When the body or Dr Erin Landry is found on the property of Point Orchard local Elijah Leith, all signs point to him as the perpetrator. Even more damning is the murder happening exactly as a murder from a novel he wrote. Told in alternating timelines, the story follows Elijah as he tries to remake himself after failing to find success as an author and follows the time after the murder.

I am really glad I read this. I originally didn’t think I would enjoy it because it was compared to All Good People Here (which I did not like), but this story was light years better to me. I liked the back and forth of timelines, and it kept me on my toes as the reader, trying to piece information together. Elijah is an interesting character, and it took some time to determine if I was hoping for him to succeed with the life he was trying to build/if I thought he was guilty or innocent. The setting of Pacific NW was interesting as well.

Revenge. Twist and turns. This was lots of fun and was dark and atmospheric. Suicide was a little triggering for some readers but the hometown vide with revenge was worth it all!

I’ll start by saying I do not think I was the right audience for this book. It had similar vibes to “crawdad” and I did not like that book. I went into this thinking it was a thriller and I do think the cover is very appealing. It just wasn’t for me. I’m sure others will enjoy it though!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the arc

This was a good read. I enjoyed it and didn’t figure it out until the end. I loved the plot and using an author’s book against him.

I think this book hit me at the wrong time and maybe I’ll come back to reread and enjoy it more. I was also a little offput by the made up tribe.

This is a debut novel, with multiple timelines that switch frequently. The plot is very slow-moving, crawling for about 75% of the book, with a lot of narrative about eating, nature, and homesteading/living off the land, as well as Elijah's sorry love life. For some reason, the author decided to make up a fictional Native American tribe, which added to the confusion. The characters are all blah, except for the victim. Not recommended unless you enjoy a little bit of mystery mixed with what is mostly high school style romance. Hopefully the author will do better on her next outing.

5/5 stars

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Child death, Death of parent

I can not believe this a debut book! I was hooked by the first scene where the Doctor of the town, Dr. Erin Landry's body is found hanging from a tree in a wooded area on Elijah Leith's property. This is where the story gets interesting. Did someone frame Elijah or did he kill Dr. Landry?!

I loved the short chapters, small town mystery feel, the characters, multiple timelines and the courtroom aspect. I didn't know who to trust at any given chapter and there was an aspect of 'book within a book' that I loved and was rooting for Elijah to be cleared.

My heart broke for Dr. Landry and her life but I questioned so many things about her. The author wrote dynamic characters that made you think so many things were possible and I love that in stories!

I'm so glad I read this book and I was so invested in the story. The last chapter was amazing and I will read whatever Sarah Crouch reads next!

I really enjoyed the start of the book but almost felt like too much was going on and the story felt rushed towards the end. The story was also very predictable (maybe it's just me lol) and at times it almost didn't seem realistic (thinking of the course scenes here). All that to say, I did really enjoy it and read it almost in one sitting! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review

I really enjoyed this book. It opens with two friends in the Pacific Northwest. Elijah gets set to leave their small town for college in the big city while Nakita remains back on her reservation. Elijah promises to return in 4 years and when he doesn't show, Nakita wonders if she will ever see him again. He does eventually return to the homestead cabin he was raised in to live a quiet life off the land; however, a body is found hanging on his property soon after and Elijah fears he will become suspect #1.

This book reminded me a bit of Once There Were Wolves with its combination of love for nature and the surrounding atmosphere while also bringing in an element of crime and mystery. Crouch does a great job of exploring homesteading with Elijah and all it entails without getting to lost in the weeds and losing the reader. Nakita and Elijah's backstory is sweet. I loved the second-chance romance that had true depth and character growth to it. While part of the storyline felt a bit far-fetched I let myself just go with it all and really got lost in the narrative. This is a debut novel that shows real promise from this author..

There is such a love for this area of the world and the characters in these pages. The writing was well done and kept me wanting to read to find out how all would be resolved in the end. I can't wait to see what she writes in the future.

