Nine Liars
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-12 07:19:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Maureen Johnson
- ISBN：0063032651
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Olivia
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NINE LIARS is a thrilling and consuming YA mystery that follows Stevie Bell on a new case。 I think I have said it with every single new installment from this series， but this might be the best one yet！ Stevie and her friends are dealing with college applications and making big life decisions， but Stevie feels a bit directionless。 She has a knack for solving cold cases， but she is not sure about what she wants to do with her life more broadly。 As she toils through schoolwork， she gets a call from NINE LIARS is a thrilling and consuming YA mystery that follows Stevie Bell on a new case。 I think I have said it with every single new installment from this series， but this might be the best one yet！ Stevie and her friends are dealing with college applications and making big life decisions， but Stevie feels a bit directionless。 She has a knack for solving cold cases， but she is not sure about what she wants to do with her life more broadly。 As she toils through schoolwork， she gets a call from her boyfriend， David， who is studying abroad in London。 He wants her to come visit and has the perfect guise under which to do it， as a mini course on the history of London。Stevie and friends get the approval to do their course， as long as they stick very strictly to the schedule they proposed and check in regularly。 Once there， Stevie is excited to see David and have their relationship progress - but with jet lag， this is easier thought than done。 Not long after arriving， she also meets his friend Izzy， whose Aunt Angela was at a party with her eight close friends and theatre troupe in 1995 when two of them were murdered with an axe， presumably by a burglary gone wrong。 However， Angela has always known that the facts did not add up。 Once Stevie begins to hear about the case， she cannot get it out of her head - and when Angela goes missing， she knows she wants to help to solve it。With limited amount of time in London， Stevie works the cold case， while also managing her relationship and friendships - not always very well。What I loved: This was an absolutely gripping case that pulls the reader in from the start。 As per the past books， while the majority is told from Stevie's perspective in the present， the story flashes back to the time of the murder， giving context and personalities to the individuals whose cases she is investigating。 This one pulls the reader into the eccentric lives of nine friends who had formed a theatre group together and lived together。 Their lives during college were very insular， and so， this party was something full of drama and intrigue with something more sinister lurking in the background。Stevie had a limited amount of time to solve the case， as their trip to London was designed to be short。 Luckily， Angela had been investigating on her own， so there were key details already present。 With the way her mind works and the way the conversations unfolded， the solving was itself very gripping and made it quite the page-turner， as the reader tries to ascertain what exactly happened in 1995 and which lies have been buried。 The pace on this one is just right， leading to the reveal that the reader will not have seen coming！Aside from the case， Stevie is also dealing with relationships - mainly the progressing romantic entanglement with David and the complicated friendships that she values。 Stevie feels ready to take the next step with David， but now that she is in London， she experiences the life he has been living without her， and she feels something new - jealousy about his close female friend。 At the same time， she also experiences confusion over the way he goes hot and cold。 Meanwhile， she has her very best friends along for the ride， but they are obsessing over college， something Stevie feels confused about herself。 While she becomes fixated on the case and her own drama， they are each going through their own things。 Stevie is learning about the value of honesty and what it means to accept and be there for her friends when they need her as well。 Friendship is really a two-way street， and Stevie is stumbling along the way as she figures it out。 Luckily， good friends are there are there to help guide her through her stumbles。Major themes include friendship （both in the case and for Stevie）， complicated feelings， misdirection， morality， honesty， and persistence。 Some of these are carried throughout the series， but they remain ones that will resonate with the intended audience。 While the main plot is wrapped up， there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end related to Stevie's personal life， and it definitely will leave readers screaming！ The next installment cannot come soon enough。Final verdict: NINE LIARS is a thrilling new story featuring Stevie， a cold case， and a gripping mystery。 Highly recommend for fans of suspense， detective work， and a clever and intrepid heroine！ While it does help to have read the series in order to have formed the connections with the main characters， readers could pick up this one as a stand-alone due to the new case and recaps of key information from the past。Please note that I received an ARC。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Sandra Godwin
