Stevie Bell has quickly become a new favourite detective, with faults that make her so lovable. She is honest about why she takes on cases, she does not follow along blindly with what others would have her do, and there is nothing she will not face down in order to solve a case. She also suffers from intense anxiety, which makes her so much more relatable and sympathetic. This new case throws her for a loop, because she is not as familiar with it as she was with the Ellingham kidnapping. The man who hired her seems very unethical and creates unnecessary drama in order to promote his own podcast, so Stevie has to deal with push back from the already fraught community. Also, she is not a fan of the outdoors and every aspect of this case involves being at camp with all the bugs, the water, and possibly even snakes. But, she does well, especially when she is reunited with her friends. I loved the side mentions of what Nate and Janelle were getting up to while Stevie was investigating. I especially loved Nate being wrangled in to being a camp counsellor, when he was originally hired to hide away in the library treehouse. Both Nate and Janelle must deal with things they do not enjoy (Janelle being away from her significant other Vi for the summer), but this also makes them stronger and spurs them on creatively (Janelle with art and Nate with finally working on his second novel). Stevie's friendships are so wonderful, because they are so loyal to each other, but still call each other out when they make mistakes. Or, when Stevie is being especially unsafe, they will question her judgement. The camp mystery trope was really fun and was very reminiscent of horror movies. There were many wonderful twists and turns and a community still reeling from everything that happened years ago. The truth I suspected early on, but that did not detract from the story or how Stevie reaches those conclusions herself. Also, while I was born after the 70s, there is a lot of nostalgia to be found in this novel. From the music, to the camp dynamic, friendships, reading, school, etc. All of it fit so well together and made it very easy to imagine or visualize this summer camp, brimming with happiness, but also tinged with darkness. The scenes with David and Stevie were very eye opening, showing how they are handling a long distance relationship, their very different upbringings, and trust issues. They are continuously working on their relationship, while also finding it hard to be apart. Their relationship seems at times unbelievable, but at other times very realistic. David is often the calm that Stevie needs in order to figure things out, while he is also a disturber, finding out information and pushing her to find new depths within herself. While Stevie is a balm for David, she helps him keep a level head and reminds him that he is important and that his father does not make him who he is. This was a great one off story and I really hope there are more in the future, because Stevie and her friends are so fun to read about. Plus, the novel kind of set up future possibilities for this intrepid gang of sleuths. I highly recommend the Truly Devious trilogy and this wonderful side mystery.
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