I love books that incorporate nature as significant element of the story. At this, Peter Heller is one of the best. This novel reacquaints us with Jack (for those who read The River) on his first day on the job as a fly fishing guide at an exclusive fishing lodge on the Taylor River near Crested Butte, Colorado. Knowing this area intimately I was beyond excited and I have to say that his descriptions of the area are spot on throughout. Heller has a way of writing that few compare. I always equate his style to that of Cormac McCarthy. I love them both but it is a style that many may not be used to. More literary than you will find on your typical best sellers list.

Jack's first client is a famous singer who he thinks he may have heard on the radio once. He is far from star-struck but appreciates that she is a passionate fly fisher which bonds them. Day after day they go fishing, stopping only to come into the bar/dining area for meals. But they can't help noticing that things are not what they seem. As they repeatedly witness things that are a little off about the other guests, staff, and surrounding area they can not ignore that this is not just the fishing lodge for the rich and famous that they thought it to be.

I've seen discussions around of how writers would address the COVID pandemic. Either ignore it all together or include it as an aside to the main story. Heller considered these options and said, "Oh yeah? Hold my beer..." Without giving away the the story let's just say when it's revealed what's going on I do not doubt that my jaw was hanging open.

This is a short novel that is more mystery than his previous works. Highly enjoyable. The ending about had me in fits until the epilogue gave me reason to smile.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for allowing me to review an advanced copy of #TheRiver in exchange for an honest review.

The Guide begins with Jack beginning his new job at Kingfisher Lodge - a very upscale trout fishing resort near Crested Butte in Colorado. Almost immediately his intuition is sparked by some unsettling discoveries - hidden cameras, razor wire on top of fences (that face the wrong way) and screams in the night. Jack, who is a character from "The River" (you don't have to read it first, but I highly recommend it) is assigned a famous singer "Allison K" (did anyone else picture Allison Krauss immediately or is it just me?) and begins to enjoy his guide role, but become increasingly unsettled by more and more mysterious discoveries - something is definitely "not right" at Kingfisher Lodge and the surrounding property. When Jack makes a discovery of a video taken by the previous guide - all bets are off. Jack is determined to solve the mystery, and come to terms with his personal struggle with grief. A great summer thriller with many Covid themes woven into the storyline. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

This is another "I read it up north" read and it's the perfect place to take in this gorgeous novel. Beautiful nature writing, with a thoroughly atmospheric setting, the plot on this one moves at a quicker pace than The River does. The characters here are wholly developed as well.

You should know that this is a pandemic-adjacent novel, in that the book refers to the virus, masking, etc. as a key component of the plot. It's not scary, per se, but it is a bit of a "what if this happens now that we've lived through a pandemic?" type of story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

More of a 3.5 star I think? This was a slow burn, short, Literary mystery set in a pandemic like time, much like what we are facing now. It held my interest through the whole book, but I’m definitely glad it wasn’t long 😂 there were some times where I wanted the story to get to the mystery. This story is quiet in a way, but has a lot to it at the same time. The protagonist deals with a lot of inner demons, while also trying to figure out the eeriness of the environment around him.

If you like slow burn, character driven, Literary mysteries, this may be for you!

The author's writing is excellent, particularly his descriptions of the natural world. The protagonist compels our interest. The plotting is not as fresh or as distinctive as in the author's previous "The River," which features the same protagonist as here. Readers may feel they've encountered the situation that confronts the protagonist and his client in other thrillers (Rob Hart's "The Warehouse" comes to mind). The denouement is nevertheless sincere and touching.

A fast-paced, energetic story about a young man trying to find his way after a tragic loss. This book follows Peter Heller’s other, The River. We jump back into the story with Jack as he attempt to recover from his mother and best friend’s loss. If you love nature, brevity, and mystery, this is the story for you. 3.5 stars!!

