Welcome to Litsy!

I‘ve been thinking about how to start my 2025 reading. I‘m thinking of starting with one of these stacked books (in my new book cart my daughter gave me for Christmas!). Under it are Classics that I‘m going to try and work on to my reading each month.

I really liked this one, although I got frustrated at times with the hops back and forth in time and the multiple characters that were hard to keep track of. There were two mysteries to solve, and the resolutions strained credibility a little, but I still loved it. There is one character, a female investigator in 1975, who I really loved. It would be cool to have a continuation of her story. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

The resolution strains credulity and actively pissed me off, so as soon as it became clear how the story was concluding, I bailed at 95%.

Thank you soooo much @Avanders for the perfect #Jolabokaflodswap package! The chocolates are amazing and I cannot wait to dive into this book! I‘ve been dying to read this one! Hope you have a very Happy Holiday! 🎄🥰❤️💚 #jolabokaflodswap24

With so many twisted turns, some seemed quickly patched holes because they weren't fleshed out and others were unsatisfying. It took a while to pull me in, but it kept me entertained while it constantly misdirected me. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but I would still describe it as a good 3.5 star read.

#TheGodoftheWoods #LizMoore #BookSpinBingo #SeriesLove2024

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

Target run today was successful. ❤️

I am personally offended by everyone who didn‘t put this book in S tier for the year. It was very good, no notes. The mood of the story was very “getting lost in the woods” which was the goal I believe.

One bookmark to note the day‘s progress and one bookmark to note yesterday‘s progress 💁🏽‍♀️

Liz Moore hasn‘t disappointed me yet.

A thirteen year old girl disappears from a summer camp, the camp owned by her own wealthy family. Her brother disappeared many years earlier and was never found.

I suspected several different people throughout the book, and was satisfied at the end.

This was my #doublespin for December @TheAromaofBooks 🙂📚♥️

I love a good mystery, this was perfect.

So, three. Out of 100. Yeesh #NYTNotable

I liked this quite a bit, though not sure it was as great as all the hype led me to believe. But I did find myself anxious to return to it every time I set it aside, so there‘s that.

What a page turner! Really heartbreaking, but redemptive in the end. Well described characters

This book dragged on and didn‘t live up to the hype. The rich acted as if they were superior to everyone else and their morals were terribly flawed. There were a couple of red herrings, and while the truth behind one missing child was heartbreaking, the other made sense. Not sure if this was a good snapshot of the 70s era. But honestly, it didn‘t need to be nearly 500 pages long. Book #103 in 2024

Twists and turns abound. I liked how the timeline jumped around between before, then, and now to build a complete picture of the family and its ties to the community.

This book was very good. It was almost a 5 star for me. Almost. While I really liked it, it felt like something was missing at the end. I do love the way the author included a timeline at the top of the chapters. This really helped me to keep track. I also love that the story takes place in the Adirondacks, as I‘ve spent time there. Not sure that this book deserved all of the hype, but I‘d still recommend it.

I thought this was great. Not really the thriller aspect , which was a slow burn, but the rich family vibe. Always thinking they have the right to influence everything their own way!

This is in today's UK Daily Deals and is #99ponkindle

Reading the God Of The Woods by Liz Moore and on page 166 which is 36% in but so far it is not as compelling as I was expecting. But I still have high hopes. Do like the family dynamic aspect of the story and the different timelines.
Better once I got into it.

10-21-24: My 37th finished book of 2024! I enjoy Liz Moore‘s writing style. This story takes place in a few different time lines. The present is summer 1975 at Camp Emerson where a child has gone missing. The past is 1961, at the home called Self-Reliance, on the same land as the camp, where a child has gone missing. Two missing children, two different times, same family. Can investigator Judyta Luptack put it all together? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣3️⃣7️⃣

A good listen

I don‘t read a lot of mystery, but picked this one up and looooved it! The storylines take you back to the 60‘s and mid-70‘s, two missing children cases, siblings, @15 years apart. Young, female detective and it all takes place in and around a summer camp in the Adirondacks. You get to meet several people and get various points of views. Different.

3½ ✨

This was something different for me.

I'm usually one for the fast past, action pack, gruesome thrillers. Or a fast moving mystery with a lot of clues for me to figure out.
This however was more of a slow burn mystery with a lot of family drama.

If you are not reading this because you avoid books that are deep in the hype, you are missing out! I read it in two sittings; shoulda been raking leaves and feeding myself and generally participating in life but NOPE. Needed to know what was going to happen! Propelling and consuming. Loved it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @AmyG - I really needed a book I could easily escape into while San Francisco is in the midst of a heat wave so this book was a gift in more ways than one. I love a messy family drama and really enjoyed that aspect of this book. I tend to be hard on mysteries and I was less enchanted with that aspect of the book especially the ending. Overall a really entertaining read that helped me forget I was melting while I was reading.