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a gifted eArc of this。I am not sure what to rate this to be honest; 3 stars， maybe？I LOVE Maureen Johnson。 I have devoured all of the Truly Devious books。 This one just fell。。。 flat， for me。*SPOILERS BELOW*The big twist was an odd reveal and an odd choice。 Samantha going down because she fell and mentioned the word police？ Didn't seem logical that he would just drown her instead of help her。 Unless I missed something in that section？ That just made it fall f Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a gifted eArc of this。I am not sure what to rate this to be honest; 3 stars， maybe？I LOVE Maureen Johnson。 I have devoured all of the Truly Devious books。 This one just fell。。。 flat， for me。*SPOILERS BELOW*The big twist was an odd reveal and an odd choice。 Samantha going down because she fell and mentioned the word police？ Didn't seem logical that he would just drown her instead of help her。 Unless I missed something in that section？ That just made it fall flat for me and the rest of the unraveling was just a oh， ok。Ugh， but Stevie。 That ending for Stevie！ Screw you David。 。。。more
Brianna Neilsen
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I have loved every book in this series， and this is no exception。 I am partial to the original trilogy， but this is right up there。 It’s a dual timeline story of a double murder in the 90’s mixed with a trip by Stevie and her friends London for a short study abroad。 I definitely recommend it！
🌈☁️ Bree 🌈☁️
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Go Maureen :0 look at you go！！！！ 4 books down！！！！ Whoo-hoo！
Crys Bauermeister
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Thanks for the ARC copy。 Hands down， this series has been one I can recommend for readers looking for something new。 Although the setting moved from Vermont， readers will still be able to grasp the reality of what happened。 How Stevie can always fall into another mystery is woven so nicely。 My only disappointment is with the college planning/talk。 Didn’t do a lot for the overall plot。 Love the little mystery to the relationship too。 Will be another book to recommend to readers。
Caylie Ratzlaff
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Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel。 3。5/5 stars。 I love this series with all my heart， and it's honestly the one that got me back into reading mysteries。 The original triology is AMAZING。 Book 4 was campy and fun。 This one？ It was painful in the way I loved my mystery and the travel， but all of the characters felt。。。different。 I don't know if it's because they're growing up， or if it's because the series is expanding further than it's meant to。 Especially Stevie。。。she Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel。 3。5/5 stars。 I love this series with all my heart， and it's honestly the one that got me back into reading mysteries。 The original triology is AMAZING。 Book 4 was campy and fun。 This one？ It was painful in the way I loved my mystery and the travel， but all of the characters felt。。。different。 I don't know if it's because they're growing up， or if it's because the series is expanding further than it's meant to。 Especially Stevie。。。she just seemed。。。more obnoxious？ I also wanted more David and Stevie content。 I do like the premise of the murders though and how it felt very Sherlock-y like a game。 The added humor of America v。 London in things was also great。。。especially as someone who has been to London。 I wanted this to end happily。 It did not。 Nothing was wrapped up and it ended quite abruptly to be honest。。。and that kind of cinched the meh rating from me。 。。。more
Shannon Hollinger
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Let's be honest - the "Truly Devious" series is perfection。 And when you find a series of books that is just so good， one of your fears as a reader is that the author will do something to ruin it。 Luckily， Maureen Johnson is a sorceress and has managed to give us yet another Stevie Bell book that is so crafty， so smart， and so endearing that when you finish it， all you want to do is start it all over again！ Can't wait to see what she does next！ Let's be honest - the "Truly Devious" series is perfection。 And when you find a series of books that is just so good， one of your fears as a reader is that the author will do something to ruin it。 Luckily， Maureen Johnson is a sorceress and has managed to give us yet another Stevie Bell book that is so crafty， so smart， and so endearing that when you finish it， all you want to do is start it all over again！ Can't wait to see what she does next！ 。。。more
Michelle
