Heartwood - Audiobook Review

Title: Heartwood

Author: Amity Gaige

Publisher: Simon Books

Genre: Literary Mystery

April @readwithjenna

{Thank you @simon.audio for the #gifted copy of Heartwood by Amity Gaige.  This is a full cast audio with 7 narrators, including a favorite of mine—Helen Laser.  Between the full cast and this being a slow burn literary mystery, I think the audiobook is the way to go!}

▪️Slow Burn

▪️Atmospheric 

▪️Multi-POV

▪️Solving a Puzzle

▪️A Race Against Time

▪️Journal Entries

“Truth is the bird on the high wire that you didn’t notice.”

Forty-two year old Valerie Gillis—call sign Sparrow— has been hiking the Appalachian trail for weeks.  In the Maine woods, with only 200 miles to go, she goes missing.  It’s a race against time to find her.

We hear from the POVs of:

▪️Beverly, the Maine State Game Warden who is running the operation to find Valerie

▪️Gregory, her husband who was following her in a vehicle throughout her hike and meeting her at drop points to hand off more supplies.  The more we hear from Gregory, the more the reader will begin questioning their marriage. 

▪️Ruben Serrano—call sign Santo—another hiker who was hiking with her most of the way.  He’s described as a big burly man from the Bronx and provides clarity on how Valerie was doing.  He also is kinda funny as a big burly Dominican describing his hiking encounters with mostly white hikers; he was like a unicorn on the trail.

▪️Lena, a woman in her 70s who is a bird watcher in a CT retirement home that becomes an armchair detective 

▪️Valerie herself as an epistolary part of the book through her journal entries she writes to her mom.  You find out she was a nurse during covid and sort of hit a breaking point.  She’s hiking to find herself.

As you’re reading, you’re trying to figure out how all these characters will come together.  You’re desperate for them to find Valerie.  

This has vibes of God of the Woods for me.  It’s smartly written, a slow-burn, and feels atmospheric.  It will keep you guessing and wanting more!  Also, if you were a fan of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild, I think you will enjoy this one.

It’s important to temper your expectations that this is very much a literary mystery.  Not at all a thriller.

A solid read for me—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Where an angel builds a church, a devil builds a chapel.”