Heartwood by Amity Gaige
Fiction
2025
Narrated by Justine Lupe, Alma Cuervo, Rebecca Lowman, Cary Hite, Helen Laser, Ali Andre Ali
Finished on 3/15/2026
Rating: 3/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Heartwood takes you on a journey as a search and rescue team race against time when an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.
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.
Meh. The writing is quite good with some lovely passages, but I wish I had read Heartwood rather than going with the audio. There are several narrators, some better than others. One had the habit of dropping the volume of her voice toward the end of a sentence, which should have been caught and corrected in production. The plot isn't very suspenseful, the pacing uneven, and I didn't care much for any of the characters. The ending felt rushed with a few loose ends. All in all, a mediocre read.
Edited: I've decided to bump up my rating up to a 3/5.
Oh, bummer. I liked the book and the tale, especially as it was based on a true story about Geraldine Largay. Can't imagine being lost and just knowing your chance of survival, of being found, is so slim. What that poor woman Largay went through.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the book was better than the audible. I think that's one reason I gave up on aubible and it really depends on the person reading it.
Will write you this morning. I have had some allegery issues and have not been online much.
Tina, I probably could have nudged this one up to a 2.5 or maybe even a 3, but I try to go with my gut as soon as I finish reading. I listened to a lot of this on my drives to and from visiting my mom in the hospital and rehab, so maybe I wasn't in the best frame of mind to listen to a book. Guess I'm back-peddling a bit on this one. ;)
DeleteWell mow, it wasn't THE book of the year for me for sure! But the organization to go look for a lost individual in such a broad area was something. Can't imagine the stress of that job with a short timeframe to find them alive.
DeleteBy the way, I saw your comment on Susan's blog about the Rebanks books. I'd start with A Shepherd's Life as you can see how he eventually developed a true love for the farming. I want to get to his third book one of these days.
Tina, I agree. It must be so stressful to lead a search party in such a dense forest. Thanks, also, for the rec about the Rebanks' books. Adding it to my list!
DeleteI have this one on my Kindle, but I haven't read it yet. Have heard mostly good things, but also a couple of issues with it. I will say that sometimes the multiple narrators works for me and sometimes it doesn't. It really only takes one of them to 'mess up' my listen. And you might be right that driving back and forth to see your Mom might have had a bit of influence on your experience. More hugs to all of you, by the way. :-)
ReplyDeleteKay, welcome home! I hope you had a nice getaway. Yes, sometime multiple narrators aren't as good as a single reader. This could have also been a case of an over-hyped book, too. Onward!
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts. Meh just doesn't do it for me at this time of my life. I shall pass!
ReplyDeleteDeb, that's how I'm feeling these days. I want to read exceptional books, but one never knows since we're all such individual readers. I know this book has pretty good reviews, but it was a miss for me.
DeleteOh dear. I like the idea of someone going missing on the Trail as a plot so it's too bad this one fell flat. There really is no excuse for narrators who drop their voices (and it not being fixed).
ReplyDeleteHelen, you might enjoy this one more than I did, especially if you read the print edition.
DeleteI also listened to the audio and agree that as it went along some parts were uneven, but I liked the overall picture of the lost hiker and the massive search. I liked Bev Miller's parts but Lena's parts drove me a bit crazy after a while. Still I would read the author again as I have also read her other novel Sea Wife .... which has a discombobulated telling.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I read your review and agree that Lena's parts were annoying (and not very realistic). I'll have to take a look at Sea Wife, although I'm not sure I'm up for a discombobulated telling!
DeleteI took a look at your review for Sea Wife and it sounds like something I'd enjoy since I used to follow a vlogging couple who have done A LOT of sailing on their live-aboard catamaran. I'll give the audio a try. Thanks!
DeleteThis is definitely a different-strokes case. I loved Heartland--I think it had a lot to do with the subject matter. I am a sucker for lost-in-the woods stories, and I really liked Beverly. :)
ReplyDeleteJane, I'm beginning to think I might have enjoyed this one better in print than on audio. I do love a good audio, but it's always a gamble which will be better.
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