A review by books4em
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Loved Truly Devious! Yet another young adult cozy mystery that twists and turns, keeps you guessing till the last page, and makes you somehow love and hate the characters. Mental health is touched on in the first book, and I’m hoping it might be further discussed in the series. There’s also some queer side characters, including one who uses they/them pronouns! The relationships between the characters are constantly changing and interesting to see the typical high school dynamics here even though they’re at this special school. I would’ve loved to see more focus on the Ellingham kidnappings/murders -that’s why I didn’t give it 5 stars. But it’s like a typical mystery novel, many subplots and tie-ins. Can’t wait to pick up the rest of the series!
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