I’m honestly so excited to do this review today- but first I have to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU again to the lovely Jill Jemmett, who ever very kindly hosted a giveaway for getting 1000 followers! She’s an amazing book blogger with a whole host bookish content, from lists to book reviews, and I highly recommend checking her out!
Now let’s crack this case (*ahem* book) wide open! Set in a boarding school, this is the story of Stevie Bell trying to uncover a cold case murder mystery. With this intriguing location, an entertaining plot and a colourful cast of characters, Maureen Johnson enters into a thrilling start to a series.
Though I was initially disappointed with Dotty in the opening, I was soon gripped by Stevie’s more compelling voice. Full of charm and humour this true crime YA story more than gets under your skin. When (as the blurb suggests) the murderer re-enters the crime scene decades later, the *creep factor* intensifies.
I really liked the intersection of these two mysteries. Plus, not only was there good anxiety rep here, but it also added to the story, amping up the tension significantly. Because of Stevie’s anxiety, the reader is left wondering who-what-where-when-why and scrambling for answers in the dark. Time and again, the narrative sends you of in (mis)direction, only to about turn and take you down another path. It made for an on-the-edge-of-your-seat experience!
There was an absolute addictive quality to Truly Devious for sure. Just so you know, though, *there is a massive cliffhanger*. Personally, since I knew this was a series going in, I figured as much before I started and didn’t expect to get many/all of the answers- but I will admit I STILL WANT MORE!!!! I think for that reason I’m gonna hold off getting the sequel until it’s closer to the third book’s release date- cos I’m already dying from the wait!
Other than that, the only downside of this book was the cartoonish politics (and you know my feelings about politics shoehorned into fiction anyway). Besides that, everything from the romance to the mini-mystery of this book to the leads for the sequel were killer!
4½/5 bananas
Very excited to see where this goes, in the meantime, I’ll be hunting for clues…
So have you read this? Do you plan to? Let me know in the comments! (also *lalalala* not listening if you want to talk about the second one 😉)
I have heard so many good things about this book, it has been on my wishlist for too long… I think your excellent review may be the final push for me to finally pick it up when payday comes around 😇 Thanks!
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Ah brilliant- I’m really glad to hear it!! 😀
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I haven’t read this book but heard a lot of good things about it. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I really need to give it a shot! Great review, btw! 🙂
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Thank you so much! Hope you like it if you check it out! 🙂
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Yet again another book I want to read because of you! Amazing review xx
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hehe brilliant 😉 Thank you!! xx
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Nice review! I started reading this book quite a while ago, but never finished. Your review makes me want to pick it up again sometime!
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Thank you! Ah fair enough- hope you enjoy it if you do pick it up again 🙂
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I just finished this myself. Really good mystery. I knew this was a series but I still felt a little cheated by the ending but I’ll definitely be reading the next one so I suppose it did it’s job 🙂
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Awesome- I’m really glad you thought so. I completely understand- I just realised pretty early on that it was gonna do something like that at the end (mostly cos the mystery got more and more complicated and I saw that there didn’t seem to be enough room in the book to resolve it). hehe true!
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Ooooh I love mysteries so I’ll have to check this book out!
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Fabulous!
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you have a way to making people want to read the books you read! although, i’ll say that i’ll wait for the next book – the third as well.
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Thank you! That’s a very good idea in this case.
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I hadn’t heard of this book, but your review had peaked my curiosity! Truly Devious sounds really good!
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Well I’m glad to hear it! It really was!! 😀
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I’m glad you enjoyed it and I’m really intrigued now. Terrific review 🙂
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Thank you!
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Oy vey, it’s absolutely the worst when you finish a book on a cliffhanger and have to wait at least a year for the sequel to be published! That happened to me with Strange The Dreamer and I never want to do it again – so I will wait for this WHOLE trilogy to be published before I dive in, thanks! 😉 That being said, it sounds awesome 😀
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Ah it really is!! I really relate to that as well- I often prefer bingereading entire series- and this is the sort of series that will be such a good binge read!
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Noted 😀 I will put it on the waitlist!
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Fabulous!
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Blurb of this book is intriguing. wonderful review!
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Awesome, thank you!
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This sounds so good!! I can’t wait to get a copy!!
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Brilliant!
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Why does a boarding school provide such a great setting for a mystery?! Lol
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haha I don’t know- but I don’t think I want to go to one to find out 😉
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Hahahahaha. Very fair point! Although back in the day when I read Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers, I thought it would be the best thing ever.
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Ooh! I hadn’t heard much about this one. Sounds fantastic! Good to know about that cliffhanger. I might have expected a book like this to be a standalone if I didn’t look it up.
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It really was!! Yeah I also wasn’t sure, cos I knew it was gonna be a series, but when I got a decent way in I realised there was no way it was gonna wrap everything up before the end.
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I read Truly Devious this month on a whim and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I am not one for murder mysteries, but everyone seemed to love this one, so I gave the audiobook a go! I totally agree, I was really turned off in the beginning with Dotty, but once Stevie arrived on the scene I was all in. I really loved the boarding school setting in remote Vermont too. I cannot wait to read the next book either 🙂 I’ve been hold listed.
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I definitely had my doubts- but I was delighted to see how good it was! And I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that thought that. I love the setting as well. I’m really excited for more!!
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Awesome review! Thanks so much for mentioning me in your post! I really want to read this book and it sounds great in your review.
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