Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Vanishing Stair

4.5/5

Stevie continues to be my little baby. She's so weird and awk and SMART! Oh I just wanna swaddle her. She's so unintentionally --and also intentionally-- funny (

running away from David???? lmfao!

).

In contrast, we have my enemy: Nate 👿🤬. He's soooo fucking annoying I'm sorry literally the only reason this book is 4.5 instead of 5 stars. Every time he showed up I'd literally yell at my book for him to go away (let's remember, I never claimed to be sane). He irked me to my very core. Less of him in the next book, hopefully.

God, poor Ellie. To die like that. Fucking horrible.

The whole David/EK/Stevie situation was annoying, I both get and am annoyed by David's reaction to it. Def understandable given the circumstances but I wish he would just forgive her (selfish, ik). There's actually something clinically wrong with that boy -- someone needs to get a therapist involved frfr. But just like Stevie running away, it's hard to fault them for their behavior. They're literally 17.

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headinthepages's review against another edition

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3.75

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book made me remember why I love thrillers - but not just any thriller, those thriller series where you are left without the one last answer to the mystery. You have so many of the pieces fitting together, but then there's that one question that leaves you hanging. Add in a new cliffhanger, and you've got those specially amazing thrillers. That was The Vanishing Stair. I am about to immediately pick up the third book in the Truly Devious series because this was so good. Johnson really knows how to write a story that keeps you captivated. Reading the two timelines at the same time is a key aspect of this series and one I enjoy greatly. Combined with the fantastic descriptions of the setting of Burlington, Ellingham, and Vermont in general, it is truly amazing (pun intended). The whole subplot with Edward King I'm not a fan of, but I see its purpose. Same with the Dr. Fenton and Hunter subplot - not sure where that's going. As with Truly Devious, I appreciated the queer rep with the side characters (one of whom uses they/them pronouns and it's seamless) along with the mental health rep. I liked how these points continued from the first book. I also liked how this book focused more on solving the Ellingham case, not just the one in the current timeline. And by far, the best moment in this book is on page 348 where Stevie is talking through the murders with those involved in the cupola and the ghost of Dottie looks at George Marsh's ghost and turns to Stevie and nods and Stevie nods back. Yes!!! That moment of understanding and thanks from Dottie is insurmountable! But still, where is Alice and what's the secret surrounding her?! I need answers, so on to book 3!

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