The god of the woods

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The gripping and revelatory latest from Moore (Long Bright River) revolves around a prominent banking family's troubled legacy in the Adirondacks. In 1975, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar goes missing near the end of her first summer at Camp Emerson. It's the second time a Van Laar child has vanished from the area; 14 years earlier, Barbara's older brother Bear disappeared from their summer house when he was eight. The nonlinear narrative lays bare the family's pain and unhappiness, showing how Peter Van Laar pressures his wife, Alice, to have another child shortly after Bear's disappearance, and how Barbara frustrates the couple by being comparatively more difficult as a young girl, leading them to send her to boarding school. Moore gradually reveals the truth behind Barbara's disappearance in scenes told from the alternating perspectives of several characters, including her bunkmate Tracy, who helps Barbara sneak out of the camp to meet her boyfriend. Meanwhile, details about Bear's disappearance emerge as state police detective Judyta Luptack investigates Barbara's case. The beautiful and dangerous wilderness setting enhances the suspense as the narrative builds to a dramatic final act that sheds a glaring light on Peter's reluctance to prioritize the family's well-being over its reputation. This astonishes. Agent: Seth Fishman, Gernert Co. (July)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Moore's latest (following Long Bright River) is a seamlessly woven crossover lit-fic mystery set in the atmospheric Adirondack Mountains. In the summer of 1975, Barbara Van Laar, the rebellious teenage daughter of a wealthy land-owning family, asks to attend the summer camp her family owns. Then she disappears from camp one night. Barbara isn't the first Van Laar child to go missing on that tract of land; her older brother Bear disappeared 14 years prior, never to be seen again. As so many secrets are hidden within the Van Laar family, and the surrounding community is reliant upon the family's land holdings, panic and suspicion take over. The novel's artfully described setting and the intricately interwoven plots and perspectives of its many players--some innocent and others monstrous--result in expert storytelling that is equally fascinating and devastating. VERDICT Moore's novel is wild yet delicate, with complex characters and 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.--Alana R. Quarles

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Many years after her older brother, Bear, went missing, Barbara Van Laar vanishes from the same sleepaway camp he did, leading to dark, bitter truths about her wealthy family. One morning in 1975 at Camp Emerson--an Adirondacks summer camp owned by her family--it's discovered that 13-year-old Barbara isn't in her bed. A problem case whose unhappily married parents disdain her goth appearance and "stormy" temperament, Barbara is secretly known by one bunkmate to have slipped out every night after bedtime. But no one has a clue where's she permanently disappeared to, firing speculation that she was taken by a local serial killer known as Slitter. As Jacob Sluiter, he was convicted of 11 murders in the 1960s and recently broke out of prison. He's the one, people say, who should have been prosecuted for Bear's abduction, not a gardener who was framed. Leave it to the young and unproven assistant investigator, Judy Luptack, to press forward in uncovering the truth, unswayed by her bullying father and male colleagues who question whether women are "cut out for this work." An unsavory group portrait of the Van Laars emerges in which the children's father cruelly abuses their submissive mother, who is so traumatized by the loss of Bear--and the possible role she played in it--that she has no love left for her daughter. Picking up on the themes of families in search of themselves she explored in Long Bright River (2020), Moore draws sympathy to characters who have been subjected to spousal, parental, psychological, and physical abuse. As rich in background detail and secondary mysteries as it is, 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. "Don't go into the woods" takes on unsettling new meaning in Moore's blend of domestic drama and crime novel. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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