The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery

Alexis often has to care for her mother Tanya. How does this dynamic propel the plot? How does Alexis’s idea of safety compare to that of Ruby and Nick?

The literary device “red herring,” or misdirection, is essential in a mystery to prevent the reader from solving the crime too early. How does Henry use red herrings throughout this novel?

Discuss the use of suspense and foreshadowing in the novel. When do readers know things that character don’t? How does that affect the reading experience?

Four men become the novel’s suspects: the runner with the dogs, the man with the big blue duffel bag, the unhoused man with dreads, and the older man with a birding notebook. How does the novel use cultural assumptions about race and class to make these suspects look guilty or innocent?

Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have different strengths and weaknesses. How do these differences help them work together?

Compare the characters’ relationships with their parents. How does family life shape the teens? How do their perspectives change by the end of the novel?

The novel features many examples of topical social issues, including homelessness, mental illness such as bipolar disorder and sociopathy, neuroatypical conditions just as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, the experience of being biracial, poverty. Which are the most developed and explored? Which the least? Why?

Consider the novel’s relationship to the mystery and detective genre. What tropes and clichés does the novel use to propel its plot?