A review by stardustandrockets
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted 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? No

5.0

I don't know if I'm bad a guessing who dunnit in mystery novels or if Mauree Johnson is that good at keeping me guessing the entire time (probably the latter, but I may need to read more mysteries to find out), but I didn't see the murderer coming. I had zero ideas.

That being said, a few parts were a little choppy as far as how Stevie came up with her info and put everything together, but I felt that way with the other three books as well. I really enjoyed the summer camp vibe even though Stevie didn't partake in much of it (she was too busy trying to solve a murder). There was a lot less of the past POV entwined with the present, but that makes sense all things considered. I do hope we get more Stevie Bell mysteries (I enjoy the characters the most, especially David), but the ending was nice for this stand-alone book. No cliffhangers like the first two.

Highly recommend reading this one (and Truly Devious) if you're a mystery fan or trying to find your way into the mystery genre.
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