I can’t believe this was a debut book! I am not normally a mystery reader, but I was hooked into this story from the very beginning. I loved the moody atmospheric setting of Washington. I really recommend this to anybody who likes mysteries or even people who normally don’t vibe with mysteries. Congratulations on an excellent debut.

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of your Middletide. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and I am delighted to share my thoughts with you.

I have rated your book 4 stars, and it truly deserves this high praise. One of the standout elements for me was the exceptional character development. Each of the main characters was crafted with such depth and authenticity that I found myself deeply invested in their journeys. The nuances and complexities of their personalities added a rich layer to the narrative, making their interactions and growth all the more compelling.

As the story unfolded, I found myself on the edge of my seat, particularly as it approached the climax. The suspense was palpable, and I was literally holding my breath during the final moments leading up to the verdict. Your ability to build tension and keep readers guessing was masterful. The story was refreshingly unpredictable, with twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Thank you once again for allowing me the privilege of reading your work. It was a memorable and enjoyable experience, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this title.**

I really enjoyed the thriller and mystery elements of this book, and Crouch can certainly paint a picture. Middletide is beautifully written and super atmospheric, which is something I appreciate in a book.

This one was a bit too "literary" for me, and a bit on the nose as well. I am rounding up to 4 stars for the writing, but the story was closer to 3 stars for me.

I've seen a lot of people that have really enjoyed this one and I'm not writing this author off by any means. Middletide will just not be in my top 10 for the year, lol.

Set in the Pacific Northwest, Middletide is the story of Elijah, a young man who left home to become a writer. His first novel was the subject of a scathing review and sales dipped until the publisher dropped the book. Because his alcoholic father scorned his choice of becoming a writer, Elijah never came home until after his father’s death and he struggles with guilt over not reconciling with him before he died.

Once home, Elijah has tries to rekindle his previous relationship with Nikita and it doesn’t go well. He then dates Erin, the local doctor for a brief time before realizing she is not a good fit for him. Elijah and Nikita manage to work out their issues and become a couple once again.

Meanwhile, Erin its found hanging from a tree on property owned by Elijah. Naturally he becomes a suspect. When the local sheriff is mailed a copy of Elijah’s book, he realizes that Erin’s death is the exact death of a character in Elijah’s book. Elijah is arrested and has to find the one mistake made in the death in order to get himself free.

I found the story predictable, but I enjoyed anyway. I would have liked to have seen more character development with Elijah and Nikita. Overall I felt this was a good debut mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review to other readers.

I tried to get through this, but in the end I had to stop reading. I didn't realize before starting this book that the author had made up a fake indigenous tribe (why??) or I probably wouldn't have picked it up to begin with, but I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt so I pushed through the first half of the story. The premise seemed interesting and I wanted to like this one but it never came together for me.

There's no reason for the made up tribe, honestly, and it's just a weird not to the story. The plot started out interesting but the characters just never held my interest. I wouldn't recommend this one.

Marketing this book as similar to Where The Crawdad Sing? First mistake.
Spending the first 70% of this book on homesteading details and a relationship so basic and shallow that I truly didn’t realize that was supposed to be THEE story? Second and third mistakes.
The motive? Not at all believable.
Loved the idea of a copycat crime from a book, but execution was not my cup of tea.

Middletide, by Sarah Crouch, is a debut novel that blew me away! It is a compelling mystery set in an isolated, rural area of Washington state. The main characters are complex and multidimensional that you are hoping will achieve what they most want. The book covers approximately twenty years, spanning the end of adolescence to the mid-thirties. My only criticism is that the time line jumps forward and back frequently and somewhat abruptly in spots. Focus on the dates at the beginning of each chapter. Although you might want to linger a bit over the beautiful descriptions of nature, it is otherwise a quick and very twisty read. Definitely recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

Thanks for the review copy. I wish I had chosen this for my Book of the Month box. I loved the twists throughout the book.

Elijah Leith is attempting to make a fresh start back where his life began.

This story covers the years 1994 back to 1973 & everywhere in between. Elijah left Point Orchards, Washington for the big city to write the great American novel. He was supposed to come back for his summer love, Nikita, but he fails to hold up his end of their agreement & by the time he slinks home (a failed author) to his deceased father’s cabin, she’s moved on. But their story doesn’t end there, & just when things are looking up: Elijah is framed for murdering a woman in the exact same way as the story in his only published work…

This debut author does a flawless job of keeping the timelines from being too confusing & giving the reader timely information. The tangled web of small-town living was intriguingly unraveled as we witnessed overwhelming emotion in many characters, & what it pushed them to do. I enjoyed the homesteading aspect of the book, the love of the great outdoors, & it was fun that the main character shared some traits with the author of the story (being a runner & a writer).

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was extremely slowwww in the beginning and took me a long time to get into. Probably the last 50 pages really gripped my attention.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I found the debut novel "Middletide" by Sarah Crouch to be an addictive, interesting & well written story that pulled me in right away & didn't let me go until its final page.
I enjoyed the author's writing style, how she told the story using the past & present timelines.
I am excited to see what Ms. Crouch decides to write next.

