Spending time chasing ghosts: THE GOD OF THE WOODS.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This book is everywhere, and I'm not sure there's a ton I can add beyond what everyone else is saying, but I will certainly reiterate that it is really darn good. At first, it seemed like it would be a worn out story: wealthy family, lost child, summer camp setting. Don't be fooled. Moore's prose sucks you in from the start, dropping you directly at the camp with the characters.

The story is told across multiple POVs and many time periods, including the 1950s and 1970s. You have to get your bearings straight going in; it seems like all the switches will be confusing, but it's not hard to keep track of the changing narrators and eras. We're at Camp Emerson, owned by the wealthy Van Laar family. It's the mid 1970s and their daughter, Barbara, who has been attending camp, goes missing. Then we flash back to fourteen years earlier, when the Van Laar's first child, their son Bear, went missing--never to be found.

What follows is a fascinating and intriguing story that spans decades, looking into wealthy families and the control they can have over people and situations, as well their own children. The camp setting is atmospheric, steeped in nature exploration, with a focus on small town life. We meet several campers and counselors at the camp, allowing the story to delve into class issues.

Moore has this amazing ability to allow her readers to feel incredibly deep emotions for her characters, ranging from empathy, to pity, to revulsion. She weaves in twisted family ties and dynamics as well as subtly illustrates how women were treated in the 1950s and 1970s. There's an excellent character, a newly minted police officer named Judy, who does a wonderful job at showing so many of these elements as she searches for clues about Barbara's disappearance.

If you're looking for an intricate, character-driven mystery, this is an excellent choice. 4.5 stars.

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