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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
3.75 stars. This was good! I will say it probably could have been about 100 pages shorter if it hadn't gone so much into Stevie's stressing out about not being able to figure things out and her stressing about David (and Izzy). Many of those parts just seemed to be filler and not quite necessary . I also would have loved more insight into Stevie's process in figuring it out (maybe further explanation of details), it just seemed like she had no idea then bam she knew everything. I think if there had been more back and forth between the storylines throughout the book, this could have been better/easier to do. I liked the idea of going back and forth between present day and the story in the past about the murders - it would have been cool to have spread the past's story out throughout the book, rather than just having that drop off until the very end when the ending was revealed. I didn't love that the "reveal" was told twice (once in the past POV and once by Stevie), but that again goes into my thoughts about spreading the past POV out throughout the book rather than just at the beginning. Overall, it was good, just some thoughts on how I could have enjoyed it a bit more.
I did not realize this was part of a series, until I started reading and realized that I had read book #1 (Truly Devious) and none of the other books in the series... oops! I don't think I missed anything in not reading boos 2-4, as the story did not require a lot of those details.
Spoiler
(especially the drama with the very end)I did not realize this was part of a series, until I started reading and realized that I had read book #1 (Truly Devious) and none of the other books in the series... oops! I don't think I missed anything in not reading boos 2-4, as the story did not require a lot of those details.
Oh no!!!!!!! Maureen Johnson, you suck!!! I mean, not really. But that ending?!?!?!? Uuuuggggghhhhh!!! It sucks so hard to know that I have to wait at least another year for a resolution!!! I am not going to make it. It’s just that simple. My death from loss-of-fictional-closure will be on your head, my dear!
Oh. And the book was freaking AWESOME. Yeah.
Oh. And the book was freaking AWESOME. Yeah.
Ohhhh boy. Tried listening to the audiobook as I’ve done with the other 4 - I couldn’t. So I took a break for like 3 months.
Read it on my iPad flying home from vacation, and idk. It wasn’t bad. And it wasn’t good either. It was just… a bit messy. The nine storyline was okay but the conclusion felt rushed and messy and not… good?
And don’t get me started on the ending. What the f was that? No longer a David protector. Absolutely not. Get that man away from me (and Stevie).
Read it on my iPad flying home from vacation, and idk. It wasn’t bad. And it wasn’t good either. It was just… a bit messy. The nine storyline was okay but the conclusion felt rushed and messy and not… good?
And don’t get me started on the ending. What the f was that? No longer a David protector. Absolutely not. Get that man away from me (and Stevie).
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I...dont know how i feel about this book. I just know that Nate is my fave ch. And that David is such an idiot. I want to murder him.
I love that this series is basically cozy mysteries for YA. This might be recency bias, but I think this might be the strongest one yet??! Keep em coming, Maureen
Nine Liars is Veronica Mars meets BBC’s Sherlock. It’s the 5th book in the Truly Devious YA detective series, but can be read as a standalone (I’ve never read the other books and was able to jump right in).
It’s Stevie Bell’s senior year and while her friends are busy making plans and applying to colleges, she just can’t get her head in the game. She’s at loose ends since solving her last mystery and finds herself unable to focus on school, lost on how to turn her detective skills into a college acceptance. She also really misses her boyfriend, David, who left to study in England. Luckily, David has a plan for them to see each other and also give her some much-needed distraction under the guise of a “study abroad” week in London with her friends. Also luckily, his friend Izzy has a murder mystery for Stevie to throw herself into.
Izzy’s aunt was part of a very close circle of friends at Cambridge who formed a comedy group called “The Nine”. The Nine were as close as any friends could be, living together in the same house and all dating each other. In the summer of ’95, a weekend in the country starts with a drunk game of hide-and-seek and ends with two of the nine being murdered with an ax and discovered in the woodshed. The killer was never found. Nine Liars alternates between current-day Stevie and friends, and flashbacks to that fateful weekend. It’s a bit jarring and disjointed at first going back and forth with seemingly no connection, but eventually, things begin to flow together and it works very well in drawing the reader into the mystery.
