I didn't know I how much needed more Stevie and company in my life until I saw this book was coming out! This book continues the series in a new location, England, and Johnson does an amazing job with this book! The mystery surrounding a double murder at a country estate was so interesting. Johnson captures the time period so well. If you loved Truly Devious this book is another great addition to the series. Brilliant. Will be purchasing it for my library.

Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series is my go-to rec for any YA readers wanting to read mystery. I love Stevie and I'm always game for new adventures. My fave is still the original trilogy, and while I enjoyed Box in the Woods, it didn't quite have the same impact as the original. I feel the same way about this as well. While it was still entertaining, and it's always nice to have the gang back together, some parts felt a little contrived. Still getting this for our collection because this is bound to be a popular read!

It was a good page-turner and I liked revisiting the Ellingham gang, even if some of the situations they found themselves in seem contrived. What I could have done without is the abrupt ending.

This series continues to enthrall me. Looking for smart, flawed and completely driven protagonists? Look no further. This time our hero Stevie makes an over the top gesture that’s deposits her and her friends in London. She convinces everyone it is for serious studious reasons, but knows she’s really following her heart. Luckily, there is mayhem and madness and Stevie as always, saves the day.

An English country manor murder and Truly Devious mash-up? I'll take seconds please! The entire gang is back in this installment and visiting David in England when a cold case falls in their lap. Veronica Mars would be proud.

The book flashes back and forth between "the Nine," a group of nine university theatre students in 1995 at an English country manor celebrating graduation and Stevie and the gang in the present planning a trip to visit David and see the sights.

I really liked that all the Truly Devious gang was featured this time around, but I think I'm ready to let Vi & Janelle go. They aren't very interesting characters or much help to Stevie and the "they" pronouns for Janelle are super confusing to read. Stevie can carry the story solo at this point with occasional help from Nate and David (who have small roles this time around). Nate comes out as A-sexual in this book for some unnecessary reason. It felt really out of place and came out in a preachy forced sort of way instead of as a natural part of his character arc. David is still trying to get this act together and figure out his feelings for Stevie, but I'm still Team David.

Again, good luck solving this mystery before Stevie. I flagged some clues and completely missed others. When mysteries are too easy to solve, there no fun to read. Johnson never disappoints with her ability to weave a compelling whodunit.

Good news! There's a bit of a cliffhanger at the end which tells me this isn't the last we've seen of Stevie and the gang! I'm looking forward to the next book in this amazing YA mystery series!

Mystery is not my favorite genre, but I’m convinced that if Maureen Johnson wrote all the mystery books, it might be! Nine Liars is the fifth book in the Truly Devious series, and somehow it was even better than book 4, The Box in the Woods.

The novel follows Stevie and her friends to the United Kingdom, where they are supposed to be learning about history and furthering their studies. When David’s friend Izzy mentions that her aunt was connected to a murder mystery in the English countryside during the 1990s, Stevie’s interest is peaked, and her friends know it’s only a matter of time before she’s on the case.

If I’m being completely honest, the original three books in the Truly Devious series were not phenomenal reads for me. Don’t get me wrong, they were 3-star reads, which is a good book in my opinion. However, this series is one that gets increasingly better over time. When I received an ARC of The Box in the Woods, I’d figured I would try it, but wasn’t wholeheartedly invested in the series. After reading it, I was willing to read more in the series. Now, after reading Nine Liars, I need more books in this series! It completely blew me out of the water!

One thing I love about these novels is that they typically have two alternating storylines. We read a little about the mystery that happened in the past, then we read about Stevie’s life now. This pattern makes the books so compelling in my opinion. As a reader, I found myself more invested in the mystery timeline at the beginning, but the more I read the more invested I was in the present timeline as well.

Furthermore, the mystery in this novel was riveting! The suspense built well over the course of book, and I literally couldn’t stop reading. I couldn’t guess any of the big reveals, yet the series of events was also completely plausible. The cast of characters were dynamic and added a lot to the story. I sometimes feel like authors write very similar characters when they need more murder suspects, but that was not the case with Nine Liars.

Additionally, the characters that we already knew and loved were developed further. I adore the fact that Stevie is a flawed, yet relatable character. Truthfully I don’t think we see enough of this in novels, especially YA novels. We somehow expect the characters to be perfect or stereotypically morally grey, but in many ways, Stevie is just an average teenager who makes mistakes just like anyone else. Her character development throughout this novel drew my emotions into the story even more, and as always, I appreciate the authenticity of reading about a character with anxiety.

Finally, the cherry on top of the cake, there is an ace (asexual) character in this book! This is kind of funny because, at the beginning of this book, I was reading about this character and thought, “Wow, they really seem like they could be ace!” However, it had not been mentioned in the previous books, so I was happily shocked when this character comes out as ace later in the novel. I don’t want to spoil who it is, but I felt like this identity lines up with what we know about this character from the previous novels, and I was so elated to see this representation!

