Truly Devious

Truly Devious is a young adult mystery novel written by Maureen Johnson. The novel was published on January 16, 2018, and it is the first in a series of three novels: Truly Devious (2018), The Vanishing Stair (2019), The Hand on the Wall (2020), and the following standalone novels: The Box in the Woods (2021), Nine Liars (2022). The books are published by HarperCollins.

The novel follows teenager Stevie Bell, who attends Ellingham Academy, a private school in Vermont. Ellingham Academy, founded by Albert Ellingham, is infamous for the 1930s kidnapping of the founder's wife and daughter. A mysterious riddle signed “Truly, Devious” was left behind, but the crime remained unsolved. Stevie plans to solve the cold case when she arrives at Ellingham Academy, but Truly Devious seems to return to the school when a new murder takes place.

Plot
The 1936 timeline of the book includes the events that follow the opening of Ellingham Academy. The wealthy Albert Ellingham built his extravagant school, Ellingham Academy, and a home for his family on an isolated Vermont mountain. The school was designed to allow lucky students to pursue their unique interests, and it was built around puzzles and hidden games. In 1936, shortly after the Academy opened, Albert’s wife Iris and their daughter Alice disappeared. A riddle was delivered to Albert that was assembled using letters cut from magazines and signed “Truly, Devious.” The riddle detailed different ways to murder someone that the mysterious figure seemed to threaten the Ellinghams with. Following the disappearance of his wife and daughter, the kidnapper called Albert with the instructions to bring a sum of money to the nearby island. Albert followed the instructions but never found Iris and Alice. The Truly Devious riddle remained the main clue behind the kidnapping. On the same day that Iris and Alice disappeared, Dottie Epstein, a student at Ellingham, ran into a mysterious figure in the Academy's observatory dome. Dottie underlined a sentence in the Sherlock Holmes book she was reading to leave behind a clue. She tried to leave, but was murdered by the figure in the observatory. The bodies of Dottie and Iris were found, but Alice remained missing, and the murderer was never found. Two years later, Albert remained hopeful that Alice would return alive. Albert and his security guard, George Marsh, went sailing and their boat is reported to have exploded, killing the two men.

In the present-day timeline, Stevie Bell begins her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she arrives as an expert on the Ellingham cold case. She is assigned to live in Minerva House on the Ellingham campus with various other first-year students, Janelle Franklin, a cheerful and colorful engineer, and Nate Fisher, a quiet and grumpy writer. Hayes Major, a famous actor known for an online horror series, David Eastman, a mysterious loner, and Ellie Walker, a rebellious artist, are second-year students that also live in Minerva House. The students are warned against entering the abandoned tunnels on the Ellingham campus.

Hayes enlists Stevie to write a script for a movie about the Ellingham mystery that he wants to film in one of the abandoned underground tunnels. In the middle of the night, Stevie sees a foreboding poem similar to the “Truly Devious” riddle briefly projected on her bedroom wall. Stevie, Nate, and Hayes work on Hayes’ movie and Stevie explores the tunnel, which leads to Albert Ellingham’s dome-shaped observatory. Hayes goes missing, as he does not return to Minerva from filming his movie. Stevie finds Hayes’ body in the tunnels with the help of the Ellingham security guard, and she thinks that Hayes was murdered. Stevie is interviewed by police detectives that arrive at Ellingham following Hayes’ death, and she notices that the dry ice Hayes used to create fog in the filming of his movie could have led to his death. Stevie investigates Hayes’ death in addition to digging into the Ellingham mystery of the past. Stevie discovers that the money that Ellie used to buy her saxophone came from Hayes, because he paid Ellie to write his horror series, which he claimed to have created. Stevie confronts Ellie about her possible motive and involvement in Hayes' death, but Ellie disappears from the house, and is not found when the campus is searched by police. Stevie's investigation of the mystery involving Hayes and Ellie, and the Ellingham case from 1936, continues in the book's sequel.

1936 timeline

 * Albert Ellingham is the philanthropic founder of Ellingham Academy.
 * Iris Ellingham is the wife of Albert.
 * Alice Ellingham is the daughter of Albert and Iris.
 * Dottie Epstein is one of the first students at Ellingham Academy.
 * George Marsh is Albert's security guard.

Present-day timeline

 * Stevie Bell is the true crime-loving protagonist in her first year at Ellingham Academy.
 * Janelle Franklin is one of Stevie’s housemates in Minerva, a crafty engineer who dresses colorfully.
 * Nate Fisher is Stevie’s grumpy housemate who is writing his second book.
 * David Eastman is a second-year housemate who becomes Stevie’s romantic interest.
 * Hayes Major is a self-centered YouTube star and another second-year resident of Minerva.
 * Ellie Walker is the eccentric second-year housemate of Stevie with an artistic style.

Structure
Young adult novels are often written from a single point of view, with the goal of it being easy for young readers to relate to the protagonist of a book. Truly Devious alternates between following the protagonist and the past timeline. The novel is written in the third person point of view, and the numbered chapters follow Stevie. Between Stevie’s chapters are sections that recount the original Ellingham mystery, marked by the date in 1936, including excerpts from detective interviews.

The plot of a young adult mystery novel typically focuses on a personal issue of the protagonist alongside the main mystery. In Truly Devious, Stevie’s personal issues consist of her exploring her romantic interest in David and her other friendships at Ellingham Academy, while navigating her anxiety.

Unlike adult mystery novels, in young adult mystery novels the protagonist often lacks the skills or training of a professional detective. In Truly Devious, Stevie’s sleuthing skills are attributed to the fact that true crime is her passion and hobby.

Crime fiction readers generally value the quality of the setting, plot, and characters as much as the puzzle that is solved in the mystery. Truly Devious has a diverse cast of characters who accompany Stevie at Ellingham Academy. The two timelines of the past and present mysteries make a complex plot.

Novel art
The novel's jacket art is by Leo Nickolls, and the jacket design is by Katie Fitch. The cover includes a dark blue, painted background of ivy leaves beneath a large white title that is handwritten in a brush pen. The author’s name and the blurb also appear handwritten in orange text.

Reception
Truly Devious is a New York Times Bestseller and the trilogy of novels has received the following awards: Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018; Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018, 2019; Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 2018, 2019, 2020.

Sequels
The Vanishing Stair (2019) is the sequel to Truly Devious.

The Hand on the Wall (2020) is the third book in the series and the final book in the Truly Devious trilogy.

The Box in the Woods (2021) is the first standalone of the Stevie Bell Mysteries.

Nine Liars (2022) is the most recent standalone mystery in the series.