The God of the Woods

A Novel

By: Liz Moore

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEAR

PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR

ONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE”

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

“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.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains a map from the book.

It’s good

This is a good book to listen to while you’re cooking or cleaning or gardening. The story is good, but if you don’t catch a little bit of it ( being distracted) you don’t loose what’s happening.

It is ok. I don’t understand the hype

It is an ok story, Slow burn . I dont understand the hype.
The cut and jump between the characters, are in many places unnecessarily.
I think it was tried to make people interested but it is more frustrating.

Okay

I was very excited about this one but in the end, it was just okay. It took forever to get anywhere in the plot and the payoff was not really worth it, and there were a few loose ends that were never tied up. It should have been shorter and there should have been more reveals along the way, and certain details should not have been split up along different timelines. It made it choppy and broke its momentum critically a few times. The narrator was good, though, and some of the characters were compelling — while others felt like a waste of opportunity. She’s a good writer, but the pacing was off. I’d read another of her books though.

weak ending after complicated setup

this novel promised a lot, and delivered nothing interesting. i enjoyed the reader, however. i would liisten to her again.

Character development

The narrator was excellent. The description of 1961 and 1975 intriguing and thoughtful and historically reflects women’s roll in society. Wonderful portrayal of strong female characters . The Adirondacks are beautiful and mysterious. The plot twist at the end -well I can’t say enough good things about this book. It made me cry. It was beautiful and so well written and I always love a mystery.