| Title | : | Truly Devious (Truly Devious, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published January 16, 2018 |
| Awards | : | Lincoln Award (2021), Goodreads Choice Award Young Adult Fiction (2018) |
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
Truly Devious (Truly Devious, #1) Reviews
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Truly devious:- ⭐⭐.15/5
Vanishing stair :- ⭐.75/5
Read review here
Hand on wall :- ⭐⭐.5/5
read review here
*Spoiler alert*
Yeah so oh boy, I just read this renowned, esteemed, honoured and lauded book that everybody was asking me to read when I last wrote in my review to suggest me a good y/a mystery thriller book.
And please, to people who asked me to read this, just shoo go away you may not be able to Handle this!!
And also the people who haven’t still read this please go away because there are gonna be a lot of spoilers!
• There are tons tons of videos/reviews about how good this book is just check them out because it’s a rant and definitely not a place for you!
someone said the book has got some really interesting AGATHA CHRISTIE mentions and you know i love her !
there were a total of 6 AC mentions that too totally unrelated! and dont argue with me , i counted okay!
So back to therantpoint:-
• Wtf did I just read , I think my brain just committed suicide and there are still 2 more parts to go!!
• Where do I even start? Well obviously the plot/synopsis!
Well the thing about the synopsis was its intriguing and it bluffs you into reading this, its fucking incredible how interesting the synopsis was compared to entire book!
•This book was ‘SUPPOSED ‘ to be an mystery thriller and that’s why I was here, congrats you tricked me and I am happy to be clowned for 12345 times this week.
• By the time I completed the book I was out of fucks I give this book
• 200 pages into the book and guess what happened ?
• Nothing
• NOTHING EXCEPT
• Building the environment , atmosphere, building the timelines , constantly jumping from timelines and and and
• CHARACTER INTRODUCTION
• I HAVEN'T IN MY ENTIRE LIFE SEEN A BUNCH OF TEENS WITH BORING HOBBIES AND 0 EMOTIONAL DEPTH
• They were fucking robots/machinery/machines whatever you wanna call them.
• 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?
Honestly this book would have ended if Steive would have confessed to Larry finding something which was very imp long ago but no she is SHERLOCK ( and author left no stone unturned for readers to believe that she is sooo smart and whatever she is doing is good)
She is introduced to us a someone really good at this , like she could solve the mystery FBI couldn’t solve for past 80 years!
Right so you expect her to be good!
But she omg ! she really get on my nerves?
• She tried really tooooooooooooooo hard to be HERCULE POIROT! And let me tell you girl whatever the hell you were trying to do don’t put it on AGATHA CHRISTIE( she is my love ) , that’s exactly not what hercule poirot do so please just fuck off and play with your boyfriend !
• Speaking of boyfriend read this:-
I think her brain was too busy being awesome that she didn’t mind making out in room of a girl who is missing with a boy who might be hiding something without giving a fuck that this room is still not searched !!!!!!
Dudeeeeeeeee!! Are you out of your mind!
• Second imp character DAVID :- SO HE IS PHYSCIOPATH !
Like imagine this ,
Hi I am David and if I have to stup up a person I say “ my parents are dead” though they are alive
I do stupid stuff and stare at a girl name steive and asks my rich politician dad to give better jobs to her parents and I think I am cool!
I lie a lot , like its my hobby and I love it
And yes you could totally trust me!
• Rest there are soo many characters whom its okay if you don’t care about!
•There was a character named Vi, who is non binary character, I was really happy with this rep but every other time they are mentioned, Vi is mentioned instead of using the pronoun.
•I was so frustrated like idk why ? that put me off.
• And again in the first 20 pages of book, there was a girl wearing hijab and she was never mentioned again, she was just there for diversity rep just like Vi for LGBTQIAP+ rep!
• Immediately those things …
• Ahhh it was frustrating !
and that ending i mean wtf ! like what the author expected us to be shocked, intrigued dude please !
I just care about what happened to ALBERT and his family I don’t give a fuck whatever this steive wanna do with her life. -
I LOVED THIS BOOK. If you need a new YA mystery novel, this is the one for you! Truly Devious totally took me by surprise. I had no idea I would love this book as much as I did!
Cw: murder
I loved our main character, Stevie. I wish this book existed in high school so that I could have had a female protagonist interested in true crime to relate to. I feel Stevie is extremely competent, self-aware, and has a really great head on her shoulders. I also loved her best friends, Janelle – we need more black girls who like girls in STEM fields in media, and Nate – he’s such an apathetic lil bean who I hope gets more development in the sequel. I wasn’t a crazy big fan of David (I guess he is considered the love interest? Truly Devious is FAR from a heavy romance story, but there is definite attraction). He just sort of weirded me out; Motives unclear half the time, sometimes annoying, sometimes charming. I can’t really feel out his character at this point, but I did enjoy him more towards the ending and I’m hopeful he’ll grown on me more in the future.
