Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson Review

 

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, a YA mystery about Ellingham Academy. A school founded by Albert Ellingham for bright students. In 1936 his wife and daughter goes missing, all he receives is a riddle, signed by Truly Devious. Present day, we meet Stevie Bell, a true crime fanatic, she was drawn to the school because of the unsolved mysteries. During her first year at the academy, Truly Devious struck again and another murder is committed at the school. Will Stevie be able to solve the mystery...?

This was a book I was very nervous to start. Due to it being such a hyped series and I have had a few hyped disappointments this year...but I am happy to announce that this was a great read. Definitely worth the hype it receives.

Everything about this book drew me in, I was completely captivated by the story and characters. The dual time lines kept me engaged through out the entire book, Maureen Johnson wrote a fascinating mystery with riddles and unseen twists and turns. Even though the story only takes off by the second half of the book, I found the first half, the foundation of the mystery. Both time lines were equally interesting and neither took away from the story, they both blended well together and I was completely hooked from page 1.

At times I felt truly confused and by the end I had so many questions, with such a cliffhanger ending...I love when a book takes me by surprise and makes my mind work for the answers and then I am still left with none...

Luckily book 2 was delivered today, I can immediately dive back into this series and hopefully have some of the puzzle pieces fall into place. 

I rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars!