When I first heard that The Box in the Wall was going to be the fourth installment of the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson, can you guess my gut reaction?
Crippling disappointment.
In the third book, The Hand in the Wall, the infamous Ellingham Murders were finally solved by our favorite student sleuth, Stevie Bell.
The case was closed. There were no loose ends. Roll credits.
Think about it:
How could The Box in the Wall continue the Truly Devious franchise without becoming obsolete or unnecessary? (I’m looking at you, Transformers.)
I didn’t believe it was possible.
Despite my misgivings, I still picked up Maureen Johnson’s newest 2021 YA release.
Now:
What did I think of Truly Devious #4? Was it as disappointing as all that?
Let’s get into my The Box in the Woods review to find out.
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The Box in the Woods Summary
Truly Devious #4
Written by Maureen Johnson
Published on June 15th, 2021 by Katherine Tegen Books
Seventeen-year-old Stevie Bell has dedicated her life to solving the 1936 Ellingham Murders.
Now that she’s cracked the case, she doesn’t know what to do next.
All of that changes when she receives an email from the new owner of Camp Wonder Falls—the site of an infamous unsolved case, the Box in the Woods Murders.
The new owner offers Stevie an invitation: Come to the camp and help him work on a true crime podcast about the case.
Looks like summer vacation just got a whole lot more interesting.
FOR FANS OF: YA murder mysteries, the Truly Devious series, summer camp horror movies
Content + Trigger Warnings
Underage drug use, marijuana use, drinking, murder, death of a loved one, grief, cheating, anxiety, shooting, hit and run, identity theft, stabbing, graphic depictions of gore and blood.
The Box in the Woods Review
What I Liked About The Box in the Woods
1. Quirky Teen Sleuth Protagonist
Some kids are into sports. Some join the chess club or go out for the debate team.
Stevie Bell solves murders.
She’s the kind of girl who thinks studying The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is the best way to spend a free afternoon.
She is sarcastic, quirky, and unashamed of who she is.
To put it simply, my The Box in the Woods review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t say this at least once:
I love Stevie Bell.
She is an excellent narrator and an A+ protagonist.
And that’s all there is to it.
2. It has ALL the Summer Vibes
What’s the best part about the earlier Truly Devious books?
If you ask me, it’s how atmospheric they are.
Set at a prestigious boarding school in upstate Vermont, they are the perfect read for a rainy autumn day.
In fact:
Reading them will make you instantly start craving pumpkin lattes and yearning for sweater weather.
I kid you not.
But in The Box in the Woods, what does Maureen Johnson do?
She trades that cozy fall feeling for a hot summer vibe.
With flashbacks to the 70s, a secluded summer camp setting, and 4th of July festivities in a small town—there’s no denying it.
Maureen Johnson is a master when it comes to creating the perfect atmosphere.
The Box in the Woods is basically Friday the 13th meets the third season of Stranger Things and I was LIVING for that aesthetic.
3. The Relationship was #Goals
So here’s the deal:
I was NOT a fan of David in The Vanishing Stair.
What’s more, I didn’t understand Stevie’s strange relationship with him. The Truly Devious trilogy would’ve been so much better without it.
Or so I thought.
But in The Box in the Woods, Maureen Johnson changed my mind completely.
“Fashions come and go, but jawlines are eternal.”
In the newest Truly Devious installment, David is…
- is supportive of Stevie’s passions
- wants to work through any miscommunication
- sticks around when it matters most.
In fact, Stevie and David’s healthy long-distance relationship was one of my favorite parts of The Box in the Woods.
And no one is more surprised about that than me.
4. Realistic Anxiety Representation
Let me be real with you:
2021 has been a really hard year for me.
I’m sure you know the feeling.
Nearly every day, I struggle with crippling anxiety that makes doing anything besides laying in bed all day too overwhelming to think about.
So how did reading about Stevie’s anxiety in The Box in the Woods make me feel?
It made me feel like I’m not crazy—that other people feel this way too.
It put into words the feelings and thoughts that I’ve been struggling to describe.
“Her old friend anxiety started bubbling inside her, ready to party. This time, it was too much, too soon. She was going to fail, and that would mean she was a failure”
But most of all:
Reading a YA book with realistic anxiety representation made me feel seen.
The fact that Stevie can work through her anxiety, not let it immobilize her, and continue to work towards her goal of solving the Box in the Woods case is…
Nothing short of inspirational.
What I Disliked about The Box in the Woods
5. Too many infodumps
Don’t you just hate it when an author shoves wayyy too much information at you all at once?
Here’s the sad truth:
That’s what Maureen Johnson does in this book.
I wish I didn’t have to mention it in my The Box in the Woods review, but I do.
There are pages—entire chapters even—filled with long-winded explanations about the nitty-gritty specifics of the case…
And nothing else.
There are dialogues where the characters talk and talk and talk about the details of the murder in one long, uninterrupted soliloquy.
It was too much.
But do you know why this was especially jarring?
Because the previous Truly Devious novels built up sooooo slowly.
(Too slowly, perhaps. But that’s an argument for a different day.)
And that brings me to my last point.
6. It was over too quickly!
Here’s the rub: it took Stevie Bell three books to solve the infamous Truly Devious case.
But in The Box in the Woods, she solved the murder in under 400 pages.
And the truth is—it felt rushed in comparison.
Think about it:
The pacing of the first three Truly Devious installments is carefully plotted. Stevie gradually uncovers thrilling clues, slowly peeling back one layer of lies at a time.
With The Box in the Woods, Maureen Johnson is on a tighter schedule.
She has to give the reader more information, more clues, more suspense—and she has to do it more quickly.
All too soon…
It was over.
The Box in the Woods Review:
The Final Verdict
So my The Box in the Woods review all adds up to this:
Although I was dubious about whether Maureen Johnson could successfully turn the Truly Devious trilogy into an ongoing franchise (one that didn’t feel like an unnecessary corporate grab for easy money), I shouldn’t have worried.
Sure, the transition away from the Ellingham Murders has its bumps.
But a delightfully quirky cast of characters and a carefully crafted atmospheric setting made it an excellent addition to the Truly Devious series.
In fact, I ended up enjoying The Box in the Woods even more than any of its predecessors.
Now all that’s left to say is this:
Is The Box in the Woods the last book? Or will we be getting more of Stevie’s crime-solving adventures?
Fingers crossed!
Rating: 4 Stars
To learn more about how I rank YA books, check out my Book Rating System.
With that, it’s time to hear what you have to say.
What did you think of my The Box In the Woods review?
Jump into the comments and share one thing about the book that piqued your interest!