I am not entirely sure how I feel about this one. The reviews were not super great so I went into it sort of thinking I wouldn't like it. But I breezed through the first half and found it pretty enjoyable. I guess the twist just didn't really do it for me. It seemed so far-fetched and implausible. Erin was out of her mind. And the reason for her actions seem like a pretty big stretch. She's a doctor for crying out loud. Was she so perfect that every decision she ever made did not result in a patient's harm? Obviously not because of Nakita's grandmother. Speaking of Nakita, I really didn't find any of the characters in this very likable so it made it very hard to root for anyone. The police were bumbling and unprofessional. Elijah is whiny and really screws Nakita over in the beginning. Nakita was a little all over the place with her feelings for Elijah. I don't know. I liked the story less the more I read. The courtroom scene is super short and rather unbelievable.

This hit so hard in the atmospheric department, but the characters irritated me, mainly Elijah…

I absolutely loved the beginning. The first 25% is built up in such a fabulous way. I had to suspend my belief when the guy who leaves everyone behind, including the girl he loves, only to come back years later with almost nothing to show for it but something that causes him trouble… then expects to get the girl who’s heart he broke… I didn’t like the way I was supposed to care for this character when I didn’t like him.

The vibes of this book, though… they were fabulous. I love a good small town mystery and this definitely delivers in that aspect.

Middletide is a 90s-era murder mystery about an author who returns to his hometown only to be accused of a crime that mimics the plot of his novel.

Told in dual timelines, Middletide is the story of a small-town police department trying to solve the murder of a local doctor staged to look like a suicide, and the return of a “prodigal son” to his hometown after a setback. When the separate timelines converge, the reader realizes that the murder and the local man are connected in a rather dramatic way.

I enjoyed the slow coming together of the two stories but felt the plot was weak in a couple of major areas. The first issue I had was with the sappy romance between the main character, Elijah, and the girl he left behind, Nakita. I enjoy a good second-chance romance but felt zero chemistry between these two, and their relationship felt oddly chaste and sterile for two people in their thirties. Equally perplexing was his short-lived entanglement with the beautiful local doctor that led to her death. The other area that felt weak was the entire investigation and court case. I found the motive behind the crime disappointing, and the reveal was just kind of dropped on the reader without any “aha” moment. I’m by no means a legal expert, but much of what occurs in the last twenty-five percent of the book seems unrealistic and too easily resolved.

Overall, I enjoyed the pace of this book and the overarching concept, but I felt it fell apart in the details.

3.5⭐️

With complex characters and an immersive setting, Middletide by Sarah Crouch is an interesting character-driven novel with an intriguing mystery at its core.

Set in the small town of Point Orchards, Washington, the novel begins in 1994 with the discovery of the body of Dr. Erin Landry hanging from a tree on the property of Elijah Leith. Elijah had been living alone in his late parents’ cabin after returning to his hometown in 1988 after his first novel failed to launch his career. Elijah hopes to rekindle his relationship with his former high school sweetheart, Nakita, whom he had left to pursue his dreams of becoming an author, breaking his promise to return after four years. Nakita, grieving the recent loss of her husband, isn’t quite ready to move on. Elijah was also friends with Dr. Landry, whose marriage collapsed after the death of her young daughter in a road accident. Erin’s death is initially ruled a suicide, but when Sheriff Jim Godbout discovers that the details from the crime scene are uncannily similar to the plot of Elijah’s novel, Elijah soon becomes the prime suspect. It is up to him and the few people who believe in his innocence to find the truth behind Erin’s death.

I loved the premise of this novel. The prose is sparse, yet elegant and the narrative is presented through past and present timelines and flows well despite a slow start. The narrative gains momentum in the second half of the story. I was invested in the characters and the mystery did hold my interest till the end. The characters were well thought out, but I thought certain aspects of the story could have been explored in more depth, with less telling and more showing.

I did feel, however, that certain components of the story were of no consequence to the plot. The procedural aspect had its moments, but some details weren’t entirely convincing and the courtroom scenes weren’t particularly intense. The ending felt a tad rushed, but I did like how the mystery was unraveled despite the predictability.

Though I won’t call this an entirely satisfying read, there is a lot to like about this debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this promising new author in the future.

Many thanks to Atria Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved Where the Crawdads Sing, so when I saw this was a comp. title, I was super excited!

Thank you @atriabooks for my #gifted copy!

Middletide is an atmospheric, well-paced murder mystery that follows several timelines and POVs. In other words, it has everything I could’ve wanted.

