Name: The Hand on the Wall
ISBN: 9780062338112

Maureen Johnson

After another death, Stevie must navigate mysterious riddles and track down a missing David at the same time a massive storm forces her to confront a killer.

The Hand on the Wall

Sarin Booi

"I'm trying to figure out if this is the stupidest thing I've ever done," Nate said as he kept up the rear with Stevie. "I don't think it is, and that worries me."

Then two individuals in dark suits with large winter coats over them appeared. They did not fit in with the other officials. "Oh good," Nate said, looking out the window. "The Men in Black are here.Time for the brain wipe," ha pesge vzc'hd

"Like, that's obviously a branch," Vi said. "Should we tell her? She seems really invested in this." "Definitely not," Nate said as Stevie vanished in the direction of the classroom buildings, earbuds already in her ears. "Let her have her moose."

huh. ok. well it took three books to solve one simple mystery. and there’s two books after this? i am absolutely not reading that. but like, these three books were fine. i’m honestly underwhelmed. idek. but it’s over🩷

big ab

issa

nany

It was definitely a comedown to solve the mystery, but it was satisfying by the end. Stevie is such an icon, I just wish she'd gotten more public credit!

Amelia

yousr abu sboulah

buny

maureen johnson i hate you so much bc how do i as a dreamy mystery lover find your mysteries painful and lackluster to read. ive never been more miserable reading a book. nonetheless A BOOK WITH MURDERS TO SOLVE IN THE QUIET MOUNTAINS IN A FREAKISH SCHOOL. how you managed to do that is astounding in itself

and am i terrible to my own self for still wanting to read the next book based on its premise. i am, aren't i

Sarah Sammis

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson is the satisfying conclusion to the Truly Devious YA mystery trilogy. Stevie came to Ellingham Academy to solve the mystery of Alice's disappearance in 1937. But three people have died since her arrival: one from a tragic accident, one by misadventure, and now one in a house fire.

Beset by tragedy and with a looming blizzard, Elligham Academy is shut down. Except Stevie and her closest group of friends decide to ignore orders and hide out at school. As the weather worsens, Stevie pieces together the final clues to solve all four mysteries.

66CCCC - marginalized uhoria maze

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...

Olivia 

destiny

Julie Burszan 

This should have been combined with the prior book and therefore be a duology. Once again, the plot isn't bad, but soo dragged.

Tabea

Denaiir

This should have been a duology. Hands down. 

The story really did not need 3 books, and it dragged. And the ending was sooo disappointing on top of that, the solution to every single one of the mysteries was a let-down. 

The premise was wonderful, but the execution was poor, and the whole thing ended up boring. There is no suspense, no tension, and Stevie is not a good character. I never understood what she was doing at Ellingham academy in the first place, but this book confirmed that she is not a great detective, she just deducts things by chance. Only a very small portion of the book is about the mystery anyway, and everything interesting is seen through flashbacks, not through Stevie's investigation. 

This series just doesn't have what it takes. I felt no connection to the characters, setting or mysteries. And I love mysteries. And boarding schools. I really think overall it was very dull and I wish I had known it was 3 books long, because then I'd have known not to continue after book 1.

Nessa Luna

And then I read the conclusion to this series, which was, of course, the one that tied all the events together. The Hand on the Wall was incredibly fast-paced, and I was kind of surprised by the conclusion. This book made me want to reread the books all over again, but physically this time, to see if I could discover any hints about both mysteries. I do highly recommend the audiobooks (I believe all three are available on Scribd).

CAWPILE: 7 | 7 | 8 | 6.5 | 7 | 7 | 7 (Avg: 7.07)

Isabella

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

C & TW: Drug use, referenced alcohol use, murder

I'm glad to come across a dual or multiple POV story with characters from the past and present attempting to solve a mystery that's outside of Adult Historical Fiction Romance! I enjoyed Stevie's self-discovery of who Truly Devious is, who killed Alice and Iris Ellingham, and who killed Haze, Ellie, and Professor Fenton. I didn't expect that twist - and love how it was unconventional! Full review here: https://acitygirlsthoughts.wordpress....

