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The Hand on the Wall

(Truly Devious #3)

Maureen Johnson (Goodreads Author),

Kate Rudd (Reading)

4.18 · Rating details · 53,820 ratings · 7,393 reviews

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.

Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an a New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.

Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie's greatest triumph . . .

She knows who Truly Devious is. She's solved it. The greatest case of the century.

At least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it's hard to concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure that somehow--somehow--all these things connect. The three deaths in the present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers.

Then another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it's time for Stevie to do something stupid. It's time to stay on the mountain and face the storm--and a murderer.

In the tantalizing finale to the Truly Devious trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson expertly tangles her dual narrative threads and ignites an explosive end for all who've walked through Ellingham Academy.

Praise for the Truly Devious series:

"Readers, hang tight: there's one more round to come, and if the signs are right, it'll be to die for." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The Agatha Christie-like ecosystem pairs with lacerating contemporary wit, and alternating past and present scenes makes for a multilayered, modern detective story." --New York Times Book Review

"Remember the first time reading Harry Potter and knowing it was special? There's that same sense of magic in the introduction of teen Sherlock-in-training Stevie Bell." --USA Today (four stars)

"Be still, my Agatha-Christie-loving beating heart." --Bustle ...more

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Published January 21st 2020 by HarperCollins

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Average rating 4.18 ·

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· 53,820 ratings · 7,393 reviews

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Apr 06, 2019 emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, ya, mystery-thriller-horror-etc, couldn-t-wait-to-read, unpopular-opinion, reviewed, reread, 2-and-a-half-stars

Here’s the thing: This is not a good mystery.

A good mystery, a truly remarkable one, has not only a question at its core that fascinates and eludes the reader. This series certainly has that, but it’s not the only thing that really makes a mystery book worth writing home about.

The really fun thing, the thing that makes the best works of this genre worth reading, is the solution.

The solution should be the peak of the story, not the letdown. It should be an ohmygod moment, a muttered “holy sh*t” a ...more

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Jul 30, 2020 daph pink ♡ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: queer, mystery-thriller-horror

Truly devious:- ⭐⭐.15/5 Read review here
Vanishing stair :- ⭐.75/5 Read review here
Hand on wall :- ⭐⭐.5/5

*Spoiler ahead*

So with infinite Sherlock Holmes, 12 Agatha Christie, 1 Nancy drew, 1 shinning, 1 Great Gatsby and 1 titanic reference we have come to the end of this truly stupid and lame series!!

Yeah don't fight me! Okay I am not in mood , my mind committed suicide three times in last three days !!!!

✏ here is a piece of advice to author Next time try and make your characters likeable pl ...more

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Jan 21, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it really liked it · review of another edition

They say: “Third time is a charm” and when I agree: because third book of the series is the BEST WRITTEN, RIVETING, EXCITING, ENTERTAINING, A GREAT TRIBUTE TO AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOKS!

The weakest thing about Truly Devious series is lack of adorable, likable characters but you slowly get used to their quirkiness, strange antics and their asocial manners. Stevie is adorably weird, introvert, die-hard fan of crime thriller podcasts, cold cases from the past (I’m not talking about younger version of my ...more

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Jan 26, 2020 jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

im definitely in the minority with my feelings on this conclusion, but after my reaction to ‘the vanishing stair,’ i could see this coming.

this was okay. not the worst, but i didnt do a reread of the other books before picking this up so it took me a while to remember/piece together what was happening. i also dont remember david being such a major douche?! his character really turned me off to pretty much everything he was involved in.

overall, i wasnt overly impressed, nor was i disappointed w ...more

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Feb 07, 2019 TheYALibrarian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, must-have, strong-female-protagonist, need-this-now, to-eventually-re-read, worth-the-wait

I was warned The Vanishing Stair ended on a cliffhanger. Did it stop me from finishing it in a few days? NO AND I REGRET NOTHING AND REGRET EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME!!!! FFFFFFFUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
description

Update 1/21/20

Rating 5 Stars

Got to have this for the holiday weekend and wow...what a fucking ride. I didn't want a second of it to end. More review to come I think I just need to go sob in the corner for a while... ...more

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Jun 08, 2021 Dr. Appu Sasidharan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Yet another accident happens in Ellingham Academy. A massive storm is also heading towards Vermont. So they decide to evacuate the school. But Stevie chose to stay on the mountain to face the storm to solve the case. Will she able to solve this flummoxing case amid the downright macabre of the past and the present? This book will give you the answer.

