ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2024 A NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLER OF 2024
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF 2024 PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF
NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE” 2024 ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S “100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024” "A long
novel that at first is hard to put down. By page 200 impossible." —Stephen King
“Extraordinary . . . Reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut The Secret History . . . I was so
thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world that for hours I barely came up for air.”
—Maureen Corrigan Fresh Air NPR “This expertly paced thriller …has the kineticism of a
well-crafted miniseries.” —The New Yorker When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack
summer camp two worlds collide Early morning August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an
empty bunk. Its occupant Barbara Van Laar has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any
thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most
of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared.
Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago never to be found. As a
panicked search begins a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van
Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow Moore’s multi-threaded story
invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz
Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
