A review by beautiful_articulate
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely devoured this book. I already knew from the premise that it would be something I'd be interested in, but it really defied all of my expectations. Liz Moore's writing style is really pleasant to read, and it's obvious that a lot of love and effort was put into this book. I usually get annoyed by time skips in novels, but I thought that Moore made it so easy to follow the plot that I had no trouble with it at all.

The author clearly understands what makes a thriller great, and it's very clear that she masters creating believable and well-rounded characters. What really shone through was that everything within the story was believable. For example,
I liked the reveal that Bear's death turned out to be an accident that was covered up by the family to avoid a scandal. I thought it was a more satisfying conclusion than a murder.


This is also one of the rare books which I think tackles the theme of classicism very well. There's a clear disconnect between the rich guests of the Van Laars' and the staff working for them. A detail which I found interesting was the name of the Van Laars estate, Self Reliance,  an ironic name given that the Van Laars have always needed the help of people around them.
This is especially evident in their worst moments; after the death of their son, they rely on the secrecy and the collaboration of their staff to cover up his accidental death.
I liked the way that the Van Laars' and the McLellans' behavior ends up
irreversibly damaging the morals and the image of the people that work for them. The Hewitts had to betray their own principles by aiding them in order to keep their livelihood, Carl Stoddard was framed as a murder with his family's reputation ruined even after his death, but the rich families managed to come out of this disaster without any serious consequences.


The ending was not what I expected, per se, but it was definitely a satisfying conclusion. Because child abuse and misogyny is discussed pretty regularly, I think it's nice that in the end Barbara was given a happy ending and an opportunity to live life on her own terms. Maybe it was a bit cliché, but I still appreciated it.
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