What I learned from this book
1) The money-empathy gap
Money is indispensable in everyone's life. It provides food, dress, shelter for t ...more

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Jan 22, 2020 hyacinth rated it liked it · review of another edition

maureen could’ve put all these in one book 🤦‍♀️

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Jan 24, 2019 Camile Souza (This Chamber of Books) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: current-month-tbr, tbr-2022, recent-releases, wishlist, priorities-tbr

At the end of The Vanishing Stair it says this book will apparently be called The Hand on the Wall??

Whatever the name is, I'm bitter that I have to wait till next year to read it after yet another cliffhanger. The life of a reader is not a fair one. ...more

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Jan 22, 2020 Reading_ Tamishly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Here's my 5 🌟 parts of the trilogy:
✨The 2nd half of the 1st book
✨The whole of the 2nd book (minus David, of course)
✨The first half of the 3rd book

Well, it's worth binge reading! And it's so interesting and fast paced that you won't take much time reading each book (don't get fooled by the number of pages!).

Why the last one is not a perfect 5 🌟 read for me:
I still couldn't stand David and Stevie together. The romance was so out of place. And I simply couldn't understand why the author tried to fo ...more

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Mar 14, 2020 Theresa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

How could they mess up this premise this much. How.

This book (and as a result, the series as a whole) is aimless, meandering and lacks any shred of tension or suspense. The mystery is wrapped up in mere minutes based on absolutely nothing and most of it wasn't actually discovered by Stevie but instead revealed to the reader in long and unnecessary flashbacks. Stevie herself then figured it out due to divine intervention or something. I don't know.

The lack of actual content in this series becom How could they mess up this premise this much. How.

This book (and as a result, the series as a whole) is aimless, meandering and lacks any shred of tension or suspense. The mystery is wrapped up in mere minutes based on absolutely nothing and most of it wasn't actually discovered by Stevie but instead revealed to the reader in long and unnecessary flashbacks. Stevie herself then figured it out due to divine intervention or something. I don't know.

The lack of actual content in this series becomes glaringly obvious with the conclusion to the series. I kid you not, the stuff that actually happens could have been condensed down to a single above-average length book and it would have been perfectly fine. The main conflict of the entire series is completely forgotten about for half of this book and replaced with an out of the blue, completely random new conflict that is then immediately resolved again before we return to the actual plot of the books. Only about 5% of this book are spent actually solving the mystery.

The romance between David and Stevie is... genuinely painful to read. I thought they were very cute at the beginning but after their extremely contrived drama in book 2 I was starting to question my initial feelings about them. In this book David spends most of his time being a complete dickhead to Stevie, actively torturing her for a perceived wrong and she just lets him do it. Then all of a sudden, instead of actually discussing their problems and resolving them, they just get back together as if nothing happened. And I'm supposed to just accept that and go all OMG THEY'RE SO CUTE again. Na-ah.

This series just lacks soul . I feel absolutely no connection to any of the characters or any of the events that took place because it felt like the author wasn't telling a story she actually cared all that much about. I wish I had a different experience with this because I really wanted to enjoy this series. Unfortunately, I'd say skip this one entirely and forgot it ever existed. It's just not worth your time or money. ...more

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Jul 20, 2020 Ashley Nuckles added it · review of another edition

I’m curling into a ball and dying inside now that this murder mystery is cracked wide open and there is nothing left to solve.

