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Truly Devious #5
Nine Liars
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction (2023)Senior year at Ellingham Academy for Stevie Bell isn’t going well. Her boyfriend, David, is studying in London. Her friends are obsessed with college applications. With the cold case of the century solved, Stevie is adrift. There is nothing to distract her from the questions pinging around her brain—questions about college, love, and life in general.
Relief comes when David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and played a drunken game of hide-and-seek. Two were found in the woodshed the next day, murdered with an ax.
The case was assumed to be a burglary gone wrong, but one of the remaining seven saw something she can’t explain. This was no break-in. Someone’s lying about what happened in the woodshed.
Seven suspects. Two murders. One killer still playing a deadly game.
Relief comes when David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and played a drunken game of hide-and-seek. Two were found in the woodshed the next day, murdered with an ax.
The case was assumed to be a burglary gone wrong, but one of the remaining seven saw something she can’t explain. This was no break-in. Someone’s lying about what happened in the woodshed.
Seven suspects. Two murders. One killer still playing a deadly game.
445 pages, Hardcover
First published December 27, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,464 reviews
December 30, 2022
im going to kill david with my bare hands im going to yank his pancreas out of his nostrils and then strangle him by the throat with it. count your fucking days david idkyourlastname
December 22, 2022
Update: bro I am literally so mad…I just finished this and wtf ??!?? this feels completely devoid from the rest of the series. the mystery took an absolute back seat to all the weird personal drama. and nothing is wrapped up except the half-baked mystery!!! IM GONNA RIOT!! N
THIS WILL SAVE 2022
UPDATE: THIS WILL SAVE 2023!
UPDATE: WILL THEY PICK A GODDAMN RELEASE DATE JESUS!
THIS WILL SAVE 2022
UPDATE: THIS WILL SAVE 2023!
UPDATE: WILL THEY PICK A GODDAMN RELEASE DATE JESUS!
April 10, 2023
when i first saw this book, i was filled with a personality-changing, life-defining, character-destroying rage. HOW COULD THEY NOT TELL ME ABOUT THIS BOOK, i demanded of a THEY that does not exist. WHY DID NO ONE SEE FIT TO INFORM ME OF ITS EXISTENCE, i followed up, also of the nameless THEY that had swiftly become my enemy.
but it turns out that the enemy i thought was my enemy was actually my friend.
not telling me about this book is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. and because no one told me about this book, everyone in the world is, it turns out, actually nice.
so the good news is we can probably have world peace now.
the bad news is: this book sucks.
the first installment of this series was very fun. it had several things that made it that way — mainly a sick and lovely new-england-in-the-fall boarding-school-yay setting and a fun original mystery from History.
those things are no longer here.
over the four (!) books since that first promising start, those things have slowly faded, and they have been replaced with a series of nightmares.
the things that made this series good were not here, and the things that made this series bad — our protagonist stevie's never-progressing identical character arc, side character david as a presence, david as a romantic lead, stevie in general, the attempts at emotion — were here in spades!
and to prove it, this book, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIFTH BOOK IN WHAT IS ALLEGEDLY A MYSTERY SERIES, had a cliffhanger centered around the romance that i, as indicated, ABHOR.
a cliffhanger that acts as a warning not to continue...interesting tactic.
and yet, sadly, i will probably just keep reading these, continuing to grow the hate in my heart like a reverse grinch.
bottom line: i love everyone and i hate this book.
1.5
but it turns out that the enemy i thought was my enemy was actually my friend.
not telling me about this book is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. and because no one told me about this book, everyone in the world is, it turns out, actually nice.
so the good news is we can probably have world peace now.
the bad news is: this book sucks.
the first installment of this series was very fun. it had several things that made it that way — mainly a sick and lovely new-england-in-the-fall boarding-school-yay setting and a fun original mystery from History.
those things are no longer here.
over the four (!) books since that first promising start, those things have slowly faded, and they have been replaced with a series of nightmares.
the things that made this series good were not here, and the things that made this series bad — our protagonist stevie's never-progressing identical character arc, side character david as a presence, david as a romantic lead, stevie in general, the attempts at emotion — were here in spades!
and to prove it, this book, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIFTH BOOK IN WHAT IS ALLEGEDLY A MYSTERY SERIES, had a cliffhanger centered around the romance that i, as indicated, ABHOR.
a cliffhanger that acts as a warning not to continue...interesting tactic.
and yet, sadly, i will probably just keep reading these, continuing to grow the hate in my heart like a reverse grinch.
bottom line: i love everyone and i hate this book.
1.5
January 12, 2023
Next book should be about who murdered David (me).
April 10, 2024
School is back in session and Stevie Bell has finally hit her Senior Year. Unfortunately, with her boyfriend, David, overseas studying in London, Miss Stevie is that mopey, distracted long-distance relationship girl. We all know her.
Her friends are noticing the change and although they're mostly supportive, they sort of wish she would just get back to being herself. Solve a murder, or something.
Soon enough, it's David to the rescue, as he has hatched a fairly stellar plan. He invites Stevie, Nate, Janelle and Vi to come to London to do a study-abroad for a week. Each of them devises a schedule and specific course of inquiry for their time there.
David has secured them a place to stay. It should be easy. They just need to sell the Headmaster on the idea.
I think you know what happens because the group ends up there, in London, ready to study their little hearts out. Sure.
On their first night, they get introduced to Izzy, one of David's closest London friends. As luck would have it, Izzy has a mystery. Stevie is winning all around, her hot boyfriend and a cold-case mystery all in one place!!
Izzy has insight on this mystery because her Aunt Angela was one of the individuals involved.
In 1995, Angela was part of a very tight-knit group of friends, collectively known as The Nine: Sebastian, Rosie, Angela, Sooz, Peter, Noel, Theo, Yash and Julien. They were all actors, artists and their lifestyle was a bit wild. They worked hard and played harder.
