The God of the Woods
A Novel
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4.4 • 4.6K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEAR
PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR
“Extraordinary . . . Reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History . . . I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR
“This expertly paced thriller …has the kineticism of a well-crafted miniseries.” —The New Yorker
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
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. And 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. And 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.
Customer Reviews
Bad ending
The storyline was good, but the ending made me feel like “that’s it?!”
Captivating!
I couldn’t put it down. Five plus stars!
4.5 stars
Page Turner, had good characters and the setting was amazing but the end fell a little flat. I think it could have come together more. I was looking to see Alice snap out of it and search for her daughter, and to stand up to Peter.