No but for real this book was AMAZING. I did happen to guess whodunit from around the middle, but there were still SO MANY EXTRA THINGS I hadn’t even thought about!! I just really love this series and if you want a cozy, murder mystery that borders on crazy conspiracy with puzzles and history and things, please read this! I begeth of you lol. Definitely a favorite for a ...more

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Jul 08, 2019 megs_bookrack marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-thriller-horror-to-read, 2020-releases

Update 1/2/19:

Preorder has been placed, now the countdown to arrival begins...

O.M.G.
Stop.

Hold up.

It's GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!

My prayers have been answered. ...more

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Jul 08, 2019 Mariah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: tbr-2020-releases, own-kindle, read-in-2020

To quote the best character in this series:
“ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME HAVE AN EMOTION???”

If you are like me and while you enjoyed the first two books in the series, you were kind of bored through most of it: I urge you to pick this up!

First, you get the satisfaction of finishing a series, seeing it through to the end.

Second - this one actually had me on the edge of my seat for more than just the cliffhanger!
Stayed up until 2:30AM to see it through and am now sitting at my work desk at 7:25AM, c ...more

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Jul 28, 2020 Lia Carstairs rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, young-adult, contemporary

  "My moose," she said in a low voice. "I finally got it. The universe paid me in moose."

omg what kind of ending was that loll I love that😂

Yes, Stevie, you finally got to see a ~~moving branch~~ moose.

I told myself going into this, that I would be paranoid of every single person in this book (minus the original crew).
Yet even doing that, I still didn't expect a certain someone to be behind all of this from the beginning???
I keep this saying, but I really do suck at detective work.

Stevie is th

  "My moose," she said in a low voice. "I finally got it. The universe paid me in moose."

omg what kind of ending was that loll I love that😂

Yes, Stevie, you finally got to see a ~~moving branch~~ moose.

And I really don't like David. Like from the first book he annoyed me and now after reading this.....well, my opinion hasn't changed.💀

Je n'aime pas David.

Honestly though, this 3-book case was really amazing. Who knew that such tiny events could lead up to something so huge???

That being said, to be honest, I was more interested in the past events then the present. Towards the end is when all the big reveals happened which is when I got really hooked, but the mystery surrounding Alice and the kidnappers of her and her mom got me super absorbed with how things would unfold.

Oh and Nate forever remains my one and only favourite character in this series. Stevie, Janelle, ad Vi were really likable too, but nobody, and I mean nobody can top Nate🥺

I did not and will never like the romantic relationship between David and Stevie. To be honest, I don't even think this series needed any romance or anything. David could've stayed as the annoying and jerkish friend he was, although he did redeem himself a little at the end...but I still don't like him.

My favourite parts of course included Nate, although he didn't appear that much throughout the novel *sobbing* omg but I loved this scene:

“Fun fact," Stevie said, trying to lighten the mood in the vast, gloomy space. "This fireplace? Henry the Eighth had one just like it, in Hampton Court. Albert Ellingham had an exact copy made."
"Fun fact," Nate replied, "Henry the Eighth killed two of his wives. Who wants a murderer's fireplace?"
"I'm not sure, but that's the name of my new game show.”

Another thing I loved was the way Maureen Johnson put in anxiety. Stevie had anxiety that would come out randomly, but she still didn't let that stop her from solving a murder case or define who she was. The anxiety rep was done so well this whole series. I love Stevie so much.😌

🛑WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW🛑
.
.
.
.
.
First thing that shocked me was that Alice's father was GEORGE MARSH. The guy who set up this whole case!!!! The guy who caused so much suffering!!!

That's such a cruel twist of fate.

I did not feel bad for him AT ALL when he found out that he'd gotten his own daughter (along with Iris) kidnapped just for money.
Poor Alice for having such a terrible biological father :' (

Oh and ALICE BEING FOUND DEAD??!!! omgg just wow😭
All my theories were totally off since they all involved her being secretly alive all this time, but just really old. I even at one point thought that maybe she's the one behind all the present day murders to get revenge or something.🤷‍♀️ loll I was so wrong.

