This book is a fun, thrilling mystery that I will suggest to students who are growing out of the Sammy Keyes series but not yet ready for Agatha Christie. I love Stevie's character and think the depiction of her anxiety is well done.

There were a few small critiques I had. I wish some of the adults were more well-developed. For example, Carson was funny but felt a bit one-note to me. I felt he could have been expanded on. I wanted there to be more to the camp director, Nicole. I liked her a lot. I also wish that the timeline was more established. Does this whole story take place in a week? That seems fast. These are small things that only slightly took me out of the story.

As for the mystery itself, it was an absolute blast. I tore through it in a weekend and felt myself wanting more. I had my suspicions of the villain early on but couldn't figure out what would tie them to it. The book kept me guessing to the end. It made me long for days at a summer camp craft cabin. Stevie and her friends are some of my favorite characters Maureen Johnson has created. They're smart and passionate. Nate and Stevie are delightfully curmudgeonly and Janelle has a level of pluck and verve that I aspire to. I also really appreciate that it doesn't give away anything that happened in the Truly Devious mysteries. Some of my students are far more likely to pick up a standalone novel and this could be a good path into the series for them.

Stevie Bell is back to solve another mystery!
I loved the Truly Devious series, so I was so happy to see this book. You don't HAVE to read Truly Devious before Box in the Woods, but I would recommend it.
Stevie is asked to come work as a counselor at a dinner camp where 4 teenagers were murdered in the late 70's.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat as I tried to piece together the mystery.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

I was a little worried about this book. The ending of the previous one has the mystery solved, so what could be next? While the transition wasn't the smoothest and I did miss some of the earlier rhythm and intrigue, I found this to be a solid addition to the series. Lots of fun.

I enjoyed this book, full stop. A fun " true crime" mystery to be solved. I was entertained in the hours I spent reading this book. That said, I was a bit disappointed in a few aspects of it. In the original trilogy, Ellingham felt like it's own character. In this book, the summer camp feels like a back drop. The friends weren't used as effectively, either. I also prefer mysteries where the reveal at the end could have been predicted and Maureen Johnson really enjoys an out of left field resolution. I will absolutely continue reading her books, but this one was just a bit of a let down after I flew through the original trilogy a few months ago. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ellingham school was just the beginning of Stevie's life solving crime. She has now been offered a job at a camp where 4 counselors were brutally murdered in the 70's and the crime was never solved. She agrees to help, but only if her best friends from school are hired also. Was it a drug deal gone wrong? Was it because of a boyfriend scorned? Was it a small town secret found out? Stevie searches for clues while trying to follow camp rules.

I enjoyed catching up with Stevie and her friends after her Truly Devious adventures. I love Maureen Johnson’s breezy writing style. Some of the plot twists in this one stretched credulity pretty thin, but still— plenty of fun for anyone having withdrawal symptoms after binging on the first three.

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for the electronic ARC.

Stevie Bell is back! After solving the mystery at Ellingham Academy, Stevie needs a good mystery to solve! In The Box in the woods, she is invited to a summer camp to solve some murders from 1978 . . . and she can invite friends! So, those of us who know Stevie and Janelle and Nate and David are excited to see "the band" back together. But, dear reader, if you haven't yet met Stevie, never fear! You can pick up The Box in the Woods, meet the gang, and then go back to read about their previous escapades. Johnson does a great job of making this stand-alone novel accessible to fans of Truly Devious and to new readers. I liken it to picking up an Agatha Christie novel or a Sherlock Holmes story. Yes, there are some throughlines that you pick up on if you read in sequence, but you can really enjoy them in any order. (Well, read the Truly Devious trilogy in order!) This actually makes me excited that we could see more of Stevie in other stand-alones!
Johnson's wit and attention to detail shine as Stevie and friends work to discover whodunit. When I say Stevie is my modern Nancy Drew, I say that as a high compliment! Grab a copy and enjoy!

2.5/3 stars After three really great books about the Truly Devious stories, this one was a letdown. The ending was so rushed that it was hardly even connect clues and what happened to the murder solution. It was also waaaay out there. Full review on good reads.

