From the When Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her summer camp bunk one morning in August 1975, it triggers a panicked, terrified search. Losing a camper is a horrific tragedy under any circumstances, but Barbara isn’t just any camper, she’s the daughter of the wealthy family who owns the camp--as well as the opulent nearby estate, and most of the land in sight. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared in this region: Barbara’s older brother also went missing 16 years earlier, never to be found. How could this have happened yet again?; Out of this gripping beginning, Liz Moore weaves a richly textured drama, both emotionally nuanced and propelled by a double-barreled mystery. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded drama brings readers into the hearts of characters whose lives are forever changed by this eventful summer. Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet, <The God of the Woods< is a story of love, inheritance, identity, and second chances, a thrillingly layered drama about the tensions between a family and a community, and a history of secrets that will not let any of them go.

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Liz Moore

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ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2024

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLER OF 2024

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF 2024

PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR

ONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE” 2024

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S “100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024”

"A long novel that at first is hard to put down. By page 200, impossible." —Stephen King

“Extraordinary . . . Reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History . . . I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR

“This expertly paced thriller …has the kineticism of a well-crafted miniseries.” —The New Yorker

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.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.