Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lake, camp mystery set in 1975 with flashbacks. Two cases of disappearance at the camp, tragedies that play out over generations, a long twisty mystery that I enjoyed.

Liz Moore”s God of the Woods was a hauntingly perfect novel. You will be sucked into this mystery from page one. Moore shifts deftly from one character’s POV to another and back and forth in time seamlessly. Each chapter leaves you wanting more, of Moore- lol see what i did. The setting was atmospheric and the mood of the book was eerie. If you are looking for a literary thriller to sink into, this is it!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this slow burn literary mystery about two siblings that go missing in the woods during different time periods. There were lots of characters and interconnected storylines, which could get confusing, but the author wrote it well so that I never got lost.

I enjoyed this book and would classify it as a literary mystery. There was quite a bit of character development, which I have mixed feelings about. At times, I enjoyed it; other times, I felt like it made the book drag. I thought the ending tied everything together well and would recommend this book to readers who enjoy this genre.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Liz Moore's The God of the Woods captured my attention from the start. It's 1975 and a girl goes missing from her family's summer camp. As the novel proceeds, we go back-and-forth in time and between the perspectives of the different players in this story. What unfolds is a tragedy that has played out over generations. I appreciated the way the novel pieced together the events of twenty years and explored the way that individual choices impact multiple people over many years.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

Tragic

The God of the Woods is a quiet mystery/drama about the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl at a summer camp in 1975.

Barbara Van Laar, the daughter of the prominent Van Laar family of Albany, New York, disappeared from her cabin one morning in a summer camp founded by her family. In connection with her disappearance, her counselor, Louise, her bunkmate, Tracy, her mother, Alice, and a young female detective, Judyta, share their stories. All are flawed, honest, and complex characters; each of their stories is impactful.

The plot slowly unfolds. Piece by piece, bits of the lives of the main characters intersect, coming together in profound ways. The timeline is non-linear, alternating between the past in the 1950s and the present in the 1970s; the non-linearity adds to the drama and trauma of searching for a missing child.

This is a rich, multilayered novel with multidimensional characters. Through exceptional characterization, especially the women, themes of motherhood, gender roles, sexuality, identity, and class are explored.

The setting is lush and vibrant, especially in the scenes in the woods surrounding Camp Emerson.

I could visualize the characters, the setting, the house named Self-Reliance, the camp, nature, and the fine details. Moore didn't just write a novel that takes place in the 1970s, she transports her reader to this time and place. There are a few flaws, but this novel is exquisitely written and emotionally impactful. My heart shattered as the events culminated in a tragically sad and painful revelation.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Group Riverhead in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this a few days ago, and I'm still trying to figure out what I make of it. I loved the beginning, but it lost me in the middle, but I was hoping that I would love the end. I didn't love the end, but I'm still glad that I finished it because I liked it enough. I think by the time we had gotten to the twist, I had decided that I didn't care for one of the timelines, and so when the reveal happened during that timeline, it did not have the emotional impact that I would have expected. Multiple timelines and POVs, can be tough for me, personally, I think they are hard to do well so I'm kind of extra critical of them. I think that this story was served by having multiple timelines and POVs, but I think it was just a *lot* of timelines and povs, making it the sole focus for me, more than any other elements of the story. It made the pacing so strange to me. It felt like we were leaping across decades and yet only a few hours had passed in real time, so much of it felt plotless. And when there were flashbacks within the multiple timelines, well. It just didn't feel very rooted. Which is a shame because overall, I think the setting and line to line sentencing were fantastic, and characters had potential. There was no reason at all to not feel rooted other than the structure, which overshadowed everything else. I would still recommend this one, because it might work better for someone else than it worked for me! But it clipped by so fast *and* so slow, that I didn't feel like it was thematically satisfactory.

Enjoyed this long, twisty mystery involving the disappearances of two children, decades apart, from the same wealthy family. The summer camp setting, peppered with the rich landowners, the local townspeople, and the camp's inhabitants, provides a rich backdrop to contrast the myriad lives brought together in the course of the tragedies. There's no shortage of family secrets or misdirection to keep readers guessing to the end.

When a girl, Barbara, goes missing from her summer camp, everyone’s deepest fears are realized as they are forced to relive the unsolved disappearance of Barbara’s brother, Bear, several years earlier. This is a multi-layered, extremely well-written family saga/suspense/mystery. Moore’s writing is exquisite as she deftly handles multiple narrators, as well as several different time periods. Everyone in this story has a deep secret that is revealed as the narrative unfolds. The summer camp setting in the remote woods of upstate NY will draw readers in. Fans of Kate Morton will devour this.

A twisty, keep you on your toes story of family secrets, betrayal and the choices made to protect social images. This is fast paced, unpredictable, and secrets abound. Told from several perspectives of varying characters and timeframes, I was afraid it would be tough to follow, but each character has such a distinct voice and story telling style that it flowed seamlessly and was hard to put down!

It is August 1975 and thirteen year old Barbara Van Laar is missing from her bunk at the summer camp that is owned by her wealthy family and employs many residents of the region of the Adirondacks in which it is located. Fourteen years earlier Barbara’s older brother Bear disappeared and was never found.

The novel explores how the disappearances impact those in the family and in the immediate orbit and also juxtapose the wealth of the Van Laar family with the blue collar families of the area that staff both the summer camp and the forest preserve. The book has a melancholy tone, as if to say there will be no winners here…but there might be. I enjoyed this.

