote in college is going to be published and Elijah is determined to make a career out of writing. As you work your way through the story there are several different timelines. His life before and his life after failing at writing and returning home after his fathers death. He reconnects with Nikita when he returns but their timing wasn't right. She had married and lost her husband in an accident and was not in a place for a relationship. Enter Erin, the local doctor who’s lost her family. Her young daughter died in a car accident and shortly after her husband left her. She and Elijah begin to date but knowing his feelings are only for Nikita it fizzles out fairly quickly. That is until Erin’s body is discovered hanging from a tree on Elijah’s property. What’s even more strange is her death happens exactly as the character in his book Middletide does. He’s about to fight for his freedom but who's setting him up? This one kept me guessing! I really thought I had it figured out only to be blown away by the ending! Thanks to Atria, NetGalley and Sarah Crouch for the ARC

A semi self involved man comes back to his hometown, becomes obsessed with living off the land out of guilt of realizing he was a crap son. A lackluster romance happens while we flash forward to a murder that honestly takes a giant backseat until the last 4 chapters. Some shoddy police work leads to a murder charge and the lead suspect has to solve the murder (which was pretty predictable) from behind bars in less than 3 days. This book was not for me, reading the summary I thought it was going to be so much more than what I read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, this one was a 1.5 for me.

This book kept my attention from the very beginning. The mystery surrounding the death of a doctor in town and all of the little details involved make you continue to guess whodunit until the end. Elijah’s character was my favorite, and the development of his character throughout the book was one I thoroughly enjoyed. Elijah and Nakitas romance/love story throughout the book kept me engaged. I really wanted to see whether they ended up together or not, all the way until the end.

Erin Landry, the doctor, ends up having secrets of her own. Wasn’t expecting that at all. Overall the book was great, and I loved the storyline and the way the story was laid out with the timeline jumping back and forth to give you insight from multiple POVs.

Sarah Crouch's spellbinding debut, MIDDLETIDE —is a captivating, atmospheric literary murder mystery of grief, love, loss, and revenge that will keep you glued to the pages by this dazzling new voice in fiction.

About...

From 1973-1994 past to present, we learn about our main character, Elijah, a crime author, returning to his hometown to find himself caught up in a murder as a suspect mirroring his own book.

Jan 1994:
Set in a small town town, Point Richards, in the Puget Sound area, the body of Dr. Erin Landry is found on the property of Elijah Leith.

Aug 1977:
Elijah grew up in the area and left to become a published author. After thirteen years, he returned to renovate his deceased father's cabin. He hopes to reconnect with his first love, Nakita (who lives on the reservation).

Nakita, now a widow, is mourning her husband's (Kailen) death. Her father is Reverend Mills. Elijah had his regrets. He left her high and dry years ago when he was 18 and broke her heart.

Dr. Erin Landry recently lost her daughter in a car accident. Did she commit suicide due to her loss later?

Due to critics, Elijah's published books could have done better. He finished writing Middletide in May of his senior year and then sent out letters to literary agents all over the country. He got a book deal and was delighted, but he left.

1988:
When Elijah sees the cabin, he knows there is much work to do. The cabin has been empty since his father died three years before. He had been so busy pursuing his dream that was all he could think of back then.

Now he burned that book, MIDDLETIDE. The only copy he had left. There was a bad review back when. A critic in the Times based the plot as implausible and said readers wouldn't be able to suspend their disbelief.

Sheriff Jim Godbout has seen his share of accidents. The Squalomah didn't fund a police department. Since most of the reservation fell on this side of the county line, Jim occasionally found himself traveling over the border into the Native American population for emergencies. Now, the Sheriff is investigating Doc Laundry's death. A suicide initially; however, then suspicious turns to murder.

Ironically, someone sent one of Elijah's books (E.M. Leith) to his department anonymously, and the murder seemed to match the one in the book. The typed note someone sent said Erin Landry's death was not a suicide to please read. The book was published on May 20, 1981. Same crime, but the one in the book was in a town off the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Killed in the middle of the night at high tide, which limits the suspects to the folks in town.

The Sheriff even called the publisher since the crime was related to the book. But no killer, no matter how skilled, could realistically commit this type of crime.

Was the book the perfect alibi? Saying he was framed?

They were seen at the marina, and Doc Landry evidently took Elijah out in her boat. When they returned, they had words. Later, two fishermen find her body hanging from a tree, similar to Elijah's book.

Now, Elijah is writing for the local newspaper, the Herald, trying to rebuild his life, and Nakita (an artist) is painting in her studio. She encourages him to write a new book based on his life and love of the area. All goes well until...

Is someone out to frame Elijah for murder and what is the motive? Will Elijah live up to his name? His name is from the Bible, the story of redemption.

My thoughts...

MIDDLETIDE is a beautifully written murder mystery infused with nature, darkness, grief, and literary prose. At its heart is a love story, from the descriptive atmospheric setting to the well-developed characters that come alive on the page with vivid descriptions.

I loved this book and its characters—Nakita, her dad, and Elijah. Nakita was the perfect match for Elijah and their love of art. He was impulsive, and she was the steady one. I enjoyed the tie-in with the Biblical quotes of patience from The Reverend, his wisdom, and his helping these two in their relationship and the legal battle. Erin was a piece of work. The author keeps you guessing until the end.

A mix of coming-of-age, literary, historical, legal, suspense, mystery, thriller, and a bit of romance.

There is loss, grief, and regret; however, there is a beautiful love story. Twisty, chilling, and intense, this is an impressive debut! I adored the writing, the storyline, the plot, and the parallels to the fictional book. Elijah is an interesting character as he struggles to build a new life for himself in his hometown, and he shows a lot of growth in the book with the help of Nakita and her dad. (loved).

Told through past and present timelines, we see the lives of Elijah and Nakita when they were young and in love. Then later, they both have had their struggles and lives and are not the same people they were before. There is no timeline for grief.

Recs...

This is a gripping literary mystery for fans of William Kent Krueger, Allen Eskens, Ron Rash, David Joy, John Hart, Diane Chamberlain, Heather Gudenkauf, and Kimi Cunningham Grant (all favorites). I highly recommend it to those who enjoy literary suspense and smartly written mysteries. Cannot wait to see what comes next.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for sending me an advanced reading copy for an honest review. I am also looking forward to listening to the audiobook narrated by Kaleo Griffith.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
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People have been talking about Middletide by Sarah Crouch quite a bit and I've been avoiding reviews so as not to accidentally read a spoiler. Now having read it, it was a wise decision. I will be super careful not to give away anything but if you want to stop reading the review right now I'll sum up my recommendation in a sentence. If you are looking for a compelling mystery with a likeable main character then you need to put this book on your reading list. (You can buy it at Amazon.)

This is not a linearly told story and I know some people hate when a plot jumps back and forth along the timeline. But it is more like flashbacks than a true dual timeline. "Present-day" in this story is 1994. The flashbacks start in the late 1970s when the main character Elijah Leith is a teenager about to leave his small Pacific Northwest town for college in San Francisco with just one dream - to become a famous writer. If it means leaving behind his high school sweetheart so be it.

We stay more in the past as we progress through the 1980s but as the past approaches the novel's present there is more back and forth between the timelines.

I don't mind dual timeline stories and I enjoyed learning about Elijah in real time while being able to keep an eye on the investigation.

A good deal of time was spent describing the land and details of the setting, but in a way that naturally flowed with the narrative. I felt like I was in the small town outside of Seattle. I could taste the plums and feel the sting of nettles. Crouch definitely has a knack for putting the reader into the story.

