Review: Heartwood by Amity Gaige

Heartwood by Amity Gaige
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley all opinions are my own.

This is the harrowing story of a lost hiker, the Warden in charge of finding her, and an unseemly retiree who unbeknownst to her holds the clues to saving her.  In the wake of the pandemic, Valerie has decided to tackle the Appalachian Trail, when she doesn't turn up at her scheduled check in a huge search effort kicks off to find her.  She's a nurse and has gear and provisions, but Valerie is no survival expert.  Lt. Beverly Miller has led countless successful searches and knows the stakes, so when they keep coming up empty, she begins to unravel.  Then we have Lena, a unique woman who lives no where near the investigation, but loves a good puzzle and the outdoors.  I couldn't figure out why Lena's perspective was part of the book after it was made clear she had no connection to Valerie or Bev early on, however the author does a great job tying her to the case in a really believable way.

In the author's note, Gaige indicates that part of this was inspired by the search for a real missing hiker and countless hours of research around the topic.   I originally thought this was a thriller, and at one point I thought the book was going that direction, but it takes a different path.  This is suspenseful but in a completely different way.  I was completely invested in finding Valerie and the outcome and how the lives of all of these people were wrapped up in finding her.  If I didn't know this was fictional, I would believe this was based on a real person.  Having spent a lot of time in the woods as a kid and teen, it is easy to get turned around and disoriented.  I thought the author did a wonderful job with the descriptions of the emotions and the descriptions of the forest.  I was transported to Maine and felt like I was part of the investigation.

I really enjoyed how the author played with a more mixed media style of storytelling for this.  We get a more traditional style when we are with Bev and Lena.  We get a more journal entry style of chapter when we are with Valerie while she was lost.  We also get interviews between Valerie's hiking partner Santo and one of the other Warden's Cody.  As the story progresses we see each of the characters almost descend into madness as they each come to terms with the situation they are in and the circumstances they now find themselves in either by fate or choices they have made along the way.  

I really enjoyed this.  I was engaged the entire time trying to piece together how things were going to turn out and how all of the characters were tied together.  This is so much more than a book about a missing hiker lost in the woods.  It is so moving in so many ways, and takes you on not only an investigative journey to find Valerie but an internal journey as well.  

View all my reviews