Truly Devious: A Mystery (Truly Devious, 1)

The end definitely helped bump the score up a bit, but otherwise... I don’t know. I love a good mystery, but this was too tween for me (yes, I know it’s YA. But this was definitely on the “younger” side of that). For a 400+ page book, it certainly seemed like a lot happened, while at the same time nothing at all happened... that is, until the last twenty pages or so. I’m glad the “romance” was put on the back burner. It’s refreshing when there’s more focus on plot, especially in YA mysteries, and less on teen drama.I liked Stevie as a character, but she lost favorable points with me when she withheld evidence for the sake of her own pride and arrogance. Still, she, Nate, and Janelle were the least annoying of all the “students”— most of whom were written like privileged hipsters. Seriously, each and every one of Stevie’s classmates were described like they stepped out of a factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where they mass-produce hip, liberal Generation Z progressives. I get these kids are all supposed to be talented and brilliant artists, but never in my life have I heard of or seen 16/17 year olds dressed or styled like caricatures from different decades (and sometimes all at once on one person). It was super unrealistic... and then I saw the author’s image at the end, and knew exactly why all these teens wore crafty trashbag dresses, severe black bob haircuts with bright red lipstick, silver coiffed hair and overalls, cat eye glasses and oversized dress shirts, etc. etc.I also hated the inclusion of politics here. I won’t go into details, because that could be spoiler territory, but it’s clear there is a bias against Republicans. Why are we out to vilify millions of people?I don't WANT to keep reading, but I NEED to know the mystery...Kudos for keeping me guessing, and actually surprising me, but also— curse you and your cliffhangers!!

When you're a novelist you are entering a kind of contract with your readers...you are making them promises. If you're writing a murder mystery the primary thing you must do by the end of the book is solve the goddam mystery. The answer to the puzzle MUST be given at the end of the book.Maureen Johnson does NOT do that in Truly Devious. In fact, she DOESN'T solve a current day murder, DOESN'T solve a cold case murder from the '30s and DOESN'T even tell us the solution to a riddle.Imagine buying a jigsaw puzzle and opening it up only to find there are only half the pieces you need.She ends the book with the words, "To be continued..." Apparently Miss Johnson thinks she's writing an episode of the 1970's Batman TV series.The protagonist, Stevie Bell is interesting enough to read. (Stevie is a girl) She has another female character named Element...and a boy named Hayes Major...and a Dr. Quinn (as in Medicine Woman).I will NOT read the sequel. Don't care who did it. She didn't keep her promises. She talks about Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie in the novel because her protagonist loves mysteries...those authors ALWAYS SOLVED THE MYSTERY. They didn't leave a cliffhanger. This author should have learned from her betters.

So. I have major beef with Maureen Johnson. I am a huge fan of her, and her writing, and her Shades of London series. I wait in anticipation for each and every new book to come out, and have been waiting year after year for the 4th in the series to be released, except it hasn't been and I don't even know if it ever will. I understand that she's been going through a lot, and of course, priority is herself and her health. My confusion lies in the fact that...well...she left that series unfinished and has now started writing a NEW series! Completely new series! And here's the other thing...it is very similar, in terms of plot and storyline, to the Shades of London series (boarding school, murder, mystery, group of kids trying to get the bad guy and solve a century old mystery?) (except we haven't encountered any ghosts...yet). So what does this mean for Shades of London? Is she done with that? I'd love if anyone who has or knows the answer would share it with me.Now...to get on with this book review. I am a sucker for YA mysteries, and I do love Johnson's writing style, so obviously I immediately purchased this book. The mystery in this one is quite heartbreaking, involving a 3 year old child, which tugs at my heartstrings. This is a very intricately written book, with so many complex things happening and being built simultaneously. Moving between past and present, you are left in awe at how Johnson maneuvered all the events and put them together in a way that isn't too complicated for the readers to grasp, but still leaves you scratching your head.The book starts with a prologue, where a student at Ellingham Academy is murdered. That scene is written so well that it made me think of The Lovely Bones and that suffocating scene where Susie gets brutally murdered. We then find out that the school's founder's wife and 3 year old daughter are also missing.In present day, Stevie Bell enrolls into Ellingham Academy with one goal in mind - to solve the murder mystery that took place back in 1936. Now, I have to admit, I was rolling my eyes at this. A teenager is going to solve a mystery that went unsolved for almost a century. Really? Except, once I got into it and got to know the characters and got to know Stevie better, I didn't even care anymore. I suspended reality and decided to go with the flow, and was completely behind her, supporting her and rooting for her.The book continues to alternate between past and present as the events of the past are slowly revealed and how the crime was never really solved and the child's body was never found, and how Stevie tries to put it all together in present time, while strange things start to happen mirroring the events of the past.In the midst of all that, we get to know Stevie's flat mates, friends, family, her likes and dislikes, her insecurities, her love interest (of course) and all the usual high school drama. David is definitely an intriguing character, and I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming, although I should have probably expected it, but I didn't.This whole book played out like a big set up for what's going to happen in book 2. It introduces you to the murder in the past, then sets you up with a new murder done in the same fashion as the one from the past with a poem by "Truly Devious" him/herself, then leaves you with, not one, but TWO killer cliffhangers so you basically have to bang your head against the wall in frustration as you wait until next year for the second installment.I hope that this is one series Maureen Johnson will see through to the end.

