A worthy book club tale! A story that was hard to put down. Well written characters developed around a list hiker on the Appalachian Trail. The missing Valerie Gillis keeps her thoughts and hopes written in poetic letters, to her mother, hoping for rescue. The Warden rescue team has a high success rate for finding list travelers but the area is extremely large. Will they find Valerie in time or will this rescue become a body recovery.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC.

Amity Gaige’s Heartwood is a haunting, lyrical thriller that transcends genre conventions. Selected as a Read with Jenna pick, this novel is both a gripping survival story and a meditation on motherhood, memory, and the many ways we find ourselves lost—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

This story centers on Valerie Gillis, a seasoned hiker who vanishes deep in the Maine wilderness, 200 miles from her Appalachian Trail destination. As search and rescue teams mobilize, Valerie’s voice emerges through fragmented, poetic letters to her mother—raw reflections written in the solitude of survival. These epistolary passages form the emotional spine of the novel, offering insight into Valerie’s psyche as she battles the elements and her own unraveling hope.

Meanwhile, Beverly, a tenacious Maine State Game Warden, leads the ground search, and Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair sleuth. The narrative shifts between these three women, each navigating her own terrain of loss, longing, and resilience.

Themes & Literary Depth

- Motherhood & Memory: Valerie’s letters are steeped in unresolved tension and tenderness, revealing a complex maternal bond that echoes through the novel’s emotional landscape.

- Survival & Identity: The wilderness becomes a metaphor for inner reckoning, as Valerie confronts not just physical danger but the ghosts of her past.

- Connection Across Distance: Lena’s role as a remote detective adds a layer of quiet poignancy, reminding us that empathy and intuition can bridge even the widest gaps.

✍️ Gaige’s prose is elegant and evocative, with a rhythm that mirrors the terrain—sometimes jagged, sometimes serene. The epistolary format adds intimacy, while the shifting perspectives create a mosaic of emotional truths. The pacing is deliberate, allowing suspense to build organically without sacrificing literary nuance.

Heartwood is a “literary thriller of the highest order” that balances suspense with soul. It’s a novel that lingers—like the echo of footsteps in the forest—inviting readers to reflect on the paths we take, the ones we lose, and the ones we find again. Gaige has crafted a gem: suspenseful, tender, and quietly transformative.

Definitely a surprise as I went in to this one blind. A heartwarming tale of a woman's struggle while lost on the Appalachian trail. Through multiple POV and varying timelines this story is told with intrigue. What a fun read! Ty @netgalley and @simonandschuster for a copy of this title! All my reviews are unbiased.

I really thought this was going to be a five! Heartwood's gripping plot and theming got my hopes up. I enjoyed it, overall, but it fell short for me in aspects of its execution.

The premise of this was so intriguing. It follows a woman who goes missing on the Appalachian Trail and has multiple POVs: the missing woman, the lead game warden tasked with finding her, and an elderly armchair detective.

First, for a story so rooted in nature, it felt shallow in the atmospheric writing department. The "sense of place" wasn't great for me. I could barely picture the setting—and I'm saying that as someone who did a tiny section of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia last spring! (Mourning the fact that this book wasn't out yet for me to take a picture of there...*sigh*)
My biggest issue was Lena's perspective. It was a lot to sift through before we figured out how it was relevant. I get painting the picture of her involvement and her mother-daughter connection, but it felt slow and meandering. I think this would have been a four for me if it had been cut down a bit.

What I did like:
- the detailed writing on the experience of being lost and the toll it takes on police, searchers, family members, and even members of the public. You get the whole scope of missing people incidents, which was really interesting to me.
- how gripping the mystery was
- the poetic writing and connections to mother/daughter relationships were really beautiful. If you look at it through the lens of motherhood, that's where my stars got the bulk of their weight.