I loved this addition to the Truly Devious series with a setting other than Ellingham Academy! The small town feel was charming, and I enjoyed seeing the characters acting outside of the school setting. I was rooting for Stevie, as usual, and did not know how it would end. The murders were more chilling than previously. Basically, Maureen Johnson is just brilliant, and I enjoy everything she writes!

Maureen Johnson is a master at mystery. In the original Truly Devious series she had me in the dark until the very end, and The Box in the Woods did just the same. I spent the entire book trying to put the pieces together, trying to tie up the story before Johnson did. Alas, Johnson does it again pulling out a surprise ending that makes all the pieces fit while also leaving the reader reeling and craving more Stevie Bell shenanigans.

After teenage super sleuth Stevie Bell successfully solves a cold case murder at her exclusive prep school, she is invited to do the same at a summer camp where four counselors were brutally murdered in 1978. The owner even says she can bring her friends Nate and Janelle along, so Stevie jumps at the opportunity to get to the bottom of what happened at Camp Sunny Pines ( née Camp Wonder Falls, the murders being the reason for the change.
This was my first introduction to Stevie and her gang. I chose this book because 13 Little Blue Envelopes is one of my favorite YA books. I was unaware of the “Truly Devious” series until after I finished this book, so it reads well entirely on its own. Johnson creates characters that are both likeable and believable. It’s perfectly clear why there have been four books about Stevie: she’s smart, independent, and fiercely determined. The solution to the mystery is far-fetched, and comes out of nowhere. I’m not sure I believe even Stevie could figure it out. But, given the amount of pre-pub excitement on Goodreads, it’s clearly the characters rather than the circumstances, that endear readers to this series.

After teenage super sleuth Stevie Bell successfully solves a cold case murder at her exclusive prep school, she is invited to do the same at a summer camp where four counselors were brutally murdered in 1978. The owner even says she can bring her friends Nate and Janelle along, so Stevie jumps at the opportunity to get to the bottom of what happened at Camp Sunny Pines ( née Camp Wonder Falls, the murders being the reason for the change.
This was my first introduction to Stevie and her gang. I chose this book because 13 Little Blue Envelopes is one of my favorite YA books. I was unaware of the “Truly Devious” series until after I finished this book, so it reads well entirely on its own. Johnson creates characters that are both likeable and believable. It’s perfectly clear why there have been four books about Stevie: she’s smart, independent, and fiercely determined. The solution to the mystery is far-fetched, and comes out of nowhere. I’m not sure I believe even Stevie could figure it out. But, given the amount of pre-pub excitement on Goodreads, it’s clearly the characters rather than the circumstances, that endear readers to this series.

You know how you love something so much that you know *just KNOW* that nothing will ever be able to compare to it? That's how I feel about the Truly Devious trilogy. It is absolutely inhabited by the ghost of Agatha Christie, and I will never, never ever get tired of it. This truth made me extremely nervous about this new entry in the Stevie Bell casefiles.

Once I got past the fact that the situation in this book is very different than the situation at Ellingham and adjusted my perspective, I found I had nothing to worry about.

The mystery is a good one - a cold case featuring the murders of four teens in the 70s at a summer camp. Stevie and Co. (of course) end up at this camp, invited there by the new owner who wants to gain advertisement for the camp by cracking the decades-old case. And who is better qualified to track down the killer than the girl who solved the Truly Devious mystery?

Stevie, Nate, and Janelle are the main stars of this story, with some support from David (thank goodness he's not in the whole book. I really, really dislike him. Also, his characterization seems a bit off in this one, but that may just be me) and another Ellingham student who has a key cameo. Stevie is still quirky and weird (in the BEST way!), but seems to be acclimating a bit to being around other people. And Nate and Janelle are still Nate and Janelle. I really like the relationship between these three - they accept each other without question exactly the way they are; their love and support of each other is pure and 100% #friendshipgoals.

Like the TD books, there is a dual timeline story - the then and the now, and you really become invested in both narratives. The clues to solve the puzzle are there, and I knew what they were and that they were important, but I could not figure out how to fit them together, and I can truly say I NEVER would have come up with the solution.

So, fears allayed - the follow-up to the TD series holds up. And I will definitely read any more installments in the Stevie Bell chronicles (and I think this book sets up the possibility for more).

