The Body in the Woods by April Henry

The Body in the Woods by April Henry
Point Last Seen #1
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on June 17, 2014

Summary: "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 an 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." -- From Goodreads

I loved the unique premise of this book: the fact that teens could join a Search and Rescue group.  I really liked the character of Ruby, our amateur Nancy Drew-esque detective,  Alexis was also interesting, with her mom's mental illness to deal with.  I think Nick was the shallowest character of them all.  All he wanted to do was be a hero like his dad who was killed in Iraq.  That led him to doing things without thinking them all the way through.

Overall, the characters were good, the plot was okay, and the murders were not really detailed.  I know that will be a factor for some teens reading this book; they want the suspense but not the detailed gore.  I tend to love mysteries and suspense novels of any kind, and I definitely plan on adding the sequel to my TBR.

Disclosure: I received a digital galley of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.