Reviews

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

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izzie_nix05's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

cdrescher's review against another edition

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5.0

Guys Maureen Johnson can do no wrong…

neelamreadsalot's review against another edition

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5.0

TW: anxiety and panic attacks.

I want Maureen Johnson to keep this series going forever. I love it so much. It’s right up my true crime alley.

The story itself is a stand alone and has very little to do with the original Truly Devious plot.

It took me a while to warm up to the series because Truly Devious was written from a more quirky perspective than I was used to for murder novels. But I quickly grew to love the characters and as someone who experiences them, the anxiety/panic attacks felt so well described. I honestly could feel Stevie’s tension.

And the crime itself is well written. I can definitely sense the improvement in Maureen Johnson’s writing in this one. I would highly recommend this novel for anyone who wants to read her books but doesn’t want to get into the series. There are only minor spoilers for the TD plot and they have more to do with Stevie’s personal life rather than the crimes.

I also just want to add that this is YA. Y. A. For the true crime fanatics comparing YA murder mysteries to real life or adult murder/mystery, calm yourselves.

issianne's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a step away from the other Truly Devious books to a more concise, who-dunnit plotline. It has the vibes of a classic slasher movie--four teens killed in the woods in 1978. None of the other books have creeped me out, but this one had me worried while I was walking my dog at night. This gets a 3-star because I swear I don't know any of these characters and we're on book four. I'm never sure how Stevie's going to react to things (and she was very boy crazy in this one). There was a lot of Nate content in this one, which I enjoyed, but he seemed happier in this one than he had in any of the others before. And the ending... Uh... I love a good left-field killer moment, but Johnson decided to include things that weren't even in the book until that point. Also, Stevie solved the mystery completely off-screen and it drove me crazy. With all that said, it might've been my favorite out of all the installments? Unsure!