It was so sad though omg. Alice was only a kid and she had to go through all of that kidnapping and in the end....she dies from Measles in an isolated area with a family she's never known :(

George Marsh, you are a cruel, cruel man. Albert Ellingham should've given you a more painful death than the one you got.

And again, I love how I was literally suspicious of ALMOST EVERYONE (especially the nice ones), yet I completely ignored Call Me Charles thinking he was too nice to have anything to do with these murders.
Turns out that he IS the culprit in the end.
Charles was the behind the scenes guy killing Hayes, Ellie, and Fenton in a way that made it look like an accident but was really him making these 'accidents'.
I really didn't think of him as being an evil mastermind, even though by now I should know otherwise. It's always the nice-looking ones.👀
.
.
.
.
.
🛑SPOILERS END HERE🛑

One more thing before I finish. I absolutely LOVED it when ~~Trump Replica's~~ Edward King's running for president was completely blown apart when David (hey, and he actually did something really useful👍) destroyed all the blackmailing files Edward had over some of the people who supported him. Once that was gone, King was ruined and had to pull out of his campaigning for president. Thank youuu David <33

Now if only something *ahem* similar could happen to a certain person in real life.

~~for legal purposes, this is a joke~~

  “The wonderful thing about reality is that it is highly flexible. One minute, all is doom; the next, everything is abloom with possibility.”

(4.5⭐)

|Blog| ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 April rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wish this series would continue on, but still love how it ended overall.

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Aug 17, 2020 Kai Spellmeier added it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

People told me to keep reading despite the horrible love interest because it would all be worth it in the end. And I'm not so sure about that.

This trilogy (yes I know there's a sequel but we all know this was intended to be a trilogy that thanks to its success now receives one or multiple sequels) was overall really fun. Great characters, fantastic setting, the promise of mystery and murder in the air. And I got mystery and I got murder. It just...could have been better.

Stupid, unnecessary, bori ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Ari rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads, favorites, most-anticipated-2020-reads

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Amazon | B&N

"But that's what clues are.
Clues are junk. They're things that fly off the car
when it gets into an accident.
Murder is messy, and you have to use garbage to figure out
what's going on."

I was nineteen-years-old when I read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None for the first time, and I am eternally grateful to my uncle for suggesting it to me. Since then, I recommend it to everyone who's a book lover. I get mixed responses on that recommendation: “B ...more

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Apr 03, 2020 Leonie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, thriller-psychological-mystery

I had a lot of fun with this series but it did slowly go downhill with each installment. Ultimately, this should have just been one book, instead of a trilogy.

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Apr 19, 2020 Jananie (thisstoryaintover) added it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

love this series and Stevie a sh*t ton <3

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Jan 31, 2020 April (Aprilius Maximus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

1.) Truly Devious ★★★★★
2.) The Vanishing Stair ★★★★.5
3.) The Hand on the Wall ★★★★.75

-----------------------------------------------

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Feb 25, 2020 jv poore rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic-fiction, own-it, mystery

Somewhat sad that Stevie has finally solved the case of the century, I really enjoyed the Truly Devious trilogy. The Hand on the Wall wraps things up...not "nicely" but pretty much what a Maureen Johnson fan expects: no disappointments. ...more

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Jan 01, 2019 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) marked it as not-released-tbr · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, thriller, mystery

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May 27, 2019 kelly ♥ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, read-in-2020

2020...... i could be dead by then stevie will have to solve MY murder

————-

3/09/2020: 3.5 rounded to 4 (WHEN will goodreads let us have half stars??!!!!!!)

a solid ending to this trilogy, even if i a) didn’t really remember anything from before and b) had it figured out about halfway through.

