Truly Devious: A Mystery: 1 (Truly Devious, 1)

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The Truly Devious trilogy is a series based on kidnappings and murders. Come along for a thrilling and bone-chilling murder mystery thriller. basic premise is that a wealthy 1930s tycoon starts a free school for children in the mountains of vermont where he also hosts small but lavish gatherings with the rich and famous. said tycoon's wife and child are kidnapped. present day true crime lover stevie gets into this free school for kids and decides to solve the mystery. Oh and every time I see Albert Ellingham talking about how much he loves games, I just picture an mischievous smile on his face—maybe even evil.😨 The mystery really takes an unexpected turn in this novel, going in a direction I had not expected and leaving me wanting more. It is truly difficult to predict the many twists and turns that make this one of the greatest young adult mysteries I have ever read. Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie’s greatest triumph . . .

This is more fast paced, riveting and entertaining book. I even start to empathize Stevie, her techniques, her obsessions, way of thinking, emotional up and downs. My surprise stand out favourite was .. the romance!? Now I don't usually care much for romance subplots but I am FEELING THIS ONE. The miscommunication was kind of annoying, but overall I am really, really into David/Stevie and like ,, actually felt my cold dead heart move a little every time they talked. And the anxiety rep was perfect. Although Stevie was a very dull narrator with not much of a personality, this felt like an OwnVoices book. Mental health rep is very important, especially in books outside of contemporary fiction where these things aren't usually depicted. Stevie agrees, as long as she can bring along her friends from Ellingham Academy. Nothing sounds better than a summer spent together, investigating old murders. I have read books written by Stephen King, George Orwell, and Deborah Levy on writing. Maureen Johnson's version of it mentioned in this book is simple and equally impressive like the authors above.This is bullshit. I cannot stand by another cliffhanger ending, and an author who thinks it’s okay to manipulate their readership into buying another book to find out what happens. This whole series screams “CASH GRAB!”, and I’m done. I think part of my swooning over Truly Devious was being new to Ellingham Academy; learning about the school, its history and all of the people there. We had less of that excitement in this one, at least for me. My parents grew to support my interests, but as a child, researching and clipping articles on killings, mass murders, crime sprees and cold cases seemed a bit alarming to them. Perhaps that contributed to my love for this book. when i first saw this book, i was filled with a personality-changing, life-defining, character-destroying rage. HOW COULD THEY NOT TELL ME ABOUT THIS BOOK, i demanded of a THEY that does not exist. WHY DID NO ONE SEE FIT TO INFORM ME OF ITS EXISTENCE, i followed up, also of the nameless THEY that had swiftly become my enemy.

George says he knows where Alice is, but before he tells Albert anything, George lights a cigarette and the boat explodes.And David, he is number one asshole, who treated her like trash and we learned that he is manipulating liar!

I’m giving my four mysterious, exciting, intelligent thriller stars! I cannot wait to read the sixth book! I’m truly devoted fan! I hope we can read more about Nate Fisher in near future!I finished this book with the sudden urge to pace, bitter and frantic and feeling every second of my frustration and deprivation. It was almost unbearable to come so close to getting answers, to barely feel and almost taste before being snatched away and left to walk the circle of my own thoughts, which centered partly on the question of: who the hell was the first person to invent the concept of cliffhangers and have they ever issued a public apology? In this second installment of her marvelous Truly Devious series, Maureen Johnson offers thrilling suspense, sly wit, a memorable cast of characters and more pieces of her deliciously intricate puzzle.” — Buffalo News

And also the people who haven’t still read this please go away because there are gonna be a lot of spoilers! Stevie is frustrated because she keeps getting weird messages from the people who think their neighbors are murderers ( at least Broaddus family from New Jersey didn’t ask her services to find the WATCHER! ) She cannot concentrate on the articles she has to read and she cannot make plans for college because even though she can get scholarship for education, she still needs to pay for accommodation and daily expenses which she cannot afford by working at grocery store. She also suffers from long distance relationship with David. Being away from her pretentious douche boyfriend ( okay, my emotions for David affected my judgment again) correction: her dear boyfriend makes her question their relationship. She feels extra vulnerable. Francis Crane is the 16-year-old daughter of the wealthy businessman who owns Crane Flour, a baking empire. The Cranes are good friends of Albert Ellingham, hence Francis’ presence at Ellingham Academy. Francis likes secrets, chemistry (particularly explosives), and crime. Stevie Bell is a dyed-in-the-wool true-crime buff…a smart, relatable, self-aware protagonist. Fans of puzzles, boarding school stories, and true crime will tear through this book and love every minute.” — School Library Journal Also, the pacing of this was weird just because it’s a three-book series with one or two main mysteries. So you get answers at some points in this book, but not a lot of them and not really any that matter.Steive/stephaine :- she is just toooooooooo much ! okay like you are smart,bright,intelligent fine good for you, but can you please use your brain sometime? However, I enjoyed this a lot. It was fascinating, dark, mysterious. I'm coming for David with my pitchfork, so once he's disposed of, this book can safely be elevated by another half a star. Jumping between past and present, Johnson’s novel is deliciously atmospheric, with a sprawling cast of complex suspects/potential victims, surprising twists, and a dash of romance. As in her Shades of London books, Johnson remains a master at combining jittery tension with sharp, laugh-out-loud observations.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) This book is exciting to read but still faces the problems of the second book in the trilogies. There is no world-building in this one like the first book, Truly devious. There is also no proper ending as it happens only in the third book. The plot is engaging but nothing spectacular. So it will be challenging to find staunch supporters for this book. Before meeting with the gang, we get introduced THE NINE: bunch of comedy writer teenagers who have complex relationships, dating with each than breaking up and dating the rest of group members ( story takes place in 90s so it’s understandable that their relationship patterns remind us Aaron Spelling’s young adult series like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place) Pretentious Sebastian, free spirited Sooz, Irish joy Rosie, vintage styled Noel, natural athlete Peter, comedy nerd Yash, heartbreaker Julian, aspiring history student Angela, medical student Theo are the group members. They are vivid, interesting characters and as soon as I got introduced with them I wished they had their own book instead of being part of Stevie Bell mystery drama. Amount of the character numbers is already too much. I got a little exhausted to concentrate on the nine and gang of Stevie including David’s new British friends!