Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of Elijah Leith. At first it appears to be a suicide after Sheriff Jim Godbout’s initial investigation. After further investigation it seems to be murder. All evidence points to the prime suspect is Elijah Leith. It was on his property, he had a brief relationship with the deceased, and witnesses relayed a fight between the two. The most damaging evidence is that the murder is that it follows the events in Leith’s first novel, The Middletide. This novel has suspense, twists and even romance. It is a page turner and exciting read. I recommend this book and hope to read more stories by Sara Crouch.

Middletide by Sarah Crouch was a fun debut novel. I enjoyed the setting and story. I was kept guessing throughout the book and multiple timelines. I felt for the characters.

The one downside I found was reading this novel digitally, was that it was hard to keep track of the different timelines. It would have been helpful to have the dates the chapters took place in the table of contents to better follow the progression of the novel.

I can’t wait to read what Sarah Crouch writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

When the town doctor is found hanging in the middle of the woods, it’s initially deemed a suicide. But further investigation shows that something more be at play.

Crouch paints a beautiful setting for novel and digs in well to that. I think this book will strike a chord with fans of mystery, procedural/courtroom type books with a strong romance thread throughout.

I also appreciated that the nursery mystery took an unexpected turn and the motive is one I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a novel before.

I did want more out of the characters. I felt we had a good grasp on Elijah but I really could have used more exploration into the other characters in the novel.

Thank you to Atria books and to NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a true crime murder mystery with characters that are familiar but still interesting. It has a rustic vibe but it’s definitely more Ethel Cain Americana than, let’s say, bright & happy cottage-core. The story is entwined with its surroundings which is why I’ve included that chronically online comparison; it’s very important that you know the vibes going in. Without spoiling anything, this is a book for David Fincher fans (specifically that movie he made in 2014 iykyk…). I loved it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy fast read with twists that aren’t too complicated and characters that truly come alive. My only complaint has to do with originality specifically regarding the similarities between this book and the previously mentioned Fincher film. I look forward to reading more of Sarah Crouch’s work!

Thank you Netgally and the publishers for this ARC :)

What a way to enter the thriller world! Middletide is a killer debut. The atmospheric setting really pulled me in from the beginning. We get to follow alternating timelines as we learn the truth behind an apparent suicide. I truly can’t wait to see what Crouch writes next!

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Middletide is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. While half way through the book I did figure out what was going to happen, I enjoyed every second of watching the story unfold. I also liked that instead of throwing in a same sex relationship into the story (which is in almost every book I’ve read recently) she spoke about God. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

The “flavor” of this book reminded me a little of Where the Crawdads Sing in that the nature of the Pacific Northwest setting is such an atmospheric presence in the story.

Middletide is told via alternating timelines, which I enjoy. There is a lot going on in this story. At the heart of the plot is the apparent suicide of Erin, the town’s beautiful young doctor, but it is also a story about love, coming home, identity, nature, and revenge. The accused is one of the town’s native sons and the evidence against him is quite specific and apparently ironclad. With the help of his childhood girlfriend and her father, he must prove his innocence.

I did have a few issues. My biggest issue was believing the root cause of Erin’s death; it seemed quite a stretch. I also struggled to truly relate to the love story that is at the heart of this book. It begins when the main characters are 16 and 18 and then they are reunited later in life. I didn’t have a good sense of the root of their relationship.

All-in-all I did like this debut despite my complaints above. It was rich in its descriptions of nature and living off the land, and I enjoyed the small-town environment of the Pacific Northwest. The mystery had enough uniqueness to keep my attention.

Sarah Crouch made her debut into the book world with the beautifully atmospheric literary thriller, Middletide. I've heard it compared to Where the Crawdads Sing for the incredible imagery, and they weren't wrong. The descriptive detail of this book was sublime. Crouch has such a wonderful style of writing, and I'm sure this would be excellent listening pleasure in an audiobook.

It's a quiet thriller that pulls you in and gets you acquainted with the characters and immersing you into the stunning Point Orcards. There is romance, mystery, loss, and small town gossip.
The chapters are divided into several timelines, building intrigue.
I really loved the depection of homesteading, and how utterly lonely ,backbreaking but rewarding the job is.

What didn't work for me was there wasn't enough work put into the characters. They felt one dimensional and flat, which made it difficult to connect with them. Considering this is a debut novel, I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you to Netgally and Atria Books for my copy. My review was voluntary.

