The Guide
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3.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'Exceptionally good... A frighteningly plausible nightmare'
Observer, Thrillers of the month
'Extraordinary: a unique blend of thriller, post-Covid dystopia and paean to the healing properties of nature'
Guardian
'Peter Heller's thrillers unfurl like campfire yarns'
New York Times
'An ever so subtly dystopian wilderness noir that speculates on the horrors of a post-pandemic society'
USA Today
'Riveting... A chilling reminder of the dangers that might lie in wait for us all'
Minneapolis Star Tribune
'A modern master of the wilderness thriller'
CrimeReads
'The Guide is a glorious getaway in every sense, a wild wilderness trip as well as a suspenseful journey to solve a chilling mystery'
BookPage
'The poet laureate of the literary thriller: sinister and soulful'
Michael Koryta, author of Those Who Wish Me Dead
The best-selling author of The River returns with a heart-racing thriller about a young man escaping his own grief and an elite fishing lodge in Colorado hiding a plot of shocking menace
Kingfisher Lodge: a boutique resort surrounded by a mile and a half of the most pristine river water on the planet.
Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher offers a respite for wealthy clients - and a return to normality for fishing guide Jack, battling the demons of a recent, devastating loss.
But when a human scream pierces the night, Jack soon realises that the idyllic retreat may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation.
Lucy Foley meets Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers, with the lyrical writing of Robert Macfarlane and an eerily plausible twist...
PRAISE FOR PETER HELLER AND THE RIVER
'Glorious prose and razor-sharp tension'
Observer Thrillers of the Year
'Utter joy... A suspenseful tale told with glorious drama and lyrical flair'
Denise Mina, New York Times
'Urgent, visceral writing - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough'
Clare Mackintosh
'Lyrical and action-packed by turns'
Guardian
'A master of suspense... A thrilling read with a dramatic twist at the end: you will not be able to put it down'
The Lady
'A must read'
Daily Express
'Heller packs a ton of adventure and emotion in this short novel, and I dare you to put it down once you've picked it up'
Criminal Element
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jack, the rustic if Ivy League–educated hero of this captivating thriller from Edgar finalist Heller (The River), takes a job as a seasonal fishing guide at Colorado's posh Kingfisher Lodge in an effort to escape his traumatic past and the tedium of his father's ranch. There, he's quickly warned about the trigger-happy old man who lives on the property next door. Soon, strange things about the Kingfisher are enough to get Jack wary of the whole scene: strict rules, guests who don't fish, and lots of cameras. Out on the river with a celebrity client, singer Alison K, Jack gets a warning shot from the neighbor, prompting the pair to investigate and unravel a truly heinous crime. Heller's lush descriptions of fishing and river country are matched with a riveting, surprising mystery that captures the difference between the filthy rich and everyone else. The novel's speculative approach to the lingering effects of Covid-19 is frightening in its subtlety and one of the book's special charms. Readers looking for a credible couple and a story of redemption will love this.
Customer Reviews
I preferred The River
3.5 stars
Author
American. MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in both fiction and poetry. Award-winning adventure writer with numerous magazine articles and several nonfiction books to his credit. This is his fifth novel.
In brief
Jack from Mr Heller’s 2019 novel The River returns, three years older and hopefully wiser after the events described in that book. It’s the near future. America is now in its third year living with the pandemic. Our boy is a well-educated, remarkably literate, tobacco chewing cowboy who is helping his father out on his farm when he heard about a job as a fishing guide at an exclusive upmarket mountain retreat in Colorado owned by a British biotech billionaire. It is soon apparent that there’s more than fishing going on at the closely guarded (keep out or get shot, or mauled by dogs) property next door. Jack and his charge, a famous singer and genuine fishing enthusiast known at the resort as Alison K to preserve her privacy, bond over flies (of the feathery kind, rather than insect) and beers. They agree something suss is going on. It appears that the “treatments” the rich folk get stretch well beyond massage and sauna. Or ethics. Stuff happens. Resolution occurs.
Writing
I’m no fisherman but the descriptions of fly fishing, and particularly the streams and mountains where it takes place, are worth the purchase price all by themselves. The mystery part felt a little derivative to me, albeit a sold attempt at exploring nefarious possibilities in the post-pandemic world (if you’re rich).
Bottom line
The River was about two college kids and a wilderness canoe trip gone wrong: ground more familiar to Mr Heller one presumes. He tries hard to establish his mystery chops here. Perhaps too hard.