The God of the Woods is an immersive, propulsive literary thriller by Liz Moore, published in paperback by Penguin Random House on October 28, 2025. Originally released as a hardcover in July 2024 and an instant New York Times bestseller, this paperback edition spans 576 pages.

The novel centers on the disappearance of Barbara Van Laar, who vanishes from her bunk at an Adirondack summer camp in August 1975. Barbara is no ordinary camper — she is the daughter of the wealthy family that owns the camp, the opulent nearby estate, and most of the surrounding land. More chilling still, this is not the first time a Van Laar child has gone missing in these woods: Barbara's older brother disappeared sixteen years earlier, never to be found.

Out of this gripping premise, Moore weaves a richly textured drama across three very different worlds: an opulent Adirondack summer estate, the rustic teen summer camp operating in its shadow, and the working-class community that serves them both. The story follows multiple perspectives as characters whose lives are forever changed by the events of this pivotal summer. The God of the Woods is a story of love, inheritance, identity, and second chances — a thrillingly layered mystery about the tensions between a family and a community, and a history of secrets that refuses to stay buried.