This book was so good!

Told from multiple points of view, with chapters in interview form, letters, and narration. Valerie is hiking the Appalachian Trail. One day she doesn’t show up at a check point where she’s supposed to meet her husband, and once they determine she’s missing, a massive search begins. We get the POV of Valerie, slowly deteriorating as she waits to be found, her food supply dwindling, and we learn about why she started her hike in the first place and how she ended up off the trail. Also POV from Lt. Bev leading the search, and Lena, a woman in a retirement community that for a while I couldn’t figure out how she was connected, BUT I noticed a clue and caught on.

This novel has mystery and suspense, not so much a thriller in my opinion.

The middle felt a little slow, and the ending felt so fast after that slower pace, but overall I really enjoyed reading it! This is out April 1. 📖

Thank you @netgalley and @simonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I'm a sucker for a survival story, and I'm also interested in through-hiking the AT, so this book seemed like an excellent fit from the description. It was much more literary than I anticipated, in the best way. First, the narrative is driven from multiple items, such as interviews and letters, which I wasn't expecting but ending up loving. Second, it's written so beautifully. I was familiar with the story that this is inspired by and I was a bit afraid this would be a downer to read, but I ended up loving it.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

This was a really beautiful and unique survival story. It's much less a mystery or thriller as most are, I would peg this as literary fiction. In the end it's a beautiful story about humanity I feel like.

It's definitely a slow burn story and there are twists but I saw them coming early. I don't think that matters though as this was definitely a book of the journey.

I thought this was one of the better uses of COVID in book format since the pandemic too. It made sense and added well to the story.

I really loved the mixed media way of telling the story as well. The multiple POV are really unique since some are interviews, some are journals, and some are just a POV.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I can't quite peg what didn't make it a 5 star read other than I questioned a few times if I liked it. In the end the characters were the story and were truly beautiful characters.

Nature thrillers are really having their moment lately, and while this wasn't the strongest in that genre I've read, I enjoyed it and felt a bit haunted by it especially in the second half. The storytelling alternates perspectives between three different women, including the one who is lost on the Appalachian trail, and I liked how their stories intertwined and explored themes of motherhood/daughterhood, loss, and ambition. It is a slow burn but ramps up a bit after the "twist" and then especially in the final fourth of the novel. I didn't feel quite as connected to the characters as I would have liked, but otherwise this is a solid and interesting mystery set in the mountains of Maine.

This wilderness suspense set in Maine (one of my favorite literary destinations) was so entertaining—perfect for fans of Liz Moore and Peter Heller.

Such an engaging story! The pacing is slightly errradic- but it tracks with the story- sometimes you are with Valerie who is lost in the woods and lost in her thoughts- and other times you are with the Warden who is desperately searching for the missing hiker. I love books that delve into areas I’m not familiar with and this book did just that.

Valerie is a nurse in her late 40s. Who is using a hike along the Appalachian Trail to try to figure her life out. She is attempting something bigger than she ever has before. When she doesn’t show up at a stop to meet Gregory- an all out search begins. The search is headed up by Maine’s first female Warden. A woman who fought through years of machoism to earn her rightful spot as Warden. She is a smart and dedicated nature lover who is intent on finding Valerie.

My only criticism of this book is one character who I struggled to figure out how she fit in. She had a pivotal role in the end- I just felt confused by her entrance.

This book is somewhat if a thriller, but is also a contemporary fiction that looks at underlying motivations, mother-daughter relationships and a love of nature. I really enjoyed this one!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This the first book of Gaige’s that I have read and I think she’s a beautiful writer. She immersed her readers in the Appalachian Trail and the desperate search for Valerie. This would likely have been closer to a 5 star read for me, but the ending fell a little flat. I wanted more of Valerie and her reunion with her family, but instead, we got mostly Lena. It was fine, but didn’t quite measure up to the rest of the book for me. Either way, I will definitely be checking out Gaige’s backlist and keeping an eye out for whatever she writes next.

Although I read Heartwood in one setting, it didn't feel like an
unputdownable thriller. The story is about Valerie, a woman who goes missing while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Heartwood is told through multiple POVs, some of which that don't feel connected to the larger story until the very end.
While I found it fascinating to read a story with a game warden and the missing person's POV, the story itself didn't feel suspenseful or urgent to me as a reader.
Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and the author for this ARC.
If you love the outdoors, hiking and a missing person story you should check Heartwood out when it becomes available on April 1st.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Valerie Gillis is 42 when she disappears on the Appalachian Trail through Maine. Hikers can get delayed or lost but when she fails to meet her husband at their designated spot, it becomes clear something is wrong.

This is a well written, slow-burn, multi-POV mystery and suspense novel with likeable characters and a believable plot. The story alternates between Valerie as she documents her believed final moments and Beverly, the Maine State Game Warden who is searching for her. There is something sinister going on but I wont ruin it for you. This is a wonderful, twisty and suspenseful read!

I loved every word of this book. And, oh, the words! Beautiful language! Gaige’s prose is just fantastic. But pair that with a compelling story and original characters, and you have a literary feat. This is one of my favorite recent reads.

It’s about a forty-two-year-old woman who goes missing on her quest to hike the Appalachian Trail. With the viewpoint of several characters, the reader is drawn into a mystery, a wilderness adventure, and the gripping journeys these narratives unfurl.

My favorite character was Beverly, the Maine State Game Warden who heads the investigation of Valerie Gillis’ disappearance. Beverly’s strength alongside her vulnerability will make you root for her at every twist in the story. And the question of how an experienced hiker could vanish will make you suspect everything.

