The Briars - by Sarah Crouch (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Desperate to escape a relationship gone bad, Annie Heston flees north to accept a job as a game warden in Lake Lumin, a picturesque town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

A cougar has been spotted in the area, and as Annie warns the community of the threat, she quickly discovers that not everyone in the tight-knit town is welcoming of outsiders, except for Daniel Barela, a reclusive carpenter who lives in the shadow of the mountain. They form an instant bond, though Annie soon comes to realize there is more to his past than meets the eye.

When the body of a young woman is found in the briars that border Daniel's property, the peace Annie has found in Lake Lumin shatters. As she assists the local sheriff with the investigation, Annie must rely on her wilderness training and intuition to find a murderer hiding in plain sight.

Urgent and emotionally complex, The Briars is a captivating literary thriller that marries an exploration of human nature with a plot as thorny and twisted as the brambles for which it is named.

Review Quotes

"A stirring debut with an immersive setting, lush prose, and characters so real that I feel I've known them all my life. Fans of Tana French, Liane Moriarty, and Jane Harper--take note!" --ANDREA BARTZ, New York Times bestselling author of The Spare Room and We Were Never Here

"With her first novel, Sarah Crouch has hit the ground running. In Middletide, she offers readers an emotionally compelling story of loss, vengeance, and redemption. The characters are wonderfully complex, and every scene is nested in a beautifully evoked sense of place. To top it off, she's crafted an amazing, twisted mystery with a stunning conclusion. Sarah Crouch's fine debut novel deserves a place on every reader's bookshelf." --WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER, New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember

"Sarah Crouch's brilliant debut is a tale of twisted love, revenge, and redemption set against the breathtaking backdrop of Puget Sound. You won't be able to put this one down." --TARRYN FISHER, New York Times bestselling author of Never Never

"Middletide is a riveting mystery with the beating heart of a debut author who has the respect and skill to honor the wisdom of the natural world and the complexity of human desire. In forests thick with both beauty and danger, Crouch's novel is a love letter to the natural world, to the power of friendship, and the willingness to fight for those we love. With the suspenseful timelines drawing ever closer, the pages flying, and a twist that takes the breath, Middletide is an immersive, richly drawn, and wholly powerful experience." --PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

"Middletide is the rarest of novels: a blistering page-turner and a dazzling love letter to the natural world. Tautly plotted, lushly atmospheric, and gorgeously written, Crouch's debut is stunning. Readers will feel the moss under their feet and smell the petrichor in the air, but they will never guess the twists hidden in this Pacific Northwest forest." --Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters

"In this brilliant debut, the line between fiction and reality blurs, as a failed novelist's murder mystery is mirrored in real life, with the author as the prime suspect. An enthralling tale of long lost love, loss, and stunning retribution. I absolutely loved it!" --JAMIE FORD, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

"[A] cunning debut...[with] vivid prose and evocative sense of place...readers will be eager to see what Crouch does next." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author