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Sign up todayThe God of the Woods
A Novel
Narrator
Saskia Maarleveld
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
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Length
14 hours 34 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“Liz Moore deftly weaves multiple viewpoints and timeframes into a taut literary thriller. A great summer read after your kids are safely home from sleep away camp! ”
— Thiloma • Four Points Books
Bookseller recommendation
“The God of the Woods is a world away from Long Bright River, Liz Moore's previous book (which Pres Obama and I both loved), but just as riveting. History seems to repeat itself as another child goes missing - same family, different circumstances, but related? Unreliable narrators, hopes for redemption, unanswered questions and 'haves' pitted against 'have nots' combine to keep me turning page after page into the wee hours of the night. And the ending was not any of the possible ones I imagined. Excellent!”
— Eileen • One More Page
Bookseller recommendation
“Great story! Fantastic characters and a completely believeable, yet surprising twist about who did it!”
— Darci • Prologue. Books & Wine
Bookseller recommendation
“Compelling and powerful, The God of the Woods focuses on a complex family with a mystery that will leave you riveted until the end. Emotional and unputdownable! ”
— Baylee • Daisy Chain Book Co.
Bookseller recommendation
“With the intrigue of a deep woods 'whodunnit?' and character drama that evokes Kiley Reid or Rebecca Makkai novels, The God of the Woods had me stunned by its brilliant characterization and jaw dropping twists. Spanning decades and following a host of characters and their backstories, this book begins with the disappearance of a teen from an Adirondack summer camp in 1975, and shifts to her brother’s disappearance and the investigation that took place 14 years earlier.”
— Olivia • Author's Note
Bookseller recommendation
“Moore’s writing is vivid and deliberate. Anyone who was a camp kid will relate to Tracy, a 12-year-old who had “grown a year in two months” or Louise, her young counselor. I love how characters echo each other, the foreshadowing, and the narrators who would be peripheral characters in a traditional police procedural”
— Whitney • Bookworm of Edwards
Bookseller recommendation
“This big, huge, thick chonker is packed with 70s vibes, humid summer camp air, criminal intrigue, and terrifying family secrets. The perfect mystery to escape this summer heat - just try not to stray too far from the path. You never know who's lurking in the woods.”
— Lambie • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Moore’s writing is vivid and deliberate. I love how characters echo each other, the foreshadowing, and the narrators who might be peripheral characters in a traditional police procedural.”
— Whitney • Bookworm of Edwards
Bookseller recommendation
“As a lifetime camper and camp counselor I can say that every bit of camp life in this novel rings true—EXCEPT in this suspenseful novel there are missing people, class struggles, a girl coming of age and mysteries. Great narrative, rich characters and a fast-paced plot make it a really good read right to the rip roaring ending. ”
— Patience • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I love a psychological thriller, and this one has all that entails, plus murder and missing kids. The shocking discovery of a teen's disappearance from a 1975 Adirondack summer camp in much the same way her brother disappeared 14 years earlier drives us to explore how these events precipitate the madness of their mother and those surrounding them. Wealth meets poverty, beauty fights intelligence, men shape women, and truth claws at fiction. Gripping, chilling... all the things. I loved every minute of this one. ”
— Yvonne • Author's Note
Bookseller recommendation
“Friends. This book is . . . simply incredible. For sure one of my favorite books of the year, and perhaps one of my favorites of all time. Truthfully, I'm having a hard time writing a review that does this book justice and reflects how much I truly loved it. Just know this: it is rich, vivid, and complex. I feel so intimately connected with the Adirondacks (a place I've never been) and with characters I've never met. This story will be sitting with me for a time to come.”
— Meg • Good & Golden Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This slow burn family suspense was a worthwhile listen. It will draw you into the disappearance of not one but two children from the same family, a wealthy one in the Adirondacks, who also house a summer camp on their property. It will take you back to another time, the 1960s and 70s, and the feel of an old school family dynasty that will go to any length to protect its reputation. This book will surprise you at who is allied and what is really going on. I recommend this on audio!”
— Lisa • The Bookshelf on Church
"Riveting from page one to the last breathless word."—Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions For You
“Brilliant, riveting .. an epic mystery, a family saga and a survival guide...I loved this book.” —Miranda Cowley Heller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains a map from the book.
Liz Moore is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Long Bright River, which was a Good Morning America Book Club pick and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year, as well as the acclaimed novels Heft and The Unseen World. A winner of the 2014-2015 Rome Prize in Literature, she lives in Philadelphia.
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Reviews
Praise for The God of the Woods:“The God of the Woods, like The Secret History, transports readers so deeply into its richly peopled, ominous world that, for hours, everything else falls away. . . . Breaking free of the spell Moore casts is close to impossible.”
—Washington Post
“This expertly paced thriller ...has the kineticism of a well-crafted miniseries.”
—The New Yorker
“Hugely satisfying . . . . Moore cleverly guides us through that tangle of trails, to a thrilling and unexpected conclusion.”
—Boston Globe
“Liz Moore’s extraordinary new literary suspense novel reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History. . . . [T]he vital connection for me was a reading experience where I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air. . . . The precision of Moore’s writing never flags. . . . Unforgettable.”
—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR
"Her fictional summer camp felt as vivid to me as my own."
— The New York Times
"An unusually gratifying reading experience . . . Three days after you turn the last page, your head is still half in it. It's as if you can smell the pine and wood smoke. . . . Moore has written an atmospheric family drama, a social novel and the best kind of missing persons story, one that's fun to read and think about.”
—Marion Winnik, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Intercutting past and present, Moore keeps the suspense at a fever pitch amid nuanced portraits of the out-of-touch Van Laars, their hangers-on and the locals who both depend on and resent them. A winner.”
—People
“Clear your afternoon: This absorbing story, told by a compelling cast of characters, is unputdownable.”
—Real Simple
“Part riveting thriller and part family drama, Liz Moore’s novel plays on the uncomfortable truths of favoritism and family dynamics in this nail-biter that will keep you from wandering alone in the woods for quite some time.”
—Huffington Post
“An immersive reading experience that will draw audiences. Its explorations of class, crime, and family dynamics, in addition to Moore’s incredible storytelling, will appeal to readers of Lisa Jewell, Tana French, and Lucy Foley.”
—Library Journal, STARRED review
“Rich in background detail and secondary mysteries . . . this ever-expansive, intricate, emotionally engaging novel never seems overplotted. Every piece falls skillfully into place and every character, major and minor, leaves an imprint.”
—Kirkus, STARRED review
“Gripping and revelatory . . . The beautiful and dangerous wilderness setting enhances the suspense as the narrative builds to a dramatic final act. . . . This astonishes.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“A compulsively readable novel that will appeal to fans of mysteries and historical fiction alike.”
—Booklist, STARRED review
“Riveting from page one to the last breathless word, The God of the Woods is about the many ways we find and lose both ourselves and others. This book flew by at lightning speed, but will stick with me for a very long time.”
—Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions For You
“A brilliant, riveting fox trap of a novelan epic mystery, a family saga and a survival guide. Liz Moore shows us how easy it is for any of us to get lost in the woods, and what to do if you want to be found. I loved this book.”
—Miranda Cowley Heller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace
“A riveting tale of a missing child that widens into a vast, acute portrait of youth, friendship, family secrets, and conflicting social circles. Intelligently done, and with a gimlet eye for telling detail, it’s a brilliant trap full of secrets and lies.”
—Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize winning author of Shuggie Bain
“A rare gem, an immersive and enthralling literary thriller: a novel about love in the aftermath of tragedy, and about families of the very best—and the worst—kind.”
—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
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