This ended up just not being very interesting, and I couldn't relate to the characters. It's really a shame because it sounded interesting, and I saw a lot of promotion for it.

I think the writer has a lot of promise, but I don't think this book delivered. So much of it was told as flashbacks or hearsay that I felt it lacked tension and it didn't hold my interest. While I liked the setting and I was able to discern the writer is a good one, the story was lacking. There was so much that felt superfluous and rambling. The POV shifts from first to omniscient wasn't evenly done and it didn't feel intentional. I kept waiting and hoping for the story to take off, but it didn't do that. I might ttry another by the author in the future, but was disappointed by "The Midcoast."

I really wanted to love this, but, it just wasn't for me. I was able to get through it though.
The storyline was initially intriguing, and I had read several positive reviews, but the integrity of the characters was lacking and I just didn't enjoy the overall pace and plot.

DNF at 32% - expecting it to be a thriller from the description, at least perhaps a literary mystery, but felt more character-driven, which I often enjoy. Unfortunately I wasn't interested enough in these characters to continue. :/

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

More of a dive into characters, relationships, and complicated decisions, this wasn't quite the thriller I anticipated it to be. When Andrew witnesses the police raid at the home of Ed & Steph, two of the most influential people in their coastal Maine town, he starts to use journalistic skills to dig into what might be happening. There's plenty of small-town drama, rumors, and relationships to keep the novel moving forward.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, despite not being the mystery I was anticipating. The novel is more of an attempt at literature & mystery, and somehow it works. Maybe it's because I'm from a small town with its own sense of drama, but I enjoyed following along throughout and trying to figure out each character's motivations.

There is nothing I love more than a small town and it’s secrets and this did not disappoint. Andrew can’ t help himself. He feels a little jealous of Ed. Ed is from a long line of lobstermen but somehow manages to provide a very good life for his family and afford Amherst. Andrew finds himself wandering around Ed’s house and stumbles upon a police file that is not for his eyes. What he finds in the file shocks and horrifies him. This is a dark take on what is the American Dream and the lengths that some people will go to achieve that dream.

Thank you #Hogarthpress and #netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book..

This book is a crime drama, a mystery and a family saga. The Midcoast is in Maine and it's described beautifully here. The narrator here Andrew, who is from Maine as well. Andrew is writing about the Thatch Family made up of Ed and Steph Thatch and their 2 children. Ed Thatch used to be a lobsterman, but while Andrew was away from Maine, he comes back years later to find Ed Thatch has achieved wealth and popularity. The characters are well fleshed out here and i found myself second guessing throughout. It's not your typical book. It's a detour from many books out there and I really enjoyed it. I hope Adam White, who wrote it as his debut book, writes more because I will definitely be looking out for it..
I highly recommend this book. I really liked it. 4 stars

Ok enough story. On the pro side, the story was interesting and the scenery descriptions are good. On the con, the characters, particularly the dad, are not particularly well developed and in the end this book wasn’t for me. The writing was good enough that I’d read another title by this author.

The Midcoast by Adam White is a very well written saga about a family in Maine and all of their secrets. This is more of a literary fiction book than a mystery in my opinion. I love books like this that take a deep dive into character's pasts. I actually feel like I know these characters and the town that the story takes place in. I highly recommend this book to readers who love to get sucked into a story and live there for awhile. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Okay, moody New England mystery alert! I loved the setting and the drama between the characters. It felt less like a thriller and more like a character-driven mystery. I cared deeply for all of them, even though demographically I'm not sure I would have picked this up if it wasn't recommended to me. And I'm so glad I did! Come for the twists, stay for the COMMENTARY ON THE AMERICAN DREAM!

As much buzz was around this novel, I really expected to love it, but, it just wasn't the case. The storyline was initially intriguing, but, the realness and some of the grittiness of the characters just fell flat for me. I can see the appeal for some, but, this was not a 5-star read in my book.

One of the joys of living in Maine is the wide array of environments you can enjoy. There’s the ocean, of course. There are mountains and forests. Lovely cities and idyllic small towns. Cold winters and warm summers. Few places run the gamut like the state of Maine.

That variety of place is reflected in the types of stories told about the place. We’ve got the Master of Horror, of course – hi, Mr. King! – but storytellers embrace all manner of genres, using the assortment of settings to bring to life literary fiction, sci-fi, mysteries, thrillers … the list goes on and on.

Every once in a while, though, you get a book that marries setting, style and story via that Maine lens that just clicks.

That’s what Adam White has done with his debut novel “The Midcoast,” a crime drama that offers up a compelling story while also exploring the definitions of success in a small town. It is a taut, sharp thriller – one that balances the stressors of its storyline with the underlying laconicism that marks life on Maine’s coast.

It’s well-crafted and propulsive, a fast read that sweeps the reader along into its wake, pulling us into the disparate lives of the characters at its center.

Andrew has recently returned to his hometown of Damariscotta; he teaches English and coaches lacrosse at the high school. He was away long enough for some things to change, even at the often-glacial pace that marks many small coastal Maine towns. Some of the changes could have been anticipated, but one that Andrew never saw coming was the success of Ed Thatch.

Ed and Andrew knew one another back in the day – Andrew worked at the lobster pound owned by Ed’s family – but while Andrew headed off to college and out into the world, Ed remained behind. Andrew’s expectation – and likely the expectation of everybody else in town – was that Ed would settle into the hardworking life of a lobsterman.

Instead, Andrew finds Ed and Stephanie Thatch living large as small-town royalty. They have a massive compound with a coastal view. They have become pillars of the community, both financially and socially. And their daughter Allie has a shot at playing lacrosse for Amherst. In fact, that’s where we first meet everyone, at a reception for Amherst lacrosse hosted by Ed and Stephanie at their home.

