Reviews - The Box in the Woods

4.76k reviews for:

The Box in the Woods

Maureen Johnson

4.05 AVERAGE

readergirl1234's review

4.75

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

I loved it!! Perfect for the summer!! Also I literally read this at a camp in Pennsylvania lol.

Seems that I'm on a tear of reading either magical books or books that scare the bejesus out of me. This definitely falls in the category of the latter.

Stevie is just settling in to a modicum of normalcy as her sleuthing fame dies down only to realize she misses the chase. When an invite to embark on another cold case lands on her lap, she can't resist. However all these years later the trail of this cold case isn't as cold as expected. As she digs into the truth of a set of grusly murders in the woods, she realizes the murderer is all too close.

A** for the crimes, but I have to dock a point for the romance part which feels like an annoying distraction. Stevie and David are doing long-distance somewhat awkwardly and with him half out of the picture it's harder than ever to remember why she's with him. Stevie's host is also a bit of a swing-and-miss. He's almost cartoonish as a tech bro/entrepreneur/podcaster although I did really love the commentary on the fine line between True Crme storytelling and exploitation.

I don't know how plausible it is for Stevie to keep encountering cold cases to solve but I am here for it if amy more come out.

rubyslips08's review against another edition

5.0

"The Box in the Woods" was a thriller, mystery that should live on in readers minds for years to come. I went into reading this book not knowing it was a sequel however, it was not hard to pick up and follow along with at all and just like every Maureen Johnson book the story is thought out, written very well and leaves you in suspense. I went into this book because I love the author and the book cover was very interesting. I would not adapt this into my classroom however, I would suggest this to my high school students for summer reading options.