September #wrapup

Had another great reading month. Hard to choose a favorite as they were all good, highlights were Margo, Heaven and Earth and God of the Woods.

First #TrappedInASpookyHouse read down. I wasn‘t sure what to expect going in, but the dual timelines kept me hooked. #HauntedShelf #FrightClub

God of the Woods wins September!

I‘m feeling pretty certain that whichever book advances after October won‘t stand a chance against My Broken Language, though…

#ReadingBracket2024
#2024ReadingBracket

I believe it was overhyped. If you don‘t mind waiting until 60% for it to make sense in its 5 timelines then you‘re good. There was too much trying to connect that just didn‘t till the final couple chapters. It Just didn‘t seem interesting enough for me to worry about the characters. Almost DNF around 45% because I just couldn‘t care about this rich family being like That. The title made me think something else of the book.

This is a slow mystery rather than a thriller, as it's billed. I was very interested to learn what happened to both of these kids so it kept me reading but I did feel there were too many POVs sometimes and the story, while interesting, was also depressing.

Used. Yay!

“He‘s superstitious, though, inclined to subscribe to the idea that coincidence does not exist, that when one encounters the unexpected or uncanny it‘s important to spend a few extra minutes considering the why.”

So glad I have a book friend at work now. She lent this one to me and I‘m obsessed. Can‘t put it down!

#WhereAreYouMonday
I'm in the Adirondacks, trying to figure out why 2 kids of the same family have gone missing years apart.
@Cupcake12

It's a cool, rainy Sunday and I couldn't be more delighted. (Welcome back, 46°, you've been missed!) I'm going to read, bake some cookies, and watch football today. Yay for weekends! 😊

This is and is NOT the type of thing I normally read…which made for a winning combination. In-depth character development? Yes. Dysfunctional family? Yes. Coming-of-age story? A critique of class & gender inequality? Yes, yes, & yes. A missing child (children) and a serial killer on the loose? HELL NO. Some were disappointed that this wasn‘t more of a thriller. I was relieved. 😅 I hated putting it down & thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience.

A girl goes missing from summer camp unleashing family drama &scerets from the past -including a cold case, a known serial killer &a local legend.

At first I found the multiple POVs daunting, some seemed very similar. But I enjoyed unraveling the mysteries. It is heavier on the family drama than anything but it was a good story, well told.

“[…] the last gardener had finally retired. Carl had only a small amount of experience with gardening, but he had a library card.”

🙌🏻🙌🏻

1.tagged ! well, cheating a bit, I finished it July 31st & liked it more than anything I read in August .
2.Paper though do read ebooks , like my audio mostly while driving.
3.Mysteries & literary fiction. Mood reader , I‘m all over the place.
#WondrousWednesday
Play , people, play!😁

1. Tagged
2. Paper books for library use, audio for walks, runs and cleaning, ebooks for travel!
3. Historical Fiction or just general literature. I enjoy reading new releases of all kinds.
Thank you for the tag @Eggs and @dabbe (I owe you both a letter:)) #wondrouswednesday

#WondrousWednesday
Thanks for the tag, @Eggs! 😘

1. Loved THE GOD IN THE WOODS!
2. In this order: Paper, ebooks. I've tried audiobooks and found that I had a horrible time paying attention!
3. Detective fiction and mysteries

Play? @peaKnit @julieclair @Pogue

Next audio book

This was a fantastic read. I wouldn‘t call it a thriller - it‘s more of a mystery and it ticked all the boxes for this “dysfunctional family fiction” fan (IYKYK) 😳🫢😂

I recently told @JamieArc & @TheKidUpstairs that I‘d pick this up soon. Not even I knew that “soon” meant “before the day is done.”

Ah, the life of a mood reader. 😉

thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book & found it absolutely gripping & the best thriller I‘d read for along timehowever the second half not so muchIt felt like the vast array of characters had just been thrown in, perhaps this is to steer the reader away from guessing what really happened to Bear & Barbara It also started to slide for me when the “poor” girl was arrested because of the say so of a rich girl/boy but with no hard evidence.

Take a family that only wants sons named Peter and there‘s bound to be issues. The reputation of the family and especially the sons is more important than anything. Well, that‘s just a recipe for all kinds of not good. The secret at the heart of this book will cause an explosion in the Van Laar empire. Liz Moore is so good with the family drama. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After a long waitlist, diving in

The best thriller Iv read for a long time & loving the short different character narrative chapters 😊

While I didn‘t love this as much as many of you, it was still an engaging story that kept me hooked and was a good way to pass time on my flight.