Stevie is a young sleuth that has solved several murder mysteries in her past. While on a trip abroad visiting her boyfriend, Stevie and her friends uncover a new mystery in need of solving that proves to be too much for Stevie to resist. I have been enjoying this series and love the cast of characters. The books can be read as a standalone but readers might not be as invested in Stevie and David's relationship without the context of the other books. I wasn't a big fan of the way this book ended, it felt very abrupt and like it cut out mid-scene, though I suppose that will be an enticement for me to read the next book.

The Quick Cut: A teen girl visits her boyfriend in London and finds a new mystery to solve with her friends in the process.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Katherine Tegen Books for providing the ARC for an honest review.

If you solved a decades old mystery, what would you do next? Go back to life as it used to be or feel adrift, looking for something new to interest you? In this fifth book of the Truly Devious series, Stevie is looking for purpose in her senior year.

Stevie has twice now solved decades old mysteries, including the one of her high school named Ellingham Academy. However, while everyone else in her class is focused on finishing senior year and applying for colleges, Stevie finds herself looking for purpose. When her boyfriend provides an opportunity to study abroad in London, she joins her friends in the adventure and finds a new mystery to solve. Can she find out what happened with these nine friends in the 90s?

Like the previous book in the Truly Devious series, this one is setup to function as a standalone. While it definitely works on that level, this one also has a lot of relationship angst for Stevie and David, which won't have as much interest for new readers. The ending certainly won't be of interest to anyone not invested in them as a couple either.

Stevie as our lead heroine is flawed in many ways and her addiction to a new mystery to solve really highlights that. As a reader, I love that she's not perfect and has this grand future plan in mind. She doesn't know what she wants to do other than solve mysteries. While she has friends applying to colleges, she's focused on other things. I think the struggle with post high school life is more common than acknowledged and seeing this book showcase that is a good thing. Not everyone has to go to college (and that's a good thing)!

The only criticism I have is for the melodramatic saga known as Stevie and Davids long distance relationship. It really plays out a lot in this book, especially at the end. Stevie deserves better anyways and I quickly started to hate David. Overall, I find the relationship angst distracting, so if you also can't stand romantic melodrama, this book isn't entirely a fit for you.

A mystery abroad with romantic angst.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

#NineLiars #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Excellent read.

Let me start by saying that Maureen Johnson is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. To the point where I don't actually know how to review this book. Was it perfect? Probably not for everyone. But did I absolutely adore it? You better believe it.

There is something about the writing style in the Truly, Devious series that always sucks me in. I’m not reading a book, I’m watching the drama unfold before me. I can see so clearly the surroundings Stevie and her friends find themselves in. The fact that this book takes place in London for the majority of the book was even better. Although I have missed the amazingly mysterious Ellingham Academy, it was great to see some of my favorite characters so far from home.

That leads me to my next point. The characters. Despite the teenage angst and whiny moment, I love Stevie, Nate, Janelle, Vi, and sometimes David. As always, I would have loved to see more of Nate, but I think at this point, the only way to get enough would be to have an entire book from his point of view. When in the midst of a mystery, I love seeing the way Stevie’s brain works. The way she makes connections and puts the picture together is fascinating.

I appreciated that the mystery took precedence to the drama. The mystery was well crafted and made sense, especially with the flashes back to the past. The parts that focused on what happened in 1995 were fluid in the way that they connected with the progress that the case made in the present. The more personal parts of the story for Stevie were the parts that seemed abrupt. There were a few times that I was surprised in the direction that her life was taking.

I am going to go ahead and give this book 5/5 stars because I appreciated the thought that went into the mystery of the book. As the main storyline of the book, it was important to be that it take precedence over the other storylines.

Be sure to check trigger warnings.

Special Note: If you read this book. Please message me. I am desperate to discuss.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children’s Book for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maureen Johnson knows how to write a mystery. Opening this book is like visiting with an old friends as you see all the familiar characters and places - a friend with never ending drama. Having solved all the murders and mysteries in this academy, Stevie's attention turns abroad as she visits David in London. I laughed, I gasped, and I loved every page.

After a slow start, this proves to be just as engaging as the previous books in the series. It's not as tightly plotted and Stevie's romantic woes really do detract (and distract) from the mystery plot, but the conclusion is satisfying enough, even if the David/Julian parallel doesn't quite pan out. Read it for the mystery and Nate's unsurprising-but-important confession.

