With the start of fall just around the corner, all I want is a well-written, easy-to-read mystery novel that gives me all of the fall vibes that I need. If you’re like me and looking for something to read that checks off all these boxes, Maureen Johnson’s “Truly Devious” is the pick for you.
“Truly Devious” is a young adult mystery series consisting of five books: three that serve as a trilogy coming together as a continuation of the same mystery, and two stand-alones that focus on the same characters from the original three books.
The series follows 16-year-old Stevie Bell who is starting her first year at the elusive, and very eclectic, Ellingham Academy, a boarding school in Vermont specifically for gifted students with particular academic or career interests in mind. Stevie applies to the school as a wannabe detective, claiming that her academic project of interest is to solve Ellingham Academy’s decades-old murder mystery, known as the “Truly Devious Murders.”
The first novel in the series, aptly titled “Truly Devious,” opens up with an immersive scene leading up to one of the 1930s murders — the murder of a student named Dottie — and these opening pages immediately transport the reader into the sometimes Wonderland-esque place that is Ellingham Academy.
As the first novel progresses, we learn more and more about the lore of this strange boarding school and eventually find out why the case is referred to as the “Truly Devious Murders” in the first place. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but the way that the reader is given the information across this series is, in my opinion, perfect. It’s not too fast and it’s not too much of a slow burn either, and I absolutely love a well-paced book.
Although the pacing and premise of this whole series are fantastic, the true stars of the show are the story’s central cast of characters. Stevie, although her narration sometimes feels a bit dry, grows on you as you read. Her sharp mind and matter-of-fact way of putting things become more and more compelling as she digs deeper and deeper into the case at hand. There is also the elusive David, who you can never decide whether to like or dislike, serving as both an agitating and supportive figure in Stevie’s life.
The two main supporting characters, Stevie’s closest friends, Nate and Janelle, are my absolute favorites, though. Nate, a published author of a famous fantasy novel with chronic writer’s block, has sarcastic humor that jumps off the page and serves as the perfect Watson to Stevie’s Sherlock. Janelle is an absolute engineering genius who offers a nuanced, human-centered perspective on the case that helps her more detail-oriented friends figure out the big picture of what’s going on.
Also, the aesthetic imagery and fast-paced writing style crafted by Johnson make the books in the “Truly Devious” series not only page-turners but also immersive to the highest degree. I feel like I can see the historic buildings, hear the falling leaves and taste the comically often-referenced Vermont maple syrup.
I flew through the entire first three books in a week and a half, and that is a testament to how well-paced and well-written these books are. Although this series is firmly young-adult, no one would ever be able to call these novels juvenile and that is something I greatly appreciate.
“Truly Devious” is a set of books that I highly recommend to anyone looking to get into mystery novels, as well as anyone — like me — who is looking for a more modern iteration of the classic mystery novel after they’ve read far too much Agatha Christie. If you fall into either of these categories or just want a book that screams “fall,” please give the “Truly Devious” series a read.
