Heartwood by Amity Gaige

The main event in this book is that Valerie Gillis is a married nurse who is hiking the Appalachian Trail from south to north in its entirety. There is a smattering of the culture of the trail, and how relationships develop on a journey like that. She goes missing in Maine and the search for her begins. The interesting part of this is that she keeps a journal while she is being searched for, which is addressed to her mother, which is an interesting way to tell her story about how she is feeling and what she is thinking. The other major player is the officer who is in charge of the search for her--she has a complex relationship with her family, and we get a window into how her family of origin might have contributed to her choosing law enforcement and where she gets satisfaction in her life. Then there is Lena, who is in her 70's and struggling to maintain her independence. She was a scientist in her working life, and she misses the intellectual stimulation. She becomes an on line sleuth who provides a critical clue about where to look for Valerie. I enjoyed this story, which is told in a somewhat disjointed way but weaves together in the end.