The Truly Devious series continues this time at a summer camp far away from Ellingham Academy. With the same core set of characters the change of location gives Stevie another opportunity to solve another cold case. This time Stevie is sought out by the owner of Camp Wonder Falls to help her work on the case and help him with a podcast. Stevie is able to bring her friends and she starts doing what Stevie does best...solving a complex mystery. Along the way she ruffles some feathers and draws attention from the killer who will stop at nothing to make sure that the crime stays unsolved.
The dynamic among the friends is still one of the best parts of the story. It was great to see them in a different setting. Stevie and David are still trying to figure out their relationship so that was another part of the story that I enjoyed. I absolutely love Nate's relationship with Stevie. He is such a great character. Overall I thought this was a fun read. It seemed to lag a little in the middle but picked up again and had a satisfying finish.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review. #NetGalley #TheBoxintheWoods

Let’s just start by saying that I adore these books!! this is one of my favorite series ever. One of my favorite character is Nate, so all the Nate content we got in this book gave me life! we saw a different side of all the characters including David!!! I actually love David in this one😍

side note: The box in the woods can be read as a standalone!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3447556883?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

To be honest, I did not have high hopes for the continuation of this series after the first storyline wrapped up, but Maureen Johnson knocked this one out of the park. If there is ever an author that I can trust to give me loveable characters, twisty plots, AND no loose ends, it's Maureen. Like always, I am in awe at the premise and the intricacy in which the mystery is solved. I love trying to solve the crime and am disappointed when I guess the ending, but I didn't have to worry about that this time because I definitely did not see that ending coming.

The dialogue between Stevie, Nate, and Janelle is hilarious and always has me laughing out loud. These are the friends that I wish that I had. Coming back to their stories is always a comfort for me - something I already know and take joy in watching progress. However, I noticed that the anticipation and excitement that I had for Stevie and David's relationship in the first three books is completely gone for me. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to feel that same spark between Stevie and Nate. I feel like Maureen is working towards the end of the romance with David and that we might one day get the romance we actually want.

Ultimately I enjoyed this book immensely and will anxiously await Book #5. (PLEASE let there be more.)

It's been a while since I read a book in the Truly Devious series, and it just took me two or three paragraphs to remember what I love so much about this series. Like the books before it, this book was very well done and so much fun to read. It was a perfect summer mystery, and I am desperately hoping we will get a second trilogy about Stevie's second year at Ellingham. This was a great bridge between two different trilogies, drawing on the characters in the first three, but stands alone enough that it doesn't need a sequel, but does give readers hope for more in Stevie's universe. I hope we get more!

This particular mystery is based on the Box Murders that took place in 1978 in a small town. Four teenagers were murdered during the night at the summer camp where they were counselors. After all of this time, the mystery has never been solved and has been cold for a long time. The new owner of the camp has a renewed interest in solving these murders and contacts Stevie after hearing about her work at Ellingham. She, along with best friends Nate and Janelle, go to camp as counselors while Stevie works to solve this long-stagnant mystery.

Oh man. Maureen Johnson is a YA queen. I would read her grocery lists. This book is more of what she does so well...she sets the scene, those flashback scenes are *chef's kiss* perfection, and she is able to worldbuild not only contemporary settings, but those deliciously creepy ones from the past. Nobody else can quite do YA mystery as well as she can. I love these characters, and I see so much of myself in Stevie, except I do wish I was anywhere as cool as she is. These books are marvelous. I am already counting down to the next in the series. (Please give us more, Maureen!!)

I loved getting to spend another book with Stevie, and reading a stand-alone mystery by Johnson was so satisfying! I loved the camp setting, the humor is just as cheeky as always, and I adore these characters.

Fingers crossed that we get a Stevie Bell series as long and storied as her mystery writer heroes. A Netflix miniseries would also be fantastic! Johnson can write these characters in any setting and still make them work beautifully.

