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In her Truly Devious trilogy, author Maureen Johnson introduced readers to Stevie Bell, a brilliant young detective in the making who managed to find the answers to a decades-old mystery at her exclusive new school. In Box in the Woods, school’s out, and Stevie finds herself taking on her first case outside school.
The story catches up with teen sleuth Stevie during the summer after her eventful first year at Ellingham Academy. She’s missing her friends and bored with her summer job until she gets an email that turns her summer around. An eccentric entrepreneur and true crime buff has purchased the summer camp known for the unsolved murders of four teenagers in 1978—and, knowing about Stevie’s work on the Truly Devious case, he asks her to help solve them. Eager to get back to work and give the town some answers, she calls in her friends and packs her bags.
Once Stevie and her friends arrive at Camp Sunny Pines—a setting that couldn’t be more vastly different from the enchanting and mysterious Ellingham Academy—they realize that there’s more to their summer assignment than just a pet project for a curious millionaire. Their host, Carson, treats it more like a publicity stunt, which immediately creates tension in his relationship with Stevie—and also with residents of Barlow Corners, who are tired of outsiders showing up in town and reopening the old wounds. Somehow, though, the awkward but determined young investigator manages to gain the trust of several members of the community—including the sister of one of the victims—and she slowly begins to piece together the events of the night that changed this small town forever.
As the mystery unfolds, it picks up pace, moving along more quickly that you might expect from such a hefty read. The historical parts of the story may be set in a different time period—with very different victims—but it still has all of the intrigue that made the first books in the series so captivating. This isn’t a cozy mystery—and Stevie isn’t just a precocious kid investigating high school whodunits. It’s darker and more meticulous, with a classic feel that will leave readers eager to see what Stevie and her friends end up investigating next.
For fans of the Truly Devious trilogy, The Box in the Woods will be a welcome read—one that’s every bit as gripping as the first book in the series. It’s both troubling and enchanting—the kind of book that mystery lovers will find themselves reading long into the night.
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