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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
It wasn't exactly flawless, but I love the series, and it was enjoyable enough. Really enjoyed The Nine and the setup, especially.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the book where Stevie becomes a little more unhinged. She is at the point in her life where it’s time to get ready to be a grownup & she is not ready for things to change, & where she loves someone so much but cannot figure out why it just will not work. Stevie sees a problem & wants to solve it, real life does not come together for her as easily as a mystery. I appreciate how the writing in this book makes all of Stevie’s emotions & confusion about life feel so raw. It is so much easier to see someone else’s problem & focus on it, & be able to solve it when you are not understanding what is happening in your own. David still makes me irrationally angry when I read his parts, & I guess sometimes main characters just love really obnoxious people & that’s just what it is. But also, we could really, truly do without David. He detracts from a lot of the story & creates unnecessary drama.
All in all, the jumps to the past timelines is nice because it makes the story flow like you’re in someone’s train of thought. And the mystery is broken up to reveal more & more as you go along & not just immediately telling the whole story. I love how it breaks down. I appreciate that at the end, Stevie does take responsibility for her actions & does not drag the friends she loves so much into her current hyper-fixation. (Also, I said it another review, & I’ll say it again: Nate is such a gem of a friend. He’s perfect. Ridiculous, but perfect.)
Was the pacing in the book weird? Yeah. But that was because there was way too much David. Take him out of the equation & there’s a lot of nice things. Also, I would follow anywhere Nate goes. He’s lovely. Can I say that enough? I am thoroughly biased, but yeah, I’ll give this 5 stars. I don’t know what you expect of me in this moment?
All in all, the jumps to the past timelines is nice because it makes the story flow like you’re in someone’s train of thought. And the mystery is broken up to reveal more & more as you go along & not just immediately telling the whole story. I love how it breaks down. I appreciate that at the end, Stevie does take responsibility for her actions & does not drag the friends she loves so much into her current hyper-fixation. (Also, I said it another review, & I’ll say it again: Nate is such a gem of a friend. He’s perfect. Ridiculous, but perfect.)
Was the pacing in the book weird? Yeah. But that was because there was way too much David. Take him out of the equation & there’s a lot of nice things. Also, I would follow anywhere Nate goes. He’s lovely. Can I say that enough? I am thoroughly biased, but yeah, I’ll give this 5 stars. I don’t know what you expect of me in this moment?
A lot of reviews mad at the ending but lol Stevie I feel your pain girl, David is just like my shitty high school/ early college bf.
I think this is my favorite of the truly devious books. I loved the storyline. The aspects of them in London together was awesome. David is a jerk and there better be another book asap! But the mystery part was so well done! I loved every minute (until the end). And everyone needs a friend like Janelle and Nate.
I was excited to have the opportunity to read an advance e-book copy thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.
Nine friends. Seven suspects. Two murders. And one chance to get it right. Stevie Bell, now semi-famous for solving the Truly Devious and Camp Wonder Falls mysteries, is on a study tour with her friends in London--which, not-so-coincidentally is where her boyfriend David is studying. Stevie has been missing David terribly, and with decisions about her future looming (college, studies, love, and growing up), all she wants to do is to feel safe and loved with him. But no sooner have they reunited than he introduces them to his friend Izzy (a cute classmate of David's) who invites Stevie and the group to help solve a cold case from 1995 that involves the death of two of her aunt's friends.
The cold case from 1995 forms the second of the dual timelines. Nine best friends who have formed a theatrical group together, live together, date each other, and support each other are spending one last week together at a country house after graduation from Cambridge. But during one of their traditional games of hide-and-seek, two of their number are gruesomely murdered. The authorities write it off to burglars, but suspicions remain and don't resurface until the present day when Stevie and her friends arrive on the scene.
The mystery was crafted so well, in typical Maureen Johnson fashion. Such a twisty, dark, and tragic cold case. A country manor mystery in the tradition of great closed-door mysteries. And I love how the characters in both timelines are about to uncertainly embark on the next phase of life without their ride-or-die friends. The difference for me between this book and the previous four in the series was that with the previous books I really struggled to put them down (and that's saying something, since I'm a full-time working mom and treasure my sleep above all else!). But I found this one easier to put down, mainly because of Stevie's self-destructive toxicity and the significant portions of the book that were unnecessarily dedicated to London tourist stops. Nine Liars was definitely an ode to London. Flawed characters are important, and Johnson's magic is still there, but I really don't like Stevie and David very much after this. The way the book ended another book or two must be coming to give us resolution, so maybe they will be redeemed soon. I hope so, because I really love this series!
