The God of the Woods

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Published by Riverhead
Publication date: July 2, 2024
Genres: Book Clubs, Fiction, Historical, Literary, Mystery

Bookshop, Amazon

 

“To panic was to make an enemy of the forest. To stay calm was to be its friend.”

—T.J. Hewitt, Director, Camp Emerson

Summer sleepaway camp goes one of two ways for attendees—either an idyllic time or one of misery. Somehow author Liz Moore manages to encompass both in her new thriller, The God of the Woods. This multi-generational, slow-burn mystery is set at Camp Emerson in upstate New York. The camp is part of the Van Laar family’s extensive property, making it all the more problematic when, in the summer of 1975, 16-year-old Barbara Van Laar goes missing.

Given her anti-social, punk persona Barbara was a last-minute, unexpected addition to the camp. Her disappearance opens the curtains on her family’s private life, reigniting old memories about a younger brother who vanished 14 years ago. An event so devastating that their mother Alice has never been the same. This time, initial suspicion falls on Louise, a counselor who lies about key elements of the hours before Barbara is gone and the wealthy young man Louise claims is her fiancée, but who has a different story. It’s left to a newly minted detective, the first woman on the force, to unearth the truth buried in this forest of lies.

While Barbara’s disappearance is the event at the core of The God of the Woods, she herself is not a principal character. Instead, Moore chooses five other women to fill in the pieces of her life. Louise, Alice; Judy, the detective; Tracy, another camper; and TJ, the camp’s director. These women span ages 16 to 50, filling the novel with a depth and breadth of experience while illuminating the myriad of elements influencing their motivations and decisions. It elevates the story from a straightforward mystery to a more immersive emotional experience as each woman conveys acutely different perspectives.

The men in the novel are varied as well, but while it’s easy to say they are all moving the women in this game of chess, Moore probes beyond problematic masculinity into the more deeply embedded themes of money and social class. In particular, she tinkers with the notion of “too many generations with too much money” and its blunting impact on the ambitions of children who never have to work. That same money and power is one more tool the Van Laars wield over the people around them, widening the pool of suspects with something to gain by taking Barbara.

With so many underlying themes and elements at play the odds of mayhem and a literary mess are high, but Moore casts this narrative net with care. Could I be a bit miffed that, there is also the ubiquitous serial killer thrown into the mix? Yes, except Moore is artful in constructing their story and making it integral to the whole without allowing it to take over. She shows the same care with the novel’s structure—brief chapters, neatly organized by timeline—enhancing both the fast pace of events, but without causing confusion. These choices, plus a wholly unique resolution, come together to make The God of the Woods 5-star reading.

 

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