The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery (Point Last Seen, 1)

Three teen volunteers, Ruby, Nick, and Alexis, are volunteers in the hunt for a missing man. They should have been accompanied by an experienced SAR member but an accident leaves them on their own. Fortunately, the man being hunted is found quickly by other recruits. However, the three teens make their own discovery: they stumble upon the body of a teenaged girl, one who has clearly not been dead very long.

The Body in the Woods by author April Henry is a quick read but a well-written and suspenseful one. The characters of the three teens are very well drawn, especially Ruby whose social awkwardness is matched only by her intelligence and her enthusiasm, first for the search and then for their grisly discovery, adding a touch of both show more humour and poignancy to the story. The chapters detailing the discovery of the body and the resultant murder investigation are occasionally interrupted by musings from the serial killer’s point of view.

This is the first book in Henry’s Point Last Seen YA mystery series and it is a fine beginning. It introduces us to three very resourceful and likable characters while offering plenty of red herrings and legitimate clues to keep the readers’ interest. This is a fun story and gets a high recommendation from me. show less

What a fun read!

First, it's only fair to confess that I'm an Oregonian. Yes, I've moved from there but truly - my heart is still in Oregon. I spent a large part of my time in Forest Park, tromping around the muddy trails and ferns looking for Geocaches. This book was a great great way to get back there.

Too bad it involved murder and a serial killer.

I really liked the three main characters. Nick, Ruby and Alexis were well flushed out and were interesting. They all had their own views and - honestly, their own agendas - and I liked that slant on it. I can see the potential for these three and their SAR training/experiences to be really great reads in the future.

I think the only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was having the Killer's POV. I show more think sometimes the fun of a mystery is playing "who done it" and it was kind of wiped out when we're given who the killer is. I also found him creepy and awful and disturbing to read about as well..

but otherwise, I really enjoyed this great read and will definitely be looking for book 2!! show less

Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts: I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but I think I initially requested The Body in the Woods on Netgalley when I saw the cover. It caught my eye and I don’t really remember reading the synopsis. I don’t typically pick books based solely on their covers, but this isn’t the first time and it’s doubtful that it’ll be the last.

The story was flat-out fascinating and apparently based on a real team. I didn’t know teenagers could be part of search and rescue, but now that I do I wish we’d had that in high school. I think a large part of the story became more interesting for me once I saw it was show more based on something real. In my brain, parts of the story started to play out like an episode of Alaska State Troopers. It did move much faster than I would’ve expected for this particular plot line (see how I skipped over spoilers). It moved too quickly to be considered realistic, in my opinion, but it didn’t take away from my fascination.

The characters were some of my favorites. Alexis was awesome and I couldn’t help cheering for her to open up to someone. Nick was okay, but had his head stuck in a fantasy world a little too often. It started to grate on my nerves that he couldn’t seem to do anything that could be even the tiniest bit tedious without going into a fantasy world with him as a hero. Ruby was my favorite. She was so awesome. She’s that person who’s extremely smart and has interests that aren’t “normal” but she’s unapologetic about being herself. Those are the people who everyone should want to be friends with.

The Body in the Woods is the first book in a series, but thankfully it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. It still managed to leave me wanting more. I actually went on Netgalley to see if Blood Will Tell (book 2) is up there yet; it wasn’t. Another cool part that I forgot to mention; it’s told from multiple perspectives (Nick, Alexis, Ruby and the killer). I’m not always a fan of multi-perspective books, but when it’s done well you can’t help getting sucked in.

I really enjoyed reading The Body in the Woods and it was a quick read. I will definitely be on the lookout for Blood Will Tell when it comes out in June. The Body in the Woods isn’t a deep, stop and think book, but I would still recommend it.

For more reviews, check out http://reviewsinapinch.com today! show less

"Alexis, Nick and Ruby come from very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom's mental illness; Nick's bravado hides his fear of not being good enough; and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a [teen] world that doesn't understand her.
The three teens meet when they join Portland County's Search and Rescue. On their first mission, they are teamed up to locate an autistic man lost in the woods. What they discover instead is a dead girl. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear and courage, the three work together to find the girl's killer - before one of their own becomes another victim" - back cover
Realistic portrayal of Portland teenagers' world, with just enough show more characterization to help readers empathize with each one, even Ruby, whose Asperberger's condition gradually emerges in a straightforward manner. Readers will sympathize with Alexis, whose mother is incapable of work or even meeting most of Alexis' needs, but chooses to stay, and make their precarious living work for them. We see through Alexis' eyes the world of the urban homeless, and the plight of teens on the run. The eventual revelation of the mysterious murderer of the girl in the woods - hobbled by the trio's errors in who it may be and the results of those mistakes - builds to a suspenseful conclusion. Definitely a great murder mystery and teen friendship in a Northwest setting - 9th graders on up would enjoy this. show less