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Thank you to the author， publisher， and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。I Love the Truly Devious Series and could not wait for this one to come out。 It did not disappoint。 I love Stevie and her gang of friends。 The story flowed well with lots of twists that kept me guessing。 It was a great mystery and I loved how Stevie fit into it。 The ending though---WHAT was that？？？ I will be purchasing this for our library。 Our students love Stevie Bell and her gang。
Kati
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I really wanted to like this book。 The idea of a girl detective solving cold case murders is appealing to me as I grew up reading Nancy Drew books and Maureen Johnson has created a modern Nancy Drew in Stevie Bell。 But like the others， this one just didn't quite work for me。 It has almost vague feeling and I finished not knowing how Stevie actually solved the case。 The pacing was awkward with the first 41% showing Stevie running around London with her friends。 The cold case is told through a cou I really wanted to like this book。 The idea of a girl detective solving cold case murders is appealing to me as I grew up reading Nancy Drew books and Maureen Johnson has created a modern Nancy Drew in Stevie Bell。 But like the others， this one just didn't quite work for me。 It has almost vague feeling and I finished not knowing how Stevie actually solved the case。 The pacing was awkward with the first 41% showing Stevie running around London with her friends。 The cold case is told through a couple of flashbacks and police transcripts so I had a lot of stops and starts with this one。 My other issue with this book is the characters。 They feel like stock characters。 Janelle is the best friend， Vi is Janelle's partner， Nate is there as the other best friend。 David is just the boyfriend and Johnson tried to introduce some internal conflict regarding David and Stevie's relationship， but it just felt shoved in to create additional conflict。 I don't think that Stevie's friends added much to the story， and I don't think much would have changed if they weren't there with her。 I had trouble getting a handle on the Nine and their story frankly wasn't that interesting。 It was hard to keep them straight and the liars part really had me rolling my eyes。 It just didn't seem realistic at all。 Overall I just found this book to be disappointing and I don't believe I'll read additional books by Johnson。 It's just not what I'm looking for。Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Chris G。
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Fans of Maureen Johnson’s teen detective Stevie Bell will be thrilled with another one volume mystery by the author of the Truly Devious series。 The setting is fabulous - Stevie and her friends travel to London where boyfriend David is studying and Stevie becomes involved in a cold case murder at an English country house。 So much to like with Agatha Christie allusions， intriguing flashbacks， nicely done plot parallels with the two groups of friends， and a compacted time line。 EARC from Edelweiss Fans of Maureen Johnson’s teen detective Stevie Bell will be thrilled with another one volume mystery by the author of the Truly Devious series。 The setting is fabulous - Stevie and her friends travel to London where boyfriend David is studying and Stevie becomes involved in a cold case murder at an English country house。 So much to like with Agatha Christie allusions， intriguing flashbacks， nicely done plot parallels with the two groups of friends， and a compacted time line。 EARC from Edelweiss。 。。。more
kate
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Despite the fact that I just mentally screamed “NOOOOOOOO” like the star of some crappy teen drama at that ending…。 I loved this。 This series is absolutely superb and one I would happily continue reading forever more。 It’s smart， exciting， real （despite the totally unreal circumstances？） and filled with a cast of characters I utterly adore。 Book six can’t come soon enough。
Brittany Richey
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Thank you NetGelley for the ARC。 I really enjoyed this YA mystery！ I am guilty of having not read the prior novels in the series， but luckily it didn’t impact reading this title。 For a YA it read more mature， and many times I forgot I was even reading a YA， which I loved！ Keep tracking of the all the characters was a little confusing at times， but overall， it was clear enough。 I really enjoyed this author and I look forward to reading the other titles in the series。 Would recommend this title to Thank you NetGelley for the ARC。 I really enjoyed this YA mystery！ I am guilty of having not read the prior novels in the series， but luckily it didn’t impact reading this title。 For a YA it read more mature， and many times I forgot I was even reading a YA， which I loved！ Keep tracking of the all the characters was a little confusing at times， but overall， it was clear enough。 I really enjoyed this author and I look forward to reading the other titles in the series。 Would recommend this title to teens。 。。。more
Cindy :: leavemetomybooks ::