After their graduation from Cambridge, as a bit of a celebration, they took a trip to Julien's family's country estate. The morning after a drunken version of hide-and-seek, two members of the group are found dead.
It's clear they were murdered. Very clear. Yet due to lack of evidence, no one was ever arrested for the crime.
Years later, under the influence of pain relievers following a hospital stay, Izzy's Aunt Angela says some things to her that raise Izzy's suspicions. Does her Aunt know what happened to her two murdered friends?
She asks Stevie to look into it and you know our Stevie, you are not going to dangle something that tempting in front of her and not have her bite.
Thus begins the London-installment of Truly Devious!
I love this series so much. This is the 5th-book and I have eagerly read them all. I've never been disappointed and will continue to pick them up for as long as they are released.
This was such a fun romp with Stevie and friends. I loved the change of scenery with them studying in London for a week and of course, the murder mystery solving.
Additionally, in this one, I really enjoyed the past timeline following Aunt Angela and her friends. It was such a dynamic, yet messy, group and I was living for the drama.
In the present timeline, there was also drama of course. Stevie and David navigating their relationship, taking it to new levels and all of them being focused on the college application process. I'm always interested in watching characters grow and begin to figure out their own path.
This is a bit of slow burn. It does take a while to really get into the intensity of the mystery and subsequent investigation. However, in my opinion, it was well paced and I think the payoff was worth the wait.
Ohhh, also, we're definitely getting another book. There's no way this is the end of Stevie's story. Maureen Johnson wouldn't play us like that.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has been enjoying the Truly Devious series. For those who haven't started it yet, and enjoy YA Mystery, what are you waiting for?! This is not a series to be missed!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Katherine Tegen Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm low-key obsessed with this series and hope for many more future installments!
Her friends are noticing the change and although they're mostly supportive, they sort of wish she would just get back to being herself. Solve a murder, or something.
Soon enough, it's David to the rescue, as he has hatched a fairly stellar plan. He invites Stevie, Nate, Janelle and Vi to come to London to do a study-abroad for a week. Each of them devises a schedule and specific course of inquiry for their time there.
David has secured them a place to stay. It should be easy. They just need to sell the Headmaster on the idea.
I think you know what happens because the group ends up there, in London, ready to study their little hearts out. Sure.
On their first night, they get introduced to Izzy, one of David's closest London friends. As luck would have it, Izzy has a mystery. Stevie is winning all around, her hot boyfriend and a cold-case mystery all in one place!!
Izzy has insight on this mystery because her Aunt Angela was one of the individuals involved.
In 1995, Angela was part of a very tight-knit group of friends, collectively known as The Nine: Sebastian, Rosie, Angela, Sooz, Peter, Noel, Theo, Yash and Julien. They were all actors, artists and their lifestyle was a bit wild. They worked hard and played harder.
After their graduation from Cambridge, as a bit of a celebration, they took a trip to Julien's family's country estate. The morning after a drunken version of hide-and-seek, two members of the group are found dead.
It's clear they were murdered. Very clear. Yet due to lack of evidence, no one was ever arrested for the crime.
Years later, under the influence of pain relievers following a hospital stay, Izzy's Aunt Angela says some things to her that raise Izzy's suspicions. Does her Aunt know what happened to her two murdered friends?
She asks Stevie to look into it and you know our Stevie, you are not going to dangle something that tempting in front of her and not have her bite.
Thus begins the London-installment of Truly Devious!
I love this series so much. This is the 5th-book and I have eagerly read them all. I've never been disappointed and will continue to pick them up for as long as they are released.
This was such a fun romp with Stevie and friends. I loved the change of scenery with them studying in London for a week and of course, the murder mystery solving.
Additionally, in this one, I really enjoyed the past timeline following Aunt Angela and her friends. It was such a dynamic, yet messy, group and I was living for the drama.
In the present timeline, there was also drama of course. Stevie and David navigating their relationship, taking it to new levels and all of them being focused on the college application process. I'm always interested in watching characters grow and begin to figure out their own path.
This is a bit of slow burn. It does take a while to really get into the intensity of the mystery and subsequent investigation. However, in my opinion, it was well paced and I think the payoff was worth the wait.
Ohhh, also, we're definitely getting another book. There's no way this is the end of Stevie's story. Maureen Johnson wouldn't play us like that.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has been enjoying the Truly Devious series. For those who haven't started it yet, and enjoy YA Mystery, what are you waiting for?! This is not a series to be missed!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Katherine Tegen Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm low-key obsessed with this series and hope for many more future installments!
February 1, 2023
Happy book birthday 🥳🎉🥂Here’s my Bloody Mary dance link to congratulate to this release: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmsFMz...
I’m so excited to return back quirky, peculiar, cold case solver Stevie Bell’s intriguing universe! The entire gang is back and they are on board for a special trip to England. Hurray! I love the series so much! Let’s dive into it without thinking any further!
Before meeting with the gang, we get introduced THE NINE: bunch of comedy writer teenagers who have complex relationships, dating with each than breaking up and dating the rest of group members ( story takes place in 90s so it’s understandable that their relationship patterns remind us Aaron Spelling’s young adult series like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place) Pretentious Sebastian, free spirited Sooz, Irish joy Rosie, vintage styled Noel, natural athlete Peter, comedy nerd Yash, heartbreaker Julian, aspiring history student Angela, medical student Theo are the group members. They are vivid, interesting characters and as soon as I got introduced with them I wished they had their own book instead of being part of Stevie Bell mystery drama. Amount of the character numbers is already too much. I got a little exhausted to concentrate on the nine and gang of Stevie including David’s new British friends!
So many names, so many back stories confused my mind a little.
A quick confession: I all wanted to read more about is Nate Fisher who is my favorite character and thankfully he was so brilliant in this book as always he was!
I cannot say same for David. From the beginning of the series, I keep getting irritated by his pretentious manners and in this book… when I was reading the chapters related with him, I wanted to jump into the book and punch him in the face.