This novel was just "okay" in my opinion. It had enough action to keep me turning the pages and the character development was decent, but it just fell a bit flat. The premise was interesting in the light of our experiences with COVID and what may be coming in the future with similar viruses, but there were many holes in the plot that were hard to get past. The author, as he does in all of the novels I have read by him, tends to go down many rabbit holes on his way to the story's end. I find this a tick irritating tbh. As a casual read, this novel will is fine but don't look for more than that.

Peter Heller is back with another action-packed literary thriller and I loved it from beginning to end! The Guide can be read as a stand-alone novel, but if you've read Heller's previous work, The River, then your reading experience with his latest novel will certainly be enhanced. The Guide takes place a few years after Jack's harrowing experience in The River and interestingly, also incorporates the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel opens with Jack's arrival to Kingfisher Lodge in Colorado where he will begin a new job as a fishing guide to the wealthy elite who are looking for a rustic retreat away from the stresses of the continuing development of new virus strains.
Heller immediately sets the scene with beautiful descriptions of the Colorado landscape. Jack is wary of the "something's not quite right" vibe that he gets almost from moment one of his arrival at Kingfisher Lodge. The novel moves slowly into a rising action that kept me completely invested and hungry for answers. What's really going on in this remote retreat left me horrified, even more so because I could totally see this actually taking place in society today. I truly felt as if I was watching a movie the entire time I was reading the book. I highly recommend The Guide! Thank you to Knopf Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book hits shelves on August 24, 2021. Be sure to add this one to your TBR!

⭐️Review⭐️
Title: The Guide
Author: Peter Heller
Pub Date: 8/24/21
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Thank you to the publisher for a free Netgalley!
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Loved:
- Jack is just such a likable character. Loved him in the River (do not need to read that to read this) and he continues to be my kind of guy!
- The female lead was strong and well written!
- I had a couple guesses on what was going on during this story and I was happy that I didn’t guess it. Mine were the usual suspects for this type of story, and this one took a different turn!

Didn’t:
- Sometimes the pacing just felt a little slow. The paragraphs can be long and descriptive which is not always my favorite.

Overall: I highly recommend!

The Guide is an adventuresome title set in a lodge in Colorado with Jack as the guide and Allison as the paying patron. However, from the onset suspicions of nefarious activities are supported by various clues discovered and hidden. As the story unfolds, excitement and danger builds. You need to read this one.

3.5 stars...I really enjoyed The River and had high expectations for this book. I love Heller's writing and descriptions, especially of the natural world. Even though the story was propulsive, I found it a bit lacking. I'm not sure if it is because the end seemed rushed or I just wanted the mystery to have more meat on its bones. It is a short and quick read though, so pick it up if you are curious.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This book was a story packed with a punch. It added in the coronavirus theme which was interesting to read and it kept me engrossed throughout the entire book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

I enjoyed The Guide by Peter Heller, which I was surprised to find, is a companion novel to Heller's The River. This book features Jack as he is still processing the death of his friend Wynn and has not come to terms with the death of his mother years before.

Jack takes a job as a fly fishing guide at a posh resort in Colorado and is assigned client Alison, who is a famous country singer looking for some rest and relaxation. Soon after the vacation gets underway, Jack and Alison get the feeling there is more than fly fishing and massages going on at this fancy resort, and as they investigate deeper, they find themselves in danger and of course, maybe falling for each other.

Based on the plot, which was a bit too contrived for me, I would give this 3.5 stars, but I will round up to 4 for Heller's beautiful use of language in describing the landscape, wildlife and fly fishing scenes. I will recommend this to readers who enjoyed The River, as well as fans of outdoor adventure.

Thanks to Knopf Publishing Group and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A great follow up to The River. Heller does a fantastic job of combining serene nature writing with edge of your seat thriller plot points. I read this in a single day because I had to find out what happened in this tense and atmospheric story, but I kept trying to get myself to slow down because I just wanted to be lost in the beautiful writing. I will definitely be recommending this one far and wide.