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Mar 01, 2020 Angela Staudt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Now that is how you end a series. I mean honestly each book got better and the number of reveals in this last book still has me stunned. I wish this story didn’t have to end, I undeniably love Ellingham Academy and all of the characters. The mystery was spectacular and I had absolutely no idea whatsoever throughout the whole book who the culprit was.

If I had to describe The Hand on the Wall I would use riveting, amazing, entertaining, a wild ride, and a masterpiece. At the end of The Vanishing Now that is how you end a series. I mean honestly each book got better and the number of reveals in this last book still has me stunned. I wish this story didn’t have to end, I undeniably love Ellingham Academy and all of the characters. The mystery was spectacular and I had absolutely no idea whatsoever throughout the whole book who the culprit was.

If I had to describe The Hand on the Wall I would use riveting, amazing, entertaining, a wild ride, and a masterpiece. At the end of The Vanishing Stair we are left with Stevie somewhat solving the Ellingham murder case. Wrong. The amount of detail and layers this mystery has is amazing, not to mention the 1936 murder and the murders that are happening present day intertwine is mind blowing. I can’t express to you how utterly shocked I am at how much was revealed and the fact that I had no idea about any of it. In the final installment we follow Stevie at Ellingham, but during a huge blizzard that has the school evacuated. Of course, Stevie stays with Nate, David, Vi, Janelle, and some of the school professors. It’s honestly a bit creepy knowing all of this is going on when the power is out, there is literally a blizzard dropping feet of snow, and a murderer could potentially be on the loose.

One of the reasons I love this book so much is because of Stevie and her friends. Stevie is weird, but in a good way, quirky, and loves her crimes and mysteries. Even though everyone around her thinks she is a bit delusional for trying to solve this case, she never gives up. She is such a relatable character and I mean I love how peculiar and strange all the other characters are. “Stevie would rather eat bees than share her tender inner being with anyone else – she didn’t even want to share it with herself.” I mean that not only made me laugh, but I completely agree with Stevie and I just love her.

The biggest part of this is obviously the mystery, and still I’m sitting here trying to process the ending. It was just such a mind shocker that I’m still processing everything. This series has one of the best who-dun-it aspects. Thank you, Maureen Johnson, for writing such a masterpiece. ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Sarah (thegirltheycalljones) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, mystery-thriller, douche-fest, disappointment, buddy-read, whodunnit

Eeeeeerr. Well, I can't say I'm surprised by my general feelings toward this last book.
But you never know, right? Sometimes, magic happens?
Not here though, but that doesn't make it a bad book.
2,5 stars : 4 stars for the addictive whodunnit, 2 for the characters in general, 1 for David.

I loved the Ellingham case. The "case of the century" really was captivating, from the prologue of book 1 introducing Dottie Epstein to discovering about all the protagonists of this era, like Leo and Flora, and G Eeeeeerr. Well, I can't say I'm surprised by my general feelings toward this last book.
But you never know, right? Sometimes, magic happens?
Not here though, but that doesn't make it a bad book.
2,5 stars : 4 stars for the addictive whodunnit, 2 for the characters in general, 1 for David.

I loved the Ellingham case. The "case of the century" really was captivating, from the prologue of book 1 introducing Dottie Epstein to discovering about all the protagonists of this era, like Leo and Flora, and George, Iris and Albert. I could have stayed there for quite some time without ever being bored.
Knowing more about the opening of this peculiar school would have been a delight!

I loved the place. All these statues, the secret passages, the dome in the center of the lake, Albert's riddles and games... what a potential - and not wasted at all, at least in the "past" chapters! What a mesmerising place!

I loved Francis and Eddy (Eddie?). I could have read about them for hours... They can sound a bit cliché but the author wrote their chapters very well, imo. It had a real ambiance, and by giving us little she made me want more.

I loved that despite knowing I'll be disappointed by the end, I couldn't stop reading for the most part of the book. It's a real page-turner. I read it like some may watch Gossip Girl : it's dubious quality but it's very addictive!