This is not a perfect novel. There were some issues that really bugged me like a medical doctor mentioning writing a dissertation, unless she also got a research PhD it is unlikely she wrote a dissertation during her medical training. Also, it felt weird she said she celebrated getting her doctorate when most medical students would have said passing their boards or getting their medical license. And while we are on the subject of the medical doctor. I didn't like her character. It wasn't so much who she is but how she is written. When she was heavily featured in the story, the story started to feel more like a young adult novel and I struggled through that section of the book.

But even with the problems, I loved the story and I had to see how the mystery was solved.

I also think this would be a great book for my mystery book club as there is quite a bit to talk about (but I won't mention it in my review so I don't spoil the mystery for anyone).

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Sunday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/06/atmospheric-mystery-novel-is-compelling.html

(2.5)

I see a lot of people comparing this book to Where the Crawdads Sing. Though I’ve been curious about that book, I’ve yet to read it. I was kind of glad about this as I didn’t have a comparison in mind.

Dr. Erin Landry’s body is found on Elijah Leith’s property. The death is eerily similar to one of Elijah’s novels, making him the prime suspect. Neighbors and residents of the town think him guilty and Elijah has to prove his innocence.

This book had a calm intrigue. I didn’t find it particularly gripping, making it difficult to endure the slow pace. I also found the characters unremarkable, treading on the path of irritating at times. In general, a lot of the story and situations felt unrealistic. What I did enjoy was the writing itself, particularly how well the author captures the tone and atmosphere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a free digital ARC of the book to read and review!

Middletide is the debut novel by author Sarah Crouch described as an atmospheric mystery reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing.

When I read the synopsis for Middletide it sounded very interesting, so much so that I ordered a hard copy from the Book of the aMonth club even after receiving an ARC from NetGalley. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s the book for me, or maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it.

I really struggled to get into the story for a few reasons. First the pace is slow, which I expected but at the same time I was not quite prepared for just how slow it would be, and how hard it would be to remain engaged.

Second, like others, I found it strange that the author made up a fictional indigenous people instead of researching the beliefs, and customs of a real people and including them. I felt that was an odd choice. I will admit that I was so bored that I skimmed a bit, so maybe I missed it, but it didn’t seem like these people were an important aspect of the story either.

Third, the main character, Elijah kind of irritated me for some reason. I’ve read lots of books where I didn’t like the main character, but for some reason his character grated on my nerves more than usual.

I could say more but I don’t want to be too negative. I truly don’t think it’s a bad book, I think I was just not in the proper frame of mind for it. I think lots of people will probably love it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Middletide
By Sarah Crouch

This begins with two teenaged star-crossed lovers, Elijah and Nakita, living in the small town of Pont Orchards and the adjacent Sacred Mountain Reservation. Elijah can't wait to leave the small town for San Francsco, where he aspires to be a writer. Nakita loves her home and has no wish to leave. As Elijah heads off to college, the lovers agree to meet back at their lakeside spot in exactly four years. But, as we all know, life happens and different paths are taken.

The book then becomes a mystery. When the young woman doctor is found hanging, is it a suicide – or a murder disguised as a suicide – or maybe a suicide disguised as a murder? Thus the convoluted story unfolds.

This is a very clever piece of work. And well before the end, the reader is made aware of the "what" and the "who" – but the "why" takes a little longer. And the ultimate solve is certainly a show stopper! Great debut!

