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!

This is the 5th book in the Truly Devious series and like the Box in the Woods, it could be considered a stand alone but in my opinion the overall experience is better if you’re familiar with the series.

This book has all the Clue-like and And Then There Were None vibes and I loved it! This is just as amazing as her other books in this series.

⚠️Possible Sp0ilers Ahead⚠️

Things I Loved:
❤️ same great characters
❤️ fast paced
❤️ flawed MC
❤️ lots of twists
❤️ setting & history

Things I Didn’t Love:
💔 wanted more of the side characters
💔 cliffhanger ending
💔 direction of the characters
personal lives

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins for this ARC to review!! It’s been on my TBR since it was announced and it did not disappoint! ❤️

The latest installment of the Truly Devious series was fun! Set in England, the newest mystery revolves around the murder of two friends from a larger friend group in the Nineties. Part of this was set at an English manor and the who dunnit nature of the mystery was fun and quick. The romance struggles in the book seemed a little surface at best, but I still found the characters to be endearing. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

Thank you so much Net Galley for the arc! I couldn’t believe that I got approved to read this! Now Maureen…….I love your big genius brain! But that cliff hanger….we’re going to fight lmao! This series has NEVER failed me, The growth these characters experience is so real and relatable that it makes me think about where I was at their age applying for colleges and last night with high school friends. The inner struggle Stevie was having I felt so bad for her because solving mysteries became her purpose and we got to go through the motions with her including her relationship. I still hate David and that hate has only grown with this book! Lol! Just seeing these babies grow so serious and mature has been an absolute pleasure I feel like I’m watching my kids grow up! and I can’t WAIT, to see what she comes up with next! Also Maureen somebody and you know who I’m talking about needs to BEG…and I mean BEG! Crawling back I want to see it all! You’re absolutely fantastic and I adore you!

The murder in this one is convoluted, with far too many characters at play--characters who feel bland, with the most expression coming from Julian, whose personality is "is a slut (affectionate)". Time in between working the case was slow, but if you can sludge through it, you get to a gross mis-characterization of David!

Nine liars is phenomenal! I highly recommend the Stevie Bell series as a teen mystery series. I wish I had the books when I was a teen to read. I really enjoy that the books in the series revolve around cold cases that Stevie solves. I will be using this in my book club. This is a great mystery for teens or adults who enjoy classic murder mysteries. This one pays homage to Agatha Christie with the classic country house murder. It was great to tag along with Stevie and the gang in London and throughout England.

I'm glad I finally read a book in the Truly Devious series. I had my eye on The Box in the Wood for so long.
Nine Liars is a funny, modern YA version of Nancy Drew, with lovable Stevie as the detective heroine.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

Oh this was GOOD (though, I don't think excellent).

We're back with Stevie and gang and, compared to The Box in the Woods, I loved this mystery even more. Though I'm not sure if I can say I enjoyed this AS much as the original trilogy.

The mystery surrounds a group of nine freshly graduated Cambridge students who have their own comedy show. I LOVED this. I loved the character dynamics--this fierce protectiveness of one another, their incestuous and overlapping relationships with one another. Stevie's on her mission to discover what happened one night in 1995 when two of them are killed...

Meanwhile there's lots going down with Stevie and David, as well as Stevie and her friends. Personally I love the David drama, what can I say. I also really liked Stevie in this one as she grapples with some of her own insecurities in her relationships both romantic and platonic.

I do have to say there is a lot of repetition of the events pertaining to the mystery--lots of rehashing, the same story told over and over but in different ways. This did get a little tedious for me.

Overall fast-paced and enjoyable. I love these books and with that ending... I'm gonna need the next asap Maureen Johnson!!!

Another amazing entry in the Truly Devious series! This one follows Stevie and friends on a week abroad in London. Their plan starts to fall through, however, when Stevie learns of murder that took place in the '90s. Compounded by a mysterious disappearance and all the friend/relationship dramas we've come to expect from other entries in the series, the stakes are high!

I loved the mystery here. While I enjoyed the previous entry, The Box in the Woods, I didn't love the mystery at the core of the book. I felt that this mystery had a lot more meat to it, and the interspersal of witness statements and flashbacks really brought the story to life. The group of friends surrounding the murder were very interesting to learn about and the reveals, while they all made sense, often surprised me.

Stevie's friend group also shines in this book. I loved the dynamics between her and David, especially given the implications of keeping up a long-distance relationship, I didn't love where this book left off on that front - I think it would have been more meaningful to follow-through on this theme completely as opposed to the ending we were given - but overall, I enjoyed this aspect of the book. Stevie's friendships with Nate and Janelle are also explored and deepened. I loved how we saw the impact of the group's impending graduation on their relationships.

I think this series has a lot to offer to just about any reader. They are hard to put down, and this entry is no exception. I love this series and will continue to recommend it to anyone who will listen!

There's only one way to describe the ending of this book...

...truly devious 😉

See what I did there?

Because, of course, now we're going to be waiting anxiously for the next one to see WTF was David thinking??

Oh, yeah. There was a #murdermystery in the book, too. A #countryhousemurder mystery! I loved the dual plot lines in this, and loved that I was suspicious of all seven remaining members of The Nine.

I wish the twist at the end had been a bit more... substantial. It didn't seem like there was quite enough crazy/anger/jealousy for it to really make sense.