There are the makings of a good crime story here, but the narrative voice is so flat and blocky that it’s like listening to someone tell it in a monotone. Better than trying to read excessively florid prose, I guess. I did appreciate the focus on women characters and, to a lesser degree, the rich folks vs less privileged townies angle and how each is dealt with by the law.

Thank you NetGallery,author,Liz Moore and publisher Riverhead Books/Penguin for the opportunity to read the arc ebook,God of the Woods. It had almost 500 pages but it was so interesting I read it over several days. It involved two missing youngsters over a ten year period,both from the same ultra-wealthy family,in a rural,wooded area in upstate New York. There were many characters and each chapter focusing on just one of several main ones. It was not confusing as so many books these days go back and forth from chapter to chapter in novels. It was a rather clever “who done it” and it was hard to guess until the very end who the culprit(s) was. I highly recommend this book.
On sale July 02,2024.

I loved this book! I'm a fan of Liz Moore's work, but I think this one is her best. I was impressed with how the plot is constructed and the variety of information that is revealed slowly through the multiple POV. Overall, I think the book does a great job balancing the multiple timelines, although I did appreciate the time stamps. Terrific family drama and history melded into this twisty mystery. Highly recommend this one!

When Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her cabin bunk, the entire staff is in a frenzy and accusations involving inappropriate relations and drugs are running rampant. Not only is Barbara the daughter of the owners, but she is the sole surviving child of her family after her older brother Bear went missing sixteen years prior. Is there a connection between the two disappearances? Liz Moore takes readers through several years and several characters to help uncover the many mysteries within The God of the Woods.

This novel was an excellent read. It is one that I would classify as a slow burn and didn't become a complete page-turner for me until about 60% through the end. The characters are very well-written and well-developed throughout the course of the novel. The ending was satisfying and brought this very emotional journey to an end that was easily digested by readers. I have never read Moore's works before, but this mastery in story-telling makes me quite interested to read her other novels.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for an early copy of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

New investigator Judyta is at the center of this multi-layered and expansive crime novel when a second member of the same family disappears without a trace. Judyta will use common sense, intuition and a courageous spirit to solve not one but both crimes.

The story begins at a summer wilderness camp where Barbara Van Laar, a young teenager, has disappeared overnight. This sets in motion a sweeping police presence determined to locate the girl. The chief of police is a personal friend of the family with a clear motivation to find Barbara and return her to the family.

A congruous back story involves Barbara's older brother, Bear, who disappeared in the same area several years previous. Bear's disappearance has unhinged his mother, Alice, who is now under a doctor's care. Bear's body has never been found, but a local man had been named as a strong suspect and died before any charges could be filed.

Author Liz Moore leads readers through the intricate lives of the characters involved in each of the Van Laar disappearances. Readers will also be following Judyta closely as the two investigations begin to come together.

Moore has a real gift for developing characters and situations that readers will remember long after reaching a story's conclusion. The interactions of her characters have truly been strengths in her writing.

Based off the other reviews I've read, I appear to be in the minority here, but I just didn't like it that much. Nearly 500 pages, the slowest of slow burns, and for extremely little payoff. The alternative POVs and timelines was not my jam-- I kept getting Tracy and Louise confused but it ultimately didn't really matter. I don't understand Barbara's motivations and was frustrated by how neatly it wrapped up. Also, because this was bothering me while I was brushing my teeth this morning, why would Barbs show off her woodland skills during the Survival Weekend, or whatever it was called? Surely someone might have put two and two together-- that she could in fact live off the grid and might be doing so? Her faking it and making it seem like she knew nothing about building a fire/skinning squirrels/etc would have been a much better ruse.

I understand what the author was trying to do, but it was a slog and I wouldn't recommend it.

I was so blown away by this one! I read Moore’s previous book, Long Bright River, and really liked it; but I loved this one even more.

Our basic premise is the disappearance of a teenaged girl at a summer camp in the Adirondacks—which eerily echoes the disappearance of her younger brother in the same area several years before. Both are the children of the wealthy owners of the camp. We follow the local detectives as they seek to unravel both cases, as we also get looks into the many threads of drama that have tangled everyone together across the years, from the campers and camp counselors to the owners and their wealthy visitors.

It offers so much that I consider to be my catnip tropes: a summer camp setting, kids going missing, complicated and outright toxic families, class tensions, explorations around gender dynamics—and so much more. The fact that Moore manages to pull all of this off brilliantly, while bouncing between various points in time from the 1950s through the 1970s, without ever losing the reader or dropping a single thread, is incredibly impressive.

I burned through the back half in a single day; it was a true “can’t put it down” read which I’ve been desperately in need of. Definitely add this to your summer TBR. Thanks to @netgalley for the advanced copy.

Really enjoyed this story in part for the 1970's setting. The alternating POV can be a bit much but that may just be me as it seems to be a device that several authors I've read recently have used.

Liz Moore’s suspenseful mystery is a can’t put down ride. The time period of the 1970’s is the perfect place for this complex cast of characters. Girls materially develop their sense of self and purpose into women, as the daughter of a land owner disappears from the summer camp held on their property. Status, stereotypes, and sense of agency are all questioned in the course of the investigation. Fans of Tana French should definitely check out The God of the Woods.