Let’s focus on the plot line because if I write more about my feelings about the characters, I can blurt out something and I’ll hate myself if I ruin your reading experience.
After being introduced to the nine, we go back and see how our gang is doing at Ellingham Academy. Janelle and Vi are doing great, focusing on their projects and their college applications. Dear Nate is punching his fingers too hard to the keyboard like a maestro working on his latest composition. He’s writing again but his dedication to his project never stop him to take a break to listen Stevie’s ongoing drama.
Stevie is frustrated because she keeps getting weird messages from the people who think their neighbors are murderers ( at least Broaddus family from New Jersey didn’t ask her services to find the WATCHER! ) She cannot concentrate on the articles she has to read and she cannot make plans for college because even though she can get scholarship for education, she still needs to pay for accommodation and daily expenses which she cannot afford by working at grocery store. She also suffers from long distance relationship with David. Being away from her pretentious douche boyfriend ( okay, my emotions for David affected my judgment again) correction: her dear boyfriend makes her question their relationship. She feels extra vulnerable.
When David calls and arranges a place for the entire gang to visit him in England, Stevie gets so excited! And as soon as her trip starts, she finds herself involved into another cold case investigation: the mystery of nine!
I have to say Agatha Christi- esque vibes of the mystery: claustrophobic whodunnit with And Then There Were None and Clue themes made me love the story more.
The characters’ evolving were realistic. The insecurities of Stevie changed her. Her obsession of solving the case pushed her to make more mistakes, lying to her friends, harboring trusting issues about David.
The conclusion of the mystery was good. The cliffhanger at the end made me scream a lot!
As I mentioned before the storyline about the Nine could be another standalone but it was still great to return back to Truly Devious universe and embracing the entire gang ( or wanting to strangling David )
I’m giving my four mysterious, exciting, intelligent thriller stars! I cannot wait to read the sixth book! I’m truly devoted fan! I hope we can read more about Nate Fisher in near future!
So many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins’ Children Books/ Katherine Tegen Books for sharing this amazing digital and physical reviewer copies with me in exchange my honest opinions. I absolutely loved it!
I’m so excited to return back quirky, peculiar, cold case solver Stevie Bell’s intriguing universe! The entire gang is back and they are on board for a special trip to England. Hurray! I love the series so much! Let’s dive into it without thinking any further!
Before meeting with the gang, we get introduced THE NINE: bunch of comedy writer teenagers who have complex relationships, dating with each than breaking up and dating the rest of group members ( story takes place in 90s so it’s understandable that their relationship patterns remind us Aaron Spelling’s young adult series like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place) Pretentious Sebastian, free spirited Sooz, Irish joy Rosie, vintage styled Noel, natural athlete Peter, comedy nerd Yash, heartbreaker Julian, aspiring history student Angela, medical student Theo are the group members. They are vivid, interesting characters and as soon as I got introduced with them I wished they had their own book instead of being part of Stevie Bell mystery drama. Amount of the character numbers is already too much. I got a little exhausted to concentrate on the nine and gang of Stevie including David’s new British friends!
So many names, so many back stories confused my mind a little.
A quick confession: I all wanted to read more about is Nate Fisher who is my favorite character and thankfully he was so brilliant in this book as always he was!
I cannot say same for David. From the beginning of the series, I keep getting irritated by his pretentious manners and in this book… when I was reading the chapters related with him, I wanted to jump into the book and punch him in the face.
Let’s focus on the plot line because if I write more about my feelings about the characters, I can blurt out something and I’ll hate myself if I ruin your reading experience.
After being introduced to the nine, we go back and see how our gang is doing at Ellingham Academy. Janelle and Vi are doing great, focusing on their projects and their college applications. Dear Nate is punching his fingers too hard to the keyboard like a maestro working on his latest composition. He’s writing again but his dedication to his project never stop him to take a break to listen Stevie’s ongoing drama.
Stevie is frustrated because she keeps getting weird messages from the people who think their neighbors are murderers ( at least Broaddus family from New Jersey didn’t ask her services to find the WATCHER! ) She cannot concentrate on the articles she has to read and she cannot make plans for college because even though she can get scholarship for education, she still needs to pay for accommodation and daily expenses which she cannot afford by working at grocery store. She also suffers from long distance relationship with David. Being away from her pretentious douche boyfriend ( okay, my emotions for David affected my judgment again) correction: her dear boyfriend makes her question their relationship. She feels extra vulnerable.
When David calls and arranges a place for the entire gang to visit him in England, Stevie gets so excited! And as soon as her trip starts, she finds herself involved into another cold case investigation: the mystery of nine!
I have to say Agatha Christi- esque vibes of the mystery: claustrophobic whodunnit with And Then There Were None and Clue themes made me love the story more.
The characters’ evolving were realistic. The insecurities of Stevie changed her. Her obsession of solving the case pushed her to make more mistakes, lying to her friends, harboring trusting issues about David.
The conclusion of the mystery was good. The cliffhanger at the end made me scream a lot!
As I mentioned before the storyline about the Nine could be another standalone but it was still great to return back to Truly Devious universe and embracing the entire gang ( or wanting to strangling David )
I’m giving my four mysterious, exciting, intelligent thriller stars! I cannot wait to read the sixth book! I’m truly devoted fan! I hope we can read more about Nate Fisher in near future!
So many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins’ Children Books/ Katherine Tegen Books for sharing this amazing digital and physical reviewer copies with me in exchange my honest opinions. I absolutely loved it!
January 16, 2023
Having a mystery revolve around nine people is just too many people. I found myself caring about none of them, didn't care who died, so I just wasn't that invested in the mystery. Plus, there were just too many people to even start to guess which one did it or why because you never truly get more than a paragraph-long info dump per person. That's not the same as fleshing out characters.
This series was honestly better as a trilogy and should have stayed that way.
[pre-review] What?! I didn't know there was going to be another Stevie Bell mystery! I can't wait!!! Just waiting for a release date now.
This series was honestly better as a trilogy and should have stayed that way.
