A review by nziam
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.0

This is one of those situations where I feel like I must have read a different book from everyone else. HOW does this book have such good reviews? It's...not good. The writing is nothing special. The plot moves glacially slowly and is absolutely one of the least thrilling "thrillers" I've ever read. Then there's the real problem - Stevie. She is not a detective. Not even an amateur one. She's an entitled, pretentious brat who goes through her love interest's room for absolutely no reason and throws a hissy fit when he won't accept her completely insincere apology (we know it's insincere because two seconds before she "apologized" she was trying to eavesdrop on him having a private conversation). She's probably one of my least favorite characters from recent memory, she has exactly zero redeeming qualities.  
Oh, plus the author has a very minor side character who is specifically stated to use they/them pronouns, but the author uses the wrong pronouns for them even after this is revealed.
I'm slightly curious about the historical mystery but not enough to waste my time on the sequels. 
0/5 stars, wasted way too much of my time
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