Heartwood

Heartwood by Amity Gaige
4/1/25; 320 pages
Simon & Schuster

Heartwood by Amity Gaige is an atmospheric literary novel centered around a woman hiker who goes missing from the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Maine. The narrative unfolds through the point-of-view of three women. Although chapter headings inform you whose point-of-view follows, the voices of these three women are distinct and immediately recognizable while reading.

After hiking 1900 miles on the Appalachian Trail, Valerie Gillis, a 42 year-old nurse, fails to show up at a predetermined checkpoint in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness and is reported missing by her husband, Gregory Bouras. Lost, alone, and with only one boot, she spends her time writing letters to her mother. Her trail name is Sparrow and she met and spent much of her hike with Santo, an amiable heavyset Black hiker from the Bronx who had to leave before the stretch of trail through Maine.

Lt. Beverly Miller, Maine State Game Warden, is in charge of the search and rescue effort. She has led many successful searches, but she knows the statistic on timeliness and survival. When a massive, multiday effort turns up no sign of Valerie, Bev fears the worst but keeps up the effort to find her.

Lena Kucharski, 76, is a wheelchair bound resident of a Connecticut retirement community, who becomes an armchair detective when she learns of the search. Valerie reminds her of her estranged daughter. She's in contact online with a forager and survivalist who professes to know the search area. There are some additional points-of-view also included.

In the even paced narrative the tension increases as time passes because readers know what Valerie is experiencing and how dire her situation is. Once you learn how she went off trail, it is a game changer in the story. It is also clear how dedicated and determined Bev is while conducting the search and rescue efforts as well as how heavy the search weighs on her. Lena's role is interesting but it is not clear why it is included at first. Rest assured it all comes together at the final denouement.

Heartwood is mainly an introspective literary novel. The plot explores aging, mother-daughter relationships, tenacity, introspection, and solitude. Stress induced by the pandemic was also mentioned, which I can do without hearing. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.