I am not a huge fan of dual timeline books where it jumps from present to past with a completely different set of characters, but it worked well for this book. The scenes set in 1936 do not overtake the present story, but are a great addition to the story. It does not feel “info-dumpy”, rather, it is like reading two mysteries unfolding at once.
I adore the mystery of the story. You truly CANNOT TELL who is “Truly Devious”, if the same killer has returned, or else how these two crimes are really connected! There are so many twists and turns and unanswered questions that you will be on the edge of your seat trying to figure out how everything fits together.
I will add, I do feel like the pacing was a bit slow at some points. There are not many significant plot points until about halfway through. That being said, I keep reminding myself that most thrillers are condensed into one book, whereas this will be a trilogy, so I understand the decision/need to have a more fleshed out beginning before diving into all the drama. I am anxiously anticipating book two and am extremely hopeful that things will be nonstop action from here.
Truly Devious is truly amazing. It is a MUST READ. Book #2 is already going to the top of my most anticipated releases for 2019.
This book was sent to me unsolicited and for free by Harper Collins. I had no obligation to review this book and all opinions are my own. -
Me: *reads the last page and closes the book with a loud thump*
Me, in a Buzzfeed Unsolved voice: with that in mind, let’s get into the THEORIES. [rolls huge chalkboard into the room] -
4.5 stars!
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This was such a successful reread. I'm so happy!
I'm planning to reread
The Vanishing Stair very soon as well and then FINALLY continue on with the rest. I'm not just saying that...
Earlier:
I am so excited to be rereading Truly Devious, one of my favorite YA Mysteries of all time!
I really want to close this series out, but I read the first two books so long ago that I want to reread them and then binge the rest. Let the games begin!!
Original:
Holy FREAKING cliffhanger!!!
I am actually happy I put off reading Truly Devious for almost a year after it was released, because honestly, I don't think I could have waited for the sequel.
Well played, Maureen Johnson. Well played.
Ellingham Academy, a private school for gifted students is set in the remote mountains of Vermont. The school was founded by wealthy industrialist, Albert Ellingham, at the turn of the 20th-Century.
This posh Academy offers up an environment where learning is intended to be fun. Students are allowed to pursue individual interests with hardly any limits.
For Stevie Bell, her area of interest is criminal investigation. After she is accepted to Ellingham, she is anxious to delve into the decades old Truly Devious cold case.
Shortly after the school was founded, Albert Ellingham's wife and daughter were kidnapped and held for ransom.
His wife's body was eventually found, but his daughter, Alice, was never recovered. Soon thereafter, Albert himself, died under mysterious circumstances.
Being away from home and adjusting to private school is tough for Stevie. She suffers from an anxiety disorder that creates challenges for her that not all kids experience.
I found this aspect of Stevie's character super relatable. The anxiety rep was some of the best I have ever read; at least based on my own personal experiences.
I truly, no pun intended, enjoyed getting to know Stevie and am very excited that we are getting more books with her as the main protagonist.
Not only did I relate to Stevie because of her anxiety disorder, but I also have always been most interested in crime and criminal investigation. I know what it is like when you are young, for people to find that odd, particularly parents.
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.
I also found the set-up of the Ellingham kidnappings interesting in that it reminded me of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping in 1932: the wealthy industrialist, the missing child, the ransom and the cryptic notes.
There were a lot of similarities and I found it easy to follow along with the intrigue because of that. I would love to know if the author was at all inspired by that case.
Overall, I just think this was a perfect book for me.
It catered so well to all of my interests. I loved the cast of characters. The writing was fun and engaging and I cannot wait to pick up The Vanishing Staircase!!!!
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JOHN GREEN, PAY ATTENTION. This is how you write a cool mystery-y book with quirky teens without making me want to die.
Okay, John Green, you can stop reading now. I think it would make me uncomfortable if you read the rest of this review, considering
the mean things I’ve said and the mean things your fans have said to me in the comments of my mean things. We just have too much backstory.
Now, for the rest of you!
WHAT A FUN RIDE.
As soon as I heard this book was “unsolved murder mystery at boarding school,” I was in. When I heard the elaboration “unsolved rich people murder mystery from History mixed with current boarding school murder mystery plus true crime aficionado,” I was EXCITED.
And whoa mama was that excitement warranted.
This was not a perfect read for me by any means. I think the quirkiness was wayyy extraneous at some points (even if it wasn’t John Green-level - but truly what is), and it took away from the pacing and the believability. It kind of felt surreal at times. (Like, can we stop talking about the girl who somehow has her dirty unshowered hair in a million tiny ponytails tied with baby socks and get to the murdering, please?)
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.
A very unsatisfying experience.
I think if I could have read all three books at once and pretended they were one very long book, I would have liked this more. As is, it’s a solid three point five.
Also, I already forget what happened in the second book. But that’s unrelated.
Bottom line: This was fun and promising! But weird stuff prevented it from being any more than that.
