Name: Truly Devious
Author: Maureen Johnson
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
This one turned out to be amazing, it has all those Sherlock Holmes vibes, if you're looking for it. Stevie Bell is our detective in this story, I absolutely loved her character so much. She's smart , intuitive and quirky.
The novel is based on the incidents that take place in Ellingham Academy which is a famous private school in Vermont founded by a early twentieth century tycoon Mr. Albert Ellingham for the best and the brightest students around. The education fees is completely free for the students who get picked and the teaching methods are more of a game, which is kind of a dream institution for many.
When Ellingham's wife and daughter are kidnapped, the only clue is a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym" Truly, Devious." The riddle is sent to Albert a week ago, as a man who loves riddles , Albert doesn't take it much seriously. Next one of the brightest students in Ellingham " Dottie Epstein " has gone missing too.
"Schools may be famous for many things : academics, graduates, sports teams. They are not supposed to be famous for murders."
Many years later, a true - crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at the academy, and she is determined to solve this cold case. That is , she will solve it 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.
When Hayes, the actor approaches Stevie to work with him in filming a video for his YouTube show "The end of it all" along with the writer Nate and other's. Truly Devious makes a surprise return. The past has crawled out of it's grave, and someone has gotten away with Murder.
Will our detective Stevie Bell be able to catch the murderer?
Its is a dual timeline book, it keeps jumping from past to present, I thought I was gonna get confused but thankfully that didn't happen. I love all the characters and Nate's and Stevie's wierd friendship.
Each of them have very interesting personalities. The only downside of this Novel is that it ends in a Cliffhanger!!
Now I can't wait to read the sequel to this book - The vanishing stair. Hopefully that answers all my questions. Anyone who is looking for a Agatha Christie like or a modern mystery novel in general I would suggest you to pick this up.