A small town’s doctor is found dead on Elijah’s property. As the police investigate her death, Elijah’s history and story comes into question.

I am not going to do a great job at describing this one because I really don’t want to spoil anything. It has a love story, beautiful descriptions, complex characters, and a relatively fast-paced plot. I struggled to put this one down and flew through it.

I’m actually surprised that I haven’t seen this one more on booksta, and I’m hoping when Middletide comes out June 11 that changes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#litbylillireviews

This one was a struggle at the beginning. I couldn’t get into the love affair of the two teens but once we got to the meat of this story (the murder mystery), I was hooked. I enjoyed the concept of it potentially being a suicide, murder, or a clever turnabout. Middletide was beautifully written and not just your average murder mystery so I’d definitely recommend it! Looking forward to what’s next from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for making this title a "Read Now" option. I was excited to read a mystery/thriller set in the Pacific Northwest. When I read it also had "Where the Crawdads Sing" vibes I was even more on board. For me, the book was OK. The first half moved a little slowly and I struggled to connect with the main characters. The second half, however, really took off and kept me guessing. The guessing centers around whether the death of a beautiful and popular small town doctor was murder or suicide. The ending was ... satisfying albeit improbable. There was also some romance, so if you like your murder mysteries with a side of love story, this might be for you.

One peaceful morning, in the small, Puget Sound town of Point Orchards, the lifeless body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of prodigal son and failed writer, Elijah Leith. Sheriff Jim Godbout’s initial investigation points to an obvious suicide, but then he discovers that the circumstances of the doctor’s death were ripped straight from the pages of Elijah Leith’s own novel.

Elijah had returned to his empty childhood home to lick the wounds of his futile writing career. As the town of Point Orchards turns against him, Elijah must fight for his innocence against an unexpected foe who is close and cunning enough to flawlessly frame him for murder.

Sarah Crouch has given us an engrossing literary thriller about love, loss, revenge, and redemption. The echoes of this novel will stay with the reader well after the last page has been turned. Highly recommended.

3.5 stars for this atmospheric slow burn debut novel. Because of the time hopping nature of the chapters, the mystery doesn't really kick up speed until 50% or so of the way through the novel. While there is a mystery, this novel also focuses on the idea of can you ever really return home as an adult, first loves, loss and grief. For the most part, I liked the character of Elijah.

"One peaceful morning, in the small, Puget Sound town of Point Orchards, the lifeless body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of prodigal son and failed writer, Elijah Leith. Sheriff Jim Godbout’s initial investigation points to an obvious suicide, but upon closer inspection, there seem to be clues of foul play when he discovers that the circumstances of the beautiful doctor’s death were ripped straight from the pages of Elijah Leith’s own novel.

Out of money and motivation, thirty-three-year-old Elijah returns to his empty childhood home to lick the wounds of his futile writing career. Hungry for purpose, he throws himself into restoring the ramshackle cabin his father left behind and rekindling his relationship with Nakita, the extraordinary girl from the nearby reservation whom he betrayed but was never able to forget.

As the town of Point Orchards turns against him, Elijah must fight for his innocence against an unexpected foe who is close and cunning enough to flawlessly frame him for murder in this scintillating literary thriller that seeks to uncover a case of love, loss, and revenge."

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

The author did a really great job making this book feel very atmospheric. I feel like the cover is exactly how I imagined this town to be-small town, water, trees, foggy/dark, etc. I liked the actual mystery plotline and how the book jumped back and forth between times. I don't think I guessed the ending right away but it wasn't super twisty. I thought some of the characters were really immature for their age. It wasn't a bad book! It just wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I appreciated that it was pretty short.

Thank you so much to Sarah Crouch, Atria Books, and NetGalley for my ARC of Middletide. I thought that this would be a thriller about the murder/suicide of the town’s doctor. I was unaware that this was a teen love strong gone wrong. Think “Where the Crawdads Sing” but in the Pacific Northwest.

I usually can get in to any book, especially if it’s marketed as a thriller but this one just wasn’t that. The thing that really sealed the deal for me was completely making up an indigenous tribe in the area with what seemed like little thought or research. This book just didn’t flow well for me and I had to hype myself up each time I went to pick up my Kindle. 2/5 stars