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reread review
hell yeah.
rounding up to 4 (instead of down to 3) upon reread
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reread updates
THERE'S GOING TO BE A FOURTH BOOK??!
i just picked this up for a reread on basically a whim and now i find out there's another installment out in 2 months. i think i'm god.
-------------
pre-review
baby, let me tell you...I GOT WHAT I CAME FOR.
review to come
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tbr review
i am ready for INTRIGUE. i am ready for SUSPENSE. i am ready for CRIME and MURDER. -
i swear, there is no better feeling in the world than getting to a big reveal in a murder mystery and being able to shout, ‘I KNEW IT!’
maybe that makes the story too predictable and easy, but wow, what a confidence boost and what an enjoyable book!
for a plot revolving around a murder, this is surprisingly... light? the story has a very easy going and game-like feel to it. this is also a slow burn mystery (nothing really happens until about halfway in), but its done in a really effective way where you didnt feel like the story is dragging.
all i can say is i had fun and im looking forward to seeing what happens next!
↠ 4 stars -
“A girl from Pittsburgh came to Ellingham Academy and she wanted to see a dead body. She got her wish.”
Friends, you’d think a book that is centered around two different murders would be a lot more exciting and enjoyable to read. I know I sound harsh already, but I just really thought I was going to love this one. But I truly only ended up loving the atmosphere of the setting and the amazing anxiety rep. That’s it.
This story stars a young girl named Stevie, who just got invited to attend Ellingham Academy, a very prestigious, private school for the most gifted of children. Stevie has dreamed of being a detective her entire life and feels like this is going to be an amazing new adventure for her, because Ellingham Academy is also well known for a murder mystery that happened years and year ago, which was never solved, and one body was never found. The only thing that was found was a letter signed truly devious, which also quickly was destroyed.
Stevie thinks it will be so much fun to investigate the school (which is built into the side of a mountain, like, so freaking cool) but another murder soon happens to a person that she recently befriended. Now, she feels like she must get to the bottom of both of these mysteries, and she’s uncovering more and more secrets that were supposed to be kept hidden.“Schools may be famous for many things: academics, graduates, sports teams. They are not supposed to be famous for murders.”
Trust me, I made that synopsis sound way cooler than the actual book. Stevie is a cool character though, and I liked seeing her dynamic with her very conservative parents, when she is in a much more liberal mindset. And as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Stevie has many anxiety and panic attacks throughout this story, and I honestly have never read a more realistic portrayal of how my attacks actually feel and I am still in awe of it. Like, I completely believe that this has to be an ownvoices portrayal, because it was so expertly crafted.
But another fun thing about this book is that we get to see Stevie interact with all the other kids at this private school, and they are all truly possible suspects. Yet, the reader will also be left guessing how this new murder will correlate with the one from the past that was never truly solved.“When you have enough power and money, you can dictate the meanings of words.”
Going into this, everyone told me that the ending was going to kill me and probably make me the third victim of this tale, but honestly? It just annoyed me. Like, it was so far out there that I was just left completely flabbergasted. Especially after Stevie’s discovery prior to that wild ending. I don’t know, I just felt like it actually ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth, and for sure didn’t make me excited to pick up the next one.
Overall, this just wasn’t for me. But please take my review with a grain of salt, because almost everyone I know loves and adores this story. I also think a big reason why this might not have been a hit for me is also because I had just read
A Study in Charlotte and completely fallen in love with that contemporary murder mystery. Maybe I was subconsciously comparing the two? I don’t know, but I just didn’t love this one, friends, even though I really wish that I would have!
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Content and trigger warnings for underage drinking, panic attacks, murder, and use of the word cr*zy.
Buddy Read with
Alexa,
Khouloud,
Caidyn,
Amy &
Heather! ❤ -
This was my first YA murder mystery.
I will definitely be reading more.
Truly Devious follows a true-crime enthusiast and aspiring detective named Stevie who gets accepted into a mysterious school called Ellingham Academy. Years ago, a series of murders signed "Truly, Devious" shocked the community, and Stevie is determined to solve the mystery.
My favorite thing about this book was definitely the atmosphere. It was ominous, unsettling, slightly creepy. Something big was always on the verge of happening. Small clues would appear, slight changes in the mood of the room. It's a little too quirky for my tastes (there was a character whose strange attire was described literally every time she entered the room), but I can see how that worked well for the story.
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.
Unfortunately, I had to take off a star because of...
David.
*smiles through the pain* David.
I might as well start from the beginning.
David is a student at Ellingham who really isn't there for any reason? Everyone else has a particular skill, but he's just there. He has no personality or defining traits (besides being a jerk). He is specifically there to add ~romance~ and ~spice~ and to fail at his only job.
Someone literally got killed and Stevie witnessed it. She was an anxious, wound-up wreck.
And he decided that was a good time to make out with her.
The logic is not apparent.
I am not impressed.
Added to that, David was angsty and had a tRaGiC bAcKsToRy, which is a terrible combination. This was supposed to make him interesting, I believe.
It failed.
