THE GOD OF THE WOODS

Put your phone on do not disturb, clear your calendar and prepare to be riveted by this unputdownable mystery! It’s 1975 and there’s been a disappearance at a sleepaway camp in the Adirondacks. The teenage daughter of the wealthy Van Laar family, who own the camp, has vanished, exposing a series of chasms between the haves and the have-nots in their small community. Even more mysteriously, the Van Laars - despised and feared by many for generations - had suffered a past disappearance of one of their own. Are these two events linked, and what secrets will be exposed in pursuit of the truth?
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Haunting and suspenseful, this book kept me guessing right up until the last pages, which I closed at 2 AM because I could not put it down. Friends, I am not a stay-up-late-to-finish-reader (I’m more of an is-it-too-early-for-pajamas-reader) and this book took me completely by surprise. The ambitious multi-timeline structure adds to the crescendo of panic over the parallel disappearances, and the shroud of secrecy worn by each character led me to suspect everyone of sinister motives. My worst fear was that the conclusion would be flat or predictable, but instead it left me stunned - and eager to read whatever Liz Moore writes next.
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The setting of this story transported me back to my years at sleepaway camp in the early 80s, which was a magical place of treasured memories. Despite the dark side of the book’s camp, I can attest that there are certain time-honored traditions and forever friendships found nowhere else but at a camp in the woods. Sunday nights were the best: we made s’mores over a crackling campfire, linked arms, and sang 100-year-old songs under the stars. I wanted to make something here that reminded me of those s’mores, and of the part of camp that still lives in everyone who went there. These s’mores bars nailed that camp vibe are totally over the top! Warning: you may go up a size just looking at them, they are approx one million calories and not on any summer diet but you must make them at once!

You can find this s’mores bar recipe here!