The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The God of the Woods Reviews

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  switterbug (Betsey)

  Liz Moore is equally compassionate about all of her characters, even the worst behaved, in this slow burn of a book. As in all her novels, she creates a deft, complex plot that weaves its way around her vivid setting. Moore consistently explores traumatic childhoods, addiction, crime, and the class system. GOTW takes place at a nature preserve that is portioned to serve as the home of wealthy families and their caretakers in the Adirondacks, as well as a summer camp for youth. The action happens between 1951 and 1975; the chapters alternate back and forth non-linearly between a storied cast and two storylines.
  
  In 1961, the beloved “Bear”— eight-year-old son of wealthy Peter and Alice Van Laar, goes missing on a hike. Fourteen years later, their teenage daughter, Barbara, disappears from the Preserve’s Camp Emerson. Moore combines a police procedural with a character study, amid a stark portrait of a community and the overlap of personal lives with work. Crime and character blend beautifully together.
  
  Especially engaging is Judyta (Judy), recently promoted from State Trooper to Investigator. If you’re old enough to recall the seventies, you’ll recognize what it was like for women trying to make it in a profession dominated by men. Judy was forced to balance her ambition and desire with her second-class status as female. T.J., the caretaker’s daughter, is an enigmatic woman who is now the camp Director. Friend or foe? Villain or hero---or anti-hero? Several layers there to unwrap. Most of the men in this novel are cretins, with a few exceptions.
  
  Alice, the mother of Bear and Barbara, and the wife of Peter Van Laar, is an alcoholic. After the disappearance of Bear, her life collapsed. Husband Peter is either at work, or detached from her at home. It is not surprising, as she was raised by an aloof mother who criticized and nagged her relentlessly. Peter treated his children as commodities, while Bear was Alice’s whole reason for being. Alice remains distant to Barbara, who mostly fends for herself. The fearless teen couldn’t wait until the start of her first year at camp. She befriends Tracy, a usually sullen and reclusive girl who gradually flourishes once Barbara befriends her.
  
  If you’re a Liz Moore fan, you already know that each of her novels are completely different stories, yet with ongoing themes of family and toxicity. The narrative abounds with loneliness, misogyny (especially in the 1970s!), detective work, and substances as a coping mechanism.
  
  Moore attends to her story with empathy and nuance, and she knows her era. No anachronisms, either! Her time period is spot-on. And it isn’t pop-cultured or gimmicky. It’s a finely wrought plot that centers on nature, nurture, community and individuals searching for connection. The author’s rendering of the privileged v. blue-collar is done with attentive care. A dynamic must-read for Liz Moore fans and literary fiction lovers alike.
  
  A huge thanks to Riverhead for sending me a copy to read and review.
• 
  Claire Fuller

  524 pages, but this zipped by, beguiling and relentless in its grip. Not my usual reading choice, but the premise of a boy who disappears in the Adirondack mountains, and fifteen years later the disappearance of his sister and the police's search for her has me intrigued. Fast-paced and satisfying. Thanks to Harper Collins for the proof.
• 
  Emilie

  Outstanding. Liz Moore has outdone herself with this one — a page-turning mystery (no, TWO page-turning mysteries!) that I already wish I could read again for the first time.
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  Lottie from book club

  I think I would be a great detective and then I read something like this and realise that I would be immediately demoted to traffic
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  Samantha // fictionfigurine

  Omgggg I can’t wait!
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  Sarah Melaragno

  (4.5 stars)
  
  Thank you to Edelweiss and to Riverhead/PRH for the ARC of this incredible book. I’m not even really sure where to begin with this one, I loved this story and all of its interwoven parts. The cover is also so beautiful that even before reading I knew I’d need to pick up the physical copy as soon as it hits shelves. Moore captures this sticky, dazzling summer feeling that immediately pulls you in so that you feel entirely immersed and only want to dive in deeper. She depicts the romantic, alluring air of old money while always alluding to something ominous under the surface. This novel has a bit of everything and unravels a mystery with incredible pacing and structure so that no one character (there are many) or timeline (there are multiple) feels neglected or lacks even an ounce of importance. Just so good and so very close to being a five star read (still not certain that it isn’t).
  
  This it is the perfect unputdownable summertime mystery about girlhood and motherhood and class structures and marriage and love and betrayal and family and everything else under the sun. This is a book I actually wish I was able to read for the first time in the heat of the summer because of its Adirondack mountain, summer camp setting and that nostalgia it just captures so well. Come July or August I’m sure I’ll find myself reaching for this story just to be fully enveloped in its atmosphere once more.
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  Becca Bacon

  Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced ecopy of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.
  
  Outstanding. Liz Moore is an incredibly talented author, and she has wowed me again. I could've kept reading for 500 more pages simply because she tells a story so well. The God of the Woods features a beautiful setting, complex characters, going back and forth in time (which I love), and superb suspense.