This is book 5 in the truly devious series. It was a fast and interesting read that kept me guessing. However, the ending made me very miffed at one of the characters. No spoilers but it definitely makes you want to read the next book immediately.

I have never read any of the Ellington series, but I really enjoyed this YA thriller. The flashbacks to the original murder were effective as were the police statements. Perhaps since I hadn't read the previous novels, I did not understand the purpose or impact of the calls from the woman at their school.

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a light yet interesting YA thriller.

Maureen!! That ending!! I read Nine Liars in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. It didn't quite reach the heights of Truly Devious but I did like it more than The Box in the Woods. I don't know what Maureen has planned for Stevie in the future but I hope it's more books (and less David, who can kick rocks!!).

To say this one hurts to write would be an understatement. I’m just not convinced that these were the same characters and this fits into the Truly Devious series. After loving the other books I am just utterly disappointed.

The book is told through dual timelines and multiple point-of-views. The present time point-of-view comes from Stevie Bell who is off on another mystery once again, although it takes quite a bit to get there. I can’t say that I was invested in the story until around the 60% mark and even then the ending was just not it. I’m actually very upset about it lol. I think that this book tried to do too much and because of that the mystery wasn’t as exciting because nothing really happens with it until too close to the ending and even then it is so lackluster! It just doesn’t feel like the same series.

I felt more irritated with these characters than I ever have before. I hadn’t once had a problem with David or Stevie, but they were both kind of selfish and it wasn’t a vibe. All I have to say about David is that he was fine, a bit bland, but then we get to the ending and he is a dillweed. I don’t like him and I never will. Stevie was too caught up in her relationship to care about her future and when she wasn’t obsessing about that she was on the case for the mystery and lying to her friends. I can see the correlation between her friend group and the nine so I guess at least there was that. 🤷‍♀️

I also felt like this book was trying to be more upper YA and it made the book have a different vibe. I think this point correlates with Stevie’s relationship having more page time and it’s also associated with the friend group the nine. Sex is mentioned quite a lot and it just wasn’t my cup of tea, especially when I am here for a mystery.

Overall, it was okay at times but honestly ended up not being a book I liked. I’m going to be disappointed for quite some time…

As usual Maureen Johnson nails it with Stevie and the gang. I cannot wait for the next in the series. There better be a next in the series!

Stevie Bell is at an awkward, transitional time in her life and the overall tone of this book really reflects that. Unlike previous novels the mystery isn't really the focal point, though it does share some parallels with what's going on with Stevie and her friends. I also found her involvement in the mystery much less plausible than in other stories, because I highly doubt that an MP in the UK government would allow an unknown American teenager into the investigation of their friend's murder. Like the other Stevie Bell stories it was a quick, fun read, but don't expect the mystery in this one to be as interesting or complex as previous books.

I always have such a great time reading Maureen Johnson’s Stevie Bell books. YA mysteries can sometimes be a hard sell for me since they can seem too outside the realm of possibility. So while it is kinda wild that this teenager is solving mysteries that have stumped adults for decades, the characters and storytelling ground these books and keep them from feeling too ridiculous.

This time the mystery revolves around a group of nine Cambridge University graduates back in 1995 where 2 of them ended up murdered after a party at a country house. Nobody was ever caught. In present day Stevie and her friends are visiting London where they meet the niece of one of The Nine who asks Stevie to try and figure out what really happened.

I enjoyed seeing the flashbacks of The Nine in the 90s and seeing the police interviews with them after the fact. Initially it did take me a bit to figure out who all the different characters were and keep them straight in my mind. But after that I was super invested in this group of friends and their antics. In the present day seeing Stevie solve the mystery alongside her friends was a lot of fun. There are also some interesting relationship developments as well as talk about the future and what they’re all going to do for college.

Overall I had a great time reading this book. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Box in the Woods, which is still my favorite in the series. But this was a lot of fun!

I didn't realize this was part of a series and having read the previous books would have helped. The mystery is self-contained so it is possible to read it without having read the other books but the relationships between the main characters would be richer to the reader if they'd read the others. So, the mystery is a country house mystery that takes place in 1995. Some fun callbacks to that time. The mystery itself had some fun twists and turns. Lots of London love in the book. And the story made me want to read the previous installments. I didn't love the MC's angst about her boyfriend nor the boyfriend's actions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll talk about the whole book in a second, but I would like to start this off by just saying… WHAT WAS THAT ENDING THOUGH? And where is the next book?!

Ok, now that that’s out of my system…. This was a very fun addition to the Stevie Bell/Truly Devious series, especially as I am someone who is a huge fan of British murder mysteries. I honestly wish there had been a bit more Nate (and Janelle and Vi), but Izzy was a nice new addition.

I pride myself on being able to solve mysteries, but this one had me stumped until about 75% of the way in, when I started getting inklings, which was nice. While I love figuring things out, I also love working for it, and this book did that for me.

Also, can I just say it? I don’t care for David much. Never really have? I think Stevie could do much better. The boy needs to learn to communicate or something here. Yeeeesh.

I did not have a clue what I was getting into. I picked up these books but I’m so excited that I had an advanced readers copy of this one. It was such a fun create afraid. I didn’t want it to end. They author was an incredible writer.