But as is often the case in small towns, there is more to the story. A LOT more.

Andrew is the one who learns more than he should about things that Ed would rather he didn’t. And even as we work our way back through the story of Andrew’s reconnection with his old acquaintance, various bits of the story stand out as … odd. Something is missing from the big picture, and that something might go a long way to explaining just what Ed Thatch has done to reach the top … and what he has done to stay there.

“The Midcoast” would be a perfectly acceptable thriller no matter the setting – White’s a good writer and that talent is on full display throughout – but it is that setting that pushes this book to another level. There’s something undeniably compelling about small-town noir, an energy that makes it unlike anything else you might read. However, too many authors don’t fully grasp the fundamental nature of small towns, leaving the reader to navigate an ill-defined physical and socioeconomic landscape.

Not so here. White knows this place – he’s from Damariscotta originally – and you can absolutely tell. His familiarity with his setting informs every aspect of his storytelling, lending the whole experience an inherent verisimilitude that only serves to enhance the other aspects of the book. That gentle whiff of autobiography is welcome, informative without ever being overwhelming.

The characters, for instance. While any reader should find engagement with the people that populate “The Midcoast,” those who have experience with life in a small town – particularly the sort of small town with a seasonal/year-round dichotomy – will absolutely recognize many of the folks who live within the pages of this book. The old-timers, the left-and-returners, the grinders, the new money, the generational (both wealthy and non) … they’re all here, lending a feeling of robustness to the world in which we’re operating.

And of course, there is no lack of thrills. White spins things out in an interesting way, giving us a big reveal at the beginning and bringing us along as he works his way back through it all.

This is a book that understands the nature of striving, the desire to have more than those who came before and to provide still more to those that follow. It’s a story of the power – creative and destructive alike – that comes with ambition. And it looks at what it means to fight against the weight of history when everyone in town knows (or thinks they know) what you’re all about. All of it conveyed through a rock-solid crime drama.

“The Midcoast” is a lot like some of the boats it describes – sturdy and efficient and unflashy on the surface, only with an unexpected amount of shiny horsepower just beneath the hull. Adam White’s Damariscotta is a nice place to visit, and honestly? You might even want to live there.

This story takes place in small tourist town in coastal Maine where lobster fishing is prominent. When Andrew who now is a high school English teacher and a coach returns to Damariscotta and attends a gathering for what is probably one of the most prominent families in the area a real rag to riches family who got there by hard work or did, they? When Andrew stumbles upon some pictures he is not supposed to see his curiosity is peaked and more so when police show to the Thatches estate and then the plots thickens and the wonder of who the Thatches really became. Andrew's curiosity. This curiosity leads to research to write a book on this family and along the way discover their many secrets. The author did a great job taking the start of this book and bringing it around to wrap it up at the end and bring this story together. There is plenty mystery and intrigue, and the story moves along steadily and should hold your interest till the end. I definitely recommend this book.

The Midcoast is a literary fiction story that goes down easy and would make a great summer read! Set in a small town in Maine (Damariscotta), the story opens with a splashy party at the local bigwigs' (the Thatches) house, during which a long line of police cars shows up looking for Ed Thatch. This opening scene is a fantastic hook, but don’t let it fool you that this whole story is about a crime. It's more of a small town story with a crime in the background. The residents of the town have a curious obsession with the Thatch family, giving the story a juicy, gossipy feel. And, it's a great balance between plot and character.

A slow burn, but difficult to put down. White thrills with his masterly debut. It tells the story of Andrew, who in his youth worked summers as a dockhand in a tiny Maine town. During this work he is befriended by Ed Thatch, a lobsterman. Years later, Andrew returns to his hometown and struggles to reconcile the new Ed Thatch, the wealthiest man in town, with the down to earth Thatch from years before. He attends a party with the family to quell his doubts and discovers a folder with pictures of dead bodies in a burned-out car. Soon after the police arrive, sirens blaring, lights flashing, and the trajectory of the entire town will turn. So will Andrew's as he becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about the wealthy Thatch's. Highly recommended.

The Midcoast was much quieter of a story than I was anticipating, and I'm so glad for it. It still had me turning pages rapidly and wondering what was going to happen, but I also had time to deeply deeply care about the characters. A perfect mystery.

The adjective that first comes to mind when thinking of The Midcoast is “lived-in.” Author White knows the streets he’s writing about, having come from the small Maine town that is the center of this taut, well-written novel. At the heart of the novel is the story of how a working-class lobsterman and his wife rose to the status of town leader and benefactor. Tied to this story is one of small-town crime.

White is a talented writer who draws you into the varying perspectives on offer. What’s puzzling, however, is his choice to frame this novel as an investigation by the main character for his own book about the lobsterman’s family. While this choice no doubt resonates for White, who has opinions he offers about best practices for young writers, the effect on the central driving element of the story is to dilute its power - the book is often as much about how the narrator came to learn certain facts as it is about those facts. This device robs the book of an immediacy - you can imagine this story being told by a third-party narrator with much more drive and momentum.

Nevertheless, the book is a promising debut from a very talented writer.

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy.

This is a solid crime novel. Adam White does great job taking the reader to small town Maine. I wouldn't describe this as a thriller exactly, but it is a really good, suspenseful crime novel.

A clever plot with well developed characters.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had really really high expectations for this one and that's maybe the only negative - it didn't live up. I love novels set in Maine and thought this sounded great - I got a little twisted around in the timeline of events and thought the narrative got a little muddy.