Heartwood
“Heartwood will keep you guessing the whole way through. I didn't want it to end.” —Liz Moore
“The best thriller of 2025.” —The Boston Globe * “Genius.” —The Washington Post
“A literary thriller of the highest order” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple), Heartwood takes you on a gripping journey as a search and rescue team race against time after a woman mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail.
In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.
At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental.
Heartwood is a “gem of a thousand facets—suspenseful, transporting, tender, and ultimately soul-mending,” (Megan Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning) that tells the story of a lost hiker’s odyssey and is a moving rendering of each character’s interior journey. The mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost, and how we are found. At its core, Heartwood is an “unputdownable” (Real Simple) and redemptive novel, written with both enormous literary ambition and love.
“The best thriller of 2025.” —The Boston Globe * “Genius.” —The Washington Post
“A literary thriller of the highest order” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple), Heartwood takes you on a gripping journey as a search and rescue team race against time after a woman mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail.
In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.
At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental.
Heartwood is a “gem of a thousand facets—suspenseful, transporting, tender, and ultimately soul-mending,” (Megan Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning) that tells the story of a lost hiker’s odyssey and is a moving rendering of each character’s interior journey. The mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost, and how we are found. At its core, Heartwood is an “unputdownable” (Real Simple) and redemptive novel, written with both enormous literary ambition and love.
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Readers say *Heartwood* is a slow-burning, suspenseful story about a solo hiker's disappearance on the Appalachian Trail, with strong praise for Bev, ...
Sparrow
Oh my gods. The ending of this book just gutted me. But in a good cathartic way. This is about a woman who gets lost while hiking the Appalachian Trail. But it’s about so much more. The story is told from several perspectives and that back and forth gives it such a propulsive energy. The descriptions of the trail, the hikers, the environs, the search, the searchers, the family, shows how much more complicated the Appalachian Trail actually is and how unprepared most of us are to be out in raw nature.
Oh my gods. The ending of this book just gutted me. But in a good cathartic way. This is about a woman who gets lost while hiking the Appalachian Trail. But it’s about so much more. The story is told from several perspectives and that back and forth gives it such a propulsive energy. The descriptions of the trail, the hikers, the environs, the search, the searchers, the family, shows how much more complicated the Appalachian Trail actually is and how unprepared most of us are to be out in raw nature.
What a beautifully written story about the strengths we have within ourselves and the strength we find in others. The story of Lena, Lt Bev, and Valerie are all unique in their own telling, but so similar and intertwined once read together, as most women tend to find out when comparing stories. I found myself inspired, grief-stricken, anxious, and proud as I read their stories. It was one I definitely could not put down. We need more stories like these of women and their trials, tribulations, and triumphs. It’s so very important. It was also very interesting to have a first eye view of what a game warden endures, especially as a female. Also, given the current happenings in the US and State Parks, it was even more so an eye-opening tale.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Simon & Schuster for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Simon & Schuster for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.
I read it for one book club and liked it so much that it’s my pick for my recommendation for another book club I’m in for next month.
This is a very slow burn about a hiker who goes missing on the Appalachian Trail. The AT is a 2200-mile trail in the Eastern US that can take 5-7 months to complete if you hike through. What starts off as a hiker's dream becomes a hiker's nightmare. Valerie Gillis decided to hike this trail solo, goes by the trail name Sparrow. Santo becomes her hiking partner for a good chunk of the trail. The story is told from multiple POV's; Valerie, Beverely, a Maine state game warden in charge of conducting the search and Lena, a 76 year old woman who gets caught up in the search efforts from her retirement home. Valerie's POV is journal entries to her mom (I actually liked these). Bev is a strong female character in a mostly male dominated field. Lena's character seems baffling; how is this 76 year old going to actually help? While I did enjoy the interviews with Santo, they did just seem to provide a male suspect for the case; as did the husband. The three women's stories didn't always seem to weave together to make one thrilling story. It just felt ho-hum. The ending had me saying: oh, ok.
I don't always like to read books by Jenna (or whoever) because it is so subjective. But plenty of people did really like this book so maybe it just wasn't for me.
I don't always like to read books by Jenna (or whoever) because it is so subjective. But plenty of people did really like this book so maybe it just wasn't for me.
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