I loved this summer-camp setting, the slow build of mystery in two timelines, the privilege and working class disparities, the eventual revelations concerning the disappearances of both Van Lear children, and the beautifully wrought tragedy and redemption.
In August 1975, a teenage girl disappears from her Adirondack summer camp.
But the girl isn't just any camper. She's Barbara Van Lear, the daughter of the owners of the camp where many local residents work.
Oddly, her brother Bear, beloved by all who knew him, disappeared fourteen years earlier. He was never found.
A frantic search takes place, and as the locals look for Barbara, various Van Lear secrets come to light. The split between the largely blue-collar area and the privileged Van Lear family is shown to be stark and significant.
I love love love a summer-camp story, and I loved The God of the Woods.
I was intrigued by the mysteries and their layers, which are continually revealed, and while I usually feel more invested in one timeline over another, with The God of the Woods, I was equally interested in both timelines.
The Van Lears' story draws in many of those who orbit around them; it's full of tragedy upon tragedy, emotional upset, gaslighting, and cover-ups--yet things are often not as they seem. Some questionable decisions seemed aimed at protecting the vulnerable, although their reality may have be achieved the opposite; some characters are presented as selfless but are shown to in truth be horribly selfish; some of those who seem strange and odd are hiding benign or heartfelt secrets, and have been deeply shaped by them.
Many mysterious elements are cleared up at the end of the book in satisfying swirls of truth; all the pieces make sense, but after the slow build of the majority of the book, this pacing felt a little rushed to me.
I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book!
Liz Moore is also the author of Long Bright River as well as Heft and The Unseen World.
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