There was a plot twist related to him in the end that I think was supposed to be shocking, but if you've read any YA at all, you could probably predict it.
Besides, he was nothing but rude and dismissive to Stevie and played the victim whenever she called him out.
Nobody likes you, David.
He's also kind of manipulative, in that he twists all of Stevie's actions - many of which were caused by her anxiety - and makes her look like the villain. He doesn't make an effort to understand her.
I am running far, far away.
My only other pet peeve was with Ellingham himself. This book switches timelines between the present day and the past, including scenes with Ellingham. His wife and daughter were kidnapped by Truly Devious, who demands a ransom.
Like a fool, he gives up all his money before ensuring that his family is alive. He doesn't even bring a police force with him.
His actions were all extremely stupid, and it annoyed me to no end.
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.
Until then, this is a 3.5 star read. -
Three a little disappointed but still determined enough to give a chance to the second book of trilogy stars.
Firstly what I liked about this book:
Curiosity didn’t kill the cat but intrigued a dog lover like me, mostly I’m really wondering the correlation between the murders in the past and now! So I want to learn more! The series still keep my attention and last half was real page turner.
I always enjoy murder mysteries. I liked references of Christie and Conan Doyle books, methods of solving mysteries.
What I didn’t like about the book:
The worst character development ever:
There are bunch of boring characters who have no emotional depths.
Our heroine Stevie reminded me of Riverdale’s Betty Cooper who likes to act like Nancy Drew ( who I also dislike so much). I don’t know the reasons of her panic attacks, her hostility to her parents, her obsession to solve the crimes. Maybe we’ll learn more about her family background on the upcoming books.
And David, he is number one asshole, who treated her like trash and we learned that he is manipulating liar!
I don’t consider him as a hero of the book because of his short time existence at the parts( and he did nothing heroic ! He was mostly annoying, pretentious douchebag)
I also disliked Ellie! Not much idea about Janelle!
Only Nate gives me hope, he’s a writer suffering from creativity crisis, he is weird, a little nerd, but he was the most trustworthy one who always supported Stevie! He is my hero candidate!
And the ending! I don’t think it was real cliffhanger! It made me more pissed off! If he is a real person, I’ll punch David on the face! I wish the ending would be a big revelation or clue about one of the murders !
Well at least there are good reviews about the second book! I’ll keep reading and hoping to see more layered character development, twists, surprises and big revelations!
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Love the story, hate the love interest.
I read this book in a single day. Granted, I spent almost 7 hours on a train and had no evening plans so it was just me and the book and no one else for a whole day but I'm not gonna complain. It was a good day, and I say that despite hating spending more than 90 minutes on any mode of transport, be it trains or planes.
I though it was an extremely good start for a mystery series. The setting is exciting as it is a super rich boarding school for the very talented and smart in the middle of nowhere, secret tunnels included. There's an unsolved kidnapping and murder from almost 100 years ago, there are new friends and interesting teachers and threatening messages written with cutout letters. The characters were fun apart from the guy the main character is supposed to fall in love with who radiates punch-me-in-the-face-because-I'm-a-dick energy and is as cliché as they come. It was highly entertaining if not gay enough for my liking.
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Maureen Johnson tells us the story of Ellingham Academy and the students studying there. Albert Ellingham was the founder of this private school. His wife and daughter were kidnapped shortly after the school was opened in the early part of the 20th century. Stevie Bell joins the school now in the present with the plan of solving the above case, which happened many years ago. The use of prolepsis might disconcert some readers, but the enigmatic way in which two conundrums unravel will provide you a ravishing experience.
What I learned from this book
1) Why it is important to prevent the witnesses talking to each other?
The author tells some secrets of human psychology that many writers are reticent about. Instead of going into the rhetoric of just narrating a murder and chasing the slayer, she delves deep into the psyche of everyone involved in the investigation in an assiduous manner. She tells us how other people's experiences and descriptions can externally influence human memory."One of the worst things is when witnesses start talking to each other. As soon as you start talking to someone else, the story you have in your head changes. Human memory is rewritten like computer memory. You just get the most updated file."
2) Maureen Johnson on writing.
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.“Writing is a lot of sitting down... It's a lot of trying things out and screwing up... It's either amazing or it's the worst thing in the world. Sometimes it goes well, and it's all you think about, and then, it's gone. It's like you're taking a ride down a river really fast, and then all of a sudden, there's no water. You're just sitting in a raft, trying to push it along in the mud. And then you've become me."
3) The importance of time in an investigation
Time is an important factor in every investigation. The importance of time in an investigation is discussed in an engrossing manner in this book."What you lack in any investigation is time. With every passing hour, evidence slips away. Crime scenes are compromised by people and the elements. Things are moved, altered, smeared, shifted. Organisms rot. Wind blows dust and contaminants. Memories change and fade. As you move away from the event, you move away from the solution."
4) Why is it important to get up early?
