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    The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery
    The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery
    The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery

    Written by April Henry

    Narrated by Amy McFadden

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have 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 world that doesn't understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear, and courage, the three team up to find the girl's killer-before he can strike one of their own.

    This first book in April Henry's Point Last Seen YA mystery series, The Body in the Woods is full of riveting suspense, putting listeners right in the middle of harrowing rescues and crime scene investigations.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 29, 2019
    ISBN9781977341457
    The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery
    Author

    April Henry

    April Henry is the New York Times bestselling author of many acclaimed mysteries for adults and young adults, including the YA novels Girl, Stolen and The Night She Disappeared, and the thriller Face of Betrayal, co-authored with Lis Wiehl. She lives in Oregon.

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    Reviews for The Body in the Woods

    3.5/5

    93 ratings13 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This book was an engaging middle school mystery. It tells the story of three kids who work with Search and Rescue for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. Each got into SAR for different reasons. Alexis is looking to do something to enhance her chances of winning a college scholarship. Nick wants to see if he can live up to the legacy of his father who died in the Iraq war. Ruby wants to do something that interests her and maybe make some friends.When they are called out to look for an autistic man and then assigned to an area where he most likely isn't, they are disappointed. But disappointment quickly changes when they find the body of a murdered young woman. Ruby's near photographic memory lets the police know all of the people they saw as they were searching. One of them is the killer. Alexis has an additional problem. Her mom is bipolar and frequently goes off her meds. In the course of this story, her mom disappears and leaves Alexis searching Portland's homeless population to try to find her. When she sees one of the men they met while on their search arguing with a teenage girl, she thinks that she has found the killer.I liked that each of the kids had their own complete personalities and personality quirks. I liked that they didn't instantly bond and become best friends. I also liked that they were accepting of each other's weaknesses. I liked learning more about SAR and the teens who get involved in it. This was a good mystery and a good story about kids becoming friends through shared interests and shared dangers.
    • 4/5
      A good try at a twist and a surprise ending, though it seemed to wrap up a little too quickly and neatly. This is probably a good one for reluctant readers interested in this type of story as it moved quickly and had decent character development for a fast moving novel.A great readalike for Henry's other novels. I will be watching for more from her.
    • 3/5
      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 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!
    • 4/5
      "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 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.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      Follows the story of three teens who volunteer in the sherriff's office Search and Rescue program. When the group gets a call about a missing adult with autism, Alexis, Nick, and Ruby discover a body of a teenage girl on the trail. It seems like they have stumbled on to the aftermath of a murder. Soon the three get involved in tracking down the killer and seeking clues. The detective in charge doesn't appreciate this too much. The three are very different and are all facing their share of personal challenges. The plot drives the action and at times the character development feels superficial. But I found it to be an engaging read that hooked me in.
    • 1/5
      1-1/2 stars.

      Even though I read this in the span of 1 day, I really struggled with the story. I had requested this on Netgalley because I was very intrigued. I have been reading a lot of fantasy and thought it would be nice to read something different. Three different point of views? Murder mystery involving teenagers? Sounded like just what I needed.

      But I just felt like the story was awkward. There were actually 4 point of views presented in the book. There were the three main characters, and then the "bad guy."

      Here is the thing. I watch a lot of Criminal Minds, so serial killers with strange patterns that make no sense? That should be a great thing and I should have loved it. But I really had a hard time getting the story to come together in my head. It just didn't seem like it fit.

      There were some unnecessary plot points. Bran, and that whole scenario, just didn't make sense. It seems like them meeting was a hasty addition to the story just so there was a romantic element, because obviously, teen books have to have romance, right? But they don't. A YA novel can be awesome even if there is no romance. It felt like just filler. The same with the disappearing act by Alexis' mom. That was just there to fill space, fill up pages. It really didn't serve any great purpose.

      Also, I know this was an ARC, so not fully edited, but there were inconsistencies in the story that made me feel awkward. When they found Becker's notebook in the beginning, they had said the drawing pages were blank, but later, Alexis mentions having seen drawings before but chalking it up to bad art. I guess, in a way, I am like Ruby and I look for those inconsistencies.

      The story had a lot of promise, and it really could have been an awesome book. For many, maybe it would be a great read, but for me, I just felt like I needed something that I didn't get while reading this one. I liked the friendship that formed between the 3 main characters in the end, but it just wasn't enough to redeem the story for me. But as always, you need to judge for yourself. Maybe the things that bothered me about this story may not be an issue for you. You need to check it out for yourself.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      Three teens working for Portland Search and Rescue find the body of a murdered girl in the woods. They are strange group, one is hyper-observant but socially inept girl from a well-off family. The other girl is the child of a mentally ill woman, who is living on welfare. And the final and only male member is a desperately lonely boy who is biracial and who has lost his father in the war. Somehow they come together to create a working team. And they think the death is the work of a serial killer. Well, I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a bit slow. But at the same time I found the characters compelling, if sometimes annoying. The pace picked up at the end and I find myself wanting to read more about these quirky and sometimes sad characters.
    • 4/5
      Alexis, Nick and Ruby volunteer for the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team. On their first outing, they are teamed up to find an autistic man lost in the park/woods. Instead, they find a body of a teenage girl. Ruby, is an intellectual, and obsessed with crime scenes, serial killers and all things forensic. Nick is an insecure teenager who I constantly trying to impress those around him. Alexis has spent her entire life hiding her mom's mental illness from the world.Overall, I thought this was an interesting story. I think teenagers will really enjoy it. At times, the characters came off as a bit stereotypical. I also thought that the killer's point of view gave away too much of the mystery too quickly. I look forward to reading more books from this author.
    • 3/5
      2.5 Stars

      This book seriously wasn't my cup of tea.
      I liked the idea and the concept of a SAR team
      The characters fell short for me
      and frankly I was a little bored reading this.
    • 2/5
      I remember being enthralled by April Henry’s Girl Stolen, which was easily a 5-star read. Henry writes a number of YA mysteries, most of which I want to read. When I saw The Body in the Woods on Netgalley the synopsis reminded me a bit of The Body Finder Series, which I love. I figured it was time to read another great mystery. Sadly, it didn’t come close to either. The story was told in third-person point-of-view and focused on three teens: Alexis, Ruby, and Nick. Personally, I prefer first-person, especially if the story has multiple perspectives. I never connected with or cared for any of the three main characters. Alexis is an only child living with her mentally unstable mother who has a habit of wandering off without telling Alexis where she’s going. Ruby was by far the quirkiest of the bunch, with her interest in bird watching, photographic memory, and unhealthy obsession with death and murder. Nick was obsessed with being a hero. His dad died serving in Iraq and Nick is determined for people to think of him as brave, just like his father. Not only did the characters fall flat, but so did the mystery. There was no air of suspense because so much time was spent developing the characters home lives and personalities that the mystery seemed to take the back burner. Maybe this wouldn’t have been so bad had I actually liked any of the characters, but since I didn’t it left me with nothing to keep me turning pages. Maybe I’ve read so many books about teens finding dead bodies and trying to solve the crime themselves, that it’s just not new or interesting anymore. I don’t know. Since it was a plot line I’ve seen many times before it really needed something to make it stand out above the rest and that just didn’t happen.
    • 4/5
      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, 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.