Part of Truly Devious
First published 2021
Stevie Bell craves another murder mystery after solving her last case at Ellingham Academy. Summer at home feels tedious until the owner of Sunny Pines contacts her. The property was once Camp Wonder Falls, where four counselors died in 1978 in what became known as the Box in the Woods Murders. The new owner wants Stevie to help create a true crime podcast about the cold case. She accepts and brings her Ellingham friends to spend the summer investigating together in Barlow Corners. The 1978 murders left the victims arranged in a disturbing pattern in the woods. As Stevie digs into the decades-old evidence, she discovers that danger still exists in the area. Opening this dormant investigation puts her and her friends at risk. The killer may be ready to claim new victims, and Stevie might not survive this case.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller, young-adult
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, gripping, suspenseful, tension-filled
Tropes: amateur-detective, danger-escalation, found-family, group-investigation
Setting: Sunny Pines, Camp Wonder Falls, Barlow Corners, Ellingham Academy
Period: 1978, summer
400 pages · ebook · Katherine Tegen Books
Content warnings: death, murder, violence