Taking a page straight from Agatha Christie, Nine Liars takes us to a secluded English country home surrounded by murder suspects. Stevie's hyper fixation on David for the first third of the book, while likely accurate, is wearying. After that, we're off to the races. Johnson never fails to create an engaging, high risk, yet playful setting that keeps readers turning pages. I found myself sneaking a page or two between emails at work. For fans of Sherlock Holmes, My Favorite Murder, and E. Lockhart.

Nine Lairs is the newest installment in the Truly Devious series. In this book Stevie and her friends travel to London for a small study abroad get away, but the moment they land Stevie’s boyfriend introduces them to his friend Izzy who throws Stevie into an old murder mystery case that her aunt lived through.

In this book we follow two storylines. One following Stevie and her friends as they explore London, prep for college, and go through the motions of natural friend group hardships. The other storyline follows Izzy’s aunts friend group, called the Nine, back in the 90’s when two of their friends got murdered and the case went cold.

On their trip Izzy introduces Stevie to her aunt hoping that Stevie can help solve the mystery of her friend’s murders. Izzy’s aunt doesn’t take this well as she isn’t willing to talk about that trauma from her life and then seems to ghost Izzy. They soon realize that she isn’t just ghosting them but may be missing and in danger of her own.

I absolutely love this series and I recommend it almost everyday to readers. I think this is a fantastic series and every book packs its own punch. I really enjoyed this book because we are being taken to London along with the group and are in a whole new setting while still having the comfort of Stevie’s amazing friends. I really enjoy the way this series deals with hard topics without being insensitive or too unnecessarily gruesome. Each mystery packs a punch while being written very well. I also love the way the relationships are written. Often times I have found in young adult books that the relationships are toxic or things are left without consent or there is no healthy communication happening in them and it makes readers think those things are normal and okay when they are not. This book dives into those healthy and necessary conversations between the characters and I believe more books need this to show young people that these are needed and useful in real life.

Overall I cannot recommend this series enough and this book did not fail to live up to the standard I have set for this series!

Thanks to NetGalley for a VERY EXCITING ARC of this book. I absolutely loved the other Truly Devious books and was totally looking forward to this one.

I loved the English estate setting and the alternate timeline about the murders in the past. I loved seeing Stevie and her crew again.

I found the actual mystery/thriller piece a bit lacking, but the atmosphere made up for it.

The last line makes me think/hope there will be a 6th book forthcoming….

Nine Liars is another Stevie Bell mystery set in England. Stevie and her friends explore and solve another cold case. A little slow and a little predictable, but I enjoyed the personal turmoil that Stevie experiences.

I will read every Stevie Bell book ever published. Forever.

I reread the previous 4 title in preparation for this. It was my 3rd read of the main trilogy, and my 2nd read of the follow-up. I love them more every time I read them.

In this book, Stevie is dealt another cold case that has stymied investigators, this time in England where she and her pals are for a study abroad program. We have another dual-timeline, where we're introduced the the cold case players and get the scoop on them and their activities alongside what Stevie and the gang are up to.

I liked the core mystery, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so there will definitely be a follow-up book for complete resolution.

As always, I still hate David. And maybe even more in this book, because his entitlement and d-baggery are just next level. I really wish they would just break up and be done with it. Stevie needs to know that she's enough without needing someone like David to give her validation.

I requested this before I realized it was the 5th book in a series I had not read yet. It wasn't a problem though because the author did a great job recapping what happened in earlier books. I wish all authors would do this in series books. Stevie's boyfriend plans a study abroad trip for her and her three friends to visit London where he lives. In between visiting the Tower of London, the London Eye and going on a Jack the Ripper tour, Stevie meets her boyfriend's friend Izzy. Izzy introduces the group to her aunt Angela whose two college friends were murdered in an unsolved case. Izzy hopes Stevie's history of solving cold cases can help her aunt. The book skips back in time when Angela and her friends (The Nine) stayed in a country house playing hide and seek in the dark one night when her two friends were murdered. When Angela goes missing after some odd texts, Stevie and her friends try to find Angela and solve the murders. I liked the London setting and it brought back memories of traveling there 14years ago. I felt the ending was abrupt but I'm still looking forward to reading the first book in the series.

