Sarah Maine’s debut novel The House Between Tides (2014) is a beautiful examination of relationships, grief, and the impact of emotions on those around us. Set on an isolated island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, The House Between Tides is dual point of view novel, from the point of view of Hetty, a woman who inherits Muirlan House from her grandmother, and Beatrice, the wife of renowned painter, Theodore Blake, who lived on the island during the early 1900s. When Hetty arrives on the island to examine the house she finds out that the bones of a murder victim have been found under the floorboards and she spends the rest of the novel researching the history of the house and trying to come to terms with what she wants. While Hetty is researching the house, we are seeing the history of the house unfold from Beatrice’s perspective. 

While it took me a while to fully get into this novel, I ended up falling in love with it. Both points of view were interesting and drew me in. I found myself guessing throughout the story who the bones would be and I kept changing my mind. Sarah Maine has created a dark and brooding mystery and a wonderful story of ancestral history and how grief affects us. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5.0/5.0