If I have to describe this book in one word, then it would be riveting. It’s absolutely wild (no pun intended!!) to read about a missing case hiding so many psychological subtexts behind it.This novel begins with a simple premise where children are assembling for a famous summer camp called Camp Emerson near the Adirondack Mountains in the summer of 1975.

This campsite has been owned and maintained by the Van Laar family for generations, as it is part of their wider estate. Besides the camping ground with its various facilities and buildings, the Van Laars own a Swiss-style chalet nearby.

Peak summer months are the busiest time for Camp Emerson as well as for the Van Laar’s palatial home. It’s the time for children to get busy on the campsite while the owners get busy with their socializing.

But there is a story within this story which is narrated by Mrs. Barbara Van Laar as flashbacks to her earlier life. It pulls back the timeline by almost two decades and gives the first hint about that-boy-who-went-missing. He was a Van Laar after all. His unexplained sudden disappearance left a lingering shadow on his family as well as on the campsite.

This disappearance is talked about again when another disappearance occurs on the campsite. It’s again gets linked to the Van Laars. However, there is an altogether different investigation team on this case and their investigation ends up unravelling more than the landlord family has bargained for.

What begins as a story of child’s disappearance soon turns into a psychological thriller before taking a sharp penultimate turn revealing its darkest heart. As expected, there is enough drama and intrigue involved in this unravelling of a multilayer narrative.

It’s absolutely fascinating how Liz Moore has shown pragmatism in her writing while balancing a sensitive storyline with its more practical aspects. Her astute observations on class divisions, rising unemployment rates and job security losses, uncertain future economic conditions, women’s rights and their place in the overall societal structure, children’s status, familial relations and their inherent tensions are absolutely on point. Although this story takes place between late 50s and 70s, these observations still feel relevant in today’s times.

These qualities elevates this novel and makes it a good contemporary work of fiction. So, it’s not a surprise that it has become a sensational best seller. It has hallmarks of becoming an instant TBR additions for the serious book lovers out there.

Go for it, you won’t be disappointed.

Happy reading!