The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Liz Moore wrote most of her first book The Words of Every Song while she was still in college. That was back in 2007, The God of the Woods is her fifth published book and it came out in July of 2024. It has been raking in the accolades ever since: New York Time's Best Thriller of 2024 as well as one of their Notable Books of 2024 and Best Crime Novel of 2024. People Magazine's #1 Book of the Year. One of Time Magazine's Must Read Books of 2024 and NPR's Books We Love for 2024. It deals with addiction, animal death, child abuse and death, domestic abuse, drug use, emotional abuse and infidelity, physical abuse, a toxic relationship (or several), forced institutionalization, blood, grief, injury, and classism.

In 1961, during the Van Laar's big blowout party on their upstate New York property, the Van Laar's only child Bear disappeared, nearly without a trace. All he left behind was a small wood carving. The surrounding community comes together to search for the child but he is never found and his disappearance and probable death destroys the family - especially his mother. Fast forward fourteen years, the Van Laar's now have a daughter, Barbara. She is as different as she could possibly be from the brother who disappeared before she was born. This year she decides to attend the sleepaway camp that is on the Van Laar's property, a project started by the original Van Laar, Peter I. And tragedy strikes yet again when Barbara is not in her bunk when her counselor checks on the cabin in the early morning. Another search, during which more campers go missing and strange people are found in the woods. Will history repeat itself or will they be able to find Barbara? Is this the work of the notorious serial killer who recently broke out of prison? Or is there someone closer to home that has done something nefarious?

Okay, I think we all know by now that the most important thing for me is dynamic, likeable characters. This book doesn't have any. Or rather, it has a few but (small spoiler alert) they all end up dead in the end. Let's talk about what I didn't like. The characters were, across the board, unlikeable. Even the ones I thought I liked turned out to be awful. It was slow. It doesn't pick up speed until the last third of the novel, which I did rather enjoy. Let me retract my previous statement. There was one likeable character who doesn't die and the last third of the novel was also when she appeared. The first part of the book was okay, the middle was drudgery, and the end was pretty good, when it comes to pacing. Now for what I do like. I really appreciated the way that the author gave us several points of view and, while not making them likeable, made you understand the characters better and their stories felt very realistic. The novel really kept me guessing. I didn't know what happened, I had an inkling of what may have happened, I thought I knew what happened, I changed my mind and went back to the inkling, and none of that was right.

I'm giving The God of the Woods by Liz Moore 3.75 stars out of 5. More literary than suspense or thriller, the mystery about what happens to Barbara Van Laar ended in a way I did not expect. Not my favorite book, but not terrible. It would not have been one of my "Best of 2024" picks. I may give one of Liz Moore's earlier novels a try though.

For more from the author, check out her website at https://www.lizmoore.net/

Pairs well with lace cookies and wilderness training.

A quote that I really loved: "...what it was like to be in this moment of life that was like a breath before speech, a last sweet pause before some great unveiling."