Editors’ pick Best Books of the Year So Far 2024
In this gripping and intensely atmospheric debut, disquiet descends on a small town after the suspicious death of a beautiful young doctor, with all clues pointing to the reclusive young man who abandoned the community in chase of big city dreams but returned for the first love he left behind.
Book Blurb
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.
My Review:
Of course, I’m drawn to a story situated in the Pacific Northwest, an area dear to my heart and this novel does provide a strong atmospheric backdrop that begins with the discovery of a body hanging from a tree on Elijah Leith’s property near Point Orchards, Washington.
Elijah has had to return to the old home he inherited from his father after a failed attempt at writing the “great American novel” which did okay until a bad review had him guessing his time and talent.
Elijah was promised to a former high school sweetheart, Nakita, from a local indigenous tribe (fictional tribe name) and failed to return at their appointed time and place. She moved on but has recently lost her husband and is still in mourning. In the meantime, he has been playing around with a local female doctor who is the body found on his land.
Of course, too obvious to be logical, he is immediately suspected of her death as it would appear the death if eerily similar to the plot of his failed book. I suppose it could be arranged to look so obvious that it would be dismissed. Is it this time?
There are courtroom scenes and I’m usually a fan of active courtroom dialogue and descriptively set scenes. There are multiple timelines, switching the reader from present to past, and I still had a problem investing in Elijah and wished there had been more background on Nakita.
I thought the doctor, who was mourning the death of her daughter, felt disingenuous and couldn’t imagine her actions following the death of her child.
A slow burn of a start for me, although it does begin to increase tension with questions of suicide, rather than murder. How in the world could that have been pulled off?
Several holes of credibility here; somewhat disappointed in the characters. Still not sure I can buy the motive, but really, if not Elijah who else could it have been?
I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0CLHJ3H1D
Listening Length: 9 hrs 36 mins
Narrator: Kaleo Griffith
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Middletide [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
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The Author: Sarah Crouch is known for her accolades in the world of athletics as a professional marathon runner. Middletide is her debut novel, and is set in the Pacific Northwest where she was raised.
©2024 V Williams
It left me speechless. The fast-paced narrative follows the thoughts of middle child Aaron Gimmelman. Their family has had catastrophic reversals of fortune with the loss of his father’s job. Aaron manages to become the voice of reason for the family despite his parents going off the deep end. I kept rooting for a miracle and waiting for the author to pull a rabbit out of the hat. It’s a strongly mixed emotional message, dark, suspenseful, and full of twists, surprises.
When Daphne and Miles get together for other than “fake”, they usually end with an argument, most times initiated by Miles. And then begins the introspection. Boy, do we get the introspection! (Well…they argue a lot.) Or maybe it just seemed half the book was introspection by one or the other but I’d stopped caring a long time ago when I realized Daphne, smart as she is, was bound and determined to make the same mistakes over and over and …
They weren’t relatable (at least for me) and Miles didn’t come close to being a romantic interest, declaring more than once he still loved Petra. Duh. She still didn’t get it?
as Best Books of 2023
in Historical Mysteries
The Narrator: 
8 discovers that a priceless Aquila—an ancient eagle Roman standard carried into battle 2,000 years ago—was stolen from Karl Vogel when he was killed. This provides ties to a secret German organization known as the Batavi. But Vogel was also involved in the eugenics movement centered in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, as well as being involved with the Ku Klux Klan.
g ladies are apparently becoming part of a eugenics movement that became common in many large cities in the United States during this time. 8 Ballo is enraged by this thoughtless crime.
This book is very enlightening and will expand public understanding of those turbulent times. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 