Mary's Reviews > Middletide

4.25/5

Funnily enough, my sister is the one who told me about Middletide and convinced me I should read it because she had been seeing it everywhere. It also doesn't hurt that my sister is a huge runner and Sarah Crouch is a professional marathon runner. 😉 I'm glad she talked me into it though because this was a fantastic debut! I appreciated the author's note at the beginning and where she got her inspiration for the fictitious Squalomah culture from being noted before the reader even starts. I really enjoyed the various viewpoints as well which made this into a romance, mystery, and crime/detective fiction novel all rolled into one.

I listened to the audiobook as well as kept the book handy, and I am exceedingly glad I went this route. I thought Kaleo Griffith did an excellent job as the narrator despite the multiple viewpoints, but I did find myself getting confused with the various time jumps at first. I was having a tough time keeping track of the timelines, but I finally caught on, and having the book helped a ton. The resolution of the mystery itself completely shocked me, and I didn't see it coming at all. I did find the pacing to be a bit on the slower side, but it was steady enough that I never got bored. I would be keen to check out whatever Crouch writes next and would recommend Middletide to readers who like a steady pace, a twisty but emotional mystery, and lots of layers.

Thank you to the publishers and Libro.fm for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.