Pun Salad

I've become sort of a Kat Rosenfield fanboy. Although I didn't care for the book she co-authored with the late Stan Lee (A Trick of Light), I liked her next two adult novels, (You Must Remember This and No One Will Miss Her) quite a bit. And this one goes beyond "liked quite a bit" on my scale. I found myself torn between compulsive page-turning (gotta find out what happens next) and slow reading, savoring her prose.

Well, enough gushing. I encourage you to not read the blurbs on the book's Amazon page, nor the dust cover. Part of the enjoyment for me was the I-didn't-see-that-coming plot twists, and they are numerous.

I'll just skim over the prologue, going up to page 9 or so: the protagonist, Emma Sharp, is getting released from the hospital after a nearly-successful suicide attempt. Of all the unlikely coincidences, the Uber driver who's supposed to take her home is Logan, kind of snoopy and forward. Their relationship starts out dysfunctional. And gets worse.

The "woods" in the title are in Maine. Most of the action happens on and around the "Hundred Mile Wilderness" section of the Appalachian Trail, on the route to Mount Katahdin. It's risky enough all by itself (article: 5 Dangers that Could Kill You Hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness), and, well, those dangers aren't the only ones with which Emma needs to concern herself.