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lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition
4.0
Seriously plowed through this one - super fun mystery! Can’t wait to read the next one!
yeppenny's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5) This murder mystery establishes a great atmosphere on a high school academy estate built in the early 20th century. It also presents intriguing mysteries from the 1930s in parallel to a mystery on the campus today. Personally, I did not vibe with the mc's ego, but this does not affect my rating and overall enjoyment of the atmosphere.
While cliffhangers are great tools of suspense, it was a bit of a miss to not offer any real answers to at least one the many fragmented mysteries by the end of this novel. I will read the sequel, though I am wary of it dragging on and never getting answers until the third book.
While cliffhangers are great tools of suspense, it was a bit of a miss to not offer any real answers to at least one the many fragmented mysteries by the end of this novel. I will read the sequel, though I am wary of it dragging on and never getting answers until the third book.
jex19's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
sevenletters's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Kidnapping, Death, and Mental illness
slflorence99's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed everything about the book, but the ending was a little too open-ended for me. That said, I will definitely finish the series. Super quick and entertaining read.
ashersjade's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hniereads's review against another edition
5.0
loved loved loved it. everything's simply perfect. dark academia, found family, murder mystery and so much more. the characters are simply what we need in every book.
starborns's review against another edition
5.0
the way in which this ending left me hanging makes me wanna take maureen to court
cutenanya's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.5 stars.
I don't know how to rate this book. I really love the premise of this book, switching between an 80-year old mystery and a fresh murder. The riddles are well written too and the pacing is great. I also like the isolated school setting, Unfortunately, I have serious problems with the characters, the plot, and the romance.
The characters: Let's begin with Stevie. Technically, she's a fine character in the beginning, she is clever, is strong willed and has attitude. Until the middle when she lost steam and became kinda weird because of her relationship with David, I liked her, even more than Rory. However, since the middle when she became a bit off key, I had trouble liking her. Guess it's fate Maureen Johnson's heroine and I just don't click.
Then comes the love interest David. To be honest, I hate this guy. He is a true hypocrite, like lying and pushing into people's lives are okay but going through people's things aren't. Hello? Pushing into people's lives' just as bad as violating other people's privacy so why get mad? I lie sometimes so I've no right to accuse David of being a liar, but the natural way he lies is too much for my liking. Unlike Stephen in the Shades of London series whom I adore, David just makes me sick. I seriously hope he will improve in the next book.
Nate and Janelle are way better characters. They are true friends one wish to have and without them, I probably wouldn't want to continue this series, however much I'm interested in the mystery. This brings up the next point - PLOT.
Plot wise, the Allingham mystery is really fun, I really want to know who kidnapped Allingham's wife and daughter and how does Truly devious tie in the past and the present crimes. Unfortunately, the handling of the mystery is highly problematic, for example, Stevie pieced together the clues of the mystery because she asked the witness what time she was with the victim. I mean if a sleuth can think of such simple questions, certainly the police would have asked the same questions before, right? If the witness didn't provide the answers to the police before, why would they suddenly divulge the info to the sleuth? It's so ridiculous I find it hard to swallow.
Finally, the romance. I hate David so that's one major reason why the romance didn't work for me. Also, I find the sudden chemistry between Stevie & David too sudden to even make sense. They are teenagers running on hormones and they're in a traumatic state, I can understand the make out bit, but the romance bit is too unconvincing.
P.S. I like how Maureen Johnson gave her characters names of important figures in the mystery genre, for example Stevie Bell's surname comes from Joseph Bell (the inspiration of Sherlock Holmes), or Allingham (I think) comes from Margery Allingham, and so forth.
Overall, there are some aspects of this story I really like and it's a pity there are so many holes and problems in this book. Had it been written better, it could easily be on my list of favorite books.
I don't know how to rate this book. I really love the premise of this book, switching between an 80-year old mystery and a fresh murder. The riddles are well written too and the pacing is great. I also like the isolated school setting, Unfortunately, I have serious problems with the characters, the plot, and the romance.
The characters: Let's begin with Stevie. Technically, she's a fine character in the beginning, she is clever, is strong willed and has attitude. Until the middle when she lost steam and became kinda weird because of her relationship with David, I liked her, even more than Rory. However, since the middle when she became a bit off key, I had trouble liking her. Guess it's fate Maureen Johnson's heroine and I just don't click.
Then comes the love interest David. To be honest, I hate this guy. He is a true hypocrite, like lying and pushing into people's lives are okay but going through people's things aren't. Hello? Pushing into people's lives' just as bad as violating other people's privacy so why get mad? I lie sometimes so I've no right to accuse David of being a liar, but the natural way he lies is too much for my liking. Unlike Stephen in the Shades of London series whom I adore, David just makes me sick. I seriously hope he will improve in the next book.
Nate and Janelle are way better characters. They are true friends one wish to have and without them, I probably wouldn't want to continue this series, however much I'm interested in the mystery. This brings up the next point - PLOT.
Plot wise, the Allingham mystery is really fun, I really want to know who kidnapped Allingham's wife and daughter and how does Truly devious tie in the past and the present crimes. Unfortunately, the handling of the mystery is highly problematic, for example, Stevie pieced together the clues of the mystery because she asked the witness what time she was with the victim. I mean if a sleuth can think of such simple questions, certainly the police would have asked the same questions before, right? If the witness didn't provide the answers to the police before, why would they suddenly divulge the info to the sleuth? It's so ridiculous I find it hard to swallow.
Finally, the romance. I hate David so that's one major reason why the romance didn't work for me. Also, I find the sudden chemistry between Stevie & David too sudden to even make sense. They are teenagers running on hormones and they're in a traumatic state, I can understand the make out bit, but the romance bit is too unconvincing.
P.S. I like how Maureen Johnson gave her characters names of important figures in the mystery genre, for example Stevie Bell's surname comes from Joseph Bell (the inspiration of Sherlock Holmes), or Allingham (I think) comes from Margery Allingham, and so forth.
Overall, there are some aspects of this story I really like and it's a pity there are so many holes and problems in this book. Had it been written better, it could easily be on my list of favorite books.
nattybreads_'s review against another edition
It’s the way that I’m so busy that the thought of reading this book brought me an immense amount of unnecessary anxiety… so I scrapped everything that had to do with this book for my video 😄