This was an interesting book and though the themes were heavy, it was an easy read and helpful in a slump! I was immediately drawn into the story with the romance and was looking forward to seeing how everything developed. There were some areas that felt a little forced and some that confused me - but I think the confusion was on purpose to keep you guessing. I wasn't able to connect with the characters, but overall, a good, well-written story!

This is a debut novel but this author, and the premise of this book also focuses on a debut novel. Coincidence?
My mind was looking into whom was the guilty murderer, and I stabbed in the dark for answers. In the mean time, Elijah is stumbling, and pining for his lost love. Will they ever be reunited and end up together?
Answers come, but boy what a mind blowing read, the journey for answers makes for a page turning read, and yes, I was surprised at the outcome!
Does fiction become reality?
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Atria Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

An interesting whodunit story that kept you guessing until the end. The book was well written but the author loved to jump around in the story and for someone reading it on a Kindle it became hard to keep track of where we were in the story. This was especially true for the first half, I am not sure if I got the hang of the chronology or I just didn't care anymore by the second half. I found the jumping to be very distracting from the story. I also felt like the ending was rushed. The book throws everything together in the last 30 pages or so. Prior to that detail seemed so important, now it was just about getting the book completed. This was a good first novel.

Middletide by Sarah Crouch is one of the best puzzle mysteries I’ve read in awhile. Elijah Lieth has known that the city life could offer so much more than the small town he grew up in. So after he graduates, he heads off to become the famous novelist he’s always wanted to be and leaves the girl he loves. 20 years later he’s back with nothing but a failed novel to show for it. As he struggles to find his way, a woman is found dead on his property. And it seems like Elijah knows more than he’s willing to admit.

Many thanks to @atriabooks @simonandschuster and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 6/11/24.

THIS BOOK WAS TRULY AMAZING, and I don't think I can write a review good enough to do this book justice. You know when a book comes along that just takes over your life? You cancel plans just to go home and read, push all chores aside, and wish you could call into work? Well, this is that book for me! MIDDLETIDE had everything I love in a book: well-rounded characters, mixed genres, 5+ star ending, short chapters, literally, it was perfect! I would love to see this book made into a movie. This is the best debut novel I have ever read, and I am so excited to read whatever the author writes in the future.

1994: Two fishermen find the body of Dr. Erin Landry hanging from a tree with a suicide note tucked in her pocket. Her body was found on Elijah Leith's property. Signs are pointing to her being murdered, so did she really commit suicide?

1973: Elijah and Nakita just had a wonderful romantic summer of young love, but Elijah is leaving his hometown to go to college to start his writing career. He promises to come back to her after he graduates, will he return?

Pre-order, add to your WL, buy a copy on 6/11. This is definitely a book you want to read, and it will stay with you for a long time!

A debut that will keep you guessing! Being from Washington, I loved the atmosphere of this small town in Puget Sound. A place where you can’t hide your secrets for long.

—Dianna Rostad, USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of You Belong Here Now

This book had really good bones, but the overall story just felt messy to me. For one, there were too many dead bodies for me. Both of Elijah's parents are dead, the town doctor dies, Nakita's husband is dead, etc. That's right, there are more dead people I didn't mention, and only the town doctor is the one whose death is a mystery. To me, Elijah's story of coming home and having failed your dream while also dealing with the grief of losing a parent would have been a good enough story. I thought the murder mystery was just shafted into this story.

Middletide is told through multiple time frames. Some are in the past when Elijah is in high school, and some are in the "present day" during the murder investigation. The story really follows Elijah as he tries to make it as an author and then as he is licking his wounds in his hometown after failing. He reconnects with his high school sweetheart who is dealing with her own profound grief. To me, that story of grief was so well done and could have been the focus. Introducing a third character to act as a foil was too much. There were already so many heavy themes; a divorced doctor whose toddler had passed was just too much.

Oh also, Middletide is the name of the novel that Elijah wrote that only sold 13 copies. This is an important plot point as it ties in with the murder mystery later in the book, but it just felt like it was repetitive. HEY THIS GUY WHOSE BOOK DIDN'T SELL. HE'S A LOSER. But also someone murder someone else based on this book.

Middletide is a good book, but the murder aspect of it could have been abandoned and it would have been even better.

3.5 stars.

The first couple chapters had me hooked on this book and the story. I think the premise is very well done. I do feel like there were a few things missing from this book, and the "big reveal" was not as shocking as it could have been. Around 70% of the way through, I felt like the story lost some steam. I will definitely read more books from Sarah Crouch in the future though, I did enjoy her writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was an interesting book, though I found that there were maybe a touch too many plot lines, romance, mystery, revenge, court room drama and of course murder/mystery. I think focusing on a few less would have tied this story line together and made the flow more even. Elijah thinks he can write the great American book, he has it all planned, he'll go to school in San Francisco, publish his novel and come back to his home town to marry the love of his life Nakita, at least that's the plan. Things start to fall apart when his novel sells dismally and he returns home much later than he had promised, Nakita had since moved onto another and has no interest in him. Elijah had been left the cabin his father owned, which was in bad condition, so he starts to renovate it, fixing it so it's livable and growing his own food, and sourcing his morning eggs from wild chickens. There are two timelines one in the present day, and one a few years in the past where a local Doctor had been found hanging, Erin Landry and Elijah had briefly dated during a period when she was mourning the loss of a daughter and he was missing Nakita who had refused to get back together with him. Since the Doctor was found on Elijah's property, the police have him as the prime suspect. I found the story dragged quite a bit until the plot lines started to come together in a resolution which was the best part. I would however look for another book by this author as I did find the story interesting. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Atria for the ARC.

