Mamas

 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore is a mystery that will keep you guessing not only "who done it," but also, what the hell! First, let me tell you why the title of this post is "mamas."  There are two pictures of mothers in this story, and both are pitiful women.  Their character development was just enough to have them as barely functional mothers because they were poor victims of circumstances.  Hence, they really aren't involved in the nitty-gritty of the mysteries--at least not consciously.  You'll understand when you read The God of the Woods.

At first, the characters were too many to keep straight.  As the story develops, the characters in the story become the Peter van Laars, Louise, Barbara, T.J.  The Van Laars own property, upon which a summer camp resides.  T.J. runs it.  Louise is a camp counselor.  Barbara Ven Laar goes missing.  This is more than disconcerting because her brother went missing about ten years previously and never found.

That mystery and Barbara's disappearance are the mystery.  How the author, Liz Moore develops it, is riveting.  Yes, the book is a page turner.