9 Of The Best Books Like The God Of The Woods By Liz Moore

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“For knowing too much, rather than too little. For a woman, neither was an acceptable way to be.”

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If you couldn’t stop thinking about The God of the Woods by Liz Moore after turning the final page, you’re not alone. With its moody atmosphere, layered characters, and slow-burn suspense, it’s the sort of literary mystery that lingers with you long after you finish reading. Blending psychological tension with emotional depth, Moore’s novel is a perfect example of why character-driven thrillers continue to captivate readers. But what should you read next? If you’re looking for books like The God of the Woods or looking for similar authors to Liz Moore, this list is for you. Below, you’ll find the best atmospheric thrillers and mystery novels that capture that same sense of unease, intrigue, and quiet intensity. From small-town secrets to haunting woodland settings, these slow-burning mystery books like The God of the Woods offer gripping narratives without sacrificing rich storytelling. 

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The God Of The Woods Summary

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counsellor 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 that a Van Laar child has vanished. 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.

In The Woods – Tana French

First up on our list of books like The God of the Woods is Tana French’s gripping In The Woods, the first entry in her bestselling Dublin Murder Squad series. As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children. He is gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers and unable to recall a single detail about the previous hours. 

Two decades later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and of his own shadowy past. 

The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager

Fifteen years ago, summer camper Emma Davis watched on as three of her cabin mates snuck out of their cabin in the dead of night. That was the last time she – or anyone else – ever saw them. Now a rising star in the NYC art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings. They catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, a socialite and owner of the very same Camp Nightingale – and when Francesca implores Emma to return to the camp, Emma senses an opportunity for some closure. 

Yet, it is immediately clear that all is not right at the Camp. Already haunted by surfacing memories, Emma is suddenly plagued by a security camera pointed at her, growing tension between her and Francesca, and cryptic clues left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. And as history starts repeating itself, Emma must grapple with threats from both man and nature to uncover all the buried secrets – including what really happened all those years ago. 

I Have Some Questions For You – Rebecca Makkai

A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past – the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thaila Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thaila’s death, the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, is hotly debated online, Bodie prefers to let sleeping dogs lie. 

But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? As she falls down the rabbit holes she was determined to avoid, Bodie starts to wonder if she knew something that might have held the key to solving this mysterious case. 

Notes On An Execution – Danya Kukafka

Ansel Packer is slated to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, all those years ago. Through a kaleidoscope of women – a mother, a sister, a homicide detective – we learn the story of Ansel’s life. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake. 

Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes on an Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it simultaneously unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer, in what still stands as one of the best books like The God of the Woods from Danya Kukafka. 

Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

For years, rumours of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Naturally, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect it was Kya Clark. But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist, she takes life’s lessons from the land. Drawn to two young men from the town, who each find her wild beauty intriguing, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world – until the unthinkable happens. 

Similar to The God of the Woods, Where the Crawdads Sing is an ode to the natural world, a profound coming-of-age story, and a haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and profoundly moving, Delia Owens’ debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. 

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Check Out The Best Books Like Where The Crawdads Sing 

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Old King – Maxim Loskutoff

In the spring of America’s bicentennial, a man named Duane Oshun runs out of gas in Lincoln, Montana, a former mining boomtown. In this outlaw community, Duane joins a logging crew, falls for a waitress, and attempts to befriend his neighbour, a loner named Ted Kaczynski. Though the two men share a fascination with the Old King, an ancient Douglas fir anchoring the valley’s endangered old-growth forest, Kaczynski’s violent grievances against modern society will shake the nation and place Duane in grave danger. 

Told in four parts, sweeping through two decades, Old King is a book like The God of the Woods that wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology, and a new sort of violence that lives just next door. 

Heartwood – Amity Gaige

In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who vanished two hundred miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping. 

At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, suddenly becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental. 

The Return – Rachel Harrison

Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is still out there, and that one day she’ll come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what has happened to her. 

An edgy and haunting debut novel about a group of friends who reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance, The Return by Rachel Harrison is one of the best books to read after The God of the Woods for anyone looking for a darker, edgier mystery-thriller. 

Pines – Blake Crouch

Wayward Pines is the quintessential small-town America – or so it seems. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing federal agents, yet soon is facing much more than he bargained for. After a violent accident lands him in the hospital, Ethan comes to with no ID and no cell phone. The medical staff appear friendly enough, but something nevertheless feels off. As days pass, Ethan’s investigation into colleagues’ disappearance turns up more questions than answers. 

Each step toward the truth takes Ethan further from the world he knows, until he must face a horrifying fact – he may never make it out of Wayward Pines alive… 

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Check Out The Best Books Set In The Woods

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