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Explore membershipsThe God of the Woods
A Novel
Narrator
Saskia Maarleveld
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
14 hours 35 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“A lyrical mystery. A mystery with so much more than just a fast paced, unsolvable crime. You will be immediately immersed in the story. ”
— Karlie • Novel Bay Booksellers
Bookseller recommendation
“This book touches on sexuality, class, and the many phases of the girlhood-womanhood spectrum, all while highlighting that little red string that keeps us all connected. It’s also a thrilling murder mystery! I finished this in 3 days — I couldn’t put it down. ”
— Sab • Couth Buzzard
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
“Great story! Fantastic characters and a completely believeable, yet surprising twist about who did it!”
— Darci • Prologue. Books & Wine
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
“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
“Two mysteries, two timelines, a few good investigators, and a town of suspects for one or both of the mysteries. I really could not guess the resolutions until they were staring me down at the end. Such a good novel about class dynamics, women's worth, and the Adirondacks. I listened to this via Libro.fm and once I hit play I could not pause. ”
— Julie • Honest Dog Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Loved this! Great suspense and didn’t really figure it out until the end! She does a great job with character development and getting you invested in the story…Will definitely find more books by this author. ”
— Melli • The Book Rack of Fort Walton Beach
Bookseller recommendation
“Liz Moore has crafted a work that will have one obsessively listening or turning pages. The heart of the work is a family mystery a child goes missing and years later, the same family has another child disappear. Within this framework, Moore examines class structures, dysfunctional families, and what it means to survive.”
— Claire • Honest Dog Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I loved the dual story lines, the strong female characters, and the pacing of the mystery/ies, keeping me on the edge of my seat until the last page.”
— Amy • Hudson Valley Books for Humanity
Bookseller recommendation
“Family dramas, mystery and twists! The perfect book to listen to. ”
— Jana • Inscribe 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
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEARA NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEARPEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEARONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE” ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S “100 MUST-READ BOOKS”“Extraordinary . . . Reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History . . . I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR“This expertly paced thriller …has the kineticism of a well-crafted miniseries.” —The New YorkerWhen a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collideEarly 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 bestsellers The God of the Woods and Long Bright River, as well as the acclaimed novels Heft and The Unseen World. A winner of the Rome Prize in Literature, she lives in Philadelphia.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Liz Moore
Narrator:
Saskia Maarleveld
ISBN:
9780593867792
Length:
14 hours 35 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication date:
July 2, 2024
Edition:
Unabridged
PDF extra:
Available
Libro.fm rank:
#13 Overall
Genre rank:
#5 in Fiction - Literary
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
"A long novel that at first is hard to put down. By page 200, impossible." —Stephen King
"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.”
—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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