When I like a book, I read in possible two ways- either I slowly savour each page, sipping each word and stringing it out as long as possible to enjoy every last paragraph OR I cram it into my reading hole like a giant chocolate bookcake, unable to stop and devouring the entire thing in one greedy sitting. 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore falls firmly into the latter category. I could not believe how fast I consumed all 500 pages in one feverish, riveted gulp.

I am a sucker for any sort of novel involving an American summer camp and when you throw in a multi-layered mystery with a side helping of really good police procedural, I suspected I was on to a winner. I was not wrong. 

The story itself blew me away with Moore's deft handling of a very tricky plotline and a wide cast of characters. The story opens in August 1975. Barbara Van Laar is the teen daughter of the wealthy family that owns Camp Emerson and the adjoining estate in the Adirondack region. One morning, her camp counsellor Louise finds Barbara's bunk empty.  And what's even worse is she is not the first Van Laar child to go missing- 16 years earlier, Barbara's brother Bear vanished while on a hike- without a trace, never to be seen again. Barbara's sudden and mysterious disappearance sets off a chain of events that threatens to reveal a troublesome web of secrets and lies between the wealthy Van Laar family and the local community.

The novel switches between the perspectives of four main characters: Alice, the mother of the missing children; Louise, Barbara's camp counsellor; Tracy, a fellow camper and Barbara's friend, and Judtya, a rookie police Investigator. The novel also jumps between numerous timelines- 1950 to 1961 to 1975. Normally I would completely hate this sort of thing- I find multiple timelines and protagonists can lead to a very choppy and disjointed story. Not so in this case- Liz Moore is an absolute master at stitching together all the various strands while at the same time keeping the plot moving along. I particularly liked Judtya's storyline as she navigates various challenges in the form of overt sexism, entrenched class based prejudice and her own family's attitudes as she doggedly goes to work on solving the case. The other three protagonists are a mixed bag, and unlikeable to various degrees, but again Moore handles this with sensitivity and nuance.

In my opinion, very few crime novels completely stick the landing and whilst this was close, I'm not sure I was 100% convinced by aspects of the ending. There were also a few twists along the way which I did see coming. None of this detracted from my ultimate enjoyment. And looking at the book cover afterward, I had an "A-HA" moment, where the picture I was looking at suddenly made more sense, which I thought was a nice little touch. I will definitely be going back for a re-read to see other things I probably missed in my first mad inhalation.

In short, I recommend this book with a full five stars and it will be high on my Must Read List this year.  Liz Moore is a very talented writer and I suspect this novel will deservedly be a HUGE hit in 2024.  Thank you to NetGalley and to HarperCollins UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story. Well written. There are a number of timelines and people involved so it can get confusing but because it is well written I was able to keep up despite having a bad memory. Only a few f bombs which is always a plus for me.
I can highly recommend this book.

This was a great mystery, I definitely preferred some timelines over others but by the end it pulled together nicely. I was hooked from beginning to end.

When rebellious teenager Barbara Van Laar goes missing from summer camp, the panic that ensues is monumental. Louise, the camp counselor who discovers that Barbara is missing knows that this is a catastrophic development.

Not just because Barbara belongs to a wealthy family - who are, in fact, the owners of the camp - but also because she is the second child in her family to go missing.

Years ago, before she was born her eight-year-old brother Bear, also disappeared in the nearby woods. Despite an extensive search, he was never found.

As a local, Louise is well aware of the complexities of the relationship between the privileged Van Laars and the local community, many of whom are reliant on the Van Laar family as employers.

To lose one child in a family is a tragedy. To lose another child in the same manner, seems downright careless - not to mention suspicious...

This book provides an excellent snapshot of the 1970s in particular, in all its glorious misogyny and power differentials. Some of the themes covered in the book include the stereotypical roles allocated to married women, the challenges faced by working women, alcoholism, the durability of class barriers and the prevalence of domestic abuse.

This is a slow-paced, intense look at the interrelationships between various characters, and the author does a good job of writing believable, relatable female characters. Worth a read.