Three star review, originally posted here on March 15, 2024.
** spoiler alert **
There was plenty of interesting content in the book, both in terms of general information, and specific narrative. However, the storytelling was disorganized and disjointed, which made it really drag. It began well, but once we’d established who our narrator is, what the PCT is, and who our 3 missing hikers are, things got messy. We jump around between the 3 separate searches, as well as general PCT and missing hiker information. I did this as an audiobook, so I’m wondering if having a hard copy would have helped keep my thoughts organized. I had a hard time tracking when were were looking for which person, which details applied to which search, etc. So eventually I just gave up and was only half-listening.
Spoiler alert: We don’t get any actual answers about any of the 3 people. I realized this early on when I checked previous reviews. Now, obviously if they never got any answers, then they never got any answers. They can’t just fabricate an ending to help conveniently tie up the book. BUT… the lack of a definitive ending certainly contributes to the lack of flow in this book. You can’t set the book up by starting with the claim that these 3 missing people’s stories had uncanny similarities, strongly implying that there will be some sort of further common link… only to never uncover any sort of common link. Or, if you want to leave it in because it’s what contributed to the start of these searches, then check back in with that thought throughout the book to say “there’s less and less evidence that these 3 stories are linked after all.” And then obviously return to that thought at the end.
On the plus side, I did really enjoy learning about the types of hazards on the trail, the types of people (some legit, some not so much) who flock to the search efforts, the scammers, the hiker culture, the physical exertions, the online weirdos, etc. We had a fascinating side journey to Brazil. We had a really weird experience with snake oil salesman who were otherwise respectable scientists. Lots of interesting stuff here. But it probably would have worked better with a very, very strong edit (maybe even shortened to an Atlantic article instead of a full-ass book.)
Helga without the H 