Another Rich Kid Goes Missing

Book Review for The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

“How many times in her life has she said yes to a boy or a man just because it was the easiest thing to do? How many times has she let a man take what he wanted, instead of taking something for herself?”
― Liz Moore, The God of the Woods

Genre: Mystery, Literary Fiction

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods is set in the dense forests of the Adirondacks, where the disappearance of 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar from a prestigious summer camp in 1975 echoes the unsolved vanishing of her older brother Bear in 1961.

What begins as a classic whodunit evolves into a rich exploration of class divides, gender norms, and wealthy family secrets. Moore captures the uneasy balance between the privileged and the proles, drawing sharp contrasts between the Van Laar family’s inherited wealth and the working-class townspeople entwined in their orbit.

“Rich people, thought Judy—she thought this then, and she thinks it now—generally become most enraged when they sense they’re about to be held accountable for their wrongs.”

The story unfolds in a layered narrative with deliberate pacing through multiple perspectives from different timelines. Often, these kinds of stories can be hard to follow, but Moore does a fantastic job with the transitions, which are designed to create suspense while investing deeply in character development and setting.

The God of the Woods is a compelling, slow‑burn thriller with timely and perceptive social commentary—perfect for your summer reading list!

Liz Moore