Reviews tagging 'Violence'

THE BOX IN THE WOODS by Maureen Johnson

43 reviews

libraryghost's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Car accident

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Blood

meow_gal's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Car accident, and Alcohol

rhguerrero's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

fraanini's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

It’s so fun being back inside stevie’s head, that kinda sounds weird

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence

stardustandrockets's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I don't know if I'm bad a guessing who dunnit in mystery novels or if Mauree Johnson is that good at keeping me guessing the entire time (probably the latter, but I may need to read more mysteries to find out), but I didn't see the murderer coming. I had zero ideas.

That being said, a few parts were a little choppy as far as how Stevie came up with her info and put everything together, but I felt that way with the other three books as well. I really enjoyed the summer camp vibe even though Stevie didn't partake in much of it (she was too busy trying to solve a murder). There was a lot less of the past POV entwined with the present, but that makes sense all things considered. I do hope we get more Stevie Bell mysteries (I enjoy the characters the most, especially David), but the ending was nice for this stand-alone book. No cliffhangers like the first two.

Highly recommend reading this one (and Truly Devious) if you're a mystery fan or trying to find your way into the mystery genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Violence, and Car accident

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Medical content, and Grief

Nazis, anxiety

beca_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was a nice follow up to the previous three Truely Devious books. It was nice to be back with Stevie and her friends solving another case. The book was full of twists and kept me gripped right to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

junefish's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

kayladaila's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Stevie Bell goes undercover as a camp counselor to solve a decades old murder. This was a laugh-out-loud funny little stand-alone mystery with almost all our favorite Truly Devious characters back! Maureen Johnson continues to write fairly accurate adolescent prodigies, as readers will see Stevie torn between solving the murders and pining for David. The story of this one was definitely riveting and I hope there are more stand-alone Stevie Bell mysteries!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Lesbophobia

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Another amazing mystery with Stevie Bell! I've never thought of myself as a mystery fan by any means, but between the Truly Devious series and this new book, I'm wondering if I need to rethink that stance. This book just flies by in the best way. Everything about it is good, from the pacing to the characters to the conclusion. As long as Maureen Johnson writes books like these, I'll keep reading them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, and Alcohol

Non-spoiler version: holocaust mention Spoiler version (really don't read this if you don't want it ruined)::

the murderer is a literal nazi from WWII and hiding this is his primary motivation for the murders central to this book. It doesn't talk much about the specifics of the holocaust or anything though

thelizzielibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A great mystery! I really appreciate this case being in a single book, instead of a trilogy this time. The trilogy was interesting, but I don't love Stevie as a narrator enough to not get tired after book two. This time, the characters have their relationships set up and it made it easier to focus on a truly insane mystery! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, and Murder