Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

176 reviews

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was beautifully written but it could have been a little bit more thrilling for my personal taste. When I picked it up I was in the mood for an eerie mystery thriller, so at first I wondered what I had gotten myself into, since this was way more slow-burn with intricate family history and drama then I expected. Surprisingly though, I still enjoyed it a lot. The social commentary was not preachy but made itself heart-wrenchingly apparent - it was sadder and emotional straining than I anticipated. But that actually ended up leaving a positive mark on me and was proof of solid and intricate writing. 
Ultimately though, some things didn't make 100% sense which annoyed me a little but, and I would have wished for better resolutions for some of the characters. Then end therefore fell a little bit flat for me.

So, if you are in the mood for cheap thrills, a fast pasted murder mystery and a lot of spooks and extreme twists, this might not be for you. 

But if you like slow-burn mysteries, intricately written, multilayered, with family drama, tragedy and a reflection upon gender and class at its core, this might be just the right book for you!

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

July 2025 - I liked this a lot the first time that I read it but I liked it a lot more upon the second time. The character personalities were complicated and Liz Moore kept me guessing the entire time. I loved the upstate NY setting.


August 2024 - I loved the complexity of this book and the exploration of the characters. It's more of a mystery than a thriller, despite the marketing. My biggest issues with this book were the timeline and the sheer amount of characters. There was a map in the beginning of the book which was helpful with the layout of the camp/park but I had a difficult time remembering who each of the characters was and what part they played in the story, especially when there were quite a few timelines that had paralleled events. This would be more of a 4 star read but I'm going to give it another 1/2 star because I loved all the upstate New York references.

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emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

"Who knew the origins of the word [panic]?...It came from the Greek god Pan: the god of the woods. He liked to trick people, to confuse and disorient them until they lost their bearings, and their minds.
To panic, said T.J., was to make an enemy of the forest. To stay calm was to be its friend."

In the 1960s-70s in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York state, siblings, missing a decade apart, bring police investigators to this beautiful and remote area with a children's camp. A killer recently escaped from prison, adds to the tension.

I absolutely adored this tale of three families bound together by land, money and power through the generations. With a couple of timeframes and several narratives from key characters (including the missing teenage girl and her mother, the only female investigator and a camp counsellor) their relationships, and the history of the area are slowly revealed. The isolated location, its landscape and wildlife, how it is camped in, felt like a character in itself and the exploration of societal expectations of women at the time added depth. Historical fiction, it's part family saga, part literary thriller, with plenty of cliffhangers at chapter endings keeping me hooked. Reminding me of Kate Morton's writing, this was a compelling, five star read for me. Superb!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

every so often I pick up a popular crime thriller just to see if I might like them. I never do. 

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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