Our first book of the new year will be Heartwood by Amity Gaige. It’s novel about a woman who mysteriously disappears while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

From GoodReads: “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.”

Our discussion of this book will take place on Thursday, Feb. 19th. Email hello@suburbanjunglenj.org for more details! Or join the Suburban Jungle Book Club group on Facebook

Copies of the book are already available in-store at House Finch in Collingswood, or you can order online through House Finch’s online bookshop site: https://bookshop.org/lists/suburban-jungle-book-club