I've had my eye on Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson for a while, without really knowing much about it. Such a striking cover! Sow hen it was recently on sale for 99p for Kindle, I read it's blurb and snapped it up. However, it was a pretty huge disappointment.Stevie is obsessed with true crime and detective stories, so when she manages to get into Ellingham Academy, a prestigious school for gifted teens, she's over the moon. Not only can she now take classes to help her on the way to becoming a modern day sleuth, but she can start her work now. Ellingham Academy is not only famous for it's quirky way of teaching, but also because of a historical kidnap and murder. Founder Albert Ellingham's wife Iris and daughter Alice were kidnapped for a ransom in the 1930s, soon after the school opened. Despite Ellingham giving the abductor - known as Truly Devious from the letter they sent - everything they wanted, he didn't get his family back. Iris' body was found washed up days later, and strangely, so was the body of a student, Dolores Epstein, found in a shallow grave in a field. Alice, however, was never found. Stevie is determined to be the one who finally solves the murder. But when the body of a student is found on the school grounds, it looks like Truly Devious may have returned.I was hugely intrigued by this story! Originally, I loved how Stevie's narrative was interspersed with chapters from the 1930s, from the perspectives of different characters around at the time, when the crime took place. But it takes Stevie quite a while to actually try to start figuring things out, so I had my interest piqued fairly early on, but was then waiting around for Stevie to start doing something. I think I would have preferred for those chapters to begin when Stevie actually starts to think about things now she's there, and has conversations with her friends, so we then got to see what Stevie was talking about. But I was just waiting, and waiting. And to be honest, Stevie doesn't really get started.Truly Devious is incredibly slow, and in the great scheme of things, barely anything happens. The majority of the story is internal monologue; Stevie thinking about things and trying to piece things together, but failing. And she does very little in the way of actual sleuthing. All these detectives she adores, but she barely gets out there looking for clues, talking to people, investigating. She's just thinking.And the story is a mystery that gives us no answers. Seriously. Stevie is no closer to figuring out what happened to Iris and Alice Ellingham than she was before she got to the school. And when the student dies present day, it takes a while for Stevie to connect any dots. And even then, the story ends on a cliffhanger that suggests that the answer Stevie does come up with isn't the full picture, so in actual fact, we don't find out anything, really.Honestly, I feel like reading Truly Devious was a complete waste of my time, and I'm quite glad it only cost me 99p. However, a lot of people really enjoyed this book, so do read other reviews before deciding whether or not you'll read it.Trigger and content warnings: Anxiety and panic attacks.

This was really really really good. But that ending???? Naaaaaah.Ellingham Academy is a famous school for gifted people in the mountains of Vermont. It was founded by the very rich Albert Ellingham in the 1930s, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways and gardens. Not long after he opened the school, his wife and daughter were kidnapped in what become one of the greatest unsolved crimes of American history. The only real clue was a riddle listing various methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym "Truly, Devious". Eighty years later, Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at the academy. She is obsessed with true-crime and wants to be the one to solve the mystery. However, not long after she arrives, strange things begin to happen, and Truly Devious makes a surprise return...As soon as I saw the synopsis for this book I had to pick it up. It sounded so good. And it was, it really was. It did, however, take me about three weeks to read it since I had no time to do anything else other than uni work, so I think this took a bit of my enjoyment away. I struggled to keep up with the characters, and to be honest I probably should have left it and then picked it up once I knew I had time so I could read it all at once. The only thing that did really ruin it for me was the ending; it ended so abruptly and I'm so pissed off at how long I'm going to have to wait for the next book. What a cliffhanger. I'm also realllllllllllly annoyed that we never find out who it was that Dottie met in the observatory in the first chapter - maybe in book two or three we will.I did really like all of the characters even if they seemed a bit one-dimensional. This may have just been because I didn't have the right time to dive into the story and get to know them really well, though. There were a lot of them to keep track of. Stevie was a strong lead and I really liked her, but she did seem too nosy for her own good. All the other students were really likeable also; I don't think there were any I disliked. Her mum and dad were really irritating though, but I thought they were written well - no wonder Stevie wanted to spend some time away from them. There was a tiny bit of romance in the book but it wasn't a huge part of the story.The setting was really interesting and I enjoyed reading about Ellingham Academy. I think my favourite parts of the book were the parts from when the kidnappings happened in 1936. It was really interesting, and even though I knew they would never catch who did it I kept expecting them to. They seemed to get so close time and time again, yet they never did. When Stevie did finally discover who did it, I was a bit disappointed. I didn't see it coming - which is a good thing! - but maybe I just wanted it to be someone else. Saying that though, the way the book ended, I wouldn't be surprised if she was wrong and it wasn't who she thought it to be all along. The nice plot twist at the end was done really well - I didn't see this coming either - and it did really shock. I just don't see what the point in it is yet, maybe I'll see in later books. I really loved the writing style. It was the kind of book that you could easily pick up and just get lost in, even though I didn't have the time to. I did manage to get lost in the last half which I read over the course of a day when I did find time.I might give this a reread soon in the hope I can give it a higher rating. I feel like it deserves more than the four stars I'm giving it but I don't think it's quite five stars. The cliffhanger is really annoying, as good as it was. If I had book two right now I definitely would not mind as much, but I really do not want to wait another year or so.4/5 stars.

