New 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 Review:
I loved reading this book! Mystery books are always awesome, and to have a mystery for both the past and the present, looking like they'll both be solved in the present, given the details that were given in both times.
The opening was so fascinating-and I hadn't really read the synopsis, so when it jumped to the present, that was so interesting! I loved the back and forth between the past with the kidnapping, and the present with its own mystery, though it starts more in the middle of the book.
Stevie was a pretty awesome character. She was into detecting, and solving mysteries. She had opposing political views than her parents, who work for a politician, and they totally don't understand their daughter. I think my favourite scene that she had was after they knew the guy was dead, and people wanted to talk to her, but she shut them out because she wanted to give her fresh, untainted view/thoughts of the happenings of the day! So great!
The mysteries weren't anywhere near done in these books. The ending maybe sorta revealed who the bad guys were in the past, but there was so much left unknown, and the current mystery too, and then there was that ending that was just evil! I loved it!
This book was different, quirky, and a great mystery novel, and I can't wait for the sequels!
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious #1
Read: January 18th, 2018
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded good, and I've enjoyed her other books, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Book!
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Published: January 16th 2018
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
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