Consistent with my experience reading The Box in the Woods, the Stevie Bell series seems to get more and more diluted the further our intrepid heroine gets from her initial purpose: solving the cold case at Ellingham Academy. It's not Stevie's fault; she's as emotionally complex, clever, and bold as ever, but the standalone mystery structure doesn't give Johnson's incredible storytelling sufficient time to shine. Even an author as skilled at character nuance as Johnson can't make us care about nine new characters/suspects in so little time -- not when Stevie and David's relationship needs significant real estate, as does the friend-group dynamics. Stevie's behavior also verges on unsavory in certain places here -- specifically, a needless lie she tells that disrespects characters who deserve better.

Nine Liars was compulsively readable, because I don't think Maureen Johnson can produce a book I don't feel magnetically called to devour. Still, I long for the early Stevie Bell days, when mysteries delved deeper and relationships felt more potent.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the line: "This was how it happened--all the things she had been collecting, all her ruminations and wandering thoughts, all that she had ever absorbed from mysteries and true crime and puzzles, all those times she read Wikipedia articles about gruesome things until three in the morning, all that she had observed without knowing--it brewed in her head. It bubbled. It seethed. It would not be ready until it was ready, but when it was ready it cascaded over like one of those model volcanoes she built in grade school that spat up baking soda and vinegar lava. It was the great hork of realization."

THE GREAT HORK OF REALIZATION. Brilliant.

Maureen Johnson has a long history of appreciating British comedy and mysteries in her novels, and nowhere does it shine like in Nine Liars. Reading this felt both comforting and familiar, while still being suspenseful and fun. Readers of other Stevie Bell novels will be excited to continue the ongoing saga, while newer readers will be able to dive right in. It's lovely to see another YA mystery series that is inviting to avid and casual readers alike.

I loved this one!! Stevie and the gang are back but this time they're in England!! Stevie is missing David and she has the chance to spend a week in London after convincing. Dr. Quinn that it's a serious study abroad trip, thanks to Janelle's spreadsheet and planning skills. Murder and missing people somehow always follow the gang.

Maureen nailed the stereotypical London experiences and the atmosphere. It really brought the sense of a cosy mystery. This book immediately hooked me from the get go. I loved seeing the flashbacks again and it really tied into the structure of the first trilogy so well. Merryweather was the perfect isolated setting and I enjoyed having a remote location where all the tension builds.

Izzy was a standout character - her personality fit so well in with the gang and she brought out such a sense of adventure. The six were each well enough depicted where you could keep track of who was who and how they played into the story but you had no idea who was going to be the one at the end of the big reveal. THAT ENDING?! PLEASE give us the next one soon Maureen because we NEED to know what happens next. I am so ready to go on an adventure with everyone again.

I never thought that I wold DNF a Stevie Bell mystery, but I couldn't get into this one. I couldn't keep the characters straight in the flashbacks, and I couldn't get invested in the murder. I also found myself tired of Stevie and her weed-smoking, tortured-genius friends. Sure to delight fans of the series, but inferior to earlier titles.

First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC. I'm a simple woman, I see another installment to the Truly Devious series, and I must read it. This was, of course, no exception. Maureen Johnson has done it again. I'll admit that at first it was confusing trying to keep track of the nine characters involved in the flashbacks plus the main cast of Truly Devious, but once I got it figured out, I couldn't put this one down. My only disappointment about this book is that it ends in a cliffhanger.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC

Nothing makes me happier than a new installment of the Truly Devious series. Out favorite teen sleuth Stevie Bell is back with her Scooby squad and this time they’re in the murder mansion capital of the world England! Solving a good old fashioned house party murder.

One of my favorite things about Maureen Johnson is that she herself is a fan and that comes through in her books. She’s having fun with the fact that we’re solving a Masterpiece Mystery style crime. We’re allowed to geek out over the British mystery tropes. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I demand my teen Netflix show of Truly Devious immediately. Although I was personally emotionally damaged by the ending ;)

This continues to be one of my favorite series and Stevie is my ultimate comfort character. I was incredibly excited to back at my beloved Ellingham Academy and wish we could have spent more time there, but it was also fun to see the characters be tourists in England. As always, the mystery was intricately plotted and the English manor house setting was everything you want it to be. However, I could have done without the police interview transcripts from the Nine Liars in the first half of the book--ultimately I realize why they were there, but I they caused the reading experience to drag slightly. These beautifully three-dimensional characters never fail to make me smile and I love seeing their relationships evolve as they take on her challenges.

I need there to be 500 Stevie Bell mysteries. Thank you so much to Net Galley and the Publisher and Maureen Johnson for the opportunity to read this book early (and continuing to print them!).

MAUREEN THE ENDING. Regardless, I would like Stevie Bell to rival Nancy Drew in number of mysteries she solves. This cast of characters is delightful and infuriating and real. I love them, and I love Maureen’s writing, and I want to read installments of their lives forever.

Maureen Johnson is always amazing! This new installation of Truly Devious and the Ellingham crew does not disappoint. It took me a little while to get into, but the ending was great as always.

As always Stevie and her gang are incredibly charming. I have read all of the truly devious trilogy and The Box in the Woods spin off and this new addition did not disappoint. If I were to complain about anything at all it would be that having nine new characters was far too many to keep track of along with the normal 5 characters and then side characters.