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Nine Liars is a must-read for fans of the four previous books in the "Truly Devious" series。 This time， Stevie and her friends go to London under the cover of a hastily-constructed school project （but really so Stevie can see David）。 They meet David's friend Izzy who tells them about a double-（AXE！）-murder cold case from the 90s that occurred at a country estate where her aunt was staying with eight of her friends。 Stevie （of course） can't help investigating and things proceed from there。I love Nine Liars is a must-read for fans of the four previous books in the "Truly Devious" series。 This time， Stevie and her friends go to London under the cover of a hastily-constructed school project （but really so Stevie can see David）。 They meet David's friend Izzy who tells them about a double-（AXE！）-murder cold case from the 90s that occurred at a country estate where her aunt was staying with eight of her friends。 Stevie （of course） can't help investigating and things proceed from there。I love this series， and this was a particularly enjoyable entry。 I do wish there was more about Janelle， Vi， and Nate， and less about David， who I like less and less as the books go on。 He's the worst and SO exactly who straight teenage girls are programmed to be into - good lord， did I love his brand of angsty nonsense when I was 15 （one million years ago）。 Sigh。 Anyway -- the mystery in this one is fun and kept me guessing。 I'm already looking forward to finding out what happens in book six （please let there be a book six）。*thanks to HCCB and Katherine Tegen Books for the NetGalley review copy。 Nine Liars publishes December 27th。 。。。more
Kathy Martin
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This was another excellent mystery starring Stevie Bell and her friends from Ellingham Academy。 It's October of their senior year and her friends are busy planning their college applications。 Janelle and Vi want to go to college close to each other but not at the same college。 So Janelle has made a spreadsheet。。。 Nate is furiously writing every time Stevie sees him which is unusual because he has been avoiding writing since his book was published when he was a young teen。Stevie is at loose ends。 This was another excellent mystery starring Stevie Bell and her friends from Ellingham Academy。 It's October of their senior year and her friends are busy planning their college applications。 Janelle and Vi want to go to college close to each other but not at the same college。 So Janelle has made a spreadsheet。。。 Nate is furiously writing every time Stevie sees him which is unusual because he has been avoiding writing since his book was published when he was a young teen。Stevie is at loose ends。 She doesn't know what she wants to do for college。 She's solved some mysteries and none of the emails about new unsolved crimes are interesting her。 And her boyfriend David is studying in England for a semester which means it's harder to communicate with him。When David calls up and proposes that group come to London because he has a friend with an unsolved mystery， they are all eager to go each for their own reasons。 They convince the school leader that this will be a great educational opportunity。 In 1995， a group of newly graduated Cambridge students who have been best friends since freshman year go to spend a final week at one of the group's family home。 During a drunken game of hide and seek， two of the nine students are brutally murdered。 No murderer has ever been found。 Izzy， David's new friend， wants to get Stevie involved because one of the nine was her aunt who said some questionable things about the murder while under the influence of pain killers after knee surgery。 Shortly after Izzy brings her friends to her Aunt Ange's to talk about the crime， Ange disappears。 I loved that way the story wove events from 1995， various police reports， and current day activities together。 I especially enjoyed the sections from Stevie's point of view because she is a very interesting character。 I liked that her inner uncertainties are so different from her outer competence。 I loved the setting which ranged from London's tourist sites to a grand English manor。 。。。more
Alexa Moore
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Love that this is turning into a series with different murder mysteries in each one。 Highly enjoyable， can’t wait to see what becomes of these characters。 Give me more character development in the next one！
Avery Mead