The above quote by Benjamin Franklin shows us the importance of getting up early, unless you are a night owl. We can see Stevie telling about the importance of early mornings in this novel.“There is something about early mornings that changes your perceptions subtly. The light is new; no one has put on the defences of the day. All is reset and not quite real yet.”
My favourite three lines from this book“Sherlock said, “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose.”
“When you have enough power and money, you can dictate the meanings of words.”
“Stevie had no fears of the dead. The living, however, sometimes gave her the creeps.”
What could have been better?
The world-building is done in a detailed manner in the initial part of the book. Some readers may find this part a little boring, and it might take some time for them to get ensnared to the mystery.
Rating
4/5 This might be a YA mystery thriller with Dark Academia vibes but it will satisfy any solicitous reader who are equipped for a riveting work of fiction. -
I thought this was fine, but it definitely felt more middle grade than young adult to me while reading.
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Um what?!?! I need book 2 right now. The end was such a teaser, things were just starting to come together. I need answers! Haha
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1.) Truly Devious ★★★★★
2.) The Vanishing Stair ★★★★.5
3.) The Hand on the Wall ★★★★.75
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HELLO, THIS IS MY NEW OBSESSION. -
Updated
So I've performed a fit of astonishing perseverance and read the whole book. Was it worth the effort? Not really, but I am at least ready to discuss details with my book club mates.
It's not that this novel is bad. I don't think it is. It's an ok mystery, with historical flashbacks that are much more compelling than present day obnoxious kids mucking about. But it's just so very boring. The main character is boring, the students are precocious and boring, they talk about boring things and they even romance each other in the most boring ways.
This is a case of personal taste though, and nothing else. Some authors just can't entertain me no matter what. Jenny Han, Victoria Schwab and yes, Maureen Johnson.
What is objectively annoying about this book though, is the ending, which there is none. What's the point of reading the whole mystery book to just find out that you don't even have all basic facts to guess the murderer?
Waste of time.
Original hot take
Can a book bore you to death within one page? Yes, it can.
I did listen to about an hour of it on audio anyway, but there is just nothing compelling in this story for me. Zero. Which, to be fair, I can say about every Maureen Johnson work I've ever read. Clearly we should part our ways forever. -
That cliffhanger though.
-
I buddy-read this with one of my friends who doesn’t read much because I’d heard it was good and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T READ AND SOMEONE ELSE (me) WHO DOESN’T LIKE SUSPENSEFUL MYSTERY THRILLERS WE BOTH REALLY WANT TO GET TO THE SEQUEL RIGHT THIS SECOND!!
-
a main character bold enough to knock herself unconscious when her anxiety gets to be too much
this book was much better than i was expecting, thank the fucking lord. i've read a couple of maureen johnson's other books and haven't ever been very impressed. this one kind of changed my mind about her.
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.
but it's not really that simple. stevie is a little uh... weird and she has to contend with the other strange characters in this boarding school as she tries to uncover what happened so many years ago. oh yeah, and one of her classmates happens to get murdered. no biggie.
i thought the plot of this was pretty excellent. i definitely wasn't expecting there to be so much focus on stevie's interactions with the other students and her burgeoning hormonal feelings but it didn't take away from her sleuthing too much imo. i liked that there were scenes from 1936 interspersed throughout the story along with police interviews from tycoon's fascinating friends. and i like that the present day murder is still unsolved, along with the past mystery.
the only thing that i didn't love, actually (lol wow that's bad shhh), was stevie herself. i understood her single minded obsession pretty well but her contempt for her parents was pretty hard to believe. also her complete lack of personal boundaries and lack of empathy sort of has me wondering if she has mental health issues beyond just anxiety.
but that being said, i'm really really curious to see where the next book takes us. i'll definitely be reading it.
ps if you felt the charlotte holmes series was lacking in actual mystery you might find this one more satisfying -
I love Maureen Johnson. Truly. And I thought this book was fast-paced, captivating and overall exciting and entertaining.
But. I'm either an idiot, a complete jerk, or possibly both, because this bugs me: a character is referred to as "Truly Devious" based on a letter which was 'signed' "Truly, Devious". This makes me think that "Truly" was the closing (in lieu of "Sincerely") and "Devious" was the writer, so the character would just be "Devious" or perhaps a tongue-in-cheek "Truly, Devious". Maybe it is part of the story that I missed or is yet to come, or (as previously stated) I'm just an annoying reader.
I'm still all-on-board for the sequel and I really and truly do love Maureen Johnson. -
This was..... ridiculous.
-
3.5 Stars
I don't think I'm suppose to like this book. I mean I should like it and I did like it but I don't know why I liked it.
The plot sounds great Stevie is a True Crime fanatic (something we share in common) who's bookcase is filled with the great detective novels, such as Sherlock and Poirot. She listens to True Crime podcast and is obsessed with the ID channel (again something we share in common) and hopes to become an FBI agent when she grows up. Stevie applies to and is accepted into Ellington an exclusive private school with an infamous past. Stevie sets out to solve the mystery.
