Review: The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

After catching a killer at her high school, Stevie Bell is back home, dreading the potential for a boring summer. Everything changes when she receives a message from the owner of Camp Wonder Falls. Now known as Sunny Pines, the summer camp was the site of the notorious Box in the Woods murders in the late 1970s. Four counselors were found dead; their killer was never caught.

Invited to the camp to close this cold case, Stevie only agrees if she can bring her friends along. What can be more fun than solving murders with your closest friends?

However, once Stevie and her friends arrive to the small town, they soon learn the murders weren't the only secrets left buried.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t get enough of the summer-camp/sleepover camp trope! Johnson quickly overcomes any of the negative aspects in using such a popular setting for a mystery novel, however. She’s crafted characters for which readers will find genuine sympathy and a well constructed plot that isn’t at all predictable.

Though marketed as a stand-a-lone, I would recommend reading the the three titles in the Truly Devious trilogy, if anything to provide a little back story on the characters. You don’t miss anything in not reading them, though references to what transpired will certainly pique the reader’s interest.

All in all, an incredibly fun and entertaining read! Highly recommended.