I’ve wanted to read this book ever since I first read the blurb for it sometime in 2017 and I’m definitely glad that I moved it to the top of my TBR list as I thoroughly enjoyed it and literally cannot wait for book two to come out.The setting of this novel was just fantastic. Ellingham Academy was a wonderful place for a mystery to be set with its remote location, labyrinth layout full of hidden passageways and vast array of differently gifted students. To be honest I think diving into this world would be interesting whatever the circumstances – I’d loved to have seen one of the Ellingham’s unusual parties –and I can’t wait to explore the school further (hopefully) in book two.The characters, like the setting, were fascinating to learn about and Stevie’s point of view was spot on for this mysterious novel. Unlike the characters in most YA mysteries that I’ve read Stevie is interested in solving crimes from the start simply because she loves learning about such things. Her entire reason for getting into the Ellingham Academy is to try and solve its infamous mystery and her love of all things crime related shines through time and time again throughout the story. I love that she’s different to your typical YA character and I can’t wait to see some more of her. The supporting characters were equally fascinating and varied from one another greatly. David is one character who I’m particularly looking forward to learning more about in book two as he was definitely a difficult individual to figure out.As for the story it was utterly gripping and written in a wonderfully compelling manner. I adored both the scenes from the past and the story that unwound in the present. The scenes that told the tales of the past varied from different points of view, interviews and articles; all of which were well written and left me eternally eager for the next snippet of history. Likewise the present storyline was completely gripping and jam-packed with lots of twists and turns. I also feel that the Truly Devious letters deserve a special mention for being so fantastic; they were well written, taunting and oddly fit into the strange environment of Ellingham.All in all I definitely recommend this book to anybody whose taken the time to read this review. Truly Devious was utterly addictive and I truly can’t wait to get my hands on book two.

My daughter loves mystery books, so I bought this for her 12th birthday. She read it in 4 days - completely devoured it and then instantly asked me to pre-order the next one when it comes out. I tend to be a little suspicious when a book only has a few ratings, wondering if they are all from family and friends of the author, but I took a punt on this and it paid off as far as my daughter is concerned. She said it gripped her from the beginning and left her wanting more at the end. If that isn't a great book then what is!

I am so disappointed by this book. The main reason is because the premise is amazing: a cold case to be solved by the true crime passionate protagonist who suffers with anxiety. A school, isolated on a mountain with secret passages and tunnels and a massive library. An YA novel with strong dark academia vibes.It's a shame that all of that is wasted throughout the book. By half I still didn't know pretty much anything about the old crime and it just finally started introducing the modern day crime. Half a book.The writing is ok, not great not terrible, I enjoyed the descriptions on the building and the surrounding gardens but then the space is not really used in my opinion. The library for example, I remember visiting it a couple of times? Non finding secret passages while following the clues left like bread crumbs in each chapter. What a waste.And don't get me started on the romance. I know it's an YA and there must be something, but the two characters have no chemistry. I don't know if he's supposed to be the brooding fascinating teenager or what, but I feel like he had no place anywhere. He was a douche to the main character and then they are making out. Like, what?Anyway, let's move on to the nonexisting finale. A mystery novel normally solves the case at the end, right? That's the whole point. No, nothing of the sort. I felt robbed reading 420 (ahah) pages to then have nothing solved. And I can't help thinking this is just a cheap money grabbing technique because the publisher knows it's not a great book.What a shame, I had such high hopes.