Review of THE GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore

 4 Stars

I picked up this book when I saw it on Barack Obama’s 2024 Summer Reading List.

In the summer of 1975, thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar goes missing from Camp Emerson, an Adirondack summer camp owned by her wealthy family. Her disappearance brings back memories of 1961 when eight-year-old Bear Van Laar went missing. His body was never found though suspicion fell on a local man who died in police custody.

Judyta Luptack, one of the first female investigators in the country, is part of the team investigating Barbara’s case. Judyta is determined to discover what happened to the girl and suspects that there could be connections between the two disappearances. Were both siblings victims of Jacob Sluiter, convicted of several murders in the area in the 60s, who recently escaped from prison? Or does the truth lie closer to home?

There is a large cast of characters. We are given the perspective of people such as Tracey, Barbara’s bunkmate; Louise, Barbara’s counsellor; Alice, Barbara’s mother; and T.J., the camp director. All characters are complex with complete backstories so they feel like real people, and the reader has no difficulty differentiating amongst them. It is interesting how the lives of several of the characters are interconnected.

This is very much a literary mystery. Besides presenting mysteries to solve, the novel examines class, emphasizing the differences between the rich and the poor. Connections and money come to the fore to rescue the haves, whereas the have-nots, who have no such networks and influence, become easy scapegoats when the rest of the time they are regarded as menial labour and largely unseen. What is also stressed is the concern for reputation amongst the wealthy. The Van Laars are obsessed with their public reputation, prioritizing it over family well-being.

Many of the female characters elicit sympathy. Judyta is expected to live at home until married even though the commute is a real hardship. Alice is expected to be submissive to her husband, just as her mother-in-law submits to her husband. Barbara challenges expectations and so is sent off to a boarding school where she’s basically ignored by her parents. T.J. is the target of gossip and speculation because she also does not behave as a woman is expected to behave. Louise is subjected to physical and psychological abuse.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Multiple timelines are revealed in non-chronological order, but I never found myself confused. The book is both entertaining and thought-provoking.