Director of Library Operations Pam Parker recommends The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.
In the 1970s, summer was synonymous with camp for some of us. My fondest memories of summer camp are full of firsts, like sleeping away from home on iron cots and learning traditional campfire songs from teen counselors. Yet, when the flames faded to coals, the bedside stories between campers often turned to dark tales that kept us awake late into the night! Could there be a more perfect setting for a summer who-done-it?
The God of the Woods (2024), by Liz Moore, is set in upstate New York during the summer of 1975 at Camp Emerson. Moore crafts several engaging storylines across generations of the Van Laar family, who live on the property and founded the camp. Their majestic home on the property is coined “Self Reliance,” having been built by their immigrant grandfather. He also founded a summer camp for the children of his wealthy friends. While the campers experience all the normal trappings, there is a survivalist bent to the camp that reminds us that the woods are not always a safe place for the unprepared.
In an early plot twist, Barbara, a Van Laar granddaughter, goes missing from her cabin overnight.
Other campers and counselors are left trying to explain her disappearance, and state police investigators soon arrive on the scene to ask questions. Rumors start to fly when it is revealed that a local serial killer has recently escaped from prison. The engaging story follows the search for the missing girl, who has seemingly disappeared without trace.
Her parents, Peter Van Laar III and his fragile wife Alice, live a privileged life of lawn games and boozy gatherings in their mansion. Through flashbacks to the early 1960s, we realize that the Van Laar marriage has its struggles from the start, and there is a sense that the family is trapped in this reclusive world. The cast of characters – and potential suspects – also includes a rough-at-the-edges camp director, TJ, and her elderly father who has worked for the Van Laar for many years. Louise, the camp counselor who was out partying the night Barbara goes missing, struggles to explain the girl’s disappearance. We also meet the state’s first female police investigator, Judy Luptak, who is not afraid to ask probing questions as she arrives on the scene.
This mix of well-drawn characters sets this 2024 novel apart from more run-of-the-mill thrillers.
Author Liz Moore has received significant literary accolades for the work, which remains in high demand at the Library. Her fourth novel, Long Bright River (2020), has recently been adapted into a TV crime series, and the screen rights to this 2024 novel have been purchased.
You might need to place a hold for this popular book – there’s been a waitlist since it was released last year. You might also consider signing up for The Community Library Book Club to attend the June 4th event where I’ll be hosting an informal discussion of the novel. In any case, I highly recommend this page-turner for your summer reading – but do keep your flashlights nearby while reading this well-crafted psychological thriller.
Find it in our collection in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.