That sounds like a great premise and it is but nothing really happens. We meet what felt like every student at the school(its a lot of people) and we get glimpses of the investigation into the mystery that surrounds the school and we get a brand new mystery that Stevie also investigates. It felt like both mysteries were B-Plots though. Truly Devious spends way more time on teen angst then on the murder mysteries that the book is allegedly about.
I know what you're thinking
It sounds like you hated this book, then why the 3.5 star rating?
Because Truly Devious was fun!
I never for one second thought about putting this book down. I enjoyed reading it. I got caught up in the atmosphere of Ellington Academy and I found Stevie's battle with anxiety completely believable. I have never suffered from anxiety but my mother did and sister does. The way Stevie described how an anxiety or panic attack feels is the way they described them. So for that alone I really enjoyed reading this book.
Also the ending was great and I can't wait to read book 2. Since I have such conflicted feelings about this book I won't make any recommendations.
Around the Year in 52 Books: A book Featuring a Murder. -
***want to binge read something good? This trilogy is perfect 😘
Picked up this one like two or three times before, it's interesting and all that. Somehow I am not a big mystery reader and I thought that the book would go on forever. And then I thought the anxiety issues and the panic attacks of the main character weren't handled well when it comes to the attitude of the adult characters towards these.
The first half is a bit too slow for me.
Other than that, this was a perfect read.
I absolutely loved the characters, my most favourite being Nate! Ah, he's so damn precious. I would love to steal all his T-shirts someday and we know why.
The characters are interesting. A few are plain obnoxious; most of them are quirky, nerdy and geeky...and my most fav kinds😘
The atmosphere of the story is not that spooky or dark even if it's all about solving an 80 year old murder mystery. Somehow it just pulla you in and yes, you cannot go back to your normal life until you finish up all the three books. (I am just taking a break to write this unorderly, short review while reading book 2.)
Yes, the writing style, the plot, the weird characters and the cliffhangers: EVERYTHING works for this one. And you will never find yourself that happy as when you start immediately the second book. Damn, the second book is going so good!
Ah, another thing I didn't like. The unwelcomed romance. Nah. It just didn't work for me. Too insta. Too impulsive. Too not needed at this point. Too out of place.
But the first book is good nevertheless.
It's the humour parts here and there that keeps me going on, especially when Nate is there. Damn, he's my nerd😘
(...and this is why I fail miserably at writing reviews for thrillers and mystery books😁) -
Okay, I love Stevie and her love of sleuthing. I’m not sure how I feel about it overall. I did enjoy most of it; that shit end though! 🤨 Other than that, I have no words!!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 -
I really enjoyed Truly Devious, but it wasn’t a complete story. There’s not a single story arc in this book that comes to a conclusion, and that’s frustrating as hell. The book simply ends mid plot. I should have known better because the same thing happened with the Shades of London series.
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That cliffhanger though
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4.5 stars.
Stevie Bell has always been a bit different than her peers, much to her parents' chagrin. Much of her childhood and teenage years have been spent feeding her obsession with true crime and mysteries. Her parents wanted her to do the things "normal" teenagers do—hang out with friends, participate in extracurricular activities, maybe even date. But what Stevie wants more than anything is to solve crimes, to one day be as revered as some of the legendary detectives she loves reading about.
When she learns about Ellingham Academy, a prestigious private school in Vermont, she is absolutely desperate to attend. Not only does Ellingham essentially design each student's curriculum around their own interests, but back in the 1930s, the Academy was the scene of one of the most notorious mysteries and unsolved crimes ever. The wife and young daughter of the Academy's wealthy founder were kidnapped and the kidnappers demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars from Ellingham, but he never got his family back. The only clue to the kidnapping was a ransom note in the form of a mocking poem, signed by "Truly Devious."
Stevie wants to solve this mystery once and for all, and her passion for doing so is the criteria that gets her admitted to Ellingham. But even though she has a real purpose, and attends a school that supports that purpose, adjustment isn't as easy as she had hoped. She's never really made friends before, and isn't sure of what to make of her eccentric and creative dorm-mates, including a scientist and inventor, a popular and handsome web-series actor, a novelist, an artist with a penchant for alcohol and the saxophone, and David, a coder, who seemed to get under Stevie's skin from the moment they met.
One night, when she is participating in the filming of a web series about the kidnapping, it appears that "Truly Devious" has returned to the scene of their original crime, when Stevie sees another mocking ransom note. Not long after, someone is found dead—but did they fall prey to an accident, or was it murder? And is the murderer one of her classmates? Despite being warned about playing detective, that is exactly what Stevie does. But along the way she needs to realize that what she discovers may not make her a hero among her peers as she always imagined it would—and it could threaten the future of the school, or at least her enrollment. Is solving the crime worth the potential damage to the one place she finally feels she fits in?
Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious is truly terrific. It's a great read, full of really interesting characters, a dynamic setting, and a compelling mystery that definitely hooked me from the start. I love how the book shifted between the present day and the original kidnapping back in the 1930s, and looked at the way that case unfolded. Ellingham seems like the perfect place to go to school, and I wish a place like that existed when I was younger! (Without the murders and stuff.)