This is definitely a book to read to put you into a certain mood read, just by the story and the setting alone. It's giving Twilight vibes for the setting, with a murder mystery intertwined, making for a great and entertaining story.

I had a really hard time getting into the book. I felt slightly bored. Around 60% is when it started to pick up for me. The story line had potential but needed to move faster

I really wanted to love this book but in unfortunately I just didn’t. The MMC was pushy and came across as very desperate and was irritating to me. I also felt like the book has a very slow start and was repetitive at times. The cover is beautiful and the author did a great job with her descriptions of the landscapes. There are many time jumps between past and present so that can get a little confusing at times. There is a twist at the end of the book but it wasn’t anything mind blowing or super believable. I wouldn’t deter people from reading this book but I will not actively recommend it to others.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and author for the e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this ebook.

I saw this compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, and as I progressed through the novel, I was definitely able to understand and appreciate the similarities between the two. I found the very beginning to be intriguing, then there was a slight lull, but then about half way through, I became fully invested in this story. There was mystery, intrigue, heartbreak, and redemption woven throughout the layers of this book. I look forward to more from this author!

This is a slow burn mystery set in the Pacific Northwest with excellent atmospheric writing reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing. The novel starts with the discovery of a hanging woman and then goes back in town to figure out how and why she ended up there. It is more of a character driven story and I did like the main character but understand that not everyone will . I was loving the novel and even the small twist for about the first 2/3rds. However the final 1/3 felt rushed, the investigation and courtroom scenes were unrealistic, and everything seemed to tie up a little too neatly in a bow . Overall I still enjoyed this debut novel and would read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Cindy Burnett from Thoughts from a Page podcast and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

This book reminded me a lot of Where The Crawdads Sing, but with a much better storyline. I absolutely loved this mystery, and the characters. I did struggle with the pace a bit, but overall I highly recommend.

This book pulled me in from the very beginning. Set in a small town outside of Seattle, the book explores moving back to where you grew up, long lost loves and potential future loves, love triangles and how far a person will go for their relationships. Elijah leaves his small hometown to go to college, explore the world outside the bubble he grew up in and hopes to write the next great American novel. He leaves his first love Nakita behind. After his book is failure, he moves back home again. While trying to rebuild his life, the body of a woman he had recently dated is found on his property and he finds himself on the wrong side of a murder investigation.

I couldn't put the book down for the first half. I felt like I was getting to know the characters very well and was fully immersed in how their lives intertwine.. A little more than halfway through, all the characters seem to have a complete change of personality and it's stretch to reconcile the two parts of the book. The end is tied up with a pretty little bow. Overall, I enjoyed the book and can definitely see it being made into a movie.

Sarah Crouch's rural thriller has been likened to Delia Owen's Where the Crawdads Sing. Since I was nowhere near a fan of Owen's runaway bestseller, I almost passed over this ARC, but I decided to give it a try because I am drawn to stories with an indigenous element.

The author, is an acclaimed long distance runner, and two of the lead characters in this story similarly share a love of long distance running - and, eventually, each other!

But, alas, the path to young love is rarely smooth and the young lovers are parted by time and Elijah Leith's "fatal flaw" - his overriding ambition to escape the constrictions of his small coastal town and make it big in the literary world.

Fast forward a decade and a half later: young Elijah is forced to return to Point Orchards, penniless and dispirited. This rambling story is told from the third person, omniscient narrator point of view.. There were the usual issues with a novice publication: character development was lacking, there was a tad too much telling and not enough showing, and the plot stretched my credulity one too many times.

Those of us who have anything to do with the legal profession often avoid reading amateur court room dramas: we can't help cringing at the blatant gaffs during those sensationalized court room scenes. Apart from the obvious ethical breach of a doctor dating her patient, the "copycat death" of Dr. Erin Landry and the reasons for her "murder" were too far fetched for me: I just wasn't buying the motive and the actual execution of the crime. (I kind of agreed with Elijah's literary critic on this one!!)