Nine friends. Seven suspects. Two murders. And one chance to get it right. Stevie Bell, now semi-famous for solving the Truly Devious and Camp Wonder Falls mysteries, is on a study tour with her friends in London--which, not-so-coincidentally is where her boyfriend David is studying. Stevie has been missing David terribly, and with decisions about her future looming (college, studies, love, and growing up), all she wants to do is to feel safe and loved with him. But no sooner have they reunited than he introduces them to his friend Izzy (a cute classmate of David's) who invites Stevie and the group to help solve a cold case from 1995 that involves the death of two of her aunt's friends.
The cold case from 1995 forms the second of the dual timelines. Nine best friends who have formed a theatrical group together, live together, date each other, and support each other are spending one last week together at a country house after graduation from Cambridge. But during one of their traditional games of hide-and-seek, two of their number are gruesomely murdered. The authorities write it off to burglars, but suspicions remain and don't resurface until the present day when Stevie and her friends arrive on the scene.
The mystery was crafted so well, in typical Maureen Johnson fashion. Such a twisty, dark, and tragic cold case. A country manor mystery in the tradition of great closed-door mysteries. And I love how the characters in both timelines are about to uncertainly embark on the next phase of life without their ride-or-die friends. The difference for me between this book and the previous four in the series was that with the previous books I really struggled to put them down (and that's saying something, since I'm a full-time working mom and treasure my sleep above all else!). But I found this one easier to put down, mainly because of Stevie's self-destructive toxicity and the significant portions of the book that were unnecessarily dedicated to London tourist stops. Nine Liars was definitely an ode to London. Flawed characters are important, and Johnson's magic is still there, but I really don't like Stevie and David very much after this. The way the book ended another book or two must be coming to give us resolution, so maybe they will be redeemed soon. I hope so, because I really love this series!
- i enjoy the past present timeline -> i like that they put the interviews in
- honestly even though you told me who the nine are i still don't know who they are
- there's too many things happening with the group -> this group is really weird (the nine)
- I love steve's humour
- the jealousy plot-line is not my favourite -> i loved david's reaction to her being jealous
- the murder case is very interesting
- i love london so much
- I did not see this coming at all
- i feel like stevie is gonna do a lot of character development in the last part of the book (right now she's not like the stevie in the previous books)
- the murder investigation just gets more interesting as the story goes
- okay I was suspecting him, but they made him seem suspicious so....
- i am surprised that it took this direction, but still am unsure as to what happened (also they only have one day left in England)
- i am happy i have one less thing to worry about (and no i wasn't quoting hamilton but i hear it)
- david is the best
- i love Nate
- honestly even though you told me who the nine are i still don't know who they are
- there's too many things happening with the group -> this group is really weird (the nine)
- I love steve's humour
- the jealousy plot-line is not my favourite -> i loved david's reaction to her being jealous
- the murder case is very interesting
- i love london so much
- I did not see this coming at all
- i feel like stevie is gonna do a lot of character development in the last part of the book (right now she's not like the stevie in the previous books)
- the murder investigation just gets more interesting as the story goes
- okay I was suspecting him, but they made him seem suspicious so....
- i am surprised that it took this direction, but still am unsure as to what happened (also they only have one day left in England)
- i am happy i have one less thing to worry about (and no i wasn't quoting hamilton but i hear it)
- david is the best
- i love Nate
I don't know that the magic of the other books fully carried over to this one for me. One of my favorite things about the Truly Devious books is the interactions and friendships between Stevie and Nate and Janelle (and sometimes Vi). I just felt like everyone was in their own little world in this one and I was missing the Stevie gang really in action. There was also a little too much relationship drama in this one. There's obviously been some in the previous books but this book had a huge focus on Stevie and David's relationship and there was just so much drama surrounding lack of communication and misunderstandings that it started to wear a bit on me.
I did still enjoy the mystery in this one and thought the "Nine Liars" were a fun cast of characters. While the end of this book had me screaming at a character, it does at least seem to confirm that there will be another Truly Devious book in the future! I can't wait!
I did still enjoy the mystery in this one and thought the "Nine Liars" were a fun cast of characters. While the end of this book had me screaming at a character, it does at least seem to confirm that there will be another Truly Devious book in the future! I can't wait!
First things first: Maureen you are incredibly cruel for that cliffhanger ending and there better be more Stevie Bell in the future to make up for it. This was another great Stevie Bell mystery! This series always keeps me on my toes. The plot did take a while to pick up, with Stevie not even learning about the central mystery until about of a quarter of the way in, but quickly started to pick up steam from there. I love all these characters, especially Nate and love seeing them in a new setting. Izzy was also a wonderful addition and I hope we get to see more of her in future books.