[pre-review] What?! I didn't know there was going to be another Stevie Bell mystery! I can't wait!!! Just waiting for a release date now.
December 30, 2022
officially making this team david territory
edit: this aged somewhat poorly. cannot wait for the day maureen simply picks a side and decides if david is a good love interest or not. tired of a good character getting ruined and making out of character decisions for shock value. but of course, i'll still be first in line for stevie bell six. these books idek anymore.
edit: this aged somewhat poorly. cannot wait for the day maureen simply picks a side and decides if david is a good love interest or not. tired of a good character getting ruined and making out of character decisions for shock value. but of course, i'll still be first in line for stevie bell six. these books idek anymore.
December 10, 2022
3.5 stars
There are some good parts to this latest installment of the exploits of Stevie and her friends and there are some not-so-good parts. Overall it's a good addition to the series, but yet again it ends in a cliffhanger so we must wait for the resolution.
The buildup of the story is SLOW.
David is studying in England, so he invites Stevie (and her friends) to come visit for a week as a study abroad. They get it approved and so Stevie, Vi, Janelle, and Nate head over for a study trip. College is right around the corner for them, so they are all in their own dilemmas about what to do in the future. Once they arrive, David introduces them to his fellow student friend Izzy. Izzy's aunt Angela was a part of a group of nine friends in the 90s in college, and right after they completed school, two of the friends were murdered while they were on a weekend away together. Angela thinks that one of the friends might have committed the murder, and Izzy wants Stevie to look into it. Then Angela disappears.
I really did like the core mystery that Stevie is tasked to solve. I enjoyed seeing her mind work and this was the best part of the story. The "study abroad" aspect and the touring around learning about things was a yawner for me. It really didn't add anything to the story and was really a distraction to all that was going on, and it was a lot, especially with the sheer number of characters involved. Happily, it was fairly easy to keep them straight and I didn't get confused after a few chapters. I can see why it was necessary--I mean you can't have many suspects if there are only a couple of people, but it got cumbersome.
The other part I didn't care for is just my own personal opinion. I don't like David and Stevie together, and I'm getting kind of bored with their will they-won't they narrative. I just want them to either get together or break up, I can't stand the forever limbo.
I'm quite invested in the series and although some of the installments are better than others, the mysteries never fail to grab my attention and keep me interested. The clever ways Stevie puzzles out what happens reminds me of a cross between Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes.
Looking forward to book #6!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
There are some good parts to this latest installment of the exploits of Stevie and her friends and there are some not-so-good parts. Overall it's a good addition to the series, but yet again it ends in a cliffhanger so we must wait for the resolution.
The buildup of the story is SLOW.
David is studying in England, so he invites Stevie (and her friends) to come visit for a week as a study abroad. They get it approved and so Stevie, Vi, Janelle, and Nate head over for a study trip. College is right around the corner for them, so they are all in their own dilemmas about what to do in the future. Once they arrive, David introduces them to his fellow student friend Izzy. Izzy's aunt Angela was a part of a group of nine friends in the 90s in college, and right after they completed school, two of the friends were murdered while they were on a weekend away together. Angela thinks that one of the friends might have committed the murder, and Izzy wants Stevie to look into it. Then Angela disappears.
I really did like the core mystery that Stevie is tasked to solve. I enjoyed seeing her mind work and this was the best part of the story. The "study abroad" aspect and the touring around learning about things was a yawner for me. It really didn't add anything to the story and was really a distraction to all that was going on, and it was a lot, especially with the sheer number of characters involved. Happily, it was fairly easy to keep them straight and I didn't get confused after a few chapters. I can see why it was necessary--I mean you can't have many suspects if there are only a couple of people, but it got cumbersome.
The other part I didn't care for is just my own personal opinion. I don't like David and Stevie together, and I'm getting kind of bored with their will they-won't they narrative. I just want them to either get together or break up, I can't stand the forever limbo.
I'm quite invested in the series and although some of the installments are better than others, the mysteries never fail to grab my attention and keep me interested. The clever ways Stevie puzzles out what happens reminds me of a cross between Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes.
Looking forward to book #6!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
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December 28, 2023tf is that ending i was SHOOKED in the grocery store
September 16, 2023
Many thanks to HarpersCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Let's be honest here: this and The Box in the Woods are utterly unnecessary to the original trilogy, but hey, good for Maureen Johnson for getting the coins she deserves. At least this is entertaining.
Out of every mystery in this entire series so far, I like this one the most. Back in 1995, nine close friends spent a night playing hide-and-seek in an old English manor during a stormy night. The morning after, they discovered that two of them had been murdered brutally in the woodshed of the manor. It was ruled a burglary gone wrong, but one of them had seen something inexplainable that night.
It was a delight to return to the world I came to love so much. Nate was just as amazing as in the previous books. Janelle and Vi are so adorable together. Stevie was a little bit annoying at times, but I enjoy her wittiness. And David, I still hope that he had remained disappeared in Book 2.
The way Maureen Johnson solved the mystery is reasonable. While nothing too crazy happened unlike The Box in the Woods, it is perfectly logical while remaining unpredictable. Johnson was able to mix up the formula for each book, and I really appreciate that. I think the reason that I like this one so much more is because we got to see the accounts from the last during the event itself and it adds a lot of tension to the plot.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. Still not my favorite YA mystery ever but I hope that Johnson comes out with more because I can't have enough of this friend group.
I recommend this series to people who enjoy YA mysteries like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder but in an atmospheric setting and a wider cast of characters.
Let's be honest here: this and The Box in the Woods are utterly unnecessary to the original trilogy, but hey, good for Maureen Johnson for getting the coins she deserves. At least this is entertaining.
Out of every mystery in this entire series so far, I like this one the most. Back in 1995, nine close friends spent a night playing hide-and-seek in an old English manor during a stormy night. The morning after, they discovered that two of them had been murdered brutally in the woodshed of the manor. It was ruled a burglary gone wrong, but one of them had seen something inexplainable that night.
