
The God of the Woods
A Novel
Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · October 28, 2025
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEAR PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR “Extraordinary . . .
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- Who it’s for
- Fans of psychological and domestic thrillers
- Themes
- family secrets, disappearance, thriller
- Pacing
- Fast
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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEAR PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR “Extraordinary . . . Reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History . . .
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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 Yorker 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.
Who it’s for
- Fans of psychological and domestic thrillers
- Readers who enjoy multi-threaded family secrets and suspense
Where it sits
| Suspense | 30% |
|---|---|
| Literary Fiction | 21% |
| Psychological Thrillers | 19% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Literary Fiction
- Psychological Fiction
- Family Life
- Authors
- Liz Moore
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- October 28, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- family secrets · disappearance · thriller
- Reading lane
- Literary Fiction