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Maureen Johnson has done it again！ Stevie Bell is back for another stand-alone mystery。 This time she's in London， ostensibly to visit her boyfriend David， when she gets roped into helping David's friend Izzy。 Izzy's aunt was once part of an exclusive group of nine friends who were also a theater troupe。 For their college graduation， they all went to a countryside manor owned by the family of one of the friends。 During a game of hide-and-seek， two of the friends were brutally murdered in a woods Maureen Johnson has done it again！ Stevie Bell is back for another stand-alone mystery。 This time she's in London， ostensibly to visit her boyfriend David， when she gets roped into helping David's friend Izzy。 Izzy's aunt was once part of an exclusive group of nine friends who were also a theater troupe。 For their college graduation， they all went to a countryside manor owned by the family of one of the friends。 During a game of hide-and-seek， two of the friends were brutally murdered in a woodshed。 Now， twenty-seven years later， Izzy brings Stevie to meet her aunt and help solve the case。 I loved so much of this story， especially the setting--London？ English countryside？ A manor on a sprawling estate？ Count me in！ I would say the biggest detraction for me was that the love story between Stevie and David took a much more central role in this one， which wasn't my favorite。 Honestly， I've just never liked David and Stevie together and I've always felt that their storyline was a distraction in the novels， but it was also always relatively small in comparison to the larger mystery plot。 Not so much in the case of Nine Liars。 In this book， their relationship is given almost as much space on the page as the mystery is。 With that said， I did become a bit more invested in their relationship in this installment。I'm eager for the next novel， as I'm sure another is coming based on the way this one ended。 I hope Stevie stays in London， for my sake--I want more YA British mysteries！Thank you NetGalley for this digital ARC。 。。。more
Natalie
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Stevie Bell is what I wished Nancy Drew had been。 Stevie is earnest， slightly awkward， makes mistakes， suffers from bouts of insecurity and anxiety， and loves her friends。 She is relatable and hilarious at the same time。 You need to get to know her。“Nine Liars” is the latest installment in the Truly Devious series that features Stevie and her friends as they solve a mystery。 This time they are visiting London （and Stevie’s boyfriend） and a country manor house where they end up knee-deep in a dec Stevie Bell is what I wished Nancy Drew had been。 Stevie is earnest， slightly awkward， makes mistakes， suffers from bouts of insecurity and anxiety， and loves her friends。 She is relatable and hilarious at the same time。 You need to get to know her。“Nine Liars” is the latest installment in the Truly Devious series that features Stevie and her friends as they solve a mystery。 This time they are visiting London （and Stevie’s boyfriend） and a country manor house where they end up knee-deep in a decades-old murder mystery。 Stevie unleashes her well-honed detecting skills to find the killer， but the crew is running out of time before their flight home。 Will this case prove to be too complex even for Stevie？There is much to like about this story and its main characters。 Though this is the first in the series that I have read， author Maureen Johnson provides just enough backstory to bring new readers along for the ride。 Elements of classic English murder mysteries are sprinkled throughout。 Elements of classic teen sleuth stories are there as well （such as the parents who are unseen， but supportive adults）。 This book is great for teen and adult mystery lovers。 I will be recommending this book to my students and will suggest the entire series to the Bookworms （more on them later， but let’s just say they are buying LOTS of books for a school library）。 I will be reading the rest of the series （and I SO hope there are more installments）。 Thanks #NetGalley and Katherine Tegan Books for an advance reader’s e-copy in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。 “Nine Liars” arrives on shelves at the end of the month。 。。。more
Missie
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Oh man， I have to start with the end。 I am BROKEN。 I need more right now， and it better go in the direction I need it to go。 I love love love The Truly Devious series and have read it over multiple times。 I will take any more Stevie stories any day。I miss being at the school， but do realize we have spent a lot of time in that setting and don't have a whole lot more the explore。 Traveling to London did give a dark academia feel， which helped move toward the original Truly Devious style。 The devel Oh man， I have to start with the end。 I am BROKEN。 I need more right now， and it better go in the direction I need it to go。 I love love love The Truly Devious series and have read it over multiple times。 I will take any more Stevie stories any day。I miss being at the school， but do realize we have spent a lot of time in that setting and don't have a whole lot more the explore。 Traveling to London did give a dark academia feel， which helped move toward the original Truly Devious style。 The development on Stevie's relationship with David and trying to figure out long-distance showed the growth of both characters。 I thought the mystery was good， enough twists and turns to keep the interest and the story moving quickly。 I need more Stevie NOW！ 。。。more
☆