This book was so good! It was atmospheric and intriguing, and that ending blew me away! One morning, Dr. Erin Landry is found dead, hanging from a tree. And it is extremely reminiscent of a book written by local, failed author Elijah Leith. This book took some crazy turns I was not anywhere near expecting, and I whipped through it in a day! I cannot wait to read whatever Sarah Crouch puts out next!

I received a free ARC ebook of Middletide from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Elijah has dreams of leaving his sleepy coastal town and his uncommunicative father behind as he makes his way to San Francisco to write novels. He leaves behind the girl he loves, Nakima, with a promise to return in four years. He fails to keep his promise.

Elijah does return eight years later. His father has died and his career as a novelist as fizzled. Tail between his legs, Elijah slowly reintegrates himself back into the community and longs to reconnect with Nakima. The discovery of a woman's body hanging from a tree on Elijah's property throws his carefully reconstructed life into chaos.

I really enjoyed this novel with its powerful sense of place but the last quarter of the book lost some of that.

This debut novel opens with two fishermen discovering the dead body of the small-town doctor, Erin Landry of Point Orchards, WA hanging from a tree on the property of Elijah Leith. Is her death a suicide or a murder and if so, who is her murder is the primary focus of this novel. Elijah is our primary character, and the book jumps back and forth from 1994 when Erin is murdered to several years prior when Elijah returns to Point Orchard from San Francisco after failing to make a successful career as a writer.
This book is sold as "gripping and intensely atmospheric", but for me it fell a bit short of that mark. I certainly enjoyed it overall and was interested in how the story would resolve itself, but at times Elijah didn't feel like a realistic character. The mystery itself was relatively easily solved in my opinion, but seeing how the author tied it all up and resolved it for the characters was still interesting, and overall, I would say this book is a worthy and well written debut, even if it doesn't quite meet the expectations of that marketing blurb for me.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Thank you Sarah Crouch, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elijah left his small town for bigger and better only to return years later. Once he returns he is caught up in a murder that closely resembles one he wrote about in his debut novel many years ago.

I enjoyed Middletide, there is a dual timeline of the past and present. It gives slight Where the Crawdads Sing vibes, but oh so much more. I liked the small town aspect of a northwestern town and figuring out what really happened throughout the book. The atmosphere of the book was so well done.

3.5/5
I really liked this book. It had me completely in the dark about who could have possibly been the one to pull off the crime and its a little bit Meta which I always find to be creative and interesting. Elijah's work at homesteading had me wishing for a bigger yard and a few chickens as well haha. I also enjoyed the setting of the PNW since it feels really familiar because I live there.

I wish I could say I loved it, but the big reveal felt a little early and a tiny bit anticlimactic. Even still I never would have guessed it!

Overall a great debut by Sarah Crouch and I would definitely read more of her work when I comes out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

I liked this atmospheric mystery. It moved a little slow for me, but I was intrigued to find out how it ended.

I really liked the way the story was told. It felt atmospheric and it kept me hooked. Then it took a turn into 'Gone Girl' territory and it was a little too imitative. Very much enjoyed the storytelling, though.

Absolutely gorgeous book. Crouch captivated me from start to finish, with beautiful imagery of the settings and scenery, and a slow build throughout the book. I requested the book b/c Patti Callahan Henry wrote a snippet on the front, and I'm so glad I did. Hands down 5 star book for me!

You can never go home again but many try to. Elijah Leith, an author, had left his small town for fame and fortune. Not only leaving the town, he also left the love of his life, Nakita, but as Elijah fails to get what he seeks, he returns to Point Orchards, to the home his father built.

His adjustment to life is shaky but gradually he cleans the cabin, and starts to grow his food, and desperately tries to connect with his lost love. When that also fails Elijah is lonely so he turns his attention to the town doctor, Dr. Erin Landry, beautiful but also grieving for a daughter who died. As things progress, Erin is found hanged from a tree, in what appears to be a suicide, but attention and situations place the blame on Elijah and he is arrested and brought to trial.

The books starts slowly and seems to meander for the first half. It isn't until the last 50-60% that the story takes off and intrigue begins.

This is the author's first attempt and she had a good story but just needed to move it along at a faster pace in my opinion.

Thank you to Sarah Crouch, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this story due out in June.

Many thanks for the complimentary ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and the author/publisher.

The book in the story was panned because “readers wouldn’t be able to suspend their disbelief.” Unfortunately that’s exactly what hampers Middletide. It had great potential.
When the story is a law and order type plot, then the job of law enforcement becomes crucial to making it a believable read. Once the police jumped to conclusions with a complete lack of investigative effort my mental brakes came to a screeching halt. A police procedural has to be based on reality.

If you’re looking for something along the lines of Where the Crawdads Sing, this isn’t it.

Written in multiple timelines.
The dead body hanging from a tree is identified as local doctor Erin Landry. Considered a suicide at
first, the medical examiner determines the cause to be murder. Main suspect is Elijah Landry who
has just returned home after failing as a writer. Unfortunately, Erin's murder follows the one portrayed in
Elijah's only published novel, Middlemarch. Why would Elijah want to kill the doctor? Who else
had reason to murder her? As the town turns against Elijah, he must trust that his old love Nakita
and her father will be able to prove his innocence.
#Middletide #Atria #NetGalley