The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery

Most people agree that it is important for a well-written mystery novel to “play fair” with the reader. However, it is also important to balance fair play with maintaining suspense so that the reader does not lose interest. Does Henry achieve this balance in The Body in the Woods? Use these questions to help with your response.

• Now that you know the solution to the mystery, do you agree that all of the necessary clues to solve the puzzle are somewhere in the narrative?
• When you found out who the killer is, was the solution satisfying and logical?
• How well does Henry use red herrings and other forms of misdirection in the novel?
• Did you solve the mystery just before or at the same time as the characters, or did you know who the murderer was much earlier than the characters did? How does your answer reflect on how the author manages to balance suspense and fair play?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt requires students to first gather evidence in two different categories: strategies the author uses to play fair with the reader and strategies she uses to maintain suspense and draw out the process of solving the mystery. Then, it asks them to evaluate how well Henry balances these two sets of strategies. You may wish to clarify for students that although there are accurate and inaccurate ways to assess the evidence as they accomplish the first part of this task, there is no “correct” answer to the task—only strong and weak arguments for their position.

Differentiation Suggestion: English learners, students with dyslexia, and students with attentional and executive function differences may benefit from assistance in gathering evidence; you may wish to allow these students to work on the first part of this task in small groups or with a partner. A graphic organizer that helps them categorize their two forms of evidence may be helpful to students with attentional and executive function differences. Such a graphic organizer, expanded with a section where students can write briefly about “balance,” might also be used as an alternative assignment format for students who struggle with written expression.