I love Maureen Johnson books! They are satiating in the same way that a bacon sandwich just fills the right spots on your palette and in your stomach. Her delightfully real, anxiety-ridden supersleuth, Stevie Bell is at it again, doing what she does best - solving murders from yesteryear. This time she is far away from the remote hilltop of Ellington Academy and has found herself sequestered to a lakeside Summer Camp to help an entrepreneur create a podcast and ultimately unravel the truth behind the gruesome murder of four teenagers in the late 1970s, This is a fun romp through the trials and tribulations of working at a summer camp, as well as as a more multifaceted look at the characters so beloved in The Hand on the Wall trilogy outside of the bubble they lived in at school. It is a page-turner that does not disappoint.

I was thrilled to learn that Stevie’s story wasn’t over after all and that we would be getting more of her, David, Janelle, and Nate.
And unlike the cliffhangers that thrummed through the trilogy, this is a fun contained mystery that is full solved within the one book.
I definitely did not see the final reveals coming, and mostly really enjoyed the whys of the murders. The how seems a little unlikely which removed some satisfaction from moment.
The real question now is will there be another book? Because I truly enjoyed revisiting these characters and Stevie does have another year yet at Ellingham. I’m curious to see what happens with her and David and how there seems the possibility of a next book taking place abroad!

The Box in the Woods is creepier than all the other Truly Devious books combined. From the moment I started to read it, it gave me major heebie jeebie vibes. Being the fourth book of a planned trilogy made me wish it as fleshed out with promises of more, the way the first two books did. Here's hoping that Stevie has just become the modern day Sherlock Holmes and there are many more murders left to be solved.

I was a huge fan of Truly Devious which tells the story of a girl named Stevie who goes to the prestigious Ellingham Academy and ends up solving a decades old mystery. I was really excited to read this installment in the series and I actually told someone today that I was enjoying even more than Truly Devious.

Stevie has left Ellingham Academy for the summer to serve as a camp counselor- or at least that's what she gets her mom to believe. In reality, while she does go to camp in the role as counselor, the owner of the camp has brought her on in order to help solve a quadruple homicide that has gone unsolved for decades. In true horror movie style, as Stevie's friend Nate loves to remind her throughout the story, four camp counselors sneak out one night for some fun in the woods and are discovered the next day brutally murdered. With historical incompetence and people then in power in the small town possibly covering up the truth, perhaps Stevie can unravel what really happens.

Anyone who enjoys a multi-layered mystery will really fly through this book. I certainly have my opinions on the ending of this, so I am eager to discuss it whenever my students finish this one!

Since reading the Truly Devious trilogy I knew I had to get my hands on an ARC for this book as soon as I saw it pop up! I don't spend a lot of time reading young adult mysteries, but Stevie Bell and her crew have me hooked! I enjoyed reading about what the gang was like outside of Ellingham and how they would solve a completely different mystery. I was pleased to see that the entire cold cased was closed within the entire book, because I was not able to see how this could continue. One of the factors I loved the most was the duel time-line in the beginning of this book. Getting to know the characters from the past helped me feel more connected to figuring out the mystery. I hope Johnson will continue writing at least another book or two in this series, as it seems Stevie's crime solving career is only just beginning!

A worthy addition to the Truly Devious series! We have our fave teen detective, Stevie Bell, and her gang back. As the mystery is solved at the end of the book, we don't quite have the same amount of time we did with the first three books of the series. It still comes to a satisfying conclusion and will be enjoyed by mystery lovers.

I wanted to love this one as much as Truly Devious series, but I didn't. I still enjoyed Stevie and her mysteries. Definitely some twists and a good story. I just felt that it had too many agendas pushed at the reader vs just being able to enjoy the story. I would recommend it to my students, but for me personally it was a disappointment.

Disclaimer : I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review.


Ahhhh I’m so happy I don’t have to wait for this one! I’m just sad it’s over - I feel like all of my favorites ended last year and this year. This series was incredible and I love Stevie! There’s a true crime podcast case that Stevie is asked to work on and because it’s the summer and she has nothing else to do she accepts. The premise was enough to grab my attention and the story did not disappoint !! This is a must-read!!