An atmospheric read - family drama, murder mystery and class tale all rolled into one. I fell in love and hate with the richly drawn characters. Loved the multiple points of view. This one kept me guessing until the very end. I will be recommending this title to patrons at the library. It's been added to my e-book cart!

HAPPY PUB DAY TO The God of the Woods!!!! I have seen this arc all over bookstgram and was HONORED when I was approved for the arc. This was a whirlwind from the first page.

This is a multilayered thriller with brilliant character development, setting and the author's ability to set a dark undertone.

Short recap is, 13 year old Babara goes missing from camp Emerson is 1975. She is the daughter of the high society family of the Van Laars, and the sister to Bear, who went missing a decade before. Coincidence?

Alternating between multiple POV and linear timelines, this story navigates us through all of the people in Barbara's life, including her stern and disappointed father, her mindly absent mother, Louise, the camp counselor, Tracey, her best friend at camp along side Detective Judyta, an investigator working the case. It also weaves the two missing siblings together through the mother's POV and the ending is truly haunting. This was an easy 5 stars.

My only issue with this (not a con more like a note to self) there are a lot of characters and they are all introduced quickly, so take plenty of mental notes so you don't get confused. Thank you so much Penguin Group Riverhead and Net Galley for the gifted arc!

This book is so good!

13-year old Barbara Van Laar goes missing from her summer camp bunk. She’s the daughter of the richy-rich owners of the property. Even worse, her brother went missing from the same spot years earlier.

This story is told from multiple perspectives and nonlinear timelines. Be patient with it and let it unfold. The characters are so fully developed there is big payoff for learning about each of them.

The writing and setting are so rich you will be able to visualize the camp, the wilderness, and the family home, ironically called Self Reliance. It is a perfectly drawn setting for rich people behaving badly. Each person is more tragic and damaged than the next.

I love the phrase “literary fiction mystery” coined by my book pal. That is the perfect classification for this book and that mash up of genres is why I loved it so much.

It was worth the wait, it was worth almost 500 pages. Liz Moore's writing is deeply immersive, bringing readers into the 1970s camp environment and the greater society in the decades before. At once a mystery and a poignant story about family and community, this read went too fast despite its length, and I did not want to put it down. Each perspective was uniquely interesting, and there are so many fascinating and well drawn characters in this one. It's the kind of book that deeply works its way inside you.

Such an original story! Absolutely loved this book! I even made it my BOTM book! Wanted to add a physical copy to my shelf!

Definitely my favorite read of 2024 so far! This book had so many layers to it - beyond the mystery there was so much interesting commentary on social class and gender roles with a feminist slant that I loved. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since finishing it! Highly recommend and will be singing the praises of this one to anyone who will listen!

A delightful story that will stay in readers minds for a long time!!!!! I read this story from cover to cover in one sitting

A fascinating novel that reveals secrets in differing timelines to come together in a lovely ending. The Van Laars appear to be beset by tragedies - two children go missing 14 years apart. But we learn about the Van Laars from the time Peter III marries Alice, the parents of the two missing children, through present day. I was sucked right into this atmospheric novel (set on an estate/land preserve/summer camp). So many of the characters are interesting - especially Tracy, Louise, Judy and Barbara. It's also the story of second chances - who gets them and how is part of the mystery reveal, so that's all I'm going to say.

"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."

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Riverhead Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

"The Van Laars were meticulous about anyone they brought into their life, and ruthless about those they excised."

I'll never forget reading Long, Bright River for the first time and the way that it made me feel. As an older sister, the story echoed inside of me in a truly profound way. I wondered then if I loved the book so much because I could relate to it or if it was because Moore is just that talented of a writer. After reading The God of the Woods, I now know it's more of the latter.

There is very little I want to say about this book because I think it is truly enjoyed best when you go in completely blind but what I will say is that it is more than just the mystery that the entirety of the story is wrapped around. It is a study on social class, feminism, gender roles, our relationship with nature as a society, motherhood, and so much more.

I walked away from this story truly breathless, endlessly impressed, and with a new favorite book added to my shelf. I am calling it now; this will be my favorite book of 2024.

Thank you to Penguin Group & NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Penguin Group Riverhead, for an ARC of this book.

The God of the Woods showcases what Liz Moore does best- creating multi-faceted, distinct characters. I really enjoyed this novel as much as I’ve enjoyed Moore’s previous ones. If you haven’t already, check out Long Bright River. The only real drawback for me was the time jumps between (and sometimes within) chapters. This produced a disjointed, often confusing, narrative. It probably didn’t help that I had to start and stop at random intervals (first time mom life is hard, ya’ll!)

Camp Emerson is a summer camp primarily attended by elite friends of the wealthy Van Laars, who own the camp and spend the summer in a massive mansion on the property. 13 years ago, their young son, Bear, disappeared and the case was presumed to be closed. But when their 12-year-old daughter, Barbara, also goes missing from the camp, old family secrets resurface. Spanning the 1950s through 1975, this book touches on major themes as it works through the dual mysteries of Bear and Barbara's disappearance - dysfunctional families, addiction, gender roles, and the power dynamics of the wealthy.

This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It is the perfect blend of page-turning mystery with enough literary heft and character development to keep the reader engaged. I’ve seen it described as “compulsively readable” and that hits the nail on the head. “Literary mystery” is my favorite genre but often when books are described that way I find it means they are very interior, slow, or just not engaging. But this one is! I would particularly recommend it to fans of Tana French.

This is definitely a case of, "it's not you, it's me".

While I did enjoy this book, the slow burn was much too slow for my liking. There were a lot of added details and characters backgrounds that felt completely unnecessary. This book would have benefited from being about 100 pages shorter.

