brianna_moye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Child death, Injury/injury detail, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
ciarramist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Antisemitism, and War
There are very brief mentions of a minor character’s father being a former Nazi, nothing related to this or the Holocaust is discussed in detail, but it is briefly mentioned.madisone's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm glad to see some of the old characters again. Nobody really changed except for David who no longer really sucks. The case didn't really interest me much this time which sucked. Even though I didn’t like Carson, he was a good character and I would have liked to see more of him. The writing style was easy and good. Nice October book overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: War
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved this book so much!! Such a great addition to the series! Can’t wait for the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Injury/injury detail, and Child death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: War
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
“Truly devious” series is back and better than ever. Usually spin-offs are not as good as the original, but that is definitely not the case for A Box in the Woods. Stevie, now that she has solved the Ellingham crime of the century, is now in demand to solve other murders. A camp director offers Stevie a paid counselor role to come and bring her friends to help her solve the “Box in the Woods” murders of 1978 at the camp where they occurred. This book brings a new summer camp slasher thriller type vibe to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Maureen Johnson truly delivered on the addict-ability of the books, matching if not exceeding the shocking plot twists of the first three books. When I tell you that I never in a million years would have guessed this, I am not kidding. I wanted to stay up all night reading this, but couldn’t because of school, and I went to bed upset every night that I couldn’t keep reading. This book seriously defied every expectation that I had for it, and I am so thrilled to see what new adventures Stevie is going on in the next books. Again, Stevie is such a complex and lovable character. We see straight into her thought process and experience everything with her, including a close up on her mental health struggles. These mental health struggles (anxiety and panic attacks) are presented in such an honest way, which many other books from different authors should take note of. Additionally, it should be noted that Maureen Johnson DELIVERS on the representation! Such good LGBTQIA+ rep!! Again, Maureen Johnson is giving everything and more. If you didn’t know already, I love these books.
Age rating: 14+ (true crime gets graphic at times)
Age rating: 14+ (true crime gets graphic at times)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Child death, and Death
Minor: Cursing
sunsetcity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
toffishay's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.25
I enjoyed the plot well enough and it makes interesting commentary on the popularity of and modern obsession with true crime, but the ending was a little bit of a stretch. It makes sense in the story that was told; you can figure the ending out, but it seemed like a bit much is all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Gun violence, Child death, Murder, and Gaslighting
sm_moon's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Child death
Moderate: Gun violence, Death, and Car accident
emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
2.25, and only because I thought this *slightly* better than The Hand on the Wall. Ugh, what a let down. I genuinely had high hopes for this because, like, look at the premise. Yet Johnson somehow turned this into a boring story with no atmosphere??
The biggest issue was the pacing. There was no thorough investigation of the murders as there was really only one track that Stevie investigated, making the plot THIN. Why weren't there proper red herrings??? And then ALL of a sudden, Stevie has solved the mystery. I'm not even kidding, it just happens out the blue when I thought there would be at least a chapter or more till the big reveal. In terms of the actual resolution, it was okay, though to me didn't quite fit.
The second worst thing was that I don't think Johnson did her research, which made it feel like a cash grab (this was not helped by the fact that the writing was a little sloppy and repetitive, which led me to think it had been rushed through the writing and editing process). Any person interested in true crime worth their salt KNOWS the significance of stabbing as a murder method, especially how many times a person is stabbed, and also knows that spree killers exist. These two things are incredibly relevant to the crime that took place, given four people were stabbed to death (a different number of times) in one night. Yet they are NEVER DISCUSSED.
Finally, the characters. Nate was a true saving grace in this. I loved him, and I loved his character development (even if THAT felt a little rushed and behind the scenes). I also liked that Johnson set it up in the beginning that the story would only feature Stevie, Nate and Janelle, as I really like this trio and their dynamic. But then DAVID comes on the scene. His presence was simply unnecessary, and he was only included to offer some relationship drama, which wasn't needed as it took space away from the already thin plot. Janelle was turned into an ornament which infuriated me. And Stevie herself felt flat and annoying (she is at her most irritating when with David), and the whole imposter-syndrome thing could have been played up so much more to give her some depth.
