Truly Devious: A Mystery Kindle Edition

"Truly Devious: A Mystery" by Maureen Johnson is by far one of the best and most memorable books that I have read in the past several years. I had read quite a few book reviews before I began reading and went into the book expecting a cozy mystery at a boarding school, but "Truly Devious" had a whole lot more up its sleeve.The mystery takes place at Ellingham Academy, a boarding school in the mountains of Vermont. Ellingham Academy is a unique kind of school, to say the least. Its founder, Albert Ellingham, an extremely wealthy and influential business mogul and lover of all things games and riddles, established the school in the 1930s as a non-conformist place of learning; a place where students were given greater freedom and privileges and encouraged to take initiative of their learning and individual interests. It is highly selective of its applicants; only a small number of the brightest students are admitted each year. Shortly after Ellingham Academy opened, Albert's wife, Iris, and young daughter, Alice, were kidnapped. The only evidence of wrong-doing was a letter that Ellingham received; a threatening riddle that was signed by "Truly, Devious." The crime was never entirely solved; a man admitted to the crime and was discovered to be in possession of the ransom money, but the evidence simply did not appear to support that this man was the real culprit.One of the reasons why this book was so effective and enjoyable for me to read was because of the main character (as well as the entire cast of characters). Stephanie "Stevie" Bell is intensely interested in true crime. She has the keen eye of a detective. Stevie often says what she is thinking and has some trouble relating to people. She battles anxiety by reading Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie mysteries and by listening to true crime podcasts. As a true crime aficionado, Stevie is very familiar with the Ellingham case. She gets accepted into Ellingham Academy with the intention of cracking open the mystery of the Ellingham affair and revealing the identity of "Truly Devious." Along the way Stevie finds herself unexpectedly finding comfort and refuge in the school and with her housemates and friends. Author Maureen Johnson did an incredible job with Stevie's character development. By the end of the book I was fully invested in Stevie Bell and felt like she was someone that I really knew and not just another character in a novel.Another selling point for me was the dual timelines. The book expertly interweaves between 1930s Ellingham Academy during the time of the kidnapping and present day Ellingham Academy with Stevie attempting to solve the case. Sometimes when I read books that have multiple timelines or perspectives it can seem a little tedious keeping the facts straight, but this was not the case for me in this book.It should be made known that this book is marketed as the first of three books in the "Truly Devious" series. I sincerely hope that the next two books get written quickly because I'm really interested in finding out what will happen next. The characters and their development, plot, style and quality of writing all made this a very enjoyable read and I anticipate that before the next novel in the series is released I will read this book again (something that I seldom do). I read this on my Kindle, along with listening to the Audible version, and the narrator, Kate Rudd, is exceptional. Her ability to create and maintain the different voices of the characters and the emotions in their voices was nothing short of amazing and helped me to better form and connect with the characters in my mind.If you are interested in a clever mystery this winter with a remarkable protagonist, an equally remarkable cast of characters, great plot, style and quality of writing, I would definitely recommend "Truly Devious: A Mystery" which is why I'm giving it a 5 star rating for both the book and the Audible version of the book.