Stevie Bell does is again!

Nine Liars was such a wonderful stand alone in the Stevie Bell Truly Devious universe. Not only do we get an unsolved mystery in London for Stevie to work on, but we also get to see the continuation of her time at Ellingham Academy and her relationships with Nate, Janelle, and David. I really enjoy that Maureen continues to go back and forth between Stevie’s present day point of view and the past of the Nine Liars. This mystery will suck you in! Even by the end of the story, I still wasn’t sure who was the culprit! 5 stars!

3.5 stars. I am definitely a big fan of this series, but this was probably my least favorite book of the series so far. There was a great deal of extraneous historical information that really didn't add to the story for me. I thought this one got bogged down in unnecessary details about London tourist sights and transportation. Our main characters are already very well developed and it helped to be familiar with them as the inclusion of all of the new characters was quite a lot to keep track of. I will continue to read the series, but I am hoping that the next books will be a bit more polished.

I am not sure what to rate this to be honest; 3 stars, maybe?

I LOVE Maureen Johnson. I have devoured all of the Truly Devious books. This one just fell... flat, for me.

*SPOILERS BELOW*
The big twist was an odd reveal and an odd choice. Samantha going down because she fell and mentioned the word police? Didn't seem logical that he would just drown her instead of help her. Unless I missed something in that section? That just made it fall flat for me and the rest of the unraveling was just a oh, ok.

Ugh, but Stevie. That ending for Stevie! Screw you David.

I was really not a fan of the previous installment of this series (the purple one--the name is escaping me at the moment). So, I was a bit wary when starting this one--but I loved the OG trilogy so much I just needed more of Stevie and Co. I ended up loving this! I loved the dual POV, I loved the mystery and setting this time around, and I think the plot proved personality for these characters much better than in the book before this where it felt like the plot and the characters were completely separate from one another. Looking forward to more from Maureen Johnson!

I have loved every book in this series, and this is no exception. I am partial to the original trilogy, but this is right up there. It’s a dual timeline story of a double murder in the 90’s mixed with a trip by Stevie and her friends London for a short study abroad. I definitely recommend it!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 3.5/5 stars.

I love this series with all my heart, and it's honestly the one that got me back into reading mysteries. The original triology is AMAZING. Book 4 was campy and fun. This one? It was painful in the way I loved my mystery and the travel, but all of the characters felt...different. I don't know if it's because they're growing up, or if it's because the series is expanding further than it's meant to. Especially Stevie...she just seemed...more obnoxious? I also wanted more David and Stevie content.

I do like the premise of the murders though and how it felt very Sherlock-y like a game. The added humor of America v. London in things was also great...especially as someone who has been to London.

I wanted this to end happily. It did not. Nothing was wrapped up and it ended quite abruptly to be honest...and that kind of cinched the meh rating from me.

Let's be honest - the "Truly Devious" series was perfection. And when you find a series of books that is just so good, one of your fears as a reader is that the author will do something to ruin it. Luckily, Maureen Johnson is a sorceress and has managed to give us yet another Stevie Bell book that is so crafty, so smart, and so endearing that when you finish it, all you want to do is start it all over again! Can't wait to see what she does next!

I really wanted to like this book. The idea of a girl detective solving cold case murders is appealing to me as I grew up reading Nancy Drew books and Maureen Johnson has created a modern Nancy Drew in Stevie Bell. But like the others, this one just didn't quite work for me. It has almost vague feeling and I finished not knowing how Stevie actually solved the case. The pacing was awkward with the first 41% showing Stevie running around London with her friends. The cold case is told through a couple of flashbacks and police transcripts so I had a lot of stops and starts with this one.

My other issue with this book is the characters. They feel like stock characters. Janelle is the best friend, Vi is Janelle's partner, Nate is there as the other best friend. David is just the boyfriend and Johnson tried to introduce some internal conflict regarding David and Stevie's relationship, but it just felt shoved in to create additional conflict. I don't think that Stevie's friends added much to the story, and I don't think much would have changed if they weren't there with her.

I had trouble getting a handle on the Nine and their story frankly wasn't that interesting. It was hard to keep them straight and the liars part really had me rolling my eyes. It just didn't seem realistic at all.

Overall I just found this book to be disappointing and I don't believe I'll read additional books by Johnson. It's just not what I'm looking for.