Three young teens who don't really fit in find themselves as classmates in a program that will train them to be members of the Portland (OR) County's Search and Rescue group. Alexis is in a perpetual state of anxiety because her father is long gone and her mother has bipolar illness and refuses to take medication. Alexis never knows which mom she'll find when she comes home from school, the warm, loving one, or the paranoid and hyperactive one. This also means her success at school is impacted and it's almost impossible for her to make friends.
Nick's not much better off. His father never came home from the Gulf War and his mother doesn't care to tell him much about his dad. That leaves an older brother who doesn't have much time or show more interest to give him. Nick's social skills are seriously messed up as a result. He spends a lot of time fantasizing about how he can please his absent father and be a 'hero' in his own right.
Ruby is very smart, but probably has OCD which manifests itself in her driving other kids away because she notices everything and beats subjects into the ground almost constantly as she has no verbal filtering ability. Her parents, both dermatologists, aren't very understanding or supportive, coming across as more like they're examining a specimen than raising a kid. Ruby doesn't have any friends, either.
On their first search, while looking for an autistic man in a local park, they find the body of a teen. She's been strangled and Ruby notes a footprint that's stepped on by an EMT, even though she tells everyone to avoid it. After finding the body, the three teens realize they probably saw the killer while on the trail, but aren't sure which one of the men they saw might be the one.
As their story unfolds, they start to bond and become more accepting of each others oddities. They also realize after another teen is strangled that they're dealing with a serial killer, but they can't figure out what the connection between the two girls, as well as another one killed earlier might be. When the killer starts stalking one of them, the tension in the story increases, and as things speed up, they move to a quick and scary conclusion.
This isn't so much a classic mystery as it is a story about teens who don't fit in learning to do so with each other and taking that new comfort level to a place where it helps them deal with others their age. One concern I have after reading the book is that it sits smack on the cusp between juvenile and young adult in terms of the characters and the story. I think it would gain a much wider audience if that had been adjusted up or down a bit. Even so, tweens and younger teens who like mystery and/or who have personal experience with not fitting in are going to like this book. show less

The Body in the Woods has been on my reading list since it published in mid 2014. I've heard some good things about April Henry's writing, from some trusted book friends. Plus, I can't deny that I enjoy a well written mystery! Especially if it's a well written YA mystery. If an author can keep me guessing, and avoid the ever present love triangle? My name is written all over that book. So yes, I had some pretty high hopes for this book. It's been a while since a mystery book has found its way into my currently reading list.

Anyway, and apologies for the rambling, I can definitely say that April Henry gave this mystery a massive effort. She crafted three very different characters to tell the story from their own points of view, and I show more very much appreciated their various personalities. There's Ruby, the girl obsessed with facts, organization and true crime. Alexis, a girl whose home life doesn't match at all the facade she puts on every day. Finally, there's Nick. Our lone male protagonist, he has a hero mentality. All Nick wants, more than anything, is to save a life. It might seem like these three wouldn't mesh, but they do! Having all of their viewpoints didn't always feel necessary, but at times it was nice.

I'll fully admit that this book is addictive once you start to really get into it. Even though I figured out the killer towards the middle, the story was well written enough that it kept me reading. The pace was good, and the plot was too (even if it was a slight bit predictable). The real problem with The Body in the Woods is that it fairly forgettable. It follows the rails that you'd anticipate a book like this would, even though I desperately hoped for a twist. This is the first book in a series though, so I'd be willing to give the next a shot! show less

For Alexis Frost, Nick Walker, and Ruby McClure it all started with a phone call and two texts. It ended with fear and courage, love and loathing, screaming and blood. Lots of blood.

This is the first book in the Point Last Seen series and it follows three teens(Ruby, Nick, and Alexis) who have recently joined their local Search and Rescue team. While out searching for a lost man they find the body of a dead teenage girl. After finding the girl they vow to help solve her murder and as they get closer to the killer they release that one of them is in grave danger.

For the most part I liked the three main characters. At first I didn't like Ruby one bit. She just plain annoyed me. The more I read this book the more she started to grow on me, show more just like the more time Alexis and Nick spent with her the more she grew on them. I didn't really like Nick when I started the book either. I just had a hard time connecting with him. I did start to like him more when he explains about his father and you can see how that really drives him. I felt so bad for Alexis throughout this book. She had to deal with a lot on her own. I hope for her sake that things get better for her in the next book of the series.

I felt like the mystery behind who was the killer wasn't obvious at all. I kept trying to guess who it was and was wrong every time. I loved that the book switched point-of-view between not only Nick, Alexis, and Ruby but also the killer. It really made the story more interesting getting to be inside the killer's head.

I really liked all the suspense and action towards the end. I also enjoyed that Ruby, Alexis, and Nick really become friends at the end because of all that they went through together. I am really looking forward to reading more of this series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley. show less