e-ARC, 432 pages
Release Date: January 16, 2018Published by: HarperCollins
Read from: January 15-20, 2018Truly Devious, #1Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from the Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)For fans of: True Crime, Thrillers, Mysteries, YANew York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”
Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.
True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.
The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I saw this I wasn’t really into it. It wasn’t something that immediately jumped to the top of my TBR pile because it was by an author I haven’t yet read. (Don’t kill me lol) But I saw the phrase “True Crime aficionado” and I was super interested….. Because that’s me.
“Schools may be famous for manay things: academics, graduates, sports, teams. They are not supposed to be famous for murders.”4%
Stevie Bell is obsessed with the Ellingham case. This is what gets her accepted to the Ellingham Academy, where she plans to solve the cold case that the school has. But as she works on the cold case, another mystery comes up when the original jokester, Truly Devious, makes a return…..
“Her mother gave her that look again. We kind of wanted the going-out, shopping, prom-going type, and we got this weird, creepy one , and we love it but what is it talking about, ever?”6%
Y’all this book was super wild. There were two mysteries going on that made it difficult to guess who the killer was. Johnson also barely gives you any clues which also makes it hard to guess who the culprit is. She times it in a great way and because of that, I was thankful. One of my pet peeves of thrillers is being able to tell who did it, so I applaud Johnson for not making it easy on me.
“Stevie had no fears of the dead. The living, however, sometimes gave her the creeps.”37%
I also loved the characters. Stevie was so relatable. If you come to my house on any given day, the tv is on and it’s on Oxyen or ID. I love True Crime and I find myself watching it all the time. I could definitely understand her wanting to be in everyone’s business lol All of the others were interesting as well, which made the story so much more enjoyable.
“Games are not fun when you don’t know you’re playing.”46%
The only thing I didn’t care for was the length and the “romance.” I wasn’t sure that it was neccessary, but I can tell it was at the “ending.” (I’ll get there in a minute lol) And I can’t help but think that it was a touch too long. I’m not sure how to explain it because I think it was too long, but I also think it wasn’t long enough to give us a real ending? I guess it was a bit too drawn out.
“But she had seen all she needed to. You know death when you see it.”53%
Overall, there was so much more that I wanted to find out about this book! I can honestly say I am excited to find out about the rest of the series and I usually never say that with books that have cliff-hangers. This is one sequel I will definitely be waiting on in 2019!
Overall, I give this
OOh nice! I loved her Shades of London series, so sad that we'll likely never get the final book because that third one ended with wayyy too many loose-ends! So I was excited to see she had a new mystery out! Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Can't wait to read it!
I loved this book. Johnson did a fantastic job with intertwining the two murders, and I fully embraces Stevie. I am eager to read the next book. Great review!
You liked this more than I did (I agree about it being too long and that romance and last twist were just weird) but I did love the older mystery and liked Stevie.
For What It's Worth