Stevie and the gang are at it again!

Stephanie “Stevie” Bell loves murder. Not committing it, mind you, but she is obsessed with the solving of it. In fact, that obsession and her internet sleuthing skills are what got her accepted to Ellingham Academy, home of the Truly Devious case. Now she’s home for an incredibly boring summer break, and not sure what to do now that she has solved one of the biggest cold cases in history. When the CEO of BoxBox sends her an e-mail inviting her to be a camp counselor at Summer Pines— formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls, the site of the infamously unsolved Box in the Woods murders— Stevie jumps at the chance. . . even though she’s not really an outdoors kind of girl. Her best friends, Janelle and Nate, are even along for the ride. What could happen at a summer camp, right?

The more Stevie looks into the past, the more danger she encounters in the present. Barlow Corners may be a small town, but it’s hiding some big secrets. Secrets someone is still willing to kill to keep.
Another fabulous murder mystery from Maureen Johnson, The Box in the Woods did not disappoint. Adult supervision is still not overly present in this book— the camp overseer, Nicole, tries but doesn’t really succeed, and Carson of BoxBox is more irresponsible than most of the teenagers. Stevie and her friends all stay true to character, and it’s interesting to see how they interact outside of school in an environment that really tests their comfort zones.

Stevie’s relationship with David has never really been all that healthy, and she is still struggling with accepting her feelings and learning how to deal with and talk about them. There is definitely some character growth in this book.

Johnson really digs into the atmosphere and history of her cold case time periods. She is able to bring the feeling of the late 1970’s alive, and the twist is one many won’t see coming. If you enjoy mysteries, this is a good one.

I think this might be my favorite book in the series so far. It hit all my buttons. There's something so gruesomely delightful about a sleepaway camp murder mystery. Stevie and the gang are just such treasures (especially Nate in this book, in my opinion) The dual timeline at the beginning is once again such a great way to engage the reader and give backstory. Maureen Johnson's writing continues to be so beautifully descriptive and straight up hilarious. The mystery was really solid, even though I did pretty much guess whodunnit early on, but the unfolding of the facts was perfect. Please, Maureen Johnson, keep these coming!

*Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Stevie Bell is back on the case! The Box in the Woods is a thrilling murder mystery romp that will pull readers back in with familiar characters while offering up an entirely fresh setting and case to solve. Our favorite quirky characters are back alongside Stevie, offering up humor and a thoughtful exploration of teen relationships - platonic and otherwise - amidst the murder-y goodness. “Murder camp” proves to be just as fun as “murder school;” existing fans will eat this up and be clamoring for more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Maureen Johnson for an advance copy of this book.

It was great to be back with Stevie again. This book is number 4 in the Truly Devious series. As a fan of books 1-3, I was waiting on pins and needles when I heard there was going to be another book. The great thing about this book is it doesn't take place in the usual setting of Ellingham Academy where Stevie goes to school, so it will work as a stand-alone if you are new to the series. But seriously... read the other books. I devoured all 3 in a week when I found them last year.

We find Stevie on summer break from Ellingham Academy where she is invited to help solve a quadruple murder of teenagers from 1978. The murders took place right outside of a summer camp... and Stevie is now heading to that very camp as a counselor/investigator. A bit of Friday the 13th vibes? Yeah, a little bit. The new owner of the camp wants Stevie to solve the mystery so he can promote it on what he hopes will be a lucrative podcast. Stevie invites some friends to come to camp with her... then the hunt is on to solve a decades old murder.

Stevie Bell is at it again in this story, another Truly Devious tale. Here, instead of being in Vermont at the Ellingham Academy, we find Stevie and friends at Sunny Pines summer camp, which was formerly known as "Camp Wonder Falls," the site of the box in the woods quadruple murder in 1978. The murders remain unsolved and the new owner of the camp would like Stevie to help him solve it for his new podcast. AMAZING story for fans of the Truly Devious series. I can only hope for more installments.

