‧͙⁺˚*･༓ Trail of The Lost Review

{↪NO SPOILER}

(Trigger Warning’s: Death, body discovery, missing persons, grief and loss, ambiguous loss.)

↪Story Synopsis: Andrea Lankford, a former ranger, participates in the long gone cold cases of 3 missing hikers who vanished separately on the PCT - a popular hiking trail in California. This novel records the journey along with her friend Cathy Tarr, a hiker also interested in the PCT missing - on their search for the lost.

↪Length: 352 pages 

↪Review: 

First off, my thanks to the author, Netgalley, and Hachette Books for the complimentary advanced reader copy of, ‘Trail of The Lost,’ per my request. This review is being voluntarily given and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

THIS BOOK COMES OUT AUGUST 22ND

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‘Ranger Confidential’ has been on my wishlist for so long that I didn't even notice that it shared the same author as this book. Once I found out, my excitement skyrocketed so hard that I read this book in under 24 hours, and not once did I regret the experience I was given by this book. If you didn’t know, this author is a real life badass - anything badass she’s done. As a stringent fan of Jon Krakauer’s ‘Into Thin Air’ and ‘Into the Wild,’as well as the Missing 411 series - I simply could not ignore the opportunity when the book came across my Netgalley dash. I had the further luck of living quite close to the PCT most of my life, and while reading this I was preparing for a trip to Yosemite. In fact, Kris Fowler’s case is the reason why my parents never decided to allow me to get into hiking - but especially to never hike to PCT. I am no hiker by any means, the most I’ve done is half dome - but I’ve always loved a sense of adventure - and I’ve seen it end lives. While you can’t, or don’t want to imagine, the fear and grief a family of the missing will go through, the author is able to give you a clear insight into its ups and downs. 

As for the ups, this does an informative job of educating the reader on thru-hiker habits, knowledge, and terms without being overbearing or too info-dumpy. It submerges you in the outdoorsy world tentatively, so as to not overwhelm its reader. It also introduces the variety of efforts and procedures that will be taken right after someone goes missing - all the way up to years afterwards, and how the evolution of technology can shine light on new avenues to find the missing. It details the sympathetic frustration of searchers, ones you’ll soon see reflected in yourself. I was horrified, and maybe VERY angry by the introduction of Arpad Vass and his scummy company. I looked further into his company after finishing this book, and was happy to say most of it looks removed and deleted? At least many of the website links no longer work. I was equally abashed by false sightings as well, not the ones that were simply mistaken - but the ones that were clearly lies leading on investigators. Then there came the institutional problem of bureaucracy, which seems like the biggest hurdle that any family can face when their loved one is missing but especially in National Parks/Forests - which do not allow drones or certain record releases. How horrible, for all the parents to have to deal with their child being gone, but then having their hopes reignited over and over again only to crash.

This is another theme of this book, the dubious morality of possibly igniting false hope and extending the suffering of the families. I felt very invested in David O’Sullivan, Chris Sylvia, and Kris Fowler. I felt extremely close to David O’Sullivan, as we had almost all the same hobbies and interests - and the humanization of the missing, and furthermore their families. Made this just that much harder of a read. A lot of this not only comes from the author’s writing skill, but sheer immovable passion. I cannot imagine doing everything her and Cathy did for years, and the emotional toll it would have taken.

I saw some people upset about the ending, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why. Those who complained about the ending is disappointed about the nature of life and reality. You will not get a happy ending, ever, in the case of parents missing their children - especially for years. I do not know what these readers expected. That said I would not define this as true crime, as there is no proof any crime was committed. As a result, do not expect a typical true crime ending where the big baddie is found and justice is delivered. 

↪Bookish Pros:

👻The author is badass, who has literally done any badass thing you can imagine. I fangirled.

👻No point in the story drags, even the historical introduction to the PCT trail is interesting enough to be a page turner

👻The author’s brilliant personality shine through, and often help you digest bits of the story easier than you would have without her sharp wit.

👻All thru-hiker terms are explained well.

👻Intelligent handling of such a hard, personal, subject.

↪Bookish Cons:

👻Some scenes do not lead chronologically to the next and can be hard to pick up on.

👻Heavy emotional and dark topics, including discovery of remains.

↪I’d Recommend To:

Those interested in disappearances or missing persons cases, including the amateur sleuth community. Fans of David Paulides ‘Missing 411,’ and ‘The Cold Vanish’ by Jon Billman. I ask you please note the controversy that surrounds the cold vanish. This book is much better written, and even greater - was written with consent and heavy involvement of the families of the missing.

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