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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Wow, the way that Maureen Johnson set up another murder mystery for Stevie to unravel was so damn entertaining!
This takes place at a summer camp which Stevie is recruited by the owner to join so that she and her friends (Janelle, Nate, David) can attempt to solve the 1978 murders of four camp counselors in the woods. They’re known as the “Box in the Woods” murders and had remained unsolved. I was expecting another few books to fully crack the case but Johnson provided a completely standalone mystery, which was equally shocking and impressive!
I can’t wait to continue on and read the next book. These books are cozy, funny, and sometimes extremely tense and stressful mysteries, and I love the anxiety representation in them too.
I highly recommend them, and it’d be cool if they adapted it into a movie series!
This takes place at a summer camp which Stevie is recruited by the owner to join so that she and her friends (Janelle, Nate, David) can attempt to solve the 1978 murders of four camp counselors in the woods. They’re known as the “Box in the Woods” murders and had remained unsolved. I was expecting another few books to fully crack the case but Johnson provided a completely standalone mystery, which was equally shocking and impressive!
I can’t wait to continue on and read the next book. These books are cozy, funny, and sometimes extremely tense and stressful mysteries, and I love the anxiety representation in them too.
I highly recommend them, and it’d be cool if they adapted it into a movie series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Cursing, Blood, and War
kawaii_rose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Cursing
rissaandherbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Incredible!! (I especially love Nate.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore, Car accident, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
“Truly devious” series is back and better than ever. Usually spin-offs are not as good as the original, but that is definitely not the case for A Box in the Woods. Stevie, now that she has solved the Ellingham crime of the century, is now in demand to solve other murders. A camp director offers Stevie a paid counselor role to come and bring her friends to help her solve the “Box in the Woods” murders of 1978 at the camp where they occurred. This book brings a new summer camp slasher thriller type vibe to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Maureen Johnson truly delivered on the addict-ability of the books, matching if not exceeding the shocking plot twists of the first three books. When I tell you that I never in a million years would have guessed this, I am not kidding. I wanted to stay up all night reading this, but couldn’t because of school, and I went to bed upset every night that I couldn’t keep reading. This book seriously defied every expectation that I had for it, and I am so thrilled to see what new adventures Stevie is going on in the next books. Again, Stevie is such a complex and lovable character. We see straight into her thought process and experience everything with her, including a close up on her mental health struggles. These mental health struggles (anxiety and panic attacks) are presented in such an honest way, which many other books from different authors should take note of. Additionally, it should be noted that Maureen Johnson DELIVERS on the representation! Such good LGBTQIA+ rep!! Again, Maureen Johnson is giving everything and more. If you didn’t know already, I love these books.
Age rating: 14+ (true crime gets graphic at times)
Age rating: 14+ (true crime gets graphic at times)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Child death, and Death
Minor: Cursing
naomi_k's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
sunsetcity's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
emily_mh's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
2.25, and only because I thought this *slightly* better than The Hand on the Wall. Ugh, what a let down. I genuinely had high hopes for this because, like, look at the premise. Yet Johnson somehow turned this into a boring story with no atmosphere??
The biggest issue was the pacing. There was no thorough investigation of the murders as there was really only one track that Stevie investigated, making the plot THIN. Why weren't there proper red herrings??? And then ALL of a sudden, Stevie has solved the mystery. I'm not even kidding, it just happens out the blue when I thought there would be at least a chapter or more till the big reveal.And to me, she didn't really solve anything, she just found a diary, and Sabrina did the rest. In terms of the actual resolution, it was okay, though to me didn't quite fit. It also felt kind of gross in that it felt like Johnson was capitalising on the concept of undercover Nazis without really addressing the horrors of Nazis and WWII.
The second worst thing was that I don't think Johnson did her research, which made it feel like a cash grab (this was not helped by the fact that the writing was a little sloppy and repetitive, which led me to think it had been rushed through the writing and editing process). Any person interested in true crime worth their salt KNOWS the significance of stabbing as a murder method, especially how many times a person is stabbed, and also knows that spree killers exist. These two things are incredibly relevant to the crime that took place, given four people were stabbed to death (a different number of times) in one night. Yet they are NEVER DISCUSSED.
Finally, the characters. Nate was a true saving grace in this. I loved him, and I loved his character development (even if THAT felt a little rushed and behind the scenes). I also liked that Johnson set it up in the beginning that the story would only feature Stevie, Nate and Janelle, as I really like this trio and their dynamic. But then DAVID comes on the scene. His presence was simply unnecessary, and he was only included to offer some relationship drama, which wasn't needed as it took space away from the already thin plot.The drama didn't even go anywhere, as Stevie didn't apologise for being rude and David is still going to England when they didn't even have a discussion about it. Also, the fact that David turned down the money reeks to me of more privilege than if he had accepted it?? Like, that random guy was only going to offer it to him?? Janelle was turned into an ornament which infuriated me. And Stevie herself felt flat and annoying (she is at her most irritating when with David), and the whole imposter-syndrome thing could have been played up so much more to give her some depth.
