
Product Description
When Barbara Van Laar Disappears by Liz Moore
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORK TIMES “BEST THRILLER” and “BEST CRIME NOVEL” OF THE YEAR
PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE”
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S “100 MUST-READ BOOKS”
“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 wealthy family that owns the camp and employs much of the surrounding community. But this isn’t the first tragedy to strike the Van Laars: fourteen years earlier, Barbara’s older brother vanished without a trace.
As the desperate search unfolds, Liz Moore weaves a gripping, emotional mystery that explores class divides, buried secrets, and the bonds that hold families together—and tear them apart. Richly atmospheric and deeply human, this is Moore’s most ambitious and far-reaching novel yet.