I will start with the good: the book is relatively well written, and has an extremely strong sense of place and mood. It definitely read like a small town in the Pacific Northwest, very dark, gloomy, isolated at times, people in their feels. Twin Peaks-y, ya dig? I dug that.

Now for my criticisms. I don’t usually actually find a lot of fault with books, but I *100%* think it would have been better to either not have Nakita and her family be Native American at all, or if they still were, to use and reference a real tribe. The disclaimer in the front of the book almost made the fake tribe’s inclusion more odious to me. Nakita and her family living on a reservation and being Native American really had no bearing on the plot and felt like tokenism, one step away from her being referred to as “exotic.” Nakita, her dad, and Chitto deserved better than that, and the teenage star crossed lovers thing at the beginning.

Character-wise, only Elijah was really fleshed out and allowed to grow. Nakita’s growth occurred off the page. Erin’s character was almost never truly observed and then we had one sudden chapter from her perspective seemingly to just sort of confirm everything Elijah had theorized. I just don’t really get the choices here, I guess.

The plot itself was interestingly paced. After the initial jolt, it was sort of slow and ominous for a while. And then, it wrapped up super quick and nearly with a bow. It also just reminded me of Gone Girl with a suicide.

I think this writer is talented, I hope she writes more and maybe spends some more time developing her characters and if desiring to represent any Native characters, maybe consulting with people from the relevant tribes and asking their input.

Elijah Leith left home to pursue his dream of becoming a novelist. He broke his promise to return to his high school girlfriend Nakita, and his only published novel floundered.

He returns to his family's cabin in the woods following his father's death and takes several years to get back in touch with the land, with his community, and with Nakita.

However, the prodigal son's return home is now threatened by the discovery of a dead body on his property -- and her death eerily parallels the plot of his novel.

I really like the author's use of dual timelines to keep the reader hooked. In one timeline, the reader follows the sheriff as he investigates the death and probable murder of Dr. Erin Landry. The other timeline follows Elijah's journey to recovering the home he gave up. Swapping back and forth between the timelines really helped to propel the narrative and hold my interest.

I do think that the plotting of the novel was not quite as solid as it could have been. The third act feels very rushed and as if unexpected details keep popping up. I think that the novel would have been improved by allowing for more perspective from Erin and more time devoted to the unfolding of the reveal at the end of the book.

There are lots of comparison to Where the Crawdads Sing, and I think readers who enjoyed the mystery aspect and moody outdoor setting of that novel will enjoy this one. However, I think that the overall tone of this novel is quite different and readers shouldn't expect too many similarities between the novels.

This review will be published to Goodreads and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on June 12, 2024.

This one was really intriguing, and it started off really good! But, around halfway through I just found myself not really caring about what happened.

Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I was recommended Middletide from @readingismydestiny and I am so happy that I listened to her recommendation and picked this one up.
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Set in the Pacific Northwest, the reader becomes immersed in the little town of Point Orchards. A body is found in 1994, but in order to understand the entire story, Middletide is told in a nonlinear dual timeline; spanning from 1973-1994. I caught a little bit of “Where The Crawdad Signs” vibes but this story in and of itself is very different.
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I immediately became invested in these characters, I wanted to know how their past would have anything to do with the case of the dead body. Crouch did a phenomenal job at really make me suspicious of different characters, not really sure where things would lead. The romance and the character arcs were also a huge bonus in this story. There were multiple twists that I did not see coming and I love how this one ended.
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Middletide is a slow burn, but that ending made it so worth it. There is also so much more depth to this story than just your average run of the mill popcorn thriller. Crouch weaved a very interesting story that was atmospheric, suspenseful at times filled with multiple subgeneres that makes for a unique and refreshing read. Definitely recommending this to all murder mystery / thriller fans who enjoy a deeper read with some romance and self growth.
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This was a great debut from Sarah Crouch, I look forward to reading more of her work. Middletide was just released yesterday 6/11!! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Crouch and Atria books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book.

Middletide was a fantastic debut novel. It's PNW, murder near an isolated cabin setting gave it an eerie, haunted vibe. None of the characters were particularly lovable, but Elijah was someone I was definitely rooting for. I felt for him and thought he deserved better in life than the hand he was dealt.

The mystery had a unique premise and I was hooked from the very beginning. It was an imitation type murder. I wouldn't necessarily call the ending jaw-dropping, but it was certainly unexpected and I doubt most people will see it coming.

I loved this book because it kept me on my toes the entire time! I don't read that many thriller books but this makes me want to!!! I absolutely recommend this book!

Something about this one really stuck with me after reading it. I loved the themes of writing and publishing. The romance and character growth felt real. The moody atmosphere was top-notch. And the murder mystery plot was well-paced. It’s heavy, dark, emotional, and slow-burn. The writing itself was immersive. It reads like a blend of literary, mystery, and romance. A fantastic debut and would definitely read from this author again!

Sarah Crouch’s debut had me hooked from the start. I devoured the book in 24 hours! My only wish is that I started it sooner.

The small town mystery kept me guessing. Though I do wish the end was a bit more of a twist.


Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this moody, slow burn of a mystery. It has a good enough story that kept me turning the pages, but I didn't feel a big "wow" moment. The beginning was very promising - a young, beautiful doctor is found hanging from a tree, but I felt like the story meandered a bit too much and had a lackluster ending.