The Box in the Woods

If you grew up reading Nancy Drew and loved a strong female lead solving crime with her friends, then you will LOVE Stevie!

This is a stand alone mystery in the Truly Devious series but I do recommend that you read the first three before this one. It references the other crimes a lot, and I think it would be annoying not knowing the characters and events they are talking about.

Stevie is working at a summer camp where murders took place in the 1970s. Murders that sound straight out of a slasher film! It’s up to her and her friends to solve what happened that night in the woods.

Stevie is such a lovable strong lead. She confident in her subject matter but also real in her insecurities and fears (SNAKES!), especially when it comes to her relationship. I have recommended the Truly Devious series to my middles, and I will add this one in there as well!

4.5 ⭐️

Pub Date: June 15th, 2021

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I had no clue this book was in a series until I finished reading it and noticed the page that mentioned other books by Maureen Johnson. This is the fourth book in the series Truly Devious, however if you would like to read the books out of order that is fine because I was not confused at all with what happened in this book. This book does mention the crime she solved at her school Ellingham Academy .

I love a good mystery, and this book had me up all night waiting till the end. What an amazing experience this book was. This book reminded me of a Nancy drew book, if Nancy Drew's new friends were a guy and a girl, and if Ned was a jerk. Nate's character really stood out to be he was very funny. I didn't like her boyfriend David, he was really annoying, he never seemed to believe her clues, he'd always just act like everything was just an accident. He didn't seem to care how she felt.

Details: The book is about Stevie who gets a mail from the owner of Camp Sunny Pine. He asked her to spend the summer at the camp to help him solve a crime that happened years ago at the camp. She decides to take on the case,she brings her friends along. Who was the killer at the camp? Are they still around? Find out in The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson.

Content:
The book is rated 14+ to me because,
Drugs/alcohol: teen drinking and smoking, one of the kids who was murdered was a drug dealer.
Mild language: a couple f words, hell,d%@*,b%@&^. Overall the book didn't have much language in it.

Violence: not much but this is a murder mystery so there is mentions of stab wounds and blood.

Sex: there was no details but it obviously happened, the book mentions how Stevie was fixing her clothes after she was with her boyfriend, some kissing but overall it was pretty clean.

Stevie Bell is back with another case to investigate. Truly Devious #4 takes place at Camp Wonder Falls while Stevie is on summer break. Bored and with no real plans for the summer, Stevie jumps at the chance to go to summer camp. Especially when the camp was the site of a notorious unsolved crime in 1978, the Box in the Woods murders. Looking into the crime with some old friends from Ellingham Academy by her side, Stevie realizes things in the nearby town of Barlow Corners are not what the seem. Old wounds are reopened, and there's a chance not everyone will make it out alive. Twisty and engaging, this mystery will have you on the edge of your seat.

I binge-read this book in one sitting!
I was a little skeptical going into this one because I didn't read the description before diving in. I loved the first Truly Devious book, but the next two were just okay for me. I was worried that the mystery would be played out and wasn't sure about a 4th book in the series. But, little did I know that we were getting handed a whole NEW mystery! Stevie (aka Stephanie- obviously I'm a fan with a heroine who shares my namesake) gets invited to a Summer camp to solve a 70's slasher movie type murder. Since I am a sucker for old school B horror movies- I was super intrigued by the premise. I couldn't put this book down and devoured it! You get the same rag-tag group of friends, a new mystery- and a whole set of new characters from the past. It kept me guessing until the end, and now I'm hoping that Stevie sticks around for many books to come- the new Nancy Drew?

this was a really good conclusion to the series, if a but unnecessary. Although, since this was an addition I'm now unsure if this is actually the last book. While some of the mystery elements seemed a bit convenient, I loved the inclusion of Sabrina's diary entries. I also didn't care as much for Stevie and David's relationship in this book, but it was fine in the end.