SPOILER ALERT:
<spoiler>The following highly dramatic legal gaffs spoiled the story for me:
1. Blatant Bias: The jury repeatedly broke out in accusations and condemnation of the prisoner during the trial: hardly the sign of an impartial jury - and yet the judge didn't do much to restrain or caution the jurors to reserve judgment until all the facts of the case had been placed before them. Conversely, Elijah's one emotional protestation in defense of his innocence during his trial was soundly rebuked by the judge, who immediately threatened him with contempt of court. My jaw just dropped at that glaring evidence of total bias on the part of the presiding judge AND the jurors. The words "Objection!" "Mistrial!" echoed in my bewildered mind more than one.
2. The police investigation was woefully inept. It took amateurs and the legal defense team to expose the shoddy investigation, find a vital piece of evidence and save the day!
3. Finally, that "last minute evidence" introduced by the defense at the end of the trial was a major "disclosure" procedural gaff. In an actual criminal trial, both the prosecution and the defense must allow each side to review all evidence which they intend to present during the trial so that each side can conduct an informed cross examination. When newly discovered evidence is introduced during a trial, it is customary to seek leave from the judge for permission to present the new evidence, and there is inevitably an adjournment ordered so that the opposing side can examine the fresh evidence.
Oh, and one last thing, which I may have forgotten or skimmed over because I put this book aside several times: Question: how was the issue of Dr. Landry's clean feet explained? This puzzled me at the very end. I even went back and skimmed through the sections where Elijah's book were mentioned, but couldn't find an explanation for it. The "clean feet" reference in Elijah's book and in this story made it obvious to the investigators that this was not a suicide, however....!?!?! Okay, I won't go any further for fear of an even worse spoiler.</spoiler>

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I'm rating this a 3.5 out of 5. This was a decent first novel: characterization and credibility need a bit more work, but I applaud the author's ingenuity. I guessed the culprit from the outset, but not the actual motive.

Elijah Leith leaves behind his first love, Nakita, to follow his dreams of living in a big city and becoming a famous writer. Years later, after a failed attempt with his first novel "Middletide,” he returns home broke and disheartened. From here, we follow two chronological timelines. 

The first timeline showed glimpses into Elijah’s life in the intervening years leading up to the death of Erin Landry, the town doctor. What at first looks like suicide quickly turns into a murder investigation. A murder that closely follows the events that occur in Elijah’s thriller "Middletide".

The second timeline follows the police chief’s progression through the evidence. It is immediately clear to me, as the reader, that this soon-to-be retired peacemaker is in over his head and is being spoon-fed the evidence.
 
The author wrote beautifully descriptive scenes of Puget Sound and the small town of Point Orchards where this story takes place. She brought the atmosphere to life. I could see what she saw in her mind's eye as she was writing this story. 
 
Unfortunately, I found this book to have issues that I just couldn’t see past. The narrative of life in a small town switches back and forth to suit the author’s needs. It was described as having one main street where everyone knew everyone until it suited the plot that characters didn’t know one another or had only meet a few times.  The judicial process was also hugely problematic. She took too many liberties with it that required a suspension of disbelief. Evidence that wasn’t given to the defense, a DNA database that doesn’t appear to exist, leads that were just taken as fact, etc. This story, and some of the motives behind the decisions, also lacked believability for me.

 If you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, this is not it, but if you are looking for a slower burn mystery with lots of atmosphere and a slice of life feel to it, I think you may like this book.

I really enjoyed the last 20% of the book, but felt the first 80% dragged on with its descriptions of chores and nature. I figured out the situation pretty early on, so I wouldn't necessarily consider this a thriller or a mystery. It seemed more general fiction or domestic based.

4.4 stars for me. Really loved this atmospheric mystery novel. There was just something about it that allowed me to really embrace the moodiness and weather of the setting which enhanced my read of the novel. It is a slow burn. In the first 70 pages, there was a lot of description of mundane activities and food—I wasn’t so sure where it was going, but then the author did something that made the book much more intriguing and I was sold. Relatively quick mystery read that was moody and atmospheric. Highly recommend.

This captivating debut novel unfolds in the Pacific Northwest, blending timelines before and after a prominent doctor, Erin Landry, is found dead on Elijah Leith's property. Elijah, a former author, becomes the main suspect. The story also delves into Elijah's past with high school sweetheart, Nakita, from the Squalomah indigenous people. The unique murder mystery and atmospheric setting create a suspenseful and intriguing read. The complex plot and beautiful prose make for a compelling narrative that keeps readers on edge.

Thank to NetGalley and Atria publishing for the arc.