It was a delight to return to the world I came to love so much. Nate was just as amazing as in the previous books. Janelle and Vi are so adorable together. Stevie was a little bit annoying at times, but I enjoy her wittiness. And David, I still hope that he had remained disappeared in Book 2.
The way Maureen Johnson solved the mystery is reasonable. While nothing too crazy happened unlike The Box in the Woods, it is perfectly logical while remaining unpredictable. Johnson was able to mix up the formula for each book, and I really appreciate that. I think the reason that I like this one so much more is because we got to see the accounts from the last during the event itself and it adds a lot of tension to the plot.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. Still not my favorite YA mystery ever but I hope that Johnson comes out with more because I can't have enough of this friend group.
I recommend this series to people who enjoy YA mysteries like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder but in an atmospheric setting and a wider cast of characters.
February 21, 2024
This will probably date this review, but watching Glass Onion sent me on an intense mystery kick! I’ve pretty much just been consuming any mystery book, movie, T.V. show, etc. that I could get my hands on. I ate it all up! Let's just say that this book came out at the perfect time. Oh, how excited I was to learn that this series was continuing! I loved the first four books and the ending of the last one didn't seem like much of an ending anyway. And I've got to say... this wasn't as good. It had me thinking that maybe four books was enough after all? I guess objectively speaking, it's still a pretty good book, I didn't like it though. If you're up to the task of suffering through a somewhat, slog-to-get-through first act, then the mystery was able to manage just as much fun and intrigue as the rest of the series. I do think it’s a bit odd how the first several books followed this sprawling, overarching narrative, while now with each subsequent sequel we’re just getting one-off mysteries, instead of starting a new story-line. It's one of the things that makes this installment feel like an afterthought.
Anyway, that ending sucked ass, didn't it? It bothered me so much that I was honestly tempted to rate this one real low. Reaaaaaal loooooow. I tend to forget the specific details of books I read (sometimes immediately after finishing it), but I always remember the emotions I felt when reading them! And let me tell you, this book pissed me off. There's no getting around it. I feel like a broken record because I'm always ranting about the annoying love-interests in these mystery books, so I'll try to say nothing about it this time around. Thankfully, there's more than enough criticism to go around! Phew! First of all, what's up with all the flashback scenes? It felt like they didn't serve the same narrative purpose that they did in the previous books and they were sprinkled around at almost random throughout the story. It was hard to follow because they were so abundant throughout the first half of the book and then kind of just... stopped. And yeah, maybe I did breathe a sigh of relief when the chapters stayed with Stevie rather than go back to the dark, dark ages of the 1990’s. She is the main character, right?
Nine Liars is interesting title though; very provocative, and it looks great on a book cover! Unfortunately, nine liars also means there's going to be be nine suspects, no? This is probably just my problem, but man... that's a lot of assholes to memorize. It's daunting, even. Should I have been taking notes? Sometimes my Kindle shows the "popular highlights" of what other readers found interesting, and whenever I'm reading a mystery novel, I see people highlighting all the things that might be clues, and I always have a serious panic moment! Like, "Oh, did we have homework on that?" kind of fear. It looks like we did, because when Stevie name drops the killer, it wasn’t an “ah-ha!” moment for me, but rather a, “who tf is [blank]!?” Let me switch off my hater-mode for a second though, I've been pretty negative for this whole thing. Um, let's see... once the mystery finally hit its stride, it was just as challenging for me to put the book down as the other installments. That's got to count for something, right? Besides, it’s still a lot of fun to follow Stevie and her Scooby Gang around as they solve the unsolvable! Minus one character, that is. He shall remain unnamed. I said I wouldn't talk about him, and I won't. I. Won't. I do sincerely hope that this series continues on for a long, long while. Hopefully without that one character… whom I won’t name. He'll remain nameless.
…
It’s David, I don’t like David, he sucks ass and I haven’t liked him in any of these books, and I really really really hated him here. Anyway, don’t worry, I won’t get into it. It's done.
…
Okay look, in every book there’s a moment where the narrative is all like, “ooh is this the one where David turns out the be the stereotypical, superficial, jock asshole, that he's always seemed to be?” In the fourth book, it was all, “did he leave Stevie in the middle of her investigation?" and in this one it’s, “is he getting a little too cozy with this other girl in London?” and it’s always played as a “gotcha moment,” when it obviously turns out he was a “great dude” (he's not, regardless) all along. You can only do a rug-pull so many times before I just stop reading altogether. And you know? With the cliffhanger in this one, I’m sure the next book will explain away his actions the exact same way they've always been explained away. “He had his reasons” my ass. Want to know what I think? I think he’s just a stereotypical, superficial, jock asshole. Enough is enough, it's time to move on from this. Let it go, otherwise I'm probably going to let this series go. It’s not even irritating anymore, just boring.
Anyway, that ending sucked ass, didn't it? It bothered me so much that I was honestly tempted to rate this one real low. Reaaaaaal loooooow. I tend to forget the specific details of books I read (sometimes immediately after finishing it), but I always remember the emotions I felt when reading them! And let me tell you, this book pissed me off. There's no getting around it. I feel like a broken record because I'm always ranting about the annoying love-interests in these mystery books, so I'll try to say nothing about it this time around. Thankfully, there's more than enough criticism to go around! Phew! First of all, what's up with all the flashback scenes? It felt like they didn't serve the same narrative purpose that they did in the previous books and they were sprinkled around at almost random throughout the story. It was hard to follow because they were so abundant throughout the first half of the book and then kind of just... stopped. And yeah, maybe I did breathe a sigh of relief when the chapters stayed with Stevie rather than go back to the dark, dark ages of the 1990’s. She is the main character, right?
