If you’re a mystery lover, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore will satisfy all your cravings and then some. The novel begins at a summer camp with the story’s climax: Barbara Van Laar is missing from her cabin one morning. Barbara is no ordinary camper; she’s the daughter of the wealthy family that owns Camp Emerson. To further complicate things, her disappearance is eerily reminiscent of the disappearance of her brother Bear fourteen years prior. Set against the backdrop of the Adirondack mountains, the story starts in 1975 and flashes back into the past to unravel the stories of these two missing siblings.
Through an all-knowing third-person narrator that focuses on different characters’ perspectives in each chapter, the reader is quickly pulled into the book as they learn about the history of the camp and the dynamics between the characters.
We first see the perspective of Louise, a local and a camp counselor. She was out drinking the night before the disappearance, and, to her dismay, so was the other counselor for their cabin. We feel her sense of impending doom as she realizes that Barbara disappeared on her watch. The other rich counselors may be perfectly fine being sent back home to their families, but Louise dreads the idea of going back to her mother’s house.
Then we meet Tracy, Barbara’s bunkmate, who was sent away by her newly divorced father to yet another place that she feels she doesn’t fit in. To her surprise, she ends up befriending Barbara, who saves her from being a social pariah all summer.
Next, Barbara’s mother Alice offers insight about Barbara and Bear along with her own unfortunate past. Although there’s a clear strain on her relationship with Barbara, sending her to camp seems to be one of the few things they agree upon. As she sends away her daughter, she can’t help but think about her son, her golden child who was gone too soon. At least a pill or two can help her through her day.
As the novel progresses, we meet more characters who are connected in this web of missing children, the local town, the mountains, and the camp. The events leading up to and following these disappearances are explored through many perspectives that still leave room for the reader to question what truly happened.
It’s easy for readers to quickly develop theories about Barbara. Her parents, perturbed by her recent behavior and identification with punk culture, are convinced she ran away. Strong, opinionated women aren’t exactly celebrated in her family, so they’re not especially sympathetic to her supposed escape. Others worry about whether she’s even alive or not. As people wonder what happened to Barbara, old theories about Bear’s disappearance resurface. As the investigation goes on, the characters lie about small details to not raise any red flags. It becomes clear that someone is hiding information that could reveal what happened to Barbara, but it’s not clear who that is.
The nonlinear narrative springs back and forth between the two disappearances, as well as some of the time between. The flashbacks illuminate facts that, once brought back into 1975, change the story in unexpected ways. This structure creates an enthralling narrative that quickly takes us into the deep end. Chapters end with shocking revelations before we are brought into a different part of the timeline, maintaining a strained and nervous tension throughout the novel. The descriptive prose paints a vivid picture for the reader with phrases like “she swallows her shame like a pill” and “the knot inside Alice exploded into riotous pulsing nerves that threatened to chatter her teeth.”
As Moore deftly weaves her way throughout decades of drama, the puzzle pieces for both disappearances begin fitting together. The non-chronological structure as well as the relatively short chapters make it easy to lose track of time, as if you are lost in the Adirondacks woods that shape the story’s setting. Along the way, the intimate portrayals of various characters over months or years make it impossible for us not to form an attachment to them and anticipate the worst and hope for the best. We also hope for retribution against characters we aren’t as fond of, although we’re curiously unsure of what it is that they’re guilty of.
The many layers of the story come together to make the novel more than a mere mystery. Underneath the mystery are themes of class, a woman’s place in a male-dominated world, and complicated mother-daughter dynamics. Tensions between characters soon reveal tensions between their respective classes, altering the ways in which people view each other and even themselves. We see women with differing levels of power and watch how they manage their respective roles, whether they’re an anxious housewife or a female professional making it on her own. We hear one-sided remarks from girls about their mothers—remarks of scorn or adoration—as well as the perspective of one of the mothers herself. All of these layers are skillfully combined to form a rich story that you won’t want to end, even when your questions are answered.
If you’re interested in finding yourself lost in the woods with Barbara and Bear, you can find Moore and her latest novel here.
The God of the Woods
Liz Moore
Penguin Random House
July 2, 2024
496 pages
Emily Fedon is a fifth-year Drexel student majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in writing. As a student DJ, she has a weekly show, Finding My Marbles, on WKDU, Drexel’s student-run radio station. In addition, she’s the Public Relations Director for WKDU as well as the marketing liaison for Drexel’s student-run book club. In her free time, she likes to read, crochet, and take walks to her favorite local coffee shops.