In Wilderness

Praise

“A harrowing exploration of desire and obsession, In Wilderness sends two people into a physical and psychological wilderness that becomes stranger and more terrifying the deeper they go.”—Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train
 
“Not my usual thing, which makes me say it all the louder: I love, love, love this book—the fearless and unflinching story of two extraordinary, vivid people alone in a vast pristine wilderness, told with genuine suspense and a wonderfully empowering ending.  In Wilderness is altogether spectacular.”—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Personal
 
“[Diane] Thomas writes hauntingly of obsession and survival in this dark, unusual love story. . . . As the author moves her characters through the seasons of 1966, 1967, and 1968, she offers a deep and unforgettable look into how tragedy and madness can shape lives. Written from the points of view of two suffering people, the story takes on an almost surreal, lyrical quality. Riveting and raw.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Haunting . . . This is both a heartbreaking and hopeful tale that stays with readers long after the last page is read.”—RT Book Reviews
 
“Explosive . . . The tension continues to grow. . . . [Katherine and Danny’s] passionate relationship reveals the human longing for connection. . . . Thomas writes with richness, describing the natural world as viscerally as she does the interior lives of these two intense characters. . . . Recommended for readers who also like the raw, honest writing of Amy Bloom or Amanda Coplin.”—Library Journal
 
“Gripping . . . powered by genuine suspense and driven forward by two characters whose lives readers cannot look away from . . . a memorable story of an isolated, beautiful place and of two people trying to make sense of the world they have chosen to live in.”—Booklist

“Unforgettable: a mad, haunting, dreamlike story of love, obsession, and wildness . . . Diane Thomas mixes elegant prose with raw emotion.”—William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob
 
“In Wilderness is an often harrowing story of a love affair between two damaged people, but it is also a paean to the healing powers of nature. Diane Thomas has written an extraordinary novel filled with both darkness and light.”—Ron Rash, PEN/Faulkner Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Serena and The Cove
 
“Diane Thomas writes like a woman in a fever dream, clashing two wasted, achingly lonely souls together to create sparks that become an all-consuming wildfire. The desolate inner landscapes of Danny and Katherine stand in stark opposition to the beauty of the natural world Thomas so expertly evokes, and I found myself riveted as they stumbled in their broken way toward connection and their own humanity. Heartbreaking, bold, relentless, In Wilderness is the work of a true original.”—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else’s Love Story
 
“The story—the writing—stands out as some of the most original and dynamic work I’ve ever read. In Wilderness is an intensely powerful cat-and-mouse love story as gorgeous and brutal as its Appalachian mountain setting. I devoured every word.”—Carla Buckley, author of The Deepest Secret

“Utterly compelling . . . Thomas brings a Zen-like sensibility to her descriptions of the natural world and to the simple everyday matters of living. The two main characters are delineated with a similar keen precision, and the dark obsession ignited by their inevitable collision builds relentlessly to a breathtaking climax.”—Vicki Lane, author of Under the Skin

“Hypnotic . . . One reads and watches the two principal characters moving toward a climax that is impossible to resist—for the characters themselves, or for the reader. This is a story about many things: fate, nature, illness, and the power of healing. The best novels put us under a particular spell. This is a fine novel and the spell is a deep one.”—Joseph Monninger, author of Eternal on the Water
 
“Incantatory, dreamlike, simultaneously harsh and beautiful, In Wilderness is a striking portrait of both physical and psychological healing. In part a return to the garden of Eden, and in part an exploration of our darkest fears, this astonishing novel radiates power from beginning to end.”—Frank Huyler, author of The Laws of Invisible Things and Right of Thirst
 
“Diane Thomas’s In Wilderness is a mesmerizing literary ballet, a dazzling dance of language revealing a story of fear and fragility, madness and passion, and hauntingly performed by two of the most memorable characters to appear in recent American literature. This is a great, great read.”—Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie