Middletide is an atmospheric mystery and a strong debut novel by Sarah Crouch. The story begins on a misty morning as two fishermen trespassing in a private lake for it's large trout and they are shocked to see a body hanging from a noose. Told in a nonlinear fashion, we slowly learn about Elijah Leith, the owner of this land and the author of a flopped novel. 

This book is full of strong but not overly verbose descriptions of the Pacific Northwest, and the small town atmosphere added to the mood as well. The murder mystery moves slowly, and ultimately ends with courtroom scenes which I enjoyed. This is a story about second chances, and earning back trust. The characters are fleshed out enough to be believable, and I felt enough was left unsaid that as readers we could infer plenty of emotion. And while the end probably won't shock you, the journey to get there was quite well done. There was plenty of tension and I was even distracted by a red herring here and there. 

My complaints about this book are minor, but worth noting. I counted several instances of fat phobia, namely that the female love interest "had a runner's body" which is in other parts of the book described as lean and lithe. There is NO SUCH THING as a runner's body. If you run, you have a runner's body. Full stop. Also, there was reference to a woman Eli barely recognized because she had "gained fifty pounds." This wasn't said with shame or explicit judgment, so I'm on the fence about it because bodies change and that's okay! But with the runner's body trash, it counts. Also the end leans a bit religious, which is not my bag, but seems worth noting for other readers.