So, yeah. I did not like this. I really hope Johnson doesn't release any more books in this series because I will feel obligated to read them as I am a completionist, but I have lost all faith that I might enjoy them.
The biggest issue was the pacing. There was no thorough investigation of the murders as there was really only one track that Stevie investigated, making the plot THIN. Why weren't there proper red herrings??? And then ALL of a sudden, Stevie has solved the mystery. I'm not even kidding, it just happens out the blue when I thought there would be at least a chapter or more till the big reveal.
The second worst thing was that I don't think Johnson did her research, which made it feel like a cash grab (this was not helped by the fact that the writing was a little sloppy and repetitive, which led me to think it had been rushed through the writing and editing process). Any person interested in true crime worth their salt KNOWS the significance of stabbing as a murder method, especially how many times a person is stabbed, and also knows that spree killers exist. These two things are incredibly relevant to the crime that took place, given four people were stabbed to death (a different number of times) in one night. Yet they are NEVER DISCUSSED.
Finally, the characters. Nate was a true saving grace in this. I loved him, and I loved his character development (even if THAT felt a little rushed and behind the scenes). I also liked that Johnson set it up in the beginning that the story would only feature Stevie, Nate and Janelle, as I really like this trio and their dynamic. But then DAVID comes on the scene. His presence was simply unnecessary, and he was only included to offer some relationship drama, which wasn't needed as it took space away from the already thin plot.
So, yeah. I did not like this. I really hope Johnson doesn't release any more books in this series because I will feel obligated to read them as I am a completionist, but I have lost all faith that I might enjoy them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Cursing, Gun violence, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit, Blood, Cancer, Mental illness, Gun violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Suicide, Homophobia, War, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, Ableism, and Sexual content
Hunting, internalised misogyny, loss of a loved one, motorbike accident, incarceration, Naziscasreads's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.25
I really liked this book, maybe more than the first three (which I really liked). I also love the characters. However, the clues weren't laid out in advance like they were in the earlier books; instead, there was a bit of an infodump at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Child death, and Cursing
dilani's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It gave what it was supposed to be giving…but at the same time it didn’t. I love Stevie and her friends, especially Nate. I was ecstatic to see more of him. Although the mystery Stevie was solving kept me reading, it felt like something was missing from the overall book. Maybe I didn’t feel as excited as I did when I first read Truly Devious? Still a solid book and I would love to see where Stevie goes from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, and War
thebakerbookworm's review
adventurous
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
4.0
While the mystery in this book wasn't as good as the one in the original trilogy, I still really enjoyed this return of Stevie and friends. The same quirky friendships, funny and cute banter, and quest for the truth made it an enjoyable read.
The focus is definitely more plot heavy in this one though—it makes for a quick read, but there wasn't really a ton of development for our characters. I wanted David to be present for more of the story. I love the friendships that Stevie has with Nate and Janelle and those got more focus than her relationship with David, I thought. The new characters were interesting, though I don't think any would stick around for a new story (if there are ever more books about Stevie, which I would definitely still read).
I didn't guess the mystery and I liked how it all came together at the end. The story feels very fast though; I don't know if that was a good thing or not. By the end, I realized that not even a week had gone by. But I supposed such is the way with many mystery books.
This book didn't spoil anything much from the original trilogy, so I don't think you have to read the trilogy before reading this one. But I would recommend reading the trilogy first, as you'll understand the characters a lot better—they get more development and complexity in those books.
The focus is definitely more plot heavy in this one though—it makes for a quick read, but there wasn't really a ton of development for our characters. I wanted David to be present for more of the story. I love the friendships that Stevie has with Nate and Janelle and those got more focus than her relationship with David, I thought. The new characters were interesting, though I don't think any would stick around for a new story (if there are ever more books about Stevie, which I would definitely still read).
I didn't guess the mystery and I liked how it all came together at the end. The story feels very fast though; I don't know if that was a good thing or not. By the end, I realized that not even a week had gone by. But I supposed such is the way with many mystery books.
This book didn't spoil anything much from the original trilogy, so I don't think you have to read the trilogy before reading this one. But I would recommend reading the trilogy first, as you'll understand the characters a lot better—they get more development and complexity in those books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Child death, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders