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.) 

'The Box in the Woods' by Maureen Johnson is a fun fourth installment in the Truly Devious series though it lacks the complexity of the original trilogy.
After solving the Ellingham mystery, Stevie Bell is now known more widely as a teenage sleuth and so it comes as not much of a surprise when she is contacted by a man who wants to solve a decades old mystery at a summer camp. In 1978, four teenagers were killed at Camp Wonder Falls and the crime was never solved. The new owner wants Stevie's help to solve this mystery for a true crime podcast. Though she isn't too thrilled about the podcast, Stevie can't pass up the opportunity to uncover the truth of another crime that has long been buried.
Maureen Johnson has proven with the Truly Devious series that she can create a really fun and compelling mystery that keeps readers engaged through the last page. This is true in 'The Box in the Woods' though without the three book space to delve as deeply into the story, it's a much quicker and slightly less complex mystery. For those who have read the original trilogy, this is a fun addition to the series and it's great to return to the characters. If this is the start of a spin-off series of one-off mysteries, I think that it could work. If it is merely a follow-up to the original, it makes less sense as it doesn't really add anything to the trilogy beyond being another fun mystery. I will be interested to see what Johnson does next with these characters if this is the start of something new. 

I love Stevie Bell, and it was very fun and exciting to read a standalone mystery of hers.

This book was nearly perfect. The story was very good and it all got explained in the end. However, it felt like there was no time for the reader to try to put the pieces together to figure out the mystery until the last chapter of the book where the mystery is being explained. The reader didn’t have many of the facts until then.

Another amazing mystery with Stevie Bell! I've never thought of myself as a mystery fan by any means, but between the Truly Devious series and this new book, I'm wondering if I need to rethink that stance. This book just flies by in the best way. Everything about it is good, from the pacing to the characters to the conclusion. As long as Maureen Johnson writes books like these, I'll keep reading them.