Written by any other author, I would probably have given this book three stars, but Peter Heller manages to pull this mediocre thriller into the four star range with his lyrical descriptions and the vivid sense of place he conjures. The rest of it feels like someone told him a book set in a post-pandemic world would probably sell, and so he took us into the woods and onto the river, and then into some kind of weirdly evil experiment hidden in the back room. I have come to expect more from Heller, especially since this one brings back Jack, (from the author’s novel The River), still wrestling with his grief, still trying to make sense of a world full of loss that began early in his life. He makes some progress in his healing in this book, but the plot and the poor attempt at the suspense/thriller novel made this one fall flat. I will still read anything Heller writes, but this one gets a begrudging 4 stars.

Peter Heller evokes Colorado with loving accuracy. In one sentence he can take you to a river or a mountain or a front porch and sit you down and let you listen to the birds, the brook, the wind in the trees. This book is sadly contemporary--marked by current events that will fade with time and limit interest within the decade, if not the week. The fishing was great, the weather held, and human interest abounded. The dark mystery was really dark, and if you read for the outdoor adventure parts Heller is so good at, this might not be the book for you. The main character wrestles with savior syndrome and the evil he finds and fights is horrific.

This was my first read by Heller, and not likely to be my last. I wasn't aware until beginning that this was the protagonist's second novel - but I don't think it was a hindrance for me, the story still made sense.
You can tell the author has a deep love of the outdoors and fishing - the scenery was so very detailed. I liked Jack and Alison, and I liked how the author incorporated the pandemic into the storyline. The depth of detail about the scenery and fishing in particular were a bit of a slog for me, and the story got a bit predictable and outlandish in places.
Overall, I'm not likely to re-read this one in the future - but I'm glad I read it.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was suspenseful, the main characters were appealing, and it all took place in a beautiful setting. The detailed descriptions made me want to take a fishing trip in the Rockies—I could practically smell the pine trees and hear the rushing water. The mystery ended up being a bit gruesome and unpleasant, but the story had me hooked, and I finished the book in one day. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This story was gripping from start to finish and I couldn't put it down. The characters were easy to relate to and easy to like. The story line had me intrigued from the start and kept me engaged the whole way through. Definitely a book you will finish within a few sittings because you won't be able to put it down.

What a treat to get to spend more time with Jack, from Heller’s early novel, The River! I enjoyed his character development in both books and I liked meeting Jack again; he is very real and relatable. If you need to like your characters, you’re in great hands here. I would recommend anyone read The River before this novel to get the full experience. This book does stand alone but I was glad to read plot points from it as reminders of a past reading experience and not as spoilers of a to be read title. Jack was a character that stayed with me and it was a lovely reunion! The only other character we get inside is the female celebrity and I liked her a lot too. This was a fun addition to the plot and I believed every word.
The writing is incredible; atmospheric, descriptive and the sense of place it establishes is a work of art. It really transported this reader to rural Colorado. I have stayed at a similar lodge and the atmosphere created here was spot on. In this particular novel, I was also aware of how yummy the food sounded; grandma’s potato salad, homemade sourdough English muffins. The details made me hungry! There are also lots of descriptions of nature and of fly-fishing but the food was a new angle that I particularly enjoyed.
From the start, there is a feeling of foreboding to the plot that foreshadows the dread that arrives. The propulsive unraveling of the story as Jack discovers the inconsistencies is very satisfying. This story seemed to go faster for me than his earlier books which is strange as, according to Amazon, The Guide and The River each are 272 pages. (I read on the app so I can’t confirm that information.) The mystery was solved in a tidy way that this reader bought but the feeling of suspense until resolution was masterful. The Covid parts scared me! I read this book in two sittings and couldn’t wait to get back to it. I can already imagine the movie and it will be a good one. I could see the action scenes at the end.
Thanks Peter Heller! Keep writing as I’ll read it all. Thanks, NetGalley and Knopf for the early view. Much appreciated and enjoyed.