Trail of the Lost

** THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES ​BESTSELLER **

** SEATTLE TIMES BESTSELLER **

** CRIMECON’S “BOOK OF THE YEAR” (2024)

AN AMAZON “BEST BOOKS OF THE MONTH” FOR AUGUST 2023 (Biographies & Memoirs) **

** Goodreads Choice Awards/Best Books of 2023 - Finalist for “Best Nonfiction Book”

American Scientist, “Summer STEM Reads You Won’t Want to Miss” **

** LitHub CrimeReads, “10 NEW BOOKS COMING OUT THIS WEEK” **

** Library Journal Book Pulse, “In the Media” **

”[G]ripping… Trail of the Lost is about the hikers and the efforts to find them, but it’s also a rich, multilayered narrative that works on three different levels… Trail of the Lost is written with a clear, fast-paced, straightforward prose that still manages to be beautiful and immersive. It is also as full of hope and humanity as it is packed with pain, grief, danger, and tension. This is a book in which the PCT is as much of a character as every person Lankford writes about, and that balance makes it worthy reading.”

–NPR“Trail of the Lost is a unique contribution to both outdoor literature and true crime…. Lankford details the cases of these missing hikers without being voyeuristic or exploitative, instead being mindful of the humanity of the people about whom she’s writing, as well as their loved ones, remembering that lives and hearts are at stake.”–Eastern Mountain Sports”[A] riveting story, incredibly well-written and exhaustively researched.“–The Missing and Unexplained podcast“A fascinating story…..this book will tear at your heartstrings, but it will also keep you riveted along the way.”–History Nerds United“A gripping real-life mystery.”–Publishers Weekly“A gut-wrenching and compelling investigation of long-distance treks gone wrong.”–Kirkus“It’s hard to imagine who else could have produced a work like this. Her book is a sprawling portrait of an area whose fantastical features practically necessitate the use of metaphor: The pale rocks south of the San Jacinto Mountains ‘resemble bottom teeth erupting from forested gums.’ Above all, this is a profile of two subcultures: hikers and their searchers, who share an inconceivable tenacity and sometimes a similar desperation.”–Wall Street Journal“Summer is a great time for adventures, even the armchair kind! Andrea Lankford’s Trail of the Lost is perfect for this kind of read.”–American Scientist“The book has a great pace, the chapters are well structured, and there are black and white copies of the three mens’ missing posters. Lankford expertly switches between explaining search and hiking techniques and gives us insight into the people conducting such searches.”–Defrosting Cold Cases“The real science of searching in nature is the most interesting–and disturbing–part of Lankford’s account…She writes openly about her search and rescue missions for NPS and how she is still haunted by those that failed. People who weren’t found in time, or weren’t found at all. She has faced families trying to emotionally recalibrate from ‘rescue’ to ‘recovery.’ She makes us care about the lost men through details of their lives before the PCT, and the volunteers keeping the searches going.”–The Spectator“When author Andrea Lankford says that she put ‘a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and broken bones’ into her new work of nonfiction, Trail of the Lost, she’s not speaking in metaphor… [this is a] book that satisfies and educates. It also paints a picture of the remarkable generosity of people along the trail, from Tarr to the so-called ‘trail angels’… the book is also a portrait of hope and resilience, especially when it comes to Langford, Tarr, and the families of the missing.”–San Francisco Chronicle