Book Review: The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
Murder, unsolved mysteries, and a teenage crime guru, if you loved any of Holly Jackson’s novels, you’ll love this one. Check out my review below for The Box in the Woods, the next mystery that Stevie Bell has her mind set on to crack.
Book Information
Stevie Bell has been the girl who solved the Truly Devious murders for months now, but as the calls and emails and fame died down, she begins to wonder who she is without the case. Just as she begins to think that she has no more mysteries to solve, an owner of a camp where the infamous Box in the Woods case took place emails her. Stevie brings along her friends as she once again dives headfirst into a mystery that not only was botched from the beginning, but that could get her killed. As the case gets more and more dangerous, Stevie begins to wonder if she will ever be able to solve it.
Review | Heidi Dischler
Honestly, between Maureen Johnson and Holly Jackson (aka A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder), I can’t tell you whose main character is my favorite. Stevie Bell is so quirky and fun and awkward that you can’t help but to love her. One of the things that I liked best about this novel, though, (besides the characters, of course) is the fact that it is a standalone novel. I’m not sure if I would have had the attention span to follow another trilogy no matter how much I like the books.
As for the mystery itself, it definitely wasn’t as intriguing as Truly Devious, but I mean, that’s hard to live up to. However, it all tied together well and I enjoyed it through all of the near-death experiences. It reminded me a little of The Broken Girls though, by Simone St. James (one of my all-time favorite ghost-mystery writers).
Spoilers ahead.
As for spoilers, I was a little confused towards the end because the whole thing with the journal really threw me for a loop. I was super surprised because it is really hard to surprise the reader with actions that the main character takes especially when the book is written from their point of view. I was surprised, though, but I’m not sure if I feel impressed by the writing, or cheated by the fact that she still made Stevie seem frantic about the journal when she fell into the water.
Overall, though, I will continue reading these novels with Stevie because, I mean, who wouldn’t? As long as they are standalone mysteries, I am all in for another round with these characters and this beautiful prose by Maureen Johnson.
Source: Audiobook from Audible
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