Overall, there is not a single thing I didn’t love about this novel! Maureen Johnson, I sincerely hope you plan on writing another book in this series because I need it yesterday!

YESSS! This is exactly what I wanted from Stevie Bell’s next grand adventure. Set in London and at a murder house/castle?? I’m just simply obsessed. The mystery was everything, I truly couldn’t figure out who did what, everything remained a mystery for me until the very end!

My favorite thing about this series besides the mysteries are the characters! Stevie’s friends are literally everything, I always feel like we’re getting life lessons from watching them navigating their friendship and this time they did it all in London! Lol there really is something about a London murder mystery. This is quickly becoming one of my chaotic sort of reviews BUT if you loved Truly Devious or love cozy nursery mysteries.. pick up Johnson’s latest book, I feel like it won’t disappoint!

Oh.. and that ending?! 👀👀 I NEED MORE.

My least favorite Stevie story yet. I enjoyed the flashback story very much, it was interesting. The current day Stevie story was not great. All she did was whine and cry the whole time. A majority of her part of the story was focused on her wanting to have sex with David and not actually trying to solve the murder/mystery.

Nine Liars is the fifth book in the truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson and I had a ball reading it.
It features an alternating cast of characters one in present day and one in 1995. I loved the Nine and reading this I thought how fun it would be to have a series based on their shenanigans. These are very vibrant characters an at some points it almost felt like a shame to come back to Stevie's POV.
As a detective book, setting a mystery in a London was a solid choice and I really loved the nods to history.

Now the cons. This book can feel a little repetitive at times which for some readers I'm sure is really helpful for retaining information.

David. His behavior in the books is not my favorite but quite frankly it's bizarre here. He's got and cold. He's grease and mold. And he seems to not understand throughout the book how anxiety can affect someone.
I love Stevie Bell as a character but what the heck does she see in this man and why are none of her friends pointing out wrong David is?
Baffling.
Anyway, this is a well-plotted mystery and I can't wait to see what Stevie does next.
(Just...without David. PLEASE.)

I love Maureen Johnson and Stevie Bell with every fiber of my being. This is one of my all-time favorite YA series, and I am so glad to have more stand-alones outside of the main trilogy. I know cliffhangers are not for everyone, but every time we get one from Maureen Johnson I'm just grateful that it means we'll keep hearing more from her and from Stevie. Def a top recommendation from me to our teen patrons.

Stevie Bell is back. Nine Liars was right on brand for this beloved series from Maureen Johnson, but what is so masterful about this book in particular is that the mystery, the plot, the twists are all growing up little by little, just like Stevie. Very ready for Book 6!

I got an advance copy from NetGalley. Another thrilling mystery that had me guessing until the end. I would love to see another Stevie Bell book in the future, and the ending leaves an open opportunity.

3.5⭐
So far the Truly Devious series has been a solid 4 stars all around. Some I liked more than others, but overall they were good mysteries with solid friendships and typical young adult angst.

However, I struggled with Nine Liars almost from the get go. For the beginning few chapters, we go back and forth between the 1995 group and the current time with Stevie and her friends. This wasn't unexpected, as (if I remember correctly), that's the basic layout of the previous books. For this book though, the back and forth took me out of each storyline. I had a hard time getting refocused on the new timeline. The pacing seemed inconsistent which made it hard to stay engaged.

I know with YA there will always be a certain level of angst, and I'm usually good with most of it. They are seniors, so there was lots of discussion and anxiety over colleges - where to go, where to apply to, who is going where, etc. They were traveling to London, so there were travel issues and apprehension. The relationship between David/Stevie seemed exaggerated just for the drama of it all. It didn't add to the story and actually took focus away a few times. Their conversations about sex were good see but that was about it.

I enjoyed the mystery and had no idea who did it. When Stevie finally got into the zone and pieces started falling into place, I thought 'finally, here's the Stevie Bell we know and love!. The end overall was very rushed. The mystery is solved and that's it. We don't know what consequences the suspect had, or what consequences Stevie had for making all those bad decisions throughout the book. She seemed to have no direction so an ending with nothing resolved may be appropriate. But it wasn't satisfying. And that cliffhanger felt unnecessary and gimmicky. I closed the book feeling disappointed and a little angry, instead of proud of Stevie for another murder solved.

I will be picking up the next one - I want that cliffhanger resolved and to see how Stevie grows from this experience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series never misses. I loved this one! An unsolved English country house murder and Stevie Bell on the case? Yes, please!

One note about this book and the previous one (Box in the Woods) they have some fairly gruesome murders. Just a caveat if you have teens in your life who loved the original three but might be a bit more squeamish or sensitive. This one involves murder by axe.

This is the fifth book in the series, but don’t worry about spoilers for the first four books. This is a totally new mystery for Stevie and the gang to solve. You could read this one without having read the others, but I wouldn’t recommend it. This series is best read in order to feel the full impact of the character’s development. Plus there are references to the previous two mysteries that Stevie has solved that might prove confusing if you are not aware of them.