Johnson is a great storyteller. Her use of imagery was so evocative and I could picture the Academy in both past and present. She is also tremendously skilled at creating tension between characters and situations—I really wasn't sure whom to trust and it's rare that I feel that way when reading these books. I also liked the way she had diverse characters without making a big deal out of them; it was just matter-of-fact.
This is the first book in a series, so the ending was a bit of a confusing cliffhanger, but you can bet I'll be picking up the next book, The Vanishing Stair. I really thought this was a lot of fun, and a great read.
See all of my reviews at
itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at
https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/. -
Y'know guys, I think TRULY DEVIOUS by Maureen Johnson might deserve the overhyped book of the century award.
If I hadn't seen all of the hype previously and set my expectations to something more realistic, perhaps I could've rounded up to three stars, or even possibly have given a nice shiny four stars. Despite my rating, I didn't actually hate reading this. Hell, I really enjoyed some portions. But it didn't make up for how disappointed I was by the end.
TRULY DEVIOUS is about your typical female slueth-in training who is pretty much a carbon copy of Pip from A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER (except I liked Pip a bit more). Stevie, our annoying MC that overthinks EVERYTHING, decides to go to this boarding school for highschool age kids who are too smart for the public school system because of this kidnapping and murder that happened a long time ago. It's been a cold case for eighty years, and it's one of the most famous kidnappings in the world, but apparently she thinks that she can solve it.
Spoiler alert: She can't.
For the first 60% of the book, absolutely nothing happens, and Stevie doesn't come up with any new ideas. Surprising, right? And then a student is killed, and we get the weakest explanation for it possible. And then nothing happens until the 90% mark, when we get a bit more of an idea as to what happened. And then nothing happens through the end of the book.
So yeah, this book was about a whole lot of nothing.
I do think had the student been killed around the 25% mark and then we had actually figured some things out, it would have been interesting, but unfortunately that's not what happened so we'll just have to live with the fact that this book that had a really interesting premise turned out to be a really crappy read.
Stevie just really annoyed me throughout the book. She made some really stupid decisions and overthought every single tiny little thing. To add to that, she was also just one of those characters that was just annoying in general without a super specific reason. It was not fun to be in her head throughout these 400 grueling pages.
Even besides Stevie, I didn't like any of the other characters. Despite Stevie living with them, I feel like I didn't get to see enough of them and what they were like. Personally, I would've liked to learn some more about Janelle and Ellie, or even Nate, but we got a very brief idea of who they were as a character and then we moved past it.
Another problem, which I've kind of already addressed in my rant summary, was the pacing. Nothing happened in this book. Isn't the point of mysteries for them to be fun and twisty and unique? There was no new evidence turned up, no shocking revelations, no elements that made me want to keep reading. The only reason I was able to keep reading is because I was excited to see who had kidnapped and killed the Ellingham family. And guess what? We don't even get to know, because apparently we have to read a whole quartet to get our answers. This really should've just been a standalone.
One thing that this book did not lack was rep and diversity, from people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, to people of color, and disability rep, this book had some of the best rep I've ever read. One thing that I commented on in a status update though, was that there was this character, who was very minor but they were dating Janelle. For about 40% of the book Stevie referred to them as she/her until Janelle caught it and corrected Stevie. After that we don't see Vi much, but there is one instance that's about at the 80% mark on 332 where Stevie is thinking about Janelle and Vi's relationship and she once again refers to Vi as she/her.
"Sure, Vi wasn't a lying weirdo, but even if she was, Jenelle wouldn't do that."
I really don't understand this. Was it intentional? Was it just a slip-up the editor failed to catch? If it is the latter, then my question for Maureen is: Did you really care about adding this non-binary representation, or was it just a gimmick for diversity? Because you'd think that if you really cared you wouldn't have your MC misgender them after being told their pronouns.
On another note, I loved the anxiety representation and I just wanted to call it out on its own, even though I'm not going to go very deep into it. I loved that we had this main character that I'm sure many kids would look up to who has anxiety and experiences panic attacks. There are so many people out there, kids or adults, who have anxiety, but I find it to be something that is never represented. We create these diverse characters so that our books can reflect the reality that there is so much diversity out there in the world. We create these characters so people and kids who might feel like they're in the minority, or the way they identify is odd know that they are not in the minority and there are so many people out there who share these attributes. I really respected Maureen Johnson in this way, and it made me very happy to see.
Another thing that I thought was really thought out and just made me happy to see was when this book touched just a bit on beauty standards. It wasn't a whole giant theme or anything, and in truth was only about a page, but it still made such good points. Even if it's just a page, you're still discussing this topic that isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be. It doesn't matter if how you dress and look doesn't fit to someone else's standards, if you feel good about it, then that's the way you should get to dress.