Still, I enjoyed it. The ending was satisfactory and the reveals did surprise me.

All around 3 stars.

Set in the Adirondacks in 1975, everyone is having a great summer at Camp Emerson. Until one morning, Barbara, the daughter of the camp owners, goes missing. Her being gone is scary enough, except that her brother, Bear, also went missing from the camp 14 years earlier and was never found. Can detectives figure out what happened to Barbara and bring her home safe before it happens again?

This was a great summer slow-burn mystery. I always wanted to go to a summer camp like this one, but maybe now I’m glad I didn’t. 😂 There’s teenage angst and drama, frustrating rich people, family secrets, and spooky woods people tend to get lost in.

Definitely add this one to your TBR this summer! I think it may be a little confusing on audio with the time jumps, but I didn’t have any issues following along with the print version.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @riverheadbooks for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

August 1975, Barbara Van Laar is missing. She's supposed to be in her bunk at camp, but she isn't there. Barbara isn't a normal camper, she's the 14-year old daughter of the camp owners, and one of the richest families in the area.

14 years earlier, a differen Van Laar child went missing.

Liz Moore has written a slow burn thriller that you can not put down. This is a book of trauma, addiction, sexism and class warfare. This is rich people and the people who care for them. The haves and have-nots.

Moore is able to take both disappearances and weave in and out, connecting and moving the tragedies together. Each person is almost a character study. Each person is dealing with a heavy burden, a heavy history and a heavy present.

This is The Secret History, camp edition. I loved every page.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my first book from Liz Moore. This is a slow-burn mystery told in multiple timelines. I appreciated the chapter length and pacing, and I think the writing was masterful. The exploration of each character was well done. Moore managed to introduce many questions and then skillfully answer every single one by the end of the book, making for a very satisfying mystery reading experience.

However, there were some aspects of the reveal of one of the two central mysteries that left me wanting a bit more. After such a slow-burn climb to the finale, the ending felt a bit underwhelming. Nevertheless, I think Moore has an incredible talent for writing literary mysteries, and I look forward to her next book. I will definitely venture into her backlist.

This is it. This is THE book of the summer, if not one of the books of the year. If you enjoy stories with rich, honest character development, a mystery and social commentary set in the most atmospheric location, you need to drop everything and pick this up.

This story is about the disappearance of Barbara Van Laar during summer camp. What makes her disappearance especially notable is not only that the Van Laars own the preserve the camp is held on, but that her brother Bear also disappeared a number of years ago.

Told in multiple POVs across the 1960s and 1970s, this is so much more than a “whodunnit” mystery. As you get to know the characters, the layers start unfolding revealing dark family secrets. It may be confusing at times to juggle all of the players, but even the minor characters serve important roles. Ultimately this book speaks volumes about misogyny, classism, troubled relationship dynamics, generational trauma, mental illness, and the lack of social mobility women experienced at the time. Detective Judy is especially emblematic of the extra work women had to put in just to gain half of the recognition their male counterparts had.

This book is long, but Moore’s use of language is so economical and intentional and it had me lingering on every single word. The story almost didn’t feel long enough. Though I foresaw one of the “plot twists”, the final reveal was one I didn’t catch onto until literally a few sentences prior.

This is one of those books that will stay with you for a while. Long Bright River is one of my favorite books of all time, and this might join its ranks. HIGHLY recommend

More than I expected. Interesting story. I will recommend it to patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time after absolutely loving LONG BRIGHT RIVER in 2020. It did not disappoint! The 1970s Adirondack camp setting and Moore's masterful characterization and plotting through timelines and perspectives are the real stars here. While there is a mystery at the center of the story, I would describe this more as a suspenseful family drama. If you're going on vacation (especially to the Adirondacks!), this would be a great book to sink into!

Wow! I read this all in one sitting because I was so engaged. Moore¡s tale is one of old money and privilege, and the ways it can steer people wrong.
The Van Laars are an old New England banking family, well accustomed to entitlement, whose summer home includes Camp Emerson. Sweet 8 year old Peter Van Laar the Fourth disappears one day, and everyone in the nearby town volunteers to search the woods for him. But despite the use of search dogs and the state police, Peter's body is never found. His mother retreats into a haze of drugs and alcohol, and ignores her daughter Barbara.
Many years later a teenaged Barbara also disappears from Camp Emerson. The locals believe the Van Laars know more about the missing children than they’ve ever admitted. And a new state investigator decides that it's time for the secrecy to end.
Well told. My only complaint is with the extensive cast of characters.

I requested to review this book because of the location - a camp and community in the Adirondack Mountains in my home state of New York - and also because of my childhood fascination with sleep-away camp. The financial and social circumstances of my family were not those that made the possibility of sleep-away camp possible, but that didn’t stop me from reading everything I could find about camp experiences, both good and bad. The mystery here is as bad as you can get - a camper disappears. And not just *any* camper, but the daughter of the wealthy family that owns the campground. The ensuing story covers the full-on search for the camper but also expands to recount the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the camper’s brother 10 years prior.

Told in short-form alternating viewpoints, I admit I sometimes found it hard to keep everyone straight. However, the stories of two people provided the thread holding it all together - those of Judyta and Tracy, a rookie cop and the closest friend the lost camper had on-site. Tbh, I have little sympathy for “poor-little-rich-girl” stories given the lack of morals often displayed by those of that class, but Moore does a decent job of humanizing the women in this story, especially Alice, TJ, and Barbara. I found the end very satisfying, for both plot lines - the death of Bear Van Laar and the disappearance of his sister Barbara. I found myself whipping through the final 80% of the story just to find out what happened.

Definitely recommended.