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oh the complicated emotional balance of hating when authors elongate their series as pure， unabashed money-grabs while also wanting said series to keep going forever because as much as you know that it is not good it also so。 fucking。 good
Amy
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A mystery series following teenage a sleuth。 While still a good read， the pacing was quite odd and the resolution was lacking
magpie
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recommended by brooke！
Kara Jex
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Maureen Johnson does it again！ Stevie Bell and crew find themselves in London， visiting David at Cambridge。 While there， one of David's friends asks Stevie to look into a double homicide from the 1990s。 In 1995， nine friends from a college comedy troupe head to a country estate to celebrate graduation。 During a drunken game of hide and seek， two of them disappear and are later found dead。 Can Stevie solve the murder before it has disastrous consequences in the modern day？Stevie is charming as al Maureen Johnson does it again！ Stevie Bell and crew find themselves in London， visiting David at Cambridge。 While there， one of David's friends asks Stevie to look into a double homicide from the 1990s。 In 1995， nine friends from a college comedy troupe head to a country estate to celebrate graduation。 During a drunken game of hide and seek， two of them disappear and are later found dead。 Can Stevie solve the murder before it has disastrous consequences in the modern day？Stevie is charming as always in this delightful fifth adventure。 Maureen Johnson has created one of the great detectives of our era and I can not wait to see where she takes us next。 。。。more
Kal ★ Reader Voracious
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ARC provided by MB Communications for my honest review。 This does not affect my opinion nor the contents of my review。 Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication。Blog • Twitter • Instagram • Pinterest • Ko-fi • Patreon ARC provided by MB Communications for my honest review。 This does not affect my opinion nor the contents of my review。 Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication。Blog • Twitter • Instagram • Pinterest • Ko-fi • Patreon 。。。more
Tiffany Knowles
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This one took me a bit longer to read than the others in the series。 It is still very good， but I felt like it was more of a slow burner。 Once it got going， it was very interesting and had me turning pages。 If you’ve read the previous books in this series， it follows a similar format。 Dual timeline with Stevie in the present timeline， trying to solve a mystery that happened in the past。 Add in the fact that she is in England this time， and the fact there is another mystery happening in the prese This one took me a bit longer to read than the others in the series。 It is still very good， but I felt like it was more of a slow burner。 Once it got going， it was very interesting and had me turning pages。 If you’ve read the previous books in this series， it follows a similar format。 Dual timeline with Stevie in the present timeline， trying to solve a mystery that happened in the past。 Add in the fact that she is in England this time， and the fact there is another mystery happening in the present day timeline connected the past timeline。 Oh， and they are only there for a week， negotiated with the school for a study abroad chance。 Nothing like navigating unfamiliar waters， on a strict and extremely short timeline， with multiple mysteries。 Stevie has her work cut out for her。 This ending had me like 😒 but already impatient for the next one to come out， even though this one technically hasn’t been published yet because I read an ARC。 Good read， but make sure you read the others first to understand the group dynamics fully。 。。。more
Gracie Roberts
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⭐️⭐️⭐️3 stars — 5 stars or the murder mystery， 1 star for the characters My least favorite of the series so far， but I still liked it a lot！ I think for me this was more of a page-turner than the others because the story seemed to happen really fast。 I devoured this in two sittings during jet lagged nights where I couldn’t sleep！The characters are garbage。 I really liked the mystery and the London experience plots， but I didn’t love the book overall because I couldn’t relate to or understand any ⭐️⭐️⭐️3 stars — 5 stars or the murder mystery， 1 star for the characters My least favorite of the series so far， but I still liked it a lot！ I think for me this was more of a page-turner than the others because the story seemed to happen really fast。 I devoured this in two sittings during jet lagged nights where I couldn’t sleep！The characters are garbage。 I really liked the mystery and the London experience plots， but I didn’t love the book overall because I couldn’t relate to or understand any of the characters。 （Except Janelle and Nate。 They are gems）- David is a SCUMBAG。 His and Stevie’s relationship still makes zero sense to me。 I do not understand。 