The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore

 

The Adirondack Mountains are ancient.  The first English settlers were those who came to farm and log the trees.  When that time ended, the owners of a large tract of forest sold it to the Van Laar family.  They have summered here for generations and created a summer camp so that future generations could learn about the land and develop survival skills and appreciation for nature.

The current generation had a tragedy fifteen years ago.  Their son, nicknamed Bear, disappeared when he was eight on the property.  He was never found and no one was ever charged with his murder although a local man was suspected but died before anything could be determined.  That tragedy decimated Bear's mother and she has lived in a fog of drugs and alcohol ever since.  Even the birth of a daughter, Barbara, two years later couldn't restore her.

Barbara, now thirteen, has been a thorn in the Van Laar's sides.  She is a defiant teenager, sent away to boarding schools early and only home in the summers when she spends her time with the woman who runs the camp and lives on the land year-round.  She has known TJ her whole life, as TJ as fourteen when Barbara was born and was her babysitter in the summers and later in Albany during the winters.  Barbara has decided she wants to attend the summer camp this year.  She is assigned to Balsam cabin where Louise is the counselor and makes a new best friend in Tracy.

Now Barbara has gone missing.  It happens during the Van Laar's annual party for their friends and business acquaintances so there are lots of suspects.  A killer has escaped from prison whose family was the original owner of the land and the police suspect that he is making his way back to the area.  There are other suspects.  Louise should have known if Barbara left but was involved with the other counselors in a late night party.  Her fiancé, the son of the Van Laar's best friends, is on the scene and has a temper fueled by alcohol and drugs.  What has happened to Barbara?

Liz Moore is an author who lives in Philadelphia and teaches creative writing at Temple University.  This mystery follows her successful novel Long Bright River.  The novel is also an indictment of rich enclaves that exist side by side with blue collar towns but have little interaction with them except for hiring the inhabitants as employees.  It also explores the lives of the rich and successful in money who have little time for their children, leaving them to be raised by others.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.