The God of the Woods
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4.2 • 113 Ratings
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
**AS HEARD IN THE TAYLOR SWIFT DOCUMENTARY, THE END OF AN ERA**
AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF 2024
WINNER OF GOODREADS MYSTERY & THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
'I was totally gripped' DOUGLAS STUART
'Immersive and enthralling' PAULA HAWKINS
'At first hard to put down. By page 200, impossible' STEPHEN KING
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When their thirteen-year-old daughter Barbara goes missing at summer camp, all eyes fall on the Van Laar family.
They're cold, rich people. They own the camp. And it's happened to them before.
Fourteen years ago their little boy, Bear, vanished without a trace.
Two children lost to the same wilderness.
Is it a tragedy… or a crime?
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‘Brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced … I can't remember the last time I felt so entangled in a novelist's coils’ Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
'A beguiling novel with a relentless grip. You won't be able to put it down' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
'At once an immersive family saga and utterly propulsive mystery. Beautifully written' Emilia Hart, author of Weyward
‘A masterful literary thriller’ Lucy Clarke, author of The Hike
‘Riveting from page one to the last breathless word … This book flew by at lightning speed, but will stick with me for a very long time’ Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions For You
‘Dickensian in scope … Very entertaining’ Vogue, Best Picks for Summer 2024
The God of the Woods debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list on 21 July 2024.
READERS ARE SAYING…
'I simply couldn't put it down!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'An excellent page-turner' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I didn’t see the end coming' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I strongly urge everyone to read it and experience the magic for themselves' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'My top read for 2024 so far. Actually, top read full stop' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A fascinating story with lots of ups and downs… I did like the conclusion, very clever!!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Loved this book from page one! … A book not to be missed!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I cannot think of when I have read anything so evocative' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A riveting read. If you're looking for intriguing characters, a beautifully crafted, slow and atmospheric mystery that feels incredibly intense, then this is the one for you' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the author
Liz Moore is the author of five novels, most recently the New York Times-bestselling The God of the Woods, which was a Barack Obama pick and the winner of the Jimmy Fallon summer book club. She is also the author of Long Bright River, also a bestseller, which has been produced for TV by Peacock and will release in 2025. Moore’s novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. The winner of a 2014 Rome Prize in Literature, Moore lives with her family in Philadelphia.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A teen girl’s disappearance reveals secrets within her family and her community in this multilayered mystery from the brilliant Liz Moore. It’s 1975 when Barbara Van Laar goes missing from her bunk at an Adirondack summer camp, and two things make the case unusual. First, her wealthy parents own the camp and much of the surrounding land. Second, her own brother went missing from those very same woods in 1961. Moore populates this insular world with a fascinating array of complex characters. Each one reveals yet another dimension to Barbara’s story, from her mother, Alice, who’s been distant and critical since losing her son, to the investigator, Judyta, whose success in a male-dominated field means facing abhorrent misogyny every single day. As the mystery unfolds, Moore pulls us deeper and deeper into this immersive time and place. Come for a clever mystery, and stay for its smart themes of class, gender and sexuality.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The gripping and revelatory latest from Moore (Long Bright River) revolves around a prominent banking family's troubled legacy in the Adirondacks. In 1975, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar goes missing near the end of her first summer at Camp Emerson. It's the second time a Van Laar child has vanished from the area; 14 years earlier, Barbara's older brother Bear disappeared from their summer house when he was eight. The nonlinear narrative lays bare the family's pain and unhappiness, showing how Peter Van Laar pressures his wife, Alice, to have another child shortly after Bear's disappearance, and how Barbara frustrates the couple by being comparatively more difficult as a young girl, leading them to send her to boarding school. Moore gradually reveals the truth behind Barbara's disappearance in scenes told from the alternating perspectives of several characters, including her bunkmate Tracy, who helps Barbara sneak out of the camp to meet her boyfriend. Meanwhile, details about Bear's disappearance emerge as state police detective Judyta Luptack investigates Barbara's case. The beautiful and dangerous wilderness setting enhances the suspense as the narrative builds to a dramatic final act that sheds a glaring light on Peter's reluctance to prioritize the family's well-being over its reputation. This astonishes.
