Truly Devious

A Mystery

By: Maureen Johnson

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

New York Times best-selling 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 20th 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.

Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018

Junior Library Guild Selection

2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination

2019 ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 2018

2018 Nerdy Book Club Young Adult Winner

Seventeen Best YA Book of 2018

Lincoln Award Nominee

2020-2021 South Carolina Book Awards Nominee

©2018 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

I loved every minute...

Maureen Johnson's mix of comedy and darkness always lures me in. You feel like you're bring guided through a mystery by a true expert. I will be buying the hard copy just to give this book more support. I ache for the next book...

A well written book

I really loved this book. Not only was the storyline engrossing, but the narration was outstanding. Well done.

I LOVE THIS BOOK

The voices used in this story are perfectly fitting and it's a super good listen. finished it so quick I'm onto the second book!

More to come...

I read through some of the reviews saying the ending was a let down? Absolutley NOT. Keep in mind this book is a series, so the ending does have you asking questions. I loved this book and will be starting the next one immediately! I recommend it to any fan of mystery.

slow start

Nancy Drew meets Hogwarts - Essentially a group of teens are in a remote mountain school with various academic skills and from various economical back grounds.
There is authenticity in a lot of the teen students and their various personalities. The one word answers, the shoulder shrug, the constant pushing the envelop and twisting of words to attempt to get out of trouble.
In the 1930's the multi-millionaire's wife and daughter go missing. / kidnapped. Then the wife is found murdered and the daughter is still missing. As the teens in this book attempt to discover the secrets of their school, more deaths happen and no one knows if it's an accident or if there is a relation to the 1930's deaths.
This is a 3 part story.

The book ends abruptly without resolution

This is a whodunit with TWO mysteries that don't get resolved. I'm so annoyed with the ending. books in a trilogy should resolve a story arc while letting a larger storyline play out over the series. Otherwise what you've got is one third of a story.

Great start to the mystery

Story comes to natural stopping point and ends on a great cliffhanger. Seasons of television have been doing this exact thing for ages. People are too used to surface level, simple mysteries that can be solved in one book. This book give some answers but leaves other for later. Don't be scared away by all the people who don't appreciate a good mystery. Go read a James Patterson book if you want something that doesn't make you think.

Great

This story hooked me in and kept me! The voice actress also did a great job.

I HATE cliffhanger endings

I enjoyed the story for the most part. but I HATE cliffhanger endings. I don't mind storylines that carry over into the next book, but the mystery of one story should have a conclusion. instead we now have multiple mysteries without a clear ending and I am required to read the next book to get answers. if this had had a clear ending and set a new mystery up for the second book I wouldnhappily purchase, but I dislike feeling like I did not get a full story. not sure if I will continue with the books.

Great “page turning” series

I loved these books! They’re versatile in that teens can read them but they don’t feel too juvenile for adults. Listened to all 3 in under a week.