My real problem is the "present" chapters : all the characters except Stevie, Larry and Nate either bored me to death (Janelle, Vi, Hunter, and I could go on) or annoyed me to no end (hello David, most of the teachers, Ellie, Germaine...).
And, I mean, Larry and Nate are barely there so that let only Stevie to root for...

I stand by what I said about David in my reviews of the previous two books : he's a douche, and the author was probably aiming at Tortured Sexy Genius Asshole but what we got was Total Asshole. It's the biggest failure at a Love Interest I've seen for a looong time.
The way he acts most of the time would normally cause someone saying "who the fuck do you think you are?" or "shut the fuck up" or you know, many punches in his sorry face, but no. It's David, he's an asshole, everybody thinks it's okay, and that it's kinda hot.
It shoulda been, I see the intentions, but it didn't work at all for me.

Also, the many different romances, while being on the side and not central to the plot, weren't needed. They're the weak part of the series for me, they add nothing except needed diversity - but plot-wise and even character-wise, they fall flat.
This book was a very good mystery / whodunnit, those parts were very well written, the setting was awesome, and the pacing mastered.
All these teenage dramas and over-the-top characters went in the way of a great, addictive plot led by a modern and peculiar Nancy Drew.
Quick and easy read, enjoyable but with limits that I'm not willing to meet in the future because hating some characters so much is exhausting. ...more

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Jan 24, 2020 Maryam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮.”

For once in my bookworm life I read a book directly after it was released and I’m glad I did because I loved The Hand on the Wall!
I literally ate it up and could not put it down. It’s highly enjoyable, mysterious and captivating and we finally got the answers! Definitely my favorite out of the trilogy.

In Truly Devious I struggled with liking the characters, especially the main character, Stevie. But throughout the “𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮.”

For once in my bookworm life I read a book directly after it was released and I’m glad I did because I loved The Hand on the Wall!
I literally ate it up and could not put it down. It’s highly enjoyable, mysterious and captivating and we finally got the answers! Definitely my favorite out of the trilogy.

In Truly Devious I struggled with liking the characters, especially the main character, Stevie. But throughout the trilogy I’d gotten used to their quirky and strange personalities and in this book I liked them so much. Stevie is not a sweet, fun character; she’s interested in crime and the big Ellingham case so she came off as a bit..detached. But I think her personality matched the storyline and her purpose in it so perfectly😍
Though one character I didn’t like is David. He was such an asshole to Stevie and I didn’t want her to have a crush on him. Though he kind of redeemed himself at the end.

The best thing about these books is the mystery; the Ellingham case. And I saw it so clearly in this book because everything started to come together and make sense. I started connecting things that happened in the previous books with what was revealed in this one and the puzzle pieces started to find each other. So entertaining. Maureen’s ability to connect the past as in the Ellingham case in the past and Stevie trying to solve it at Ellingham Academy in the present was so good and on point.

I’m happy with all the revelations that we got and how the trilogy came to an end. In some mystery novels, the ending (where things would normally be revealed) often came off as cramped and like a race to the end but in this one the pace in which everything started to come together was great. I couldn’t see this trilogy ending in any other way..❤️

Order of the books how I liked them:
The Hand on the Wall: ✩✩✩✩
Truly Devious: ✩✩✩✩
The Vanishing Stair: ✩✩✩ ...more

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Dec 19, 2020 :) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4 stars

trigger warnings:
drugs, drinking, alcoholism, violence, death, anxiety, panic attacks

this was definitely the best one in the series!!! the characters were great, the mystery was captivating, and the reveal was shocking. i am still not a huge fan of the romance, but the rest of the book was amazing. i have a lot more to say, so i will write a real review eventually, but for now, enjoy these quotes by the love of my life and the best character in this book, nathanial fisher:

"i am out of ide ...more

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May 31, 2020 Kassidy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

*3.5*

I really enjoyed listening to this on audiobook, the atmosphere came to life. This one is more fast-paced than the others in the series, but at times it felt directionless. I also did not like where the romance went..
I still love this trilogy overall!

