A perfect summer read: if a spine-chilling and hilarious YA mystery set at a summer camp is your thing!

After solving the cold case of the century at Ellingham Academy (told in the Truly Devious trilogy), Stevie Bell heads to Sunny Pines, formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls. Four teenage friends, counselors at the camp, were brutally murdered (slasher-movie style) in the woods there in 1978, which feels like both ancient history and recent memory in this small town where residents tend to linger. With a little help from her friends — precious, hilarious, writer-blocked Nate and organized, arts-and-crafty, truth-telling Janelle — Stevie tries to work the case while not ticking off the camp director, further traumatizing or taking advantage of the community, or falling victim to classic horror movie tropes.

If you loved the Truly Devious trilogy, you'll definitely want to read this standalone spin-off. If you want a summertime adventure with Stevie Bell and her friends (yes, David makes the cut in a fairly redemptive visit), you can enjoy this one without reading the previous three.

Topics, tropes and themes (beware spoilers): murder, death, personal and community grief, small town life, community narratives, summer camp, historical oppression of LGBTQ people, media/police/investigative responsibilities, corruption, tech-bro culture, war crimes, anxiety, friends, relationships, classic whodunit monologue

Content notes: slasher-style murder in the woods, death (motorcycle accident, hit-and-run bicycle accident, lakeside accident, off-screen drowning), gun violence, near drowning, broken arm, hospital scene, underage marijuana use, managed anxiety, off-screen historical oppression of LGBTQ people, off-screen sex

My thanks to HarperCollins' Katherine Tegen Books for a digital ARC!