Book Review: The Box In The Woods by Maureen Johnson

Stevie Bell will always be my favorite detective; Sherlock Holmes be damned.

The Box In The Woods is our first adventure with Stevie outside the Ellingham Academy, but that doesn't give it any less of that pulse-pounding, read-until-the-early-morning feeling. Stevie, bored already after one week on her summer job, receives an offer she can't refuse- come solve another case. Carson is a rich subscription box creator who purchased Camp Sunny Pines with, well, let's just say less than pure motivation- it's the site of the famous Box In the Woods murders that took place in the 70's, and he wants to capitalize on it. Stevie is invited to bring her friends, and convinces Nate and Janelle to join her as 'camp counsellors'- but in actuality, they'll be assisting Stevie in solving the case.

Stevie slowly wins over the townsfolk and begins investigating. In true- Truly Devious fashion though, it's not all it appears to be. Soon Stevie finds herself wrapped up in a 40-year-old-mystery- except this time, witnesses are alive to guide her way. I LOVE the friendship and dynamic between Stevie, Nate, and Janelle, and how they're always looking out for each other and willing to support Stevie in whatever way she needs.

Fans of David, you'll be happy to know he makes an appearance and- spoiler alert- ends up once again saving the day. David haters, you'll be delighted to hear that his role in the book is actually pretty minimal. The ending is a bit scrambled, which is why it's four stars and not five. It seems like we go from Stevie having NO IDEA what happened, to all of a sudden giving a TED talk for what happened. After reading it, it's easy to see why it was written the way it was, but while reading, it definitely broke immersion for me to figure out what the heck was going on.

This book serves as a great stand-alone for those of you who are curious to read this series, but don't want to start all the way with the first book (although you should, because it's really, really good.) In a lot of series, it's clear when the best books are behind whatever new is coming out, and more and more outlandish things keep happening that suspend belief. That's NOT the case with this series. Please, please Maureen Johnson, KEEP WRITING!!!