The God of the Woods

Set in the summer of 1975 at an exclusive family summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains, The God of the Woods opens with thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar vanishing from her cabin in the middle of the night. This disappearance echoes a tragedy from fourteen years earlier when her older brother Bear also went missing from the same camp, a case that was never solved. As investigators and camp counselors search for Barbara, the novel unravels the dark history of the Van Laar family, the wealthy owners of the camp and surrounding land. Alternating between 1975 and 1961, the story reveals layers of class tension, family dysfunction, and long-buried secrets. Moore crafts a gripping literary thriller that examines wealth and privilege, the exploitation of workers, and how families protect their reputations at devastating costs.

Liz Moore is an American novelist and musician from Philadelphia. She is the author of several acclaimed novels including Long Bright River (2020), a New York Times bestseller. Her work often explores family dynamics, class divisions, and institutional failures. She teaches creative writing at Temple University.