There is a lot to love about this fifth book in the series. I loved the mystery and the setting as well as the continuing camaraderie these characters share. The blurb says something about laugh out loud moments, and while there are parts that were amusing, like Stevie and David always being interrupted during romantic moments, I wouldn’t classify them as laugh out loud. But I do enjoy their relationship and felt that it was stronger in this book than some of the other ones. Which made the ending and David’s questionable behavior towards the end, all the more puzzling. Hopefully things will work out for them in the next book.

Stevie continues to surprise me with her mind and how it works. How she is able to see the puzzle pieces as a whole instead of individual facts and come up with a solution is fascinating. I loved this English Manor mystery and getting to know all of the suspects. The solution was so simple when it finally comes out, although I am a bit dubious of the murderer’s motivation. That didn’t quite ring true for me.

The story is again told from the perspective of Stevie in the present day, and then the story of the murders that happened in the 1990’s. I really like this set up, as we get to see both sides of the story. Plus we get to see the suspects in a much different light as we see what is happening in the past. I really enjoyed these nine characters as well. It was also nice to meet them in the present day and get to know them now versus then.

I absolutely loved the setting of London and the english countryside. Seeing the gang visit all of the historical sights in London was fun and I could sympathize with Stevie’s reaction to all the different royals and the things they got up to.

If you have been a fan of this series, this newest addition will not disappoint. I will warn you that the ending is quite the cliffhanger. If you have not read this series, what are you waiting for? It is a lot of fun, and the mysteries are very well done.

Stevie Bell meets a classic English murder mystery? Yes, please! After not enjoying the 4th Truly Devious book as much as the first three, this book was such a great read. It felt almost like a locked-room mystery with most of the case happening at a crumbling English manor, complete with gardens and secrets. Stevie and her friends get pulled into a decades old case while visiting her boyfriend. As they try to unravel what happened danger beings to emerge. A few of my favorite things in this book were the setting, the theme of being honest in friendship, and Nate's college application process. It was a fun four star read, perfect for fall!

Stevie is back at it again. During her senior year at Ellingham, her long-distance boyfriend, David, calls her to beg her to spend some time with him while he studies abroad in London. Eager to see him, Stevie agrees. She and her friends plan an educational trip to please their instructors before flying off together. Upon their arrival, David introduces them to his friend Izzy, who takes a special interest in Stevie. The thing is, Izzy's aunt was a witness to the murder of two of her best friends in 1995, and she and Izzy aren't so sure the case is truly closed.

This one was kind of disappointing. I feel like we might be reaching an ENOUGH point with this series. The big reveal felt very shoddy and unpredictable in, not a clever way, but a poorly written way. There was a lot of relational conflict in this book as well, which makes me think we needed a little something to justify writing book six later on. It took away from the actual mystery part of the book and felt weirdly choppy; a strange blend of "oh geez we're all going to college soon I guess this is growing up!!" and a straight-up murder mystery. It was a lot crammed into a short book that also felt oddly long.

Unfortunate. I really had to push myself through this one. Two stars for nostalgia and explicitly using the word "asexual," though.

Full disclosure: I am a 52 year old woman who was so happy to see another book in the #TrulyDevious YA series!

Stevie Bell is back at Ellingham, but not for long. She gets permission for the gang to head to England for a "study abroad" week. But really, Stevie is mainly going to see her boyfriend David, a former Ellingham student.

Things get rough for Stevie when David's friend Izzy is insistent on getting Stevie involved in solving another cold case murder.

I plowed through the first books and was beyond happy to see this one. It doesn't disappoint.

I like how the mystery unfolds amongst some serious teenage angst. Stevie doesn't have all the answers, all the time. She's feeling pressure from all sides and is a bit resentful to get dragged into this new case.

This is such a relatable series for teens. The mystery almost takes a back seat to dealing with relationships, college decisions, friendship hiccups...you know, real life.

One word for parents: I've passed this series on to friends with young teens. This one deals with issues of sex readiness and, briefly, sexual identity. You might want to give this a read first to decide for yourself.

This would be the perfect holiday present for the Truly Devious fan in your life!

Great addition to the mystery series of Stevie Bell and pals. Could be read as a stand-alone, but I would recommend reading all of the series for background. Some parts did seem unnecessary, but I always have to remind myself of the intended audience. Lots of characters, lots of material, lots of fun. Definitely one of my favorite series by Maureen!

I am a huge fan of Maureen Johnson and the Truly Devious series so it isn't any surprise that I loved this book. I was absolutely stoked to see the ARC come! This book is just as charming, interesting, and engaging as every single other book in the series. The characters are, as always, diverse, curious, loveable, hateable, and all together wonderful. I absolutely cannot wait until we can once again read another of Stevie's adventures!