And, I do have a hard time relating to the teenage characters sometimes. Do you really need to apply to THAT many colleges? And how many high school seniors are plotting out their futures on a spreadsheet? But I do love their #foundfamily

But overall, it was a really solid #mystery and I will absolutely be looking to read the next one!

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollinsch for the #arc 👍🏻

Another Stevie mystery hit! I enjoyed the recurring characters and to see how the relationships grow and change among the Ellingham group. I personally would have liked a mystery near Ellingham more, but I understand that the murder mysteries need to expand outside of that tiny circle. There are some great London touristy moments too which was a fun addition to the story.

The murder mystery is interesting. There are many parallels between "The Nine" and the Ellingham group of friends. There was some good flashbacks to the events at the Merryweather house and the present situation. I didn't love the resolution of the mystery. It seemed like a little too much guessing was involved. It also felt a little more one-dimensional than some of the other books in the series. I enjoyed the puzzles mixed with the mystery instead of just this one mystery.

Thank you to Harper Collins for an ARC from one of my favorite series!

Stevie is back! It was so great to be back in the Truly Devious World! It felt like we got a slightly different side of Stevie this time. We saw a lot of her anxiety, which I appreciated. There were times when her insecurities felt a little out of character, but she's also out of her element in a lot of ways in this story.

The Mystery: The mastery was great! I was nervous about keeping all the characters separate, but it ultimately wasn't that hard- each character was distinct. I loved the dynamic of the group. As a whole, this book felt like it had a little more gore than the Ellingham mysteries- maybe it was all the talk of beheadings and axe murders. The eventual resolution was a little complicated, but It was clever and made sense. I can't get enough of the "Stevie is solving a mystery!" scenes.

The Romance: In-love Stevie seemed was a surprise. I never imagined her to be Starry-eyed while in love, but it was sweet I guess. I have never been a huge David fan, so the cliffhanger was fine.

In all, I enjoyed it! It doesn't quite capture the magic of Ellingham and the group of students there (and the absolute fascination I had with the mysteries), but it was fantastic to be back in their world and watch Stevie do her thing!

I was so excited to get this eArc! I absolutely adore the Truly Devious series and couldn’t put this book down! The introduction to the nine was perfect and really made you feel like any of them could have been the murderer. I love a good cozy mystery and the author once again didn’t disappoint!

I was very unprepared for such a cliffhanger of an ending…I’m still shook…I need a book 6 ASAP!

Publication Date: December 26, 2022

*Thank you to Katherine Tegen Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I loved this continuation of the Stevie series. It was a great mystery and had the addition of some great new characters. I thought that the ending to the mystery itself was satisfying but the last line of the book made me angry! I mean, in a good way because I hate that I have to wait until the next book to find out what happens. But you can bet I'll be buying the next one when it comes out!

This was another solid entry into the Truly Devious series. This time Stevie went to England! This wasn't out of nowhere. We were set up for it in the last book A Box in the Woods, though actually getting Stevie to Europe was a little too convenient. But when you just roll with it, it's fun. I liked the English countryside murder and experiencing London through Stevie's eyes (less about dates and art and more about Henry the VIII and his murders)
My only complaint is the relationship between Stevie and David. The third act "twist" was unnecessary and came out of nowhere...but I trust the author and am excited to see where Stevie goes next.

I honestly thought that after the original murders were solved that this series would end, but I'm coming to enjoy the series as it continues with its "little" one book mysteries. This one was a little slow to start, but I enjoyed it immensely once it picked up. And, of course, the ending left me with a dramatic gasp.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from HarperCollins Children's Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I didn't want to put thiamine down so I didn't!

I loved this book so much I couldn’t put it down! Stevie has done it again and I loved this new mystery and that it was in London! The ending had me a little upset and if we don’t get another book that picks up right after this one I might riot!

4.25 stars!

It's senior year at Ellingham Academy for Stevie Bell. Things should be great for her. She solved the cold case of the century. But Stevie's friends are planning for college and her boyfriend David is off studying in London. So when David finds a way for Stevie and her friends to spend a few days in London too, Stevie jumps at the chance. And since trouble always seems to find Stevie and her friends, it isn't long before David's new friend, Izzy, brings a double murder cold case to them. An assumed burglary gone wrong during a drunken game of hide and seek. Will Stevie have time to crack the case?

I had zero idea we were getting more Stevie Bell, so what an awesome surprise this was!!!! And what a dang roller-coaster of emotions this book took me on.

I don't even know where to begin. The setting alone had me all in. Stevie and the gang have travelled to London, where David of course is currently studying. The main case Stevie ends up trying to solve took place on a secluded country manor. Talk about atmospheric!

I also learned a lot about England while reading this. The book is packed full of history, and that really helps set the scene. I now must travel to London immediately.

I went from laughing at Stevie, to disliking Stevie, to really feeling for her. She is so relatable and without giving anything away, I just wanted to give her a massive hug at the end of this book. And Nate! I need to hug Nate!

With a fabulous story of true friendship woven thru these pages, action packed flashbacks, and the Stevie Bell crime solving I've come to love so much I must say, I really enjoyed this mystery!

*Thank you to Katherine Tegen Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Stevie Bell and friends go to England to visit her boyfriend David and see the sites. While there she finds another cold case to investigate. In 95 nine Cambridge students went to Merryweather House and two were murdered.
This is a a very suspenseful read and kept me guessing.
Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins Childrens Books for this ARC!
This book comes out on December 26.