Dang if I don't have a soft spot for fun, clever, and riddle-packed. But really, it was the atmosphere that sold me. When Stevie Bell rolled up her new super exclusive mysterious boarding school campus, I fell in love. You can't just hand me a quirky mansion with a mystery and expect me not to get excited. And the fact that it's a murder mystery? An unsolved one from nearly a century ago? Man, it's like this book was made for me. There's an eccentric air to every part of the setting, and once the plot really gets rolling, there's an underlying urgency that keeps you glued to the page.And don't even get me started on the flashbacks. Normally, they make me awful wary, but in Truly Devious, they're excellent, allowing the past and present mysteries to unfold side by side. Even better, they're not always plain prose. Some of the glimpses back into the original Ellingham mystery are unveiled in the form of interview transcripts, which heightened the sense that the crime from way back one really was unsolvable, suspicious and truly baffling. Naturally, that only makes me want Stevie to knock this cold case out of the park even more than I wanted it before.On the whole, my complaints are few. To me, the plot's only fault is that this is the first of a trilogy, and so not all of the pieces have been provided, let alone fallen into place, ready to be solved. And as someone who loves trying to puzzle mysteries out, I felt a little cheated by the sense that there was information being withheld. A good mystery gives the readers all the tools to solve it, even if they can't recognize those tools on their first read. Maybe that's the case here and I don't know it. But I get the sense there's still more missing."Now, Meaghan, you've raved about this book almost nonstop! Why 3.5 stars?" you might say. And the answer is that I was frustrated by the characters. Oh, Stevie I adored. I understand being the liberal child of conservative parents. I understand loving mysteries. I understand the unease of not fitting in. Stevie is wonderful. What (or who, really) I disliked was David. I'm tired of the antagonistic boy becoming the love interest even the MC doesn't understand loving. I was also disappointed in the way Janelle was overlooked. Stevie spends most of her time with Nate even though it's established early on that Nate barely communicates, while Stevie and Janelle get along swimmingly even before arriving on the Ellingham campus. It really rubbed me the wrong way, knowing that Janelle is a WOC and a lesbian, to see her shifted to a smaller supporting role after the initial hype. I expected her to feature much more actively in the plot, and I got David and Nate filling that space instead.An aside: I actually did like Nate's subtle growth into a more friendly person. And his ability to procrastinate one thing by diving back into another. Same, pal. Same.Additionally, I was unhappy with how Vi was handled. There is a scene were Stevie refers to Vi with she/her pronouns, and Janelle corrects her: Vi uses they/them. And yet they're referred to only with she/her for the rest of the book. That was particularly disheartening, and I hope if Johnson features them more prominently in The Vanishing Stair, Truly Devious's sequel, she does so with the right pronouns. Consistently.Overall, despite its character flaws and the way it opens mysteries without fully resolving any of them, Truly Devious was a delightful, engaging read that I fully intend on keeping on my shelf, and probably on revisiting when its sequel arrives.Besides, I can't just let these riddles go unsolved. I just can't do it. I have to know!

This is a really thought provoking book! It is extremely well written and the plot / premise is really unique. I am excited for the next book!

Okay, here’s the deal. I liked the story overall—the mystery was mysterious and it kept me entertained. Do I want to continue reading the series? Not particularly.My beef:- I hate cliffhangers (and this one was particularly bad). So is it petty of me to not continue for that reason? Perhaps. That’s just a me problem though.- This novel was pretty woke. Obviously people can do what they want. I just don’t want certain things shoved down my throat and I have to pretend like it’s normal. They have LGBTQ+ relationships, someone is a they/them, and they have a big bad politician who is the bad guy and we are supposed to hate him for no other reason than Stevie’s parents work for him and they are uncool parents who just want their daughter to be normal like other girls.- Stevie is not like other girls. I hate that trope. She is “different” because she doesn’t care about looks or clothes and she just likes murder podcasts and being unique and has anxiety attacks.- Her relationship (or lack thereof) with David = red flag. Home girl is pining after a guy that she had two conversations with. And they weren’t very friendly conversations.Parental warning: Several deaths (hence the murder mystery, but they aren’t graphic or detailed), political content, underage drinking, talking about sex (but no spice, just some kissing), and swearing (they drop the f-bomb two or three times if I remember correctly).

If you like intense, this is the book for you. Maureen is phenomenal writing thrillers. Literally one of the best books read

The story is good

Oh my goodness, what a find! I absolutely loved this book, and I am more than happy to say that this is book one in a series. The plot is convoluted, and it really works. I followed the clues all the way and finally realised who the killer was, just as the Poirot denouement moment arrived. Ms. Johnson, I take my virtual deerstalker off to you, I will be faithfully following your novels even if I have to pay full price for them.

Well-written, great characters and dialogues, engaging story.

Ótimo livro é edição muito bonita