Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Truly Devious Series, Book 1 of 5
432 pages
YA Mystery
4.5/5*
Formats Available: Book, Playaway, Libby eAudiobook, Libby, eBook, Hoopla eAudiobook, Hoopla eBook
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.
I was very pleasantly surprised with this book considering it has sat on my “To Be Read” shelf for as long as I can remember. Maureen Johnson’s novel, Truly Devious, reminded me of a modern-day Nancy Drew story, which is what had me hooked from the beginning. Stevie Bell gets accepted into Ellingham Academy, a boarding school for teens with special abilities...and no, not superpowers if that is what you are thinking. Of course, something nefarious is going on at the school, and Stevie, along with her friends, must play detective and solve the mysteries of Ellingham.
I was on the edge of my seat for pretty much the entire book, but the ending…ugh…what a cliffhanger. Johnson ended the book making sure you had no option but to pick up the next book in the series (I see what you did Miss Johnson). I really thought that she would wrap up the mystery in book one, so I was very surprised at how abrupt the ending was. I may be guilty of shouting “What the heck?” at an inanimate object.
My favorite part about this book was the setting because I am a sucker for a good “dark academia” aesthetic. Ellingham Academy is set in a remote place somewhere in Vermont, which is the perfect set up for a murder mystery. Absolutely no one will hear you if you scream. The old school is surrounded by all kinds of winding paths and gardens, which made me picture an old college campus with some gargoyles. Throughout the book we flip back and forth from present-day to 1936 when the school was just opened. This gave a great perspective of what was happening as the kidnappings of the Ellingham family were going on. Normally, when books switch time periods I lose interest, but the flip flopping was necessary and added so much more mystery to the story.
If you listen to the podcast Off the Books, you know I am a sucker for a good mystery. This book was comparable to The Inheritance Games and The Naturals, which are both series written by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, that my co-host and I happen to rave about constantly. I really do believe we mention The Naturals in every episode. If you have picked up either of these novels, or you are just getting into the mystery genre be sure to pick up Truly Devious! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would encourage everyone to give it a try!
You can find Truly Devious in our physical library as a Hardback and on Libby and Hoopla as an EBook and an audiobook for checkout. For more book recommendations please tune in to Off the Books with B&S on any of your preferred podcasting platforms; new episodes air every other Thursday.
Click here to view our interview with Truly Devious author Maureen Johnson.
Samantha