Stevie can come off as a “not like other girls” girl – confused by makeup, only wearing hoodies, and scandalized by the idea of wearing anything besides the plainest of cotton underwear. It’s not that she doesn’t care about these kinds of things, because plenty of girls don’t, it’s how often it’s emphasized until it becomes a defining personality trait. She also wears the same salad-dressing-stained black hoodie every day for a week straight while visiting her boyfriend in London (I was begging her to at least give it a rinse in the sink – she wore the thing while meeting witnesses and even when visiting the country estate as a guest/investigator). It began to toe the line of grating but someone managed to fall just this side of quirky and charming in an “everything else is just transport” Sherlock-y way.
There are a lot of characters to keep straight in Nine Liars. Outside of Stevie, David, and Izzy, we also have Stevie’s friends Janelle, Vi, and Nate. Also there’s The Nine to keep straight, and well, there’s nine of them. All of the current day parts of the book are told through Stevie’s perspective, but the flashbacks are through the perspective of multiple members of The Nine. While it’s a bit to juggle, the author does a great job of making it manageable and not too confusing.
Overall, I ended up really liking Nine Liars and can’t wait for the next book in the series (especially after that ending! Reader beware, this book ends on a cliffhanger, so if you’re a person that would be bothered by that be forewarned). The mystery as it’s presented is extremely engaging and following along with Stevie for that “aha!” moment had me glued to the pages. I really enjoyed the murder mystery, Stevie’s detective work, and most of the characters (I’m looking at you David). Definitely a book that draws you in and keeps your attention until the very last letter.
It’s Stevie Bell’s senior year and while her friends are busy making plans and applying to colleges, she just can’t get her head in the game. She’s at loose ends since solving her last mystery and finds herself unable to focus on school, lost on how to turn her detective skills into a college acceptance. She also really misses her boyfriend, David, who left to study in England. Luckily, David has a plan for them to see each other and also give her some much-needed distraction under the guise of a “study abroad” week in London with her friends. Also luckily, his friend Izzy has a murder mystery for Stevie to throw herself into.
Izzy’s aunt was part of a very close circle of friends at Cambridge who formed a comedy group called “The Nine”. The Nine were as close as any friends could be, living together in the same house and all dating each other. In the summer of ’95, a weekend in the country starts with a drunk game of hide-and-seek and ends with two of the nine being murdered with an ax and discovered in the woodshed. The killer was never found. Nine Liars alternates between current-day Stevie and friends, and flashbacks to that fateful weekend. It’s a bit jarring and disjointed at first going back and forth with seemingly no connection, but eventually, things begin to flow together and it works very well in drawing the reader into the mystery.
Stevie can come off as a “not like other girls” girl – confused by makeup, only wearing hoodies, and scandalized by the idea of wearing anything besides the plainest of cotton underwear. It’s not that she doesn’t care about these kinds of things, because plenty of girls don’t, it’s how often it’s emphasized until it becomes a defining personality trait. She also wears the same salad-dressing-stained black hoodie every day for a week straight while visiting her boyfriend in London (I was begging her to at least give it a rinse in the sink – she wore the thing while meeting witnesses and even when visiting the country estate as a guest/investigator). It began to toe the line of grating but someone managed to fall just this side of quirky and charming in an “everything else is just transport” Sherlock-y way.
There are a lot of characters to keep straight in Nine Liars. Outside of Stevie, David, and Izzy, we also have Stevie’s friends Janelle, Vi, and Nate. Also there’s The Nine to keep straight, and well, there’s nine of them. All of the current day parts of the book are told through Stevie’s perspective, but the flashbacks are through the perspective of multiple members of The Nine. While it’s a bit to juggle, the author does a great job of making it manageable and not too confusing.
Overall, I ended up really liking Nine Liars and can’t wait for the next book in the series (especially after that ending! Reader beware, this book ends on a cliffhanger, so if you’re a person that would be bothered by that be forewarned). The mystery as it’s presented is extremely engaging and following along with Stevie for that “aha!” moment had me glued to the pages. I really enjoyed the murder mystery, Stevie’s detective work, and most of the characters (I’m looking at you David). Definitely a book that draws you in and keeps your attention until the very last letter.
While I loved being back with Stevie and her crew, this was my least favorite book of the series. The murders felt... unbelievable. And then they just kept happening! It was a lot to get on board with and lessened my enjoyment of the reading experience.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No