Nine Liars is interesting title though; very provocative, and it looks great on a book cover! Unfortunately, nine liars also means there's going to be be nine suspects, no? This is probably just my problem, but man... that's a lot of assholes to memorize. It's daunting, even. Should I have been taking notes? Sometimes my Kindle shows the "popular highlights" of what other readers found interesting, and whenever I'm reading a mystery novel, I see people highlighting all the things that might be clues, and I always have a serious panic moment! Like, "Oh, did we have homework on that?" kind of fear. It looks like we did, because when Stevie name drops the killer, it wasn’t an “ah-ha!” moment for me, but rather a, “who tf is [blank]!?” Let me switch off my hater-mode for a second though, I've been pretty negative for this whole thing. Um, let's see... once the mystery finally hit its stride, it was just as challenging for me to put the book down as the other installments. That's got to count for something, right? Besides, it’s still a lot of fun to follow Stevie and her Scooby Gang around as they solve the unsolvable! Minus one character, that is. He shall remain unnamed. I said I wouldn't talk about him, and I won't. I. Won't. I do sincerely hope that this series continues on for a long, long while. Hopefully without that one character… whom I won’t name. He'll remain nameless.
…
It’s David, I don’t like David, he sucks ass and I haven’t liked him in any of these books, and I really really really hated him here. Anyway, don’t worry, I won’t get into it. It's done.
…
Okay look, in every book there’s a moment where the narrative is all like, “ooh is this the one where David turns out the be the stereotypical, superficial, jock asshole, that he's always seemed to be?” In the fourth book, it was all, “did he leave Stevie in the middle of her investigation?" and in this one it’s, “is he getting a little too cozy with this other girl in London?” and it’s always played as a “gotcha moment,” when it obviously turns out he was a “great dude” (he's not, regardless) all along. You can only do a rug-pull so many times before I just stop reading altogether. And you know? With the cliffhanger in this one, I’m sure the next book will explain away his actions the exact same way they've always been explained away. “He had his reasons” my ass. Want to know what I think? I think he’s just a stereotypical, superficial, jock asshole. Enough is enough, it's time to move on from this. Let it go, otherwise I'm probably going to let this series go. It’s not even irritating anymore, just boring.
January 11, 2023
I want to punch someone.
Want to read
August 6, 20225. August 2022
I just-I just want this in my hands. Like, all of my problems would be solved.
***************************
27. April 2022
WHEN DID THE COVER GET REVEALED??!!?! I WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THIS HAPPENING
***************************
6. March 2022
I NEED THIS NOW 💳💥💳💥💳💥
I just-I just want this in my hands. Like, all of my problems would be solved.
***************************
27. April 2022
WHEN DID THE COVER GET REVEALED??!!?! I WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THIS HAPPENING
***************************
6. March 2022
I NEED THIS NOW 💳💥💳💥💳💥
January 7, 2023
it was underwhelming and oh yes david can eat shit
October 17, 2022
Ok, this series has had some ups and downs but I really like the basic concept and the core group of characters so much I’ll read them all no matter what downs come. Good news, this book wasn’t a down point for me. I did think it took a long time for the action to get going (jet lag and goofy poor communicated romance took much of the first half of Stevie and her friends’ story. What kept me going (other than love for the four friends) were the flashbacks which were a bit more live action and in time with the crime which let me start to piece together bits and pieces as well too. The cold case is a double murder from the 1990’s when 9 friends went to the country side estate of one of their party and after the most epic gave of hide and seek two of the friends were found dead. All of this happened in England and David just happened to cal Stevie and invite her and her friends to take a brief study abroad trip to England. I love this crime solving team (although I would like Stevie to get a bit more focused on her life and to learn effective communication) but they have a beautiful friendship. The murder was fun to solve. I hope this isn’t the last mystery that Stevie Bell solves. Overall I gave it 4.5 stars rounded up because of the most perfect Nate moment ever.
Want to read
March 14, 2022Stevie Bell's adventures continue!! I'm so freaking happy to see this series continue. Give me book 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12...well, you get the point. I could read about Stevie and the gang forever.
October 25, 2022
Yep!! Definitely worth the hype. 😉 Am I a YA girl? Not usually… 🤫….but apparently I am with this series!! 👏👏 Review to come
February 22, 2023
Wow. Yep. I’m doing it. 1 star. I’m actually giggling to myself at how incredibly messy and ridiculous this book was, I mean the ending on top of an already underdeveloped, boring ass book—this is just an absolute fail. I’m sorry to anyone that thinks this is a 5 star read, but did you even read the other 4 books?! WTF did I just read. I’m done with the rambling; let me articulate how much I hated this book.
Number one, I was BORED the entire book. I kept wondering when the “mystery” was going to take place. The first 2 or 3 1995 chapters started off strong, but then it became a repetitive backstory of the night with zero details about who these 9 people actually were, and making it that much harder to understand the case. And then, Stevie’s chapters were actual garbage. There was too much weird personal drama, which actually made me start to hate the characters I’ve grown to love in this series. It was annoying, and I was honestly over them by the end of the book. 250+ pages of “I’m so jealous of my boyfriend’s English friend,” “where will I go to college,” etc. is not what I signed up for.
Not to mention, I did not sign up to read an English history book, so all those chapters and descriptions of their daily romps around London being basic tourists needed to go!
And on that note, what in the world happened to Stevie?! A senior year crisis? She lost everything I loved about her and just became a whiny girlfriend and horrible, lying friend. Just no.
And we’re not done. Did Maureen Johnson have a little chat with McManus before writing this??! Is this what YA murder mysteries have become? The writing was sloppy and riddled with mundane background information. And, we’re supposed to believe that Stevie just solved a 30 year old murder case on a hunch. Yea, no thanks. Mysteries and thrillers are my favorite genre, and I have now decided that if an author just throws out minuscule, unrelated clues and expects us to believe that your MC can solve a murder that came out of left field, I will no longer be buying your crap books.
And without going into spoilers that’s all I’ve got. Other than, WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE WORLD WAS THAT ENDING. I suffered through this terrible book, and you ended with that to get people to buy your next book. No thanks!! I will not put myself through the suffering just to read more about Stevie and David’s relationship drama. You can 10000% count me out on that.
