While I agree with other reviewers that this book is reminiscent of both Daphne du Maurier and Kate Morton, I feel that it is so much more. First of all, you have the enticing setting of the Hebridean Islands which the author evokes so well. Then you have a fantastic mystery from the past to be solved. Add in a little of Lady Chatterley's Lover ( yes, romance ), and a dash of gothic melodrama and you come up with a book that you may not be able to put down.
Yes, the older story is more interesting than the modern one, and Hetty is a bit of a doormat. But this suits the author's purpose well, enabling her to keep the momentum of the plot going. Like a murder mystery? That's in there too.
So, in a word, read it!

On the northern edge of Scotland there is a tiny island community and further away still is a smaller island with a single imposing house on it. At the title suggests, that private island house is separated from everything for several hours a day when the tide flows in. It truly feels like the furthest, most remote corner of the world. The story alternates between the married couple Theo & Beatrice who lived there in 1910 and their distant relative Hetty who inherits the house in 2010. Hetty’s efforts to convert the house into a hotel are derailed when renovators discover a skeleton beneath the house’s foundation and she is consumed by the need to learn everything she can about the house and the community surrounding it.

Throughout the novel I had to remind myself that the titular Muirlan House is NOT a medieval era stone castle, it was built by a grandfather’s grandfather and was only possible because the original owner evicted the people living on the land and demolished their homes. The descendants of those villagers live in a state of understandable resentment at being dispossessed. They don’t have jobs or land to their names and as Hetty takes on her new unintended role of landlord I got the impression that Maine’s suggestion is that no one should rule over land that someone else lives on. #LandlordsAreLeeches

The novel has an exciting start and a satisfying conclusion but, I have to admit, there was a pretty significant lull in the middle. The book has some compelling unique characters and lots of interesting parallels between their attitudes 100 years apart. But, without the need to know whose body was found, I may have given up on the book before reaching the end.

The House Between Tides, the debut novel by Sarah Maine, is the story of an old crumbling house and the secrets it hides. The premise and the structure remind me of Kate Morton's books and Natasha Solomons' The Song of Hartgrove Hall. I love the atmospheric setting and the descriptions of the natural life found there; I just find myself less engaged in the actual story.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2016/07/the-house-between-tides.html.

Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley.

DNF at 20%. Once again I was lured in by the promise of a twisty, dual timeline Kate Morton sort of novel. Unfortunately I had a very hard time connecting with the characters despite the interesting, remote Scottish setting. I had trouble keeping the timelines straight and didn't find the mystery or anyone very compelling. I'm a fan of atmospheric, slow books like this so I have to conclude that this one simply isn't for me.

I had some issues with this book but on the other hand I enjoyed it immensely and just have to give it four stars.

I delayed reading the ending of this as long as possible. And now I have a book hangover. It's easily the best book I read in a while... Not quite a 5 star, but more than 4.

2.5