At its core, Middletide is a murder mystery with a moody atmosphere from its Pacific Northwest location. However, the extra details are what set this book apart, for better and worse. It focuses on Elijah Leith, a man who grew up outside the small town of Point Orchards. We get to see two different points in time, first when he’s just graduated high school and is getting ready to leave for San Francisco, then when he returns after his father dies, 15 years later. Once he’s been back in town for a few years, a hanged body is found on his property. Eerily, the entire scene matches a book Elijah wrote while in San Francisco.
The best part of this book was the atmosphere and environment. Crouch’s prose about the Pacific Northwest was the highlight of the story, and truly transported me to the quiet acreage Elijah lives on. The small town he lives by felt like a true small town, filled with loyalty, distrust, hierarchies, and gossip. There were no cutesy moments that pulled me out of the story. Instead, the environment is was kept me grounded as I read.
The plot itself was interesting but the pacing felt incredibly slow. In between every moment that moved the plot forward was long stretches of character development. Unfortunately, the character development focused only on Elijah, whose story wasn’t compelling to me. He is very one-dimensional, with minimal emotion. The other main character is Nakita, Elijah’s first love. Nakita is a strong, independent archetype of a woman whose only purpose in the story is to progress Elijah’s development. Similarly, when Erin, another woman, is introduced, her only purpose is to move the plot forward, with no nuance.
Another issue I had was the made-up Native American tribe Nakita is a part of, called the Squalomah. Crouch has an author’s note before the story, explaining her reasoning for creating a fictional tribe. However, I don’t understand why it was necessary to make a fictional tribe when she referenced the real tribes in her author’s note. It’s clear that Crouch was trying to be respectful, but instead, it felt like an easy out to avoid doing research.
Overall, this was a book I liked, but didn’t love. I found myself wishing the plot had been paced a little faster, and that the characters had more dimension. Together, those dynamics made the story feel incomplete and made the ending feel anti-climatic. The final twists really pulled their weight to make this feel like a thriller, but the first 80% had dragged me too far down to fully enjoy the last 20%.
I think this was a decent debut novel, and I will definitely continue to follow Crouch’s journey as an author. However, this is not a book I would recommend often. I think it has a few very key things that could attract readers, but as an overall story, it will most likely fall a little flat for most.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Smart, intense, riveting. I found this to be a marvelous story from a new debut author. This author's talent radiates off of every page. It reminded me of "Carolina Moonset" by Matt Goldman, which I also loved. The storyline twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing. I highly recommend this well thought out mystery and I would read anything this author writes in the future.

What a good book! The story flits from present to past effortlessly. It’s a good mystery and the ending did really surprise me. It’s a hard to put down book,

🖤🖤Book Review🖤🖤
#middletide by @sarahcrouch1989

It was offered by @bookofthemonth BUT I got my copy from @netgalley !!
I wanted to read this just by the cover! This was a slow burn mystery of murder and an awesome court case ending! An unpopular author moves to his home town after his writing career ends. Not only does he run into his first teenage love but also the most beautiful doctor who wants to date him! Then, a suicide happens on his property in the most beautiful area. Did he do it? I mean the murder is set up just like the novel he wrote! What!!!!! This was a unique thriller and I enjoyed it. Perfect ready for a gloomy day. Great character development and I felt like I was in the story!
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalleyreadathon #netgalley #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreads #netgalleyarc #ilovebooks #ilovebooks📚 #bookrecsofinstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewersofinstagram #booknerdigans #booklover #kindleunlimited #kindle #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #ilovebooks #bookrecsofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookloversofinstagram #booknerds #booknerdcommunity #bookishengagement #booksilove #ilovebooksmorethanpeople #bookstagramfeature #kindle #kindlebooks @bookofthemonth

Elijah Leith returns to his rural hometown outside of Seattle after failing to make it as a novelist in San Francscio. After learning to homestead and suffering a personal loss, he attempts to rekindle his high school romance. This is interrupted when he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the beautiful but haunted town doctor, Erin Landry, which seems to be cannily based on the plot of his failed novel.

I loved Crouch’s description of the Pacific Northwest; she made the setting come alive and the reader can understand why Elijah is connected to his birthplace. Unfortunately, the plot and character development were weaker than I’d like. This read like the screenplay for a cable tb movie - lots of sentiment and dramatic plot points that felt extremely unrealistic. While there were a few twists, the main mystery was pretty clear from midway through the book.

While this was a miss for me, I would recommend it to those who enjoy descriptive setting and/or readers who like a plot-driven novel more than a character-driven novel.