This book is one of those rare and unexpected joys the world of reading offers. Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

A stunning, nature based thriller. When Valerie goes missing from a hiking trail, it's up to Lt. Bev, searchers, and a 70-something old woman named Lena who has a startling connection to whom led Valerie away from the path she'd been taking. Heavy on themes of self doubt, what's important to us in life and death, and the push and pull of the clock winding down on an impossible situation.

A taut, atmospheric novel about a missing woman and those looking for her in the Maine woods. Valerie was near the end of her journey on the Appalachian Trail when she missed a meeting with her husband (the most opaque of the characters). Beverly, the game warden in charge of the search team thinks she can be found quickly- after all, that's what usually happens. But it doesn't and as the days go on, things become increasingly perilous. Lena, a crotchety wheelchair bound woman, is communicating with a fellow forager, a forager who seems to have some information about Valerie. What happened to Valerie? Her diary spools out the story throughout. Interspersed as well are interviews with other hikers, most notably Santo, who was her companion on most of the trek. This is well crafted, the multiple POVs and interviews round out the story, and it shines in its description of the woods. And it's a page turner as the search for Valerie accelerates. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Terrific read.

Heartwood is the perfect blend of a heart-felt, multi POV exploration of the complexity of mother-daughter relationships with a page-turning nature thriller. When Valerie, a 42 year old nurse goes missing on the Appalachian Trail, Maine Game Warden Beverly will stop at nothing to bring the hiker back to her parents, while Lena, an elderly woman in a retirement community, is captivated by Valerie’s disappearance and the conspiracy theories an online friend offers about the disappearance.

There is a lot at play here. Valerie’s narrative is told through letters she is writing her mother, revealing her character as one who thrives on helping others, but has taken this journey to explore herself separate from those she has saved. Lieutenant Beverly is fleshed out as she desperately wants to find Valerie, but how her relationship with her own mother has shaped her path in the world. Lena’s perspective is that of a mother with an estranged daughter, which speaks to the motivation behind her interest in Valerie’s disappearance.

Beyond the core maternal relationship theme is obviously the thrilling framework of the missing persons case itself, which offers a compelling plot that is very much a slow burn as we lead up to the conclusion, although maintains momentum through the robust character development surrounding it.

Heartwood feels like it would appeal to a variety of readers as it offers strong character and plot development while offering a compelling suspenseful thread as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I'm going to be honest, this is not the typical book I read. And if I hadn't been invited to read it, I probably would never have discovered it. For all that this isn't my usual book, I enjoyed the story. It's well written and I'm glad things wrapped up fairly well. I thought it would be a bit more mystery-ish, but that's ok that it wasn't. Overall, I'd recommend this book.

3.5 stars - I think people going into this should know that it's definitely not a heart-pumping, action-filled mystery. The story of a missing hiker on the Appalachian Trail is much more of a slow-burn character study. That being said, the writing is beautiful and the descriptions of nature are really thoughtful and unique. I do think I might have liked this a bit more if it had stuck to maybe one or two POVs, and the ending felt really rushed. There were several scenes that I was surprised to see had been left off the page (which resulted in a lack of emotional closure at the end). I do think Gaige is an extremely talented writer, but I wish the ending had felt more satisfying.

I’m torn between feeling particularly in love with this one or bored by some of the aspects. I think I’m somewhere right in the middle on this one.
I found myself struggling to connect with some of the POVs and partly this may have been because there was just too many. The weaving together of perspectives is beautiful and ambitious but it didn’t quite hit for me. I think I wanted more of a survival story and less of a mystery.
Still, I can think of several friends who I would recommend this too! Some of the writing is just breathtaking.

Amity Gaige has written a pulse pounding book of a missing woman on the Appalachian Trail. The more they search the more they come up empty. As the days go by, hope diminishes. Is there even a slim chance they will find her alive? Told in the voices of three very different women, the pages on this book turn themselves as the reader races to the end. Thank you to Hachette UK and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I guess I need to go and read more from this author, because I absolutely loved this book! Thankfully, I wasn't reading this whole my husband was on a multi-day hike. I've made that mistake before. Wondering if he is facing the same challenges the subject of the book is facing. But, knowing that the things happening are truly perils that can face hikers and knowing that there are groups out there who spend their days looking for people who are lost or injured, sometimes through no fault of their own, makes the events in the book that more realistic and dramatic. And this all reeled me in! I read snippets out loud to my son and husband. Chuckling over common mistakes or silly mishaps. I loved the balance of points of view, even the old lady who lived 100s of miles away with no apparent connection to Valerie, and variety of formats used throughout the book to differentiate between characters. Each one added depth to the story and I spent my time with one character thinking "oh please don't let it be them, please don't let it be them." I could say more, but instead I'll give you the time back to go start reading this book!

I saw great reviews for this book and decided to give it a go! WOW! I absolutely loved it. What a unique take on a missing persons book that managed to develop several characters and hit on some many themes beyond just the "thriller" part of a missing persons case. This will definitely be in my top reads for 2025. I loved it.

I will say this, the POV’s in this book is enough to confuse you, but don’t give up! This book is PACKED with so much, I don’t know anything about these Trails and the AT in Maine or anything like that and through Bev being the bad ass Warden running things, it gets a little wild. But I will say this, it is a slow burn, and this book DRAGGED. It started to pick up more than 60% into the book, but I felt at times with everything going on it was TOO much.