4.25-4.5 / 5.0 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 —— The God of the Woods weaves together a fascinating mix of:
• Gone Girl-style regionalism/pacing (minus, thankfully, the depths of sadism),
• Baby Sitters’ Club Mystery girl-power nostalgia (leveled up for their original fans now grown),
• Thoreau references to appreciate & chuckle at, and
• multi-decade elite entourages & class commentary à la The Great Gatsby’s Buchanans.

In The God of the Woods, Liz Moore cinematically carries out a solid, multi-perspective, multi-timeline organizational style. Character development balances intentional voice-building with ownership of its clichés. The God of the Woods also nicely works to subvert expectations of the semi-thriller/mystery genre while intuitively exploring generational submission vs. empowerment, as well as issues of patriarchy vs. matriarchy, legacy, classism, mental health, instinct, and closure. I found at least 90% page-turning and worth 4.5+ stars — but at times longed for the author to take more chances or make things messier even more.

Are all of the characters likable? At times, all them I detest; other times, all of them, I appreciate in their own way. All of them earn their keep. As I read, I chuckled often to think to one GoodReads review noting so much dislike for the characters that they declared “Let her be lost; let all of them be lost, actually” (@brend). In answer to that review, I sense this aggravation was intentionally part of Moore’s goal: to generate in us Gatsby-level disgust for the whole lot, yet  challenge is to preserve their humanity, too.

All in all, I found this to be an engaging, mostly-satisfying read. It was also the first time my library surprised me a rare “skip-the-line loan” of an e-book, so cool!

This book feels like a trip in to the woods, with the twists and turns that come with the trees. I wouldn't call this dark, but a step in to the shade. A lot of dark themes are touched on, but it stays on the periphery. I think a deeper exploration could have brought this higher, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. 

The last few chapters couldn't be put down. Some parts of the ending didn't make the most sense to me, but there were interesting choices that could see coming from the clues. 

I think the characters and the care and depth with which they were written is the best part. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when you have lots of different perspectives, but I feel this author balances it well. Some characters I love and feel sympathy for, and some I am apathetic for. But those I had apathy for were still interesting to read! 

All in all, a decent “whodunnit “ that doesn’t follow the super predictable tropes of so many other thrillers, hallelujah! This story is told in a nonlinear style from the viewpoints of multiple characters. While I appreciate how this can keep a reader on their toes, I did find myself wishing there weren’t quite so many viewpoints… I think at times it made things a little muddy. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book!

Dark, sad and toxic family dynamics. Pretty solid read!