OKAY so we're going to chill out a bit and talk about our romance. It was absolute trash. David was the worst love interest to exist in the book. The toxicity is strong with this one. He doesn't have any respect for Stevie, he doesn't listen to her at all, and is just a total pain. He's constantly mad at Stevie, even when she tries to make up for it and apologize (which she shouldn't because David is a complete jerk.) He just sucks. Please don't let this toxic relationship develop any more.
The writing wasn't anything special, and I wish that we could've gained a little more insight on the campus and the tunnels and secret passages. It wasn't awful world-building, but seeing as this is such a unique setting and there are so many possibilities I felt that we could've been told a bit more.
All in all, this book was lacking quite a bit and I just couldn't look past it. This would've been an interesting read had this been better executed. If only the pacing been faster, the characters more vibrant, and some closure I would've been happy. Alas. Anyway, I wouldn't really recommend, but seeing as so many people like it, maybe you would too. I'd love to hear your thoughts, whether you agree or COMPLETELY disagree and think I'm a moron I'm always up to chat about books. Thanks for reading.
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2.5 stars
Disappointed is my only word for you right now. I was so looking forward to this, but I really didn't like how this book was written. Nothing happened until the book was halfway done, when that one kid that nobody cared about got murdered. After that, nothing of importance happened until the very last pages. That's not how I want to read a mystery. Rtc -
Welcome to Ellingham Academy, a perfect school for the brightest thinkers, inventors, artists, and a place where learning is game, founded by the early twentieth century tycoon, Albert Ellingham.
Unfortunately, shortly after the school opened, Albert's wife and daughter were kidnapped and a student was killed on the school premises. The suspect, who gives riddles as clues, calls itself, Truly Devious. This became one of the greatest unsolved crimes in history.
Fast forward to the present, Stevie Bell, a true-crime obsessed student who knows everything there is to know about the ellingham case, is set to begin her year at Ellingham Academy. She has her one main goal: to solve the school's mystery case.“10/30/38
Where do you look for someone who's never really there?
Always on a staircase but never on a stair”
okay oop, my brain tried to answer this. I tried. Anyways....
The first half was really slow, I waited patiently for the murders to happen. Eventually, the next half improved, it was still slow but not really slow and at least we were finally getting somewhere.
I loved the mystery aspect and the setting- a boarding school with a mystery?! Yes, that was what I was looking forward to in the first place. I mean, books with boarding schools are so cool to read.
Most of the characters were 'average' and 'meh', nothing fascinating much. Well, except for Nate, a writer and a great friend to Stevie. Nate is precious. Must protect Nate. Don't hate on Nate 🔪
“Of course I worry too much,” Nate said. “But I’m usually right. The people who worry are always right. That’s how that works.”
Stevie's character was lacking, although being inside her head on solving stuff was nice. But oh boy, she has a bad taste in men. istg. I don't give a single care to David Worstman. He was supposed to be funny, but really, he just appeared out of nowhere to ruin the book. *facepalm*
I didn't expect a lot from this book and I am surely not disappointed. I enjoyed reading, or more like listening, to this. I liked the atmosphere, the anxiety rep, the switching of timelines (tho i gotta say, Albert Ellingham kinda acted dumb those times lol), and especially the thrill. At the end, there was no resolution so it made me a bit unsatisfied yet also more intrigued on reading the sequel.
Nate here blessed the book with his presence and David cursed the book with his. 3.5 stars!“Anything is better than doing what I'm supposed to be doing.”
( ^ we love procrastination )
_
:0
3.5 stars. RTC -
This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found
@The Book Prescription
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
“You have to take things as they are, not how you hear they’re supposed to be.”
🌟 I usually read contemporaries or mystery/ thriller novels when I want to take a break from the Fantasy genre! This was like 60% Mystery and 40% Contemporary and I am not sure if that was a good combination.
🌟 The writing style was good, not too poetic, not too bland! It was right for a story of this kind. I think what the author was trying to achieve here is to show us the writing process for a mystery kind of novel which is something I appreciate as I am trying to learn more about writing.
“When you have enough power and money, you can dictate the meanings of words.”
🌟 The idea seems interesting because it is a school for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists according to the synopsis! I expected the mystery part to be a little bit better to be honest.
🌟 The characters are mediocre in my opinion. I wasn’t a big fan of any of them. I expected to have more mature and smart characters from my imagination of what this could be. Like the characters in Death Note for example!
🌟 The author looks like a big fan of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes! I loved the Agatha references but since the author is well versed in those stories, she should know that a huge part of their success is because they are fast, short and to the point. The mystery in this book does not happen until after half of the book and it is not even solved!
🌟 I also left reading this closer to the release date of the second book because many said that the cliffhanger was good and they can’t wait! I expected something more from all the hype tbh!
🌟 Summary: Reading this book was a strange experience, not much happened as I expected to for a mystery novel, but it was intriguing at the same time that I finished it quite fast. Maybe I prefer short, fast reads as Agatha’s books and I don’t know why this is a trilogy too?! I will continue book 2 but will go with different expectations!
