The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

“It seems like a normal morning in August 1975 at Camp Emerson, a summer camp for wealthy families set far into the Adirondack mountains. Except one of the bunks is empty. The empty bunk is Barbara Van Laars, who just happens to be the only child of Peter and Alice Van Laar. What's more horrifying is the fact that Barbaras' brother, Bear, went missing in these very same woods almost fourteen years earlier and was never found. What follows is a fast-paced, emotional, gripping tale of family, loss, love, grief and self-reliance.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: The ending was absolute perfection/The character of Judyta was genuine and driven, I liked her.

Cons: The Van Laar's were a despicable group of people/It took me a bit to get used to the alternating timelines but I eventually got used to it.

Full Review:

Camp Emerson has existed on the Van Laar Preserve, a large stretch of land in the Adirondack mountains for decades. It's a two month long summer camp that caters to the children of the wealthy and elite. Most of the campers are the children of friends of the Van Laars and most of the Counselors have a connection to the Van Laar family as well.

The setting is idyllic, the lessons the campers learn, of survival and self-reliance are catered to help them be successful in their lives. It seems like it will be a normal morning in August 1975 except that one of the campers, the daughter of the Van Laars themselves, Barbara, isn't in her bunk.

In fact, she's nowhere to be found.

What's more startling is the fact that Barbara's brother, Bear, disappeared in these very same woods just about fourteen years ago and was never found. From that point on, Moore puts her foot on the gas pedal and never lets up.

This was one of those mystery/thrillers that was intricate and complex, weaving multiple POVs and multiple timelines but honestly, Moore did a seamless job at mixing the two. There was only one point in the story where I felt a little lost but it was quickly explained away. I feel like to say anything more would raise the possibility of giving something away and this is the kind of book that you just have to read to appreciate. I often times find the mystery/thriller genre overdone and eye-roll inducing for the cluelessness of the characters but this book kept everything believable and the ending was absolute perfection.

Comments

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