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Mar 25, 2020 ✨ jami ✨ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads, mystery, young-adult, series, completed-series, anticipated-2020

OUR TREASURE
all i care about starts at nine
Dance twelve hundred steps on the northern line
To the left bank three hundred times
E+A
Line flag
tiptoe

I can't believe this series is over! I had so much fun with this spooky, atmospheric mystery. It was a lot of fun and enjoyed revelling in some tropes and cliche's of dark academia/detective mysteries and I thought that was enjoyable. And at times it was genuinely creepy which was fun too.

I think I liked the middle book most of this series. One thin
OUR TREASURE
all i care about starts at nine
Dance twelve hundred steps on the northern line
To the left bank three hundred times
E+A
Line flag
tiptoe

I can't believe this series is over! I had so much fun with this spooky, atmospheric mystery. It was a lot of fun and enjoyed revelling in some tropes and cliche's of dark academia/detective mysteries and I thought that was enjoyable. And at times it was genuinely creepy which was fun too.

I think I liked the middle book most of this series. One thing that did slightly annoy me about this one was I felt too many of the biggest reveals were just given to the reader, and then it didn't feel earned / you didn't get the rush of watching Stevie figure it out. I also think the end reveal, while fun, was a little left of field and I was thinking there should have been more hints and clues leading up to the reveal. However, I did like how the pieces ultimately fit together and the final reveal did have a fun, playing with cliches kind of moment which I enjoyed.

(Admittedly, I have watched knives out like twice this month which may have made me biased against all mystery reveals which aren't specifically the final scene of knives out so there's that)

“The wonderful thing about reality is that it is highly flexible. One minute, all is doom; the next, everything is abloom with possibility.”

I thought some of the character work wasn't all there. I just do not care about David and Stevie's romance or all the David related side plots. They fit awkwardly into the story and felt really displaced in this final book. The side characters didn't really do or say much, and Nate especially just was kind of ... there. But it didn't really matter too much since the entire time I was in this book for the mystery, not the characters. But the David side plot coming up all of a sudden was the one (1) point I put this book down for a bit, so it did impact my enjoyment somewhat.

That all said, I feel I'm complaining about this too much because I did enjoy it and read it in less than 24 hours. It's well-paced and fun, with some great reveals that really tie all the loose threads together. I felt I was given every answer I was longing for, and I liked the ultimate reveal of the motivations behind certain mysteries. The ending was also great, not too vague but not too tight. I thought it had a lot of creep and spook which I liked. Johnson is great at playing with atmosphere and setting, bringing this creepy old school with it's hidden passages and secret tunnels and trick staircases to life. I also liked the blending of the past and present, how the characters from 1936 felt so present and real in this one compared to the other books.

I feel like this series didn't need to be three books. It could've easily been a duology, or even one big book. But I think Johnson did well to fill out the series and not make every book seem like a needless drag, and I appreciated that! Especially since I was a little worried going into this one given the reveals in the one before.

Overall this is a really fun series. If you like fun detective/whodunit mysteries that play with the atmosphere you'll like this. It's a good spin on true crime and a genuinely fun mystery to unravel, and I think it's just the perfect thing to pick up in the afternoon and read on into the night. Actually, since I mentioned it - If you like Knives Out and how it played with genre and tropes and had a bit of fun with it, you'd probably like this too.

My Truly Devious review

...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Cori Reed rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I DEEPLY love this series. I feel like so many aspects of so many characters felt like home. Even the setting felt like home! I do not think it is a perfect mystery, and I don't think the characters have perfect relationships, but it's real in a messy life kinda way. ...more

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“The wonderful thing about reality is that it is highly flexible. One minute, all is doom; the next, everything is abloom with possibility.” — 36 likes

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