Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Box in the Woods

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.

And to me, she didn't really solve anything, she just found a diary, and Sabrina did the rest.

In terms of the actual resolution, it was okay, though to me didn't quite fit.

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.

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??

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.

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casreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really liked this book, maybe more than the first three (which I really liked). I also love the characters. However, the clues weren't laid out in advance like they were in the earlier books; instead, there was a bit of an infodump at the end.

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bookishgoob's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense 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? N/A

5.0

There are several things I loved about this book. For one, i just love summer camp horror. I love that even if you didn’t read the previous trilogy, there’s still enough background information that you could read it as a stand alone. the bringing back of characters made my heart happy. the development of friendship as a side plot made me so giddy. stevie is smart and has gotten less annoying with each book. this book was so interesting from start to finish. it started strong and it never stopped. there was nary a dull moment. the reveal was a wild twist but it made so much sense. i would absolutely recommend this book even if you haven’t read truly devious. also maureen johnson, if you’re reading this, please please write more about stevie and her friends. and if anyone else is reading this, like hbo or hulu or netflix, please consider a limited series of this book. it would work so well as a tv series. gosh i loved this book. please read it and please read truly devious. it’s light enough that it could satisfy people who love thrillers but don’t like the horror feeling but not too light that well seasoned suspense/thriller/mystery lovers would hate it. it’s a great middle ground for everyone. there’s so much more i could say about this book but i’m going to leave it at this.

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thelastairbadger's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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cherry__tomatoes's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious 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

4.5

Honestly I didn’t know where this book would go, I felt like it would fall flat after the series. I felt like it wouldn’t hold up to the previous books but honeslty this is probably my second favourite book in the series, first one being the vanishing stair. I felt like we really saw more into who Stevie was, whereas with the first three books we really saw her as this crime obsessed kid. It was nice to see the author dive more into Stevie’s anxiety problems, and as a kid with anxiety I could totally relate. I loved the little small town “Hallmark” vibe of the book. I loved how we learned more about Stevie’s triggers for her anxiety, and I love that she FINALLY got a love interest. I felt like her ending up with David was the perfect ending. Overall, I did feel like the mystery was sort of an afterthought as we really only see a progression in the solving of the case after around page 250.I didn’t mind this however because of how enthralled I was by Stevie’s personal life and her problems. I felt like the ending of the case was very satisfying. ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE PLOT TWIST. And I felt like Stevie finally relaxing and finally admitting her true love to David was an amazing ending. I hope that their will be another book with these amazing characters in it. (Maybe David was hinting at something at the end, I’d love to see Stevie solve some “real life” murder mysteries.)

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stephbakerbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

While the mystery in this book wasn't as good as the one in the original trilogy, I still really enjoyed this return of Stevie and friends. The same quirky friendships, funny and cute banter, and quest for the truth made it an enjoyable read.

The focus is definitely more plot heavy in this one though—it makes for a quick read, but there wasn't really a ton of development for our characters. I wanted David to be present for more of the story. I love the friendships that Stevie has with Nate and Janelle and those got more focus than her relationship with David, I thought. The new characters were interesting, though I don't think any would stick around for a new story (if there are ever more books about Stevie, which I would definitely still read).

I didn't guess the mystery and I liked how it all came together at the end. The story feels very fast though; I don't know if that was a good thing or not. By the end, I realized that not even a week had gone by. But I supposed such is the way with many mystery books.

This book didn't spoil anything much from the original trilogy, so I don't think you have to read the trilogy before reading this one. But I would recommend reading the trilogy first, as you'll understand the characters a lot better—they get more development and complexity in those books.

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crunchycrystals's review against another edition

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mysterious

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

One last mystery with Stevie, which I enjoyed very much! The comedic timing in this book was gold. I've heard this described as a "summer camp slasher" so I expected a lot more gore, but the violence is mostly contained to descriptions of dead bodies. The thrill is still there though, don't worry. 😅 The major twist is pretty out-there, but Johnson put in enough clues along the way that I could think back on them and go "oh, yeah, that makes sense". You can read this without reading the first three books, but there are references sprinkled throughout so you'd be spoiled on certain things.

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