Truly Devious

Oh, wow. I don't know what to say right now.
I want the 2nd book immediately, but as a paperback. Soooo... fml.

Summary: In the 1930s, wealthy businessman Albert Ellingham opened Ellingham Academy, a school for gifted students where learning was seen as a game and students were given a high degree of autonomy with regards to their education. Shortly after the school opened, Albert Ellingham’s wife and daughter were kidnapped. His wife was killed, his daughter never found, and the case never solved.

Now, decades later, Stevie Bell has been admitted to Ellingham Academy upon the basis of her interest in and thorough research into the case. She is determined to figure out what really happened all those years ago, and she continues digging into the case as soon as she arrives on Ellingham grounds, all while adjusting to her new school and forming bonds with her housemates. Then, to everyone’s shock, a death occurs on campus, and Stevie can’t help but wonder if it is somehow connected to the Ellingham case.

It took me a few chapters to get into it, but after I did, I was hooked and on the edge of my seat the whole time! My only complaint was the mystery felt a bit rushed, but other than that, I very much enjoyed it.

A very low 3.

Lesson learned again; if I want to try a new genre then YA probably isn't the place to start. Just not my bag.

Series review –

I stayed up two nights in a row until 3 am to finish the first two books in this series, there were so many fun twists and I could not stop reading!

The Truly Devious series splits between the present day and the 1930s at Ellingham Academy, a famous private school in Vermont founded by Albert Ellingham as “a place where learning is a game.” The year that the school opened, the founder's wife and daughter were kidnapped. Though Albert gave everything the kidnappers asked for, they're never found. A few years later, Albert goes sailing with his FBI friend George Marsh and their boat blows up.In the present day, Stevie Bell is accepted to Ellingham Academy with the ambition of solving the case. While the cold case is her original interest, she soon becomes embroiled in an active murder as death visits Ellingham Academy once more.The Ellingham case is solved by book 3. The next two books are irrelevant to the series and simply served to strengthen my wish that Nate could've been the love interest instead of David, though I love Nate and Stevie's friendship regardless. I would do rereads of this with just books 1-3. 

i loved this so much & can't wait to continue the series

Erg spannend boek! Ik bond de schrijfstijl ook mega fijn en ik vloog dat het boek heen!
Wel zijn er een loop losse eindjes voor mijn gevoel. Ik hoop niet dat dat alle boeken van de serie kost om dat op te lossen...

When Stevie Bell is accepted into Ellingham Academy, a school for gifted students, she thinks it's the chance of a lifetime to solve the ‘Truly Devious' murders. What she doesn't anticipate is a classmate turning up dead. Was it an accident, or has there been another murder on the property all these years later?I ate up the setting of this book. Ellingham Academy would have been my dream school at this age and I loved all of the different personalities of the characters. It could be over the top at times, but that's to be expected in a YA book. That was part of the fun, too. It's also the definition of a page-turner. As soon as I got to the end I had to start [b:The Vanishing Stair 39893545 The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious, #2) Maureen Johnson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529970325l/39893545.SY75.jpg 49916464]!

Intrigued to see where the story goes. I think I would have enjoyed this more in print vs the audiobook.

1st October 2022:

It was so-so. I only enjoyed the beginning. The characters were interesting but romance was forced and there was no build up. You can see it's pushed into being one. And the cliffhanger.

3.5
Def interested in the story to keep going. So as soon as I can get my hands on book #2 will continue:)

On a side note,I wish there was an actual academy like Ellingham academy coz it sounds AMAZING!! Like I was LOVING all descriptions of the area, the facilities,etc

2.5/5. This is one of those books where I go in kinda knowing what I'm getting myself into but also hoping that it might be something that defies my expectations. It did not. I can't tell if it's a fault on the book or on myself because I'm reading a genre that I already know I don't prefer because I'm not a fan of the tropes (which this book has in spades).

The book jumps between two different timelines: one in the 1930s when the original mystery happens where Iris Ellingham and her daughter Alice are kidnapped, and then the other one in modern-day when we see our protagonist Stevie Bell attend Ellingham Academy apparently because she's so obsessed with crime investigation and can't wait to solve that cold case from the 30s. This premise in itself is not bad, and I appreciated the way Johnson juxtaposes the information reveal in each timeline. Presumably everything that had happened in the 30s was already known to Stevie from the beginning of the book, but the information is kept unspoken and slowly revealed to us the readers simultaneously on both timelines so there's some bit of suspense there.

I was also much more interested in whatever was going on in the 1930s timeline because that is really where all the action and suspense was. There barely is anything happening in the modern-day one except a whole bunch of YA tropes that I couldn't care less about. I wasn't a fan of the Stevie and the “not like other girls” vibe happening there. I wasn't a fan of how she kept thinking she was smarter than her parents, and also insisting that her parents wanted her to be “normal” and “go to high school” and “enjoy prom” and all that. In trying to probably “rep” the bookworm-y girl loves an “obscure” hobby like forensic investigation and who has never dated before high school, you don't also need to cancel people who do want to just look forward to prom and date - I don't feel like it needs to be a competition or that one is better than the other.

Also, what was with that ending? I know this book was part of a larger series, but I expect at least that the central mystery of the book would have some kind of resolution by the end. It did not. It ended so abruptly that I legit wondered if I had missed something important when I was listening to my audiobook but apparently I hadn't. Most mystery series I've read may have some kind of overarching background mystery that spans multiple books, but at least the core mystery of the book is solved by the end. This one apparently is making the core mystery span across the trilogy which is bewildering to me and kinda makes me not want to continue.

motherfucker

THIS BOOK!!! It got me out of my reading slump is addicting and funny. I totally see myself in the characters of this book, I identify mostly with Stevie but also Nate. I never have read a book we're I could identify myself sooo much totally 5/5 on that. I felt this was the kind of book I needed to get out of my reading slump, YA, Mystery with a little bit of romance and plot twists chef kiss I can't wait to read the second book!! The ending got me waiting for moreeeee!! Totally a must read.

This had a weak start but THEN I fell in love with it. It was just so fun and a complete page-turner. I loved the characters so much. It was unexpectedly funny and I surprisingly didn't completely hate David.
What I didn't love was the actual mystery. Not because there was anything wrong with it, apart from the pacing, but since this is a series, no real questions were answered in this book and it was just all set-up. IMO, it would have been better if each book followed a different mystery (like in Prep School Confidential) instead of just one in the entire trilogy. Also, I have no idea what the ending means. SpoilerLike, are David and his dad ghosts? Is this shit paranormal? Please, someone let me know.
I have to say though that I, like most people, am fascinated (and terrified) by true crime. And even though the one in this book is obviously fictional, that is the case with this one too. It felt so real.



TL;DR: SO. MUCH. FUN.

This had a weak start but THEN I fell in love with it. It was just so fun and a complete page-turner. I loved the characters so much. It was unexpectedly funny and I surprisingly didn't completely hate David.
What I didn't love was the actual mystery. Not because there was anything wrong with it, apart from the pacing, but since this is a series, no real questions were answered in this book and it was just all set-up. IMO, it would have been better if each book followed a different mystery (like in Prep School Confidential) instead of just one in the entire trilogy. Also, I have no idea what the ending means. SpoilerLike, are David and his dad ghosts? Is this shit paranormal? Please, someone let me know.
I have to say though that I, like most people, am fascinated (and terrified) by true crime. And even though the one in this book is obviously fictional, that is the case with this one too. It felt so real.



TL;DR: SO. MUCH. FUN.

It was good. The Ellingham mystery got a little muddled for me. It was given in small chunks that were out of order so I kept getting confused as to what happened to who and when. I lost track of the timeline. That could have been done better. I also got uncomfortable with the relationship between Stevie and David. I'm normally a fan of enemies to lovers but this just felt... awkward and uncomfy. I did like the secondary mystery with Hayes because I couldn't see how it could be proven to be a murder and what evidence could even be found but it was satisfying in the end. I also like that the Hayes mystery still had mystery to it. Questions unanswered. Normally this would bug me but I know there are 2 more books. I'm excited to see how it ties into the overarching mystery too. I liked the school atmosphere but I wish we saw more of it. It felt really vague; more of a concept. And lastly, I had issues with the characters. I easily lost track of who people were. We got introduced so quickly to everyone and then their personalities were not that differentiating so I didn't remember who was whom and what they did in school. But overall, a lot of fun. Excited to keep reading when I have the chance.

Sometimes books are worth a second chance, especially when fellow readers say it gets better. I'm glad I reread this one. While it was still a slow read for me, it was definitely more enjoyable this time around. I will definitely be continuing the series.

Leaving a mystery unsolved is a very bad thing for a mystery book.

This was such a disappointment. I read through 200 pages of basically nothing happening and two miseries being introduced and no fucking solution. Also, Stevie was supposed to be this super-smart sherlock motherfucker, which is showcased a little in the beginning and then never ever again and she is like super dumb throughout the rest of the book. This is just an extremely bland lead up to book 2. Wtf

Also if you do include a non-binary character maybe don't fucking misgender them for the entirety of the book even in the fucking narration, because that isn't representation that is rude and disrespectful.  

4.5

Rereading in preparation for Nine Liars!

If you???re looking for a mystery novel that???s going to blow you away and keep you guessing, this is not it.
But: I think these books are extremely well done for what they are and I really enjoy them. It???s been a year and a half since I last/first read Truly Devious and I still find them to be really fun reads!!
The characters are interesting, quirky, and I find them to be overall very likable (other than the main love interest who is so boring and I could not care less about oh my god).
The author manages to keep things light while dealing with sensitive topics, sometimes it reads a bit more like a middle grade book instead of being YA but I didn???t mind that too much with this. The story is clever, easy to follow, and I think the pacing of this book in particular is nearly perfect which I think is really what makes it so engaging.

I also really love the setting, I have such a clear picture of the academy in my head.

However: If you want to be satisfied, you do have to commit to reading the series and not just the first book. The mysteries and plot points that are introduced do not wrap up at the end of Truly Devious, and it ends on a cliffhanger.

Average but makes me want to read the second book still

this book reminded me why I hate YA boys

Picked this up on audio as it was one of the only things available on Scribd until my subscription renewed (and they claim to be unlimited