Stevie + David ≠ Love- We’re five books in and I still know nothing about Vi- Stevie is an awful friend and a liar。 I applaud her dedication and determination， but I don’t always love her methods of doing things。 - Janelle and Nate are so precious and kind and I adore them- I wouldn’t want to go near any of the Nine with a ten foot pole， except maybe Theo or current-day Sebastian。 They’re all so annoying and unlikeable in 1995。 I kind of like them in the present day scenes when they’ve all grown up and calmed down， but they’re all such drunken messes in the olden days。 I loved the hide and seek scenes that flashed back to the night of the murders in 1995， but I would’ve loved them even more if I actually liked the characters playing the game。 - Doorknob the cat was my favorite character lolol- I adored seeing the Ellingham group explore London; they got to learn so much and see so many amazing sights！ Sometimes the amount of description for the places felt a little overboard， but as an Anglophile I appreciated it hahaThe ending was really unexpected！ I genuinely did not see it coming at all who the murderer was。 The plot’s pacing was excellent， and the clues kept me guessing until the very end。Overall: I enjoyed this！ Not as much as the rest of the Truly Devious books， but it is definitely worth the read， especially if you’re a 90s fan。 I really loved how the murders happened in a closed off area， so it was very Agatha Christie-esque how Stevie narrowed down who it could’ve been。 Hint hint， there may or may not be a toothbrush involved in helping Stevie crack the case;） thank you to harpercollins （katherine tegen books）， netgalley， and edelweiss+ for this e-arc！ all opinions are my own。 I look forward to handselling this at the indie bookstore I work at come release day！！ 。。。more
Ashley
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I have never read any of the Ellington series， but I really enjoyed this YA thriller。 The flashbacks to the original murder were effective as were the police statements。 Perhaps since I hadn't read the previous novels， I did not understand the purpose or impact of the calls from the woman at their school。 Overall， I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a light yet interesting YA thriller。 I have never read any of the Ellington series， but I really enjoyed this YA thriller。 The flashbacks to the original murder were effective as were the police statements。 Perhaps since I hadn't read the previous novels， I did not understand the purpose or impact of the calls from the woman at their school。 Overall， I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a light yet interesting YA thriller。 。。。more
Jane Kelsey
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OMG LOVED THIS BOOK！！！ full review to follow。
Joanna Bennett
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This one will hurt to review。。。RTC。Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a complimentary earc to review！ All opinions are my own。
Nev
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I always have such a great time reading Maureen Johnson’s Stevie Bell books。 YA mysteries can sometimes be a hard sell for me since they can seem too outside the realm of possibility。 So while it is kinda wild that this teenager is solving mysteries that have stumped adults for decades， the characters and storytelling ground these books and keep them from feeling too ridiculous。 This time the mystery revolves around a group of nine Cambridge University graduates back in 1995 where 2 of them ende I always have such a great time reading Maureen Johnson’s Stevie Bell books。 YA mysteries can sometimes be a hard sell for me since they can seem too outside the realm of possibility。 So while it is kinda wild that this teenager is solving mysteries that have stumped adults for decades， the characters and storytelling ground these books and keep them from feeling too ridiculous。 This time the mystery revolves around a group of nine Cambridge University graduates back in 1995 where 2 of them ended up murdered after a party at a country house。 Nobody was ever caught。 In present day Stevie and her friends are visiting London where they meet the niece of one of The Nine who asks Stevie to try and figure out what really happened。 I enjoyed seeing the flashbacks of The Nine in the 90s and seeing the police interviews with them after the fact。 Initially it did take me a bit to figure out who all the different characters were and keep them straight in my mind。 But after that I was super invested in this group of friends and their antics。 In the present day seeing Stevie solve the mystery alongside her friends was a lot of fun。 There are also some interesting relationship developments as well as talk about the future and what they’re all going to do for college。 Overall I had a great time reading this book。 I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Box in the Woods， which is still my favorite in the series。 But this was a lot of fun！ Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Megan Mweemba
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