Reviews

The Guide by Peter Heller

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passportdog's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

4.25

ccaitlinranae's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 rounded up!
i honestly got this book on accident (was looking for a different audiobook also called The Guide and didn’t check the author lol) and so i was pleasantly surprised! the way peter heller described the landscape and the atmosphere in this book is gorgeous and honestly my favorite part. i’m not a big mystery book person but this managed to keep me intrigued by the story all the way through! i actually really enjoyed the slow start to the book that let us get to know the characters- especially because i haven’t read the other books Jack appears in- but i can see why so many have complained about it.
all in all, i recommend! nice short book i read in the mornings with a cup of coffee :)

ajs2327's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mmkn_99's review against another edition

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I’ll probably read this one day, but when I googled Australian crime novels, this is what Google gave me. A decidedly not Australian novel. But, it was a cool intro and I look forward to reading sometime in the future

holk's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Good plot. Different than other suspense books I’ve read.
Dark roast coffee, quiet fishing mornings and plasma.

arielamandah's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I like Peter Heller's writing. I enjoy the Western, outdoorsman's focus and the equal parts reverence and respect he gives the natural world. This story felt a little far-fetched. It felt like it was following a bit of a script and did a lot of "yes and..." -ing. But at the same time, it was stitched through with the claustrophobia and the paranoia of deep pandemic times - always escalating, each thing more unbelievable than the last. It also only JUST started to touch on the culture of vacation towns, guides vs. guests, and billionaires vs. those scraping by. I wish Heller had lingered more on this and treated it with the sensitivity he gave the issues of parks and wolves in The Last Ranger. All in all, I wouldn't say it was my favorite of his books, but it was a quick, spooky read that spent some nice time playing with fly fishing imagery.