A History of Wild Places
by Shea Ernshaw
Published by Atria Books
on December 7, 2021
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 368 pages
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Synopsis:
Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James--a well-known author of dark, macabre children's books--he's led to a place many believed to be only a legend.
Called "Pastoral," this reclusive community was founded in the 1970's by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn't exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it... he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James.
Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis's abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there's a risk of bringing a disease--rot--into Pastoral.
Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove perfect, isolated world isn't as safe as they believed.
My Thoughts:
Travis Wren has the special ability to see a person's life and history when touching an object that belongs to them. With this ability, he is able to help find missing persons from time to time, which is how he ended up on the case of Maggie St. James, a missing children's book author that disappeared. Armed with only a few clues of where she was last seen before disappearing, Travis Wren sets off to find Maggie, dead or alive.
And then the story switches to the isolated, secret community of Pastoral nestled deep in the wilderness, where the people believe the outside world is infected with 'rot' so no one ever leaves. One community member, Theo, who has been defying the leaders' rule about not traveling down the 'road' that would take him out of Pastoral, finds Travis Wren's truck and clues that he was headed for their community, which prompts Theo and his wife, Calla, to question the communities existence altogether.
A History of Wild Places is a darkly mysterious read with lots of plot twists that I definitely did not see coming. The community of Pastoral is very cult-like, with a leader that promotes the threat of a terrible sickness if anyone leaves.
The beginning of this book really drew me in. It starts like a true crime mystery with the possibility of a hint of horror, with Travis Wren and his ability headed deep into the woods following subtle signs that lead the way.
But then it completely switched characters, setting, etc, to give us the story from inside the reclusive community of Pastoral. I lost interest a little bit at that point and had to switch to audio to keep it going but once Theo and his wife start to catch on to the mystery of Travis Wren visiting their community, everything comes together splendidly.
I'm glad I didn't give up on it because that twist ending blew me away!
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