I love this series! Not only are the mysteries compelling and clever, the characters of Stevie and her friends can only be related to and make me feel the warm amusement of being with friends in high school. ( )

My least favorite of the series but still good ( )

I enjoyed the first 3 books better than this one. I think I’m looking for the academia vibe, which this one clearly does not have. Stevie is invited to solve a three decade long cold case that happened at a summer camp. The story dragged a bit for me, I wasn’t entirely excited to read it and it wasn’t a page turner like the books before it. ( )

4.5/5

'You can tell a lot about a person from what they read'

Where do I start with this book? Maybe by mentioning that you don't have to read the trilogy to understand this book.

The Box in the Woods is set during the school break from Ellingham Academy and before the kids have to return for their semesters. Stevie is invited to solve a mass murder that happened in the '70s on a camp by it's now owner who has named it Sunny Pines. He has his own selfish reasons - to make a podcast on the case.

The best part about the book is that it's a standalone and there is no time utilised to set a premise. We are bombarded with information and our brains start ticking from the get-go.

It is an unputdownable thriller that takes us on an adrenaline-boosting ride. The narration in the book reminded me so much of BuzzFeed unsolved (100 points) and had my heart popping in the final few chapters.

The representation of the LGBTQ community is brilliant. We need more books with narratives like this. The character development isn't a lot since it's only a span of a few months but I did fall in love with Nate, Janelle, and Stevie's friendship more.

Plus the book is set in a camp around a lake that has a TREE-HOUSE LIBRARY. The town of Barlow Corners sounds like a very cozy place for us bookworms to live in. The author did a brilliant job with the descriptions.

Also, the characters are so relatable, it's embarrassing coming from a 24-year-old. ( )

Love this book and this series! I was so excited when we got more Stevie, but now I'm sad again because there aren't any more of the Stevie stories unless maybe we'll get more at some point... If you haven't read the Truly Devious series, then you really should check it out. ( )