So, yeah. I did not like this. I really hope Johnson doesn't release any more books in this series because I will feel obligated to read them as I am a completionist, but I have lost all faith that I might enjoy them.
The biggest issue was the pacing. There was no thorough investigation of the murders as there was really only one track that Stevie investigated, making the plot THIN. Why weren't there proper red herrings??? And then ALL of a sudden, Stevie has solved the mystery. I'm not even kidding, it just happens out the blue when I thought there would be at least a chapter or more till the big reveal.
Spoiler
And to me, she didn't really solve anything, she just found a diary, and Sabrina did the rest.Spoiler
It also felt kind of gross in that it felt like Johnson was capitalising on the concept of undercover Nazis without really addressing the horrors of Nazis and WWII.The second worst thing was that I don't think Johnson did her research, which made it feel like a cash grab (this was not helped by the fact that the writing was a little sloppy and repetitive, which led me to think it had been rushed through the writing and editing process). Any person interested in true crime worth their salt KNOWS the significance of stabbing as a murder method, especially how many times a person is stabbed, and also knows that spree killers exist. These two things are incredibly relevant to the crime that took place, given four people were stabbed to death (a different number of times) in one night. Yet they are NEVER DISCUSSED.
Finally, the characters. Nate was a true saving grace in this. I loved him, and I loved his character development (even if THAT felt a little rushed and behind the scenes). I also liked that Johnson set it up in the beginning that the story would only feature Stevie, Nate and Janelle, as I really like this trio and their dynamic. But then DAVID comes on the scene. His presence was simply unnecessary, and he was only included to offer some relationship drama, which wasn't needed as it took space away from the already thin plot.
Spoiler
The drama didn't even go anywhere, as Stevie didn't apologise for being rude and David is still going to England when they didn't even have a discussion about it. Also, the fact that David turned down the money reeks to me of more privilege than if he had accepted it?? Like, that random guy was only going to offer it to him??So, yeah. I did not like this. I really hope Johnson doesn't release any more books in this series because I will feel obligated to read them as I am a completionist, but I have lost all faith that I might enjoy them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Cursing, Gun violence, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit, Blood, Cancer, Mental illness, Gun violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Suicide, Homophobia, War, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, Ableism, and Sexual content
Hunting, internalised misogyny, loss of a loved one, motorbike accident, incarceration, Nazisbeckyremillard's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Fresh off solving the murders at her boarding school (the current ones and the ones from the 1930s), Stevie is invited to solve four murders that happened at a summer camp in 1978.
I loved the original Truly Devious series and I love that there’s another one. Technically this book could probably be a stand alone, but for character development and to understand the references it’s best if you’ve read the first three.
This book is somewhere in between medium to fast pace in my opinion. It’s primarily told from Stevie’s perspective, although it occasionally goes back to 1978.
I absolutely did not expect the twist of who did it. There’s a bunch of information leading up to it but we don’t know all the evidence until it’s revealed by Stevie.
Not really related to the plot of the story, but I thought Nicole was so annoying and unnecessary. I thought maybe she’d redeem herself at the end but nope.
I loved the original Truly Devious series and I love that there’s another one. Technically this book could probably be a stand alone, but for character development and to understand the references it’s best if you’ve read the first three.
This book is somewhere in between medium to fast pace in my opinion. It’s primarily told from Stevie’s perspective, although it occasionally goes back to 1978.
I absolutely did not expect the twist of who did it. There’s a bunch of information leading up to it but we don’t know all the evidence until it’s revealed by Stevie.
Spoiler
NAZI’S?!?!Not really related to the plot of the story, but I thought Nicole was so annoying and unnecessary. I thought maybe she’d redeem herself at the end but nope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Murder
Moderate: Child death