That’s all. There is not ONE thing I can think of that I liked about this book. So maybe this is a one star after all. Sorry Johnson, I’m out.
Number one, I was BORED the entire book. I kept wondering when the “mystery” was going to take place. The first 2 or 3 1995 chapters started off strong, but then it became a repetitive backstory of the night with zero details about who these 9 people actually were, and making it that much harder to understand the case. And then, Stevie’s chapters were actual garbage. There was too much weird personal drama, which actually made me start to hate the characters I’ve grown to love in this series. It was annoying, and I was honestly over them by the end of the book. 250+ pages of “I’m so jealous of my boyfriend’s English friend,” “where will I go to college,” etc. is not what I signed up for.
Not to mention, I did not sign up to read an English history book, so all those chapters and descriptions of their daily romps around London being basic tourists needed to go!
And on that note, what in the world happened to Stevie?! A senior year crisis? She lost everything I loved about her and just became a whiny girlfriend and horrible, lying friend. Just no.
And we’re not done. Did Maureen Johnson have a little chat with McManus before writing this??! Is this what YA murder mysteries have become? The writing was sloppy and riddled with mundane background information. And, we’re supposed to believe that Stevie just solved a 30 year old murder case on a hunch. Yea, no thanks. Mysteries and thrillers are my favorite genre, and I have now decided that if an author just throws out minuscule, unrelated clues and expects us to believe that your MC can solve a murder that came out of left field, I will no longer be buying your crap books.
And without going into spoilers that’s all I’ve got. Other than, WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE WORLD WAS THAT ENDING. I suffered through this terrible book, and you ended with that to get people to buy your next book. No thanks!! I will not put myself through the suffering just to read more about Stevie and David’s relationship drama. You can 10000% count me out on that.
That’s all. There is not ONE thing I can think of that I liked about this book. So maybe this is a one star after all. Sorry Johnson, I’m out.
December 28, 2022
maureen johnson will pay for ending the book there
February 7, 2024
Nauuuur that ending was out of pocket and I just realized we still need a conclusion on the whole justice thing.
January 18, 2023
Big YAS to everything about this book 🙌🏼❤️ except maybe the cliffhanger it ends on 😂 (I might have screamed a tiny bit)
August 22, 2022
probably doesn't deserve 5 stars but idc
EDIT 22/08/22
Listen. There are some instances in which all my objectiveness and reviewing moral code get thrown out of the window, and this series is one of those instances. This book does not deserve 5 stars and were it any other mystery I would have given it 4 at max.
However, since I am clearly the love child of the four members of the gang (sorry, in this house we do not perceive David, at the moment) and Stevie is the love of my life, I am going to ignore the flaws this book has and still give it a full rating. I am of course still going to mention them in my review, but I am actively choosing to ignore all of them.
Let’s start from the good things: first of all, the chapter set in the past very much gave dark academia meets Agatha Christie vibes and I was totally there for it. In fact, as far as the cold case goes, I liked this one better than The Box in the Woods. I am a big fan of everything dark academia, I love toxic and entangled friendships in books and I have read dozens of Agatha Christie’s books, and loved most of them. So the mystery and the scenes set in the past were pretty much made for me.
At first I was afraid (I was petrified) that I would struggle to remember and distinguish all the characters, because there were nine of them and I am the worst with names. However, once you eliminated the two dead ones — that seems very harsh, ops — it was fairly easy to tell all of them apart, because they all had some distinctive characteristics and most of them fit the dark academia character archetypes. I’m starting to feel like a DA expert, by now.
Their dynamics were very well portrayed, both in the past and in the present, I believe and I liked them just fine. I didn’t particularly love them as individuals, but I did love their friendship and weird relationship. Of course, I was mainly there for my beloveds (i.e. Stevie, Nate, Janelle and Vi), but the side cast of character was also fun to read. I really liked Izzy as a character and I hope we get to see more of her in the future, helping with future cases.
The setting of the murders was also very interesting and I would have loved to have a physical copy at end just to keep track of where everyone was during the hide and seek game, because there were two maps at the beginning, but 1. they were small 2. I was reading on my Kindle and I couldn’t go back and forth or I would have lost too much time.
What I did not enjoy as much was the pacing and how romance heavy this book was. I’ve never cared for Stevie and David as a couple; I don’t particularly like them, but I don’t hate them together either. I have contrasting feelings for David as a singular character and at the end of this book I would have liked to strangle him, to be honest. I think Maureen spent too much time with Cassandra Clare (by her own admission she was with her a lot during lockdown), the queen of romantic drama, and decided that she was going to make Nine Liars all about Stevie and David’s relationship. I am of course joking, but it was funny to read the acknowledgements and see that she wrote part of this book while at Cassandra’s and with the help of Holly Jackson. I knew they were friends, but it made me laugh nonetheless.
The weird pacing of this book is largely due to the presence of this much romance, for me, because for the first half of the book we mostly get flashbacks and Stevie is too busy fighting jet lag and mooning over David to really start to investigate. I only endured as much because I was figuring out the mystery by myself reading the chapters in the past.
To be completely honest, at some point I was tempted to give this 4 stars, but two things happened in here which alone were worth the 5 stars: first of all, there were mentions of the Moose. It’s an ongoing inside joke between me and Vitt and we know Maureen did it for us (even if she didn’t, she did). Second of all, something I’d been waiting for for the past four books finally happened. I cannot say what, because it would be a micro minor spoiler, but I’ll just let you know that it concerns Nate and I am extremely happy about it. Hurrah!
EDIT 22/08/22
Listen. There are some instances in which all my objectiveness and reviewing moral code get thrown out of the window, and this series is one of those instances. This book does not deserve 5 stars and were it any other mystery I would have given it 4 at max.