★★★.5

I got an advanced copy on NetGalley, but didn’t actually have time to read this until after it came out, when I borrowed a physical copy from the library where I work. It was definitely worth the wait

Heartwood is a highly engaging mystery told from multiple POVs, about a hiker who goes missing on the Appalachian trail. It kept me guessing right until the end. Highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to Amity Gaige, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

A heart wrenching tale of a woman who gets lost while hiking the Appalachian trail. I found this book to be very entertaining with the search itself but also about getting to know Valerie, the lost woman, and Beverly, the woman in charge of the search efforts. Valerie's POV told through some written as journal entries directed to her mom were hearbreaking, especially by the end when she starts losing hope that she will be found. Lena, the third POV, an older woman that gets invested in Valerie's search from her senior community was a bit boring but I understood the point of telling her story to add to the plot. Overall a very entertaining read, it reminded me a lot of God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of Heartwood by Amity Gaige in exchange for an honest review. It’s out now so you can go get it!

What does it mean to be lost? This novel that takes place over the course of twelve days and is mostly about the search for 42-year-old Valerie, a lost hiker who goes missing in the Maine woods near the end of the Appalachian Trail. We hear from Valerie herself, Lt. Bev Miller with the forest service who’s tasked with heading up the search, hiker Santos who has been with Valerie on her journey, Lena, a computer savvy birdwatcher tracking the case from her nursing home computer and others. Each of the characters is lost in some way, but will they find what they need? Will Valerie herself be found?

This was a slow burn of a novel that kept my interest primarily because I switched to the excellent full cast audio recording for most of the book. Creative and evocative. Four stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed Heartwood. I loved the descriptions of the beautiful and unforgiving forest, I enjoyed all the characters, and the pacing was perfect for keeping the story moving. I feel like this would appeal to most people, and would recommend it.

4 stars- This is so beautifully written but dare i say, its unlocked a new fear of me being lost in the woods forever. Had to read this in stages because I was getting a bit spooked of this new unlocked fear. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I started this one and it was very descriptive and felt very slow. I've heard great things so if you usually like Jenna's picks, give this one a try.

This book changed me. I’m not used to reading mystery/thriller but the strong literary characters kept me engaged. I’ve suggested it time and time again at the bookstore I work in.

Some books make you feel at home and grounded from the moment you start reading. Heartwood is one of those books for me. This is ironic as one of the characters, Valerie, has gone missing from the Appalachian Trail in the Maine Woods. Valerie is a nurse and has a very kind soul. Beverly is the Maine State Game Warden in charge of the search for Valerie. I liked the way Beverly's mind worked and related to her instantly. The search for the missing hiker is told from the POV of three women, including Valerie, Beverly, and Lena. I liked the way their stories wound together to bring all of the details to light. At times I could not figure out where Lena fit in to Valerie's disappearance. Very clever on the Author's part to bring her story in. As the search for Valerie goes on several themes emerge from the three women - motherhood and caring for others, working as a woman in a male dominated world, and survival. The ending had me on pins and needles with anticipation!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.

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.

I was looking forward to this and went in with no expectations. That being said, this book was incredible. The author was great at weaving a storyline together and keeping the reader engagement and turning the page. I fell into the world so easily l, which has been difficult for me lately. The world building was just enough without being too much.

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.

Absolutely beautiful writing, but the ending was just a bit lackluster to me. Still an interesting read about motherhood, resilience, self-discovery and loneliness.

Heartwood is a richly crafted tale that marries wilderness suspense with emotional introspection, anchored by nuanced female perspectives. It’s a deeply human story that asks: how do we get lost, and how are we found?

Heartwood is the story of Valerie Gillis, a hiker who goes missing on the Appalachian trail, and the people who are attempting to find her, including Beverly, a game warden, and Lena, an elderly woman miles away. While this book was billed as a thriller, it is a slow burn. Heartwood lingers on the characters and their inner lives, taking its time to let the plots converge. This is not a criticism—it is exactly the kind of thing I love in a thriller, and I relished every page. If you are looking for a smart summer read, this is the one for you.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

I love a book with multiple points of view, with some epistolary style elements, and dealing with family relationships (in this case, mothers and daughters). Better yet, this is set with a missing hiker on the Appalachian Trail, so we get lots of trail details and through hiker lore. This is a really beautiful book and a fantastic summer read!

I love books about the AT. I love thrillers. So, I knew I had to read Heartwood by Amity Gaige. It's a book that is about more than survival. It's about the bonds between mothers and daughters, and it is also about the power of nature.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.