Another one smashed out of the park! My kids will love this one so much—maybe more than the Truly Devious series because the setting is somehow more accessible. Of course few of them have been to summer camp, but they’re all familiar with that as a generic setting. I think that will make this one easier to jump right into. The mystery balanced the relationships & the tension was just strong enough to pull the reader right along. This will be a great classroom library addition!

I was nervous to step outside of the Truly Devious/Ellingham Academy world, but I possibly enjoyed this book more than the original series (primarily because the original trilogy felt a little stretched, and this was nice and tight). I could do with a million more standalone books of Stevie and the gang (the gang is very important, here). I also really liked David's characterization in this book -- he had matured a lot. I liked the savage digs at Carson, too. The flashbacks were particularly atmospheric and interesting. The conclusion was a little ... wild, but, all in all, the book was good fun.

Even though I had not read the previous books in this series, I found this plot easy enough to follow. The primary mystery is entirely contained within this book. There are references to events of the previous volumes but only tangentially as they inform the character. But we can tell this is a few books into a series because there is little in the way of character development. The new characters, too, were thinly developed though. They seem to exist primarily to serve the conflict that the core group is facing. Decent but not mind-blowing

‘The Box in the Woods’ by Maureen Johnson (Katherine Tegen Books, $18.99, 383 pages)

Teens, young adults and adults in the know devoured Maureen Johnson’s “Truly Devious” trilogy, and with the young, engaging amateur boarding school detective Stevie Bell leading the story, it was obvious why. Now, bored and looking for a new case, Bell returns in a standalone worthy of its successors.

If the beginning of the storyline reads like a Scooby Doo script — Bell and friends are invited by the new owner of Camp Wonder, site of the unsolved Box in the Woods murders in the 1970s, to work on the case for his upcoming podcast — it’s done in honest homage, and is just as much fun, if admittedly darker and more complex than anything Shaggy and team would have tackled.


That there’s also a deep emotional current running through the book as Bell’s finely developed sense of empathy for the friends of the dead is revealed sets the story apart. A challenging and satisfying mystery, this is one you’ll be shaking the sand out of come September.

I was skeptical if I would like another entry into this series, as everything was wrapped up nicely in book 3, but I ended up enjoying this book. I really like Stevie and Nate, not a big fan of David. The story was interesting, fast paced, and an overall quick and enjoyable read.

This was a fantastic addition to the series and I am so glad that the author chose to continue on after the initial trilogy! I really enjoyed seeing all the same characters again and slipping back into their stories. Stevie is one of those characters who is truly unique without it seeming like the author tried too hard. I don't want to give anything away so I'm not gonna really get into the plot but it was fantastic and if you enjoyed the first three books in the trilogy you'll definitely want to read this one!

It was nice to visit with Stevie, Nate, Janelle, and David again. That this mystery was self contained was also nice. I would love to see more episodic editions.

Ah this book was so so good!! I positively loved all of Maureen Johnson’s books in the Truly Devious trilogy but I think Box in the Woods truly tops the others.
It was so great to be back with the Ellingham friend group, who I realized I missed dearly. Plus seeing them grow as people outside of the Ellingham case was truly a wonderful experience.
AND THAT PLOTWIST! It took me by complete surprise and Maureen Johnson truly outdid herself in this book making it nearly impossible to put down. It definitely left me wanting more of Stevie Bell and her magnificent cases that are so beautifully crafted.

I loved the Truly, Devious series and this standalone book was as much fun for me to read as the others. The Box in the Woods has many of the characters from Maureen Johnson's other book (including the central character), but this time, the mystery is set at a summer camp, where decades ago, three counselors were murdered. Johnson has a way of making her stories fun and gripping. This is a real page turner. As with her Simply, Devious books, this mystery rotates back and forth between the past and the present where Stevie and her friends try to solve the mystery from years past.