However, since I am clearly the love child of the four members of the gang (sorry, in this house we do not perceive David, at the moment) and Stevie is the love of my life, I am going to ignore the flaws this book has and still give it a full rating. I am of course still going to mention them in my review, but I am actively choosing to ignore all of them.
Let’s start from the good things: first of all, the chapter set in the past very much gave dark academia meets Agatha Christie vibes and I was totally there for it. In fact, as far as the cold case goes, I liked this one better than The Box in the Woods. I am a big fan of everything dark academia, I love toxic and entangled friendships in books and I have read dozens of Agatha Christie’s books, and loved most of them. So the mystery and the scenes set in the past were pretty much made for me.
At first I was afraid (I was petrified) that I would struggle to remember and distinguish all the characters, because there were nine of them and I am the worst with names. However, once you eliminated the two dead ones — that seems very harsh, ops — it was fairly easy to tell all of them apart, because they all had some distinctive characteristics and most of them fit the dark academia character archetypes. I’m starting to feel like a DA expert, by now.
Their dynamics were very well portrayed, both in the past and in the present, I believe and I liked them just fine. I didn’t particularly love them as individuals, but I did love their friendship and weird relationship. Of course, I was mainly there for my beloveds (i.e. Stevie, Nate, Janelle and Vi), but the side cast of character was also fun to read. I really liked Izzy as a character and I hope we get to see more of her in the future, helping with future cases.
The setting of the murders was also very interesting and I would have loved to have a physical copy at end just to keep track of where everyone was during the hide and seek game, because there were two maps at the beginning, but 1. they were small 2. I was reading on my Kindle and I couldn’t go back and forth or I would have lost too much time.
What I did not enjoy as much was the pacing and how romance heavy this book was. I’ve never cared for Stevie and David as a couple; I don’t particularly like them, but I don’t hate them together either. I have contrasting feelings for David as a singular character and at the end of this book I would have liked to strangle him, to be honest. I think Maureen spent too much time with Cassandra Clare (by her own admission she was with her a lot during lockdown), the queen of romantic drama, and decided that she was going to make Nine Liars all about Stevie and David’s relationship. I am of course joking, but it was funny to read the acknowledgements and see that she wrote part of this book while at Cassandra’s and with the help of Holly Jackson. I knew they were friends, but it made me laugh nonetheless.
The weird pacing of this book is largely due to the presence of this much romance, for me, because for the first half of the book we mostly get flashbacks and Stevie is too busy fighting jet lag and mooning over David to really start to investigate. I only endured as much because I was figuring out the mystery by myself reading the chapters in the past.
To be completely honest, at some point I was tempted to give this 4 stars, but two things happened in here which alone were worth the 5 stars: first of all, there were mentions of the Moose. It’s an ongoing inside joke between me and Vitt and we know Maureen did it for us (even if she didn’t, she did). Second of all, something I’d been waiting for for the past four books finally happened. I cannot say what, because it would be a micro minor spoiler, but I’ll just let you know that it concerns Nate and I am extremely happy about it. Hurrah!
January 7, 2023
I guess if you take this one as a part of binge-reading the series, it’ll be fine: familiar characters, cosy atmosphere, you don’t want the story to stop. However, if you read it separately, after a long wait, it can’t help but disappoint you. Weak story line, Stevie the well-read detective doesn’t know neither how to pronounce “viscount” nor that the Paddington railway station is real.
I listened to this book and fell asleep without fail every 15 minutes, this is how boring and unegaging it was. Too bad, because I’d been waiting for this sequel to the series for about half a year.
I listened to this book and fell asleep without fail every 15 minutes, this is how boring and unegaging it was. Too bad, because I’d been waiting for this sequel to the series for about half a year.
January 14, 2023
actual rating: 3,5 stars
great mystery, too much weird relationship drama, not enough nate.
great mystery, too much weird relationship drama, not enough nate.
January 2, 2023
soo…that was so dissapointing😭
January 15, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up - Fifth outing with Stevie Bell & her gang, now on a London trip & investigating a mid-90’s cold-case double homicide. Started a bit slow but really picked up a lot in the final third. I’m down for the next installment!
February 18, 2023
YOURE FUCKING JOKING RIGHT NOW WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDINF EXCUSE ME
——
5TH BOOK????? omg im so ready gimme
——
5TH BOOK????? omg im so ready gimme
November 23, 2022
This is the fifth book in the Stevie Bell series, and the one with the best mystery so far. The series blends teen drama with murder mysteries.
For me, the teen drama only gets more annoying the farther into the series I read. However, the murder mysteries? Those just keep getting better.
This book gives you the perfect amount of information on the murders to set you theorizing, without giving too much and giving it away. You get both flashbacks to the crime and police reports, which often disagree with each other. The trick is to combine it with clues from the present to figure out who is lying, and why.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I still hate David as a love interest. Somehow, this book got me to hate him even more. But, I must admire the consistency of his characterization. While the average YA love interest would lose his jerk-qualities over the series, David stays consistently terrible.
A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/@ChloeFrizzle
Thanks to Netgalley and Katherine Tegen Books for a copy of this book to review. All options are my own.
For me, the teen drama only gets more annoying the farther into the series I read. However, the murder mysteries? Those just keep getting better.
This book gives you the perfect amount of information on the murders to set you theorizing, without giving too much and giving it away. You get both flashbacks to the crime and police reports, which often disagree with each other. The trick is to combine it with clues from the present to figure out who is lying, and why.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I still hate David as a love interest. Somehow, this book got me to hate him even more. But, I must admire the consistency of his characterization. While the average YA love interest would lose his jerk-qualities over the series, David stays consistently terrible.
A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/@ChloeFrizzle
Thanks to Netgalley and Katherine Tegen Books for a copy of this book to review. All options are my own.
February 2, 2023
✩ 4 stars
~
just so happy that i get to be back with these characters. 🫶🏻
~
stevie was a little annoying in this book & i blame david :/
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just so happy that i get to be back with these characters. 🫶🏻
~
stevie was a little annoying in this book & i blame david :/
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