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The Box in the Woods

The Box in the Woods

MysteryAmateur Sleuth
Pages
347
Published
2021
Language
English

Synopsis

The Box in the Woods is the fourth book featuring teen detective Stevie Bell in Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious universe, and the first to send Stevie beyond Ellingham Academy on a standalone mystery. It pairs a classic unsolved summer-camp cold case with Stevie's sharp, anxious, deeply likable investigative voice.

Johnson builds the novel on a dual timeline, cutting between the 1978 murders of four camp counselors at Camp Wonder Falls and Stevie's present-day investigation at the rebranded Sunny Pines, where a true-crime podcast becomes the excuse to reopen the case. The structure lets long-buried small-town secrets surface piece by piece while the danger to Stevie and her friends escalates.

Designed to work both as a continuation for existing fans and an entry point for new readers, The Box in the Woods delivers the twisty plotting, humor, and atmosphere that define the series.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

MysteriousTenseDarkFunny
Dual TimelineMystery Box

Genres

Mystery Amateur Sleuth Suspense Young Adult YA Contemporary Thriller

About the author

M
Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson (born February 16, 1973, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of young adult and mystery fiction. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Delaware and an MFA in Writing from Columbia University. Best known for the Truly Devious mystery series and the Shades of London series, her other works include 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Let It Snow (co-written with John Green and Lauren Myracle). She has also contributed novellas to Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter...

Characters

Stevie BellProtagonist

Anxious, brilliant teenage amateur detective obsessed with true crime, hired to investigate the decades-old Box in the Woods murders.

David EastmanSupporting

Stevie's boyfriend from Ellingham, who turns up to complicate her summer investigation.

Nate FisherSupporting

Stevie's reluctant, sardonic writer friend from Ellingham Academy.

Janelle FranklinSupporting

Stevie's organized, engineering-minded Ellingham friend.

All characters in The Box in the Woods

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