This was probably the scariest YA mystery I have read in a long time. The Box in the Woods was the perfect continuation of the Truly Devious series. I feel as though this one stands alone perfectly, you could read this and still love the characters just as much as if you were to have read the first three books.

In the series I have always had a problem with David, but in this book I started to like him more. Each character seemed to have matured after the experiences they faced.

I hope Maureen Johnson continues to write more books following Stevie and her friends.

About the book: After solving the case of Truly Devious, Stevie Bell investigates her first mystery outside of Ellingham Academy in this spine-chilling and hilarious stand-alone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Stevie and her friends from the Ellingham Academy are spending summer together investigating old murders/cold cases. Of course this is a dangerous, thrilling, and chilling job. I read this book in one sitting and could not put it down. Calling all crime thriller, mystery thriller, young adult thriller lovers, or those who are already fans of this spectacular series. What a gift from Maureen Johnson!

I am so happy there was another murder mystery for Stevie to solve, and a summer camp setting for a summer release was the perfect locale! I was happy the gang could mostly get back together, and I thought the new additions were developed enough that I hope readers see Carson and even Nicole again. There's a twist at the end that really was a gotcha! moment for me... and maybe leaves the door open for another one in the Truly Devious/Ellingham Academy series! I know my next group of students will enjoy The Box in the Woods too. Thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to preview #theboxinthewoods by Maureen Johnson. I really enjoyed it!

"Murder is wrong, of course. Stevie's future was predicated on that fact. She wanted to solve murders, not commit them. To solve them, you had to understand why they'd occurred. Motive. That was they key. It was all about *motive.* Understand the reasons behind the act. What pushes another human being to that point of no return?"

TL;DR: A perfectly crafted & plotted, fun mystery full of summer vibes -- a summer camp in the New England woods with a lake, snakes, and clam-bakes. (Okay, there's no clam-bake, but it rhymed nicely in my head. There are lots of hot dogs, though. And Fourth of July fireworks!)
Marketed as YA, but this one especially reads like a "New Adult" YA -- not much of the story deals with uniquely teenage problems.

Vibes: Teenage Hercule Poirot (who burps after guzzling seltzer water) meets, like, every 90's teenage horror movie with a dash of Salute Your Shorts [because I am an 80's baby and a 90's child and that is my quintessential understanding of summer camp].

Character MVP: Stevie, forever and always. She's written as a teenager but, as I mentioned above, her struggles aren't uniquely adolescent. Aside from the fact that they're camp counselors (which, honestly, doesn't really factor into the story, because the jobs are mostly covers -- except Janelle; never change Janelle), Stevie's biggest challenges are (1) solving murders and (2) managing her anxiety. I can't speak to the former, but the latter is something that anyone with anxiety can relate to.

Although, I do have to give Nate a special ❤️ for voicing the difference between lakes and pools so well. As someone who loves being at the lake -- sitting near the water, watching the sunrise/set, being on the boat -- I think actual lake water is gross. "Pools are managed" is the most succinct, profound statement which I will now adopt into my verbal arsenal.

Verdict: Another one of my most anticipated reads for 2021, and I devoured it -- thankfully, this also did not disappoint.

I admit: I was a bit hesitant about how a stand-alone would work. And I *do* think that I prefer the Truly Devious series just because the mystery was so much more complex, and Maureen Johnson really had room to play around with side characters and red herrings and I missed that in this book.
Do I know people got annoyed with the TD series because of the cliffhangers? Yep.
Did they bother me? Nope, not in the slightest.
Am I really hoping that we're not done with Stevie and the world of Ellingham? You betcha.
Would I mind another stand-alone novel with Stevie solving a cold case when she visits David in England like a modern-day Grantchester or Inspector Morse? Not at all I need it now.

Maureen Johnson is another auto-buy author for me; I love her writing style, and I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery. I know there's not much plot detail here, but I don't want to spoil anything.

Great addition to the Truly Devious series. Johnson is keeping it fresh in a new setting. Old favorites solving a murder at summer camp.