Nate is my absolute favourite charcter in this whole series.

Katherine

i'm glad to have finally reached the conclusion of the mystery, if nothing else. this trilogy could have been a decent novel, but alas, capitalism. the intriguing 1930s mystery is spread thin over three books, and is padded out with unlikable teenage characters. i wanted more on the relationship between iris and flora! i wanted to follow dottie's chaotic criminal classmates and read about the shenanigans leo and iris got into! instead i got stevie (depressed but in a cool way!) and david (depressed but in a hot way!) being the most unpleasant inconsiderate and self important characters, surrounded by two dimensional YA archetypes. 

avarni

jinni

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years. Now available in paperback. Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie's greatest triumph . . . She knows who Truly Devious is. She's solved it. The greatest case of the century. At least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it's hard to concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure that somehow--somehow--all these things connect. The three deaths in the present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers. Then another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it's time for Stevie to do something stupid. It's time to stay on the mountain and face the storm--and a murderer. In the tantalizing finale to the Truly Devious trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson expertly tangles her dual narrative threads and ignites an explosive end for all who've walked through Ellingham Academy. Praise for the Truly Devious series: "Readers, hang tight: there's one more round to come, and if the signs are right, it'll be to die for." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The Agatha Christie-like ecosystem pairs with lacerating contemporary wit, and alternating past and present scenes makes for a multilayered, modern detective story." --New York Times Book Review "Remember the first time reading Harry Potter and knowing it was special? There's that same sense of magic in the introduction of teen Sherlock-in-training Stevie Bell." --USA Today (four stars) "Be still, my Agatha-Christie-loving beating heart." --Bustle

Victoria

That was a pretty epic conclusion. I loved it!

Samantha 

I loved it Ohmygod but why is David such a bitch tf

Kat 

I loved it Ohmygod but why is David such a bitch tf

The ending thoooo

jini

I'm smiling so widely right now but also super emotional. I love mystery books but this trilogy is the only ya mystery that actually caught my attention. I'm gonna miss stevie, nate, david, janelle, vi and ellingham academy. also.. can i talk about how i actually figured out who's the murderer after reading the second book? *pats my own back* not in stevies way but i had my own theories. reading mysteries since second grade really payed off

Addie 🌻

Jamieson

OUR TREASURE
all i care about starts at nine
Dance twelve hundred steps on the northern line
To the left bank three hundred times
E+A
Line flag
tiptoe



I can't believe this series is over! I had so much fun with this spooky, atmospheric mystery. It was a lot of fun and enjoyed revelling in some tropes and cliche's of dark academia/detective mysteries and I thought that was enjoyable. And at times it was genuinely creepy which was fun too. 

I think I liked the middle book most of this series. One thing that did slightly annoy me about this one was I felt too many of the biggest reveals were just given to the reader, and then it didn't feel earned / you didn't get the rush of watching Stevie figure it out. I also think the end reveal, while fun, was a little left of field and I was thinking there should have been more hints and clues leading up to the reveal. However, I did like how the pieces ultimately fit together and the final reveal did have a fun, playing with cliches kind of moment which I enjoyed. 

(Admittedly, I have watched knives out like twice this month which may have made me biased against all mystery reveals which aren't specifically the final scene of knives out so there's that)


  “The wonderful thing about reality is that it is highly flexible. One minute, all is doom; the next, everything is abloom with possibility.”


I thought some of the character work wasn't all there. I just do not care about David and Stevie's romance or all the David related side plots. They fit awkwardly into the story and felt really displaced in this final book. The side characters didn't really do or say much, and Nate especially just was kind of ... there. But it didn't really matter too much since the entire time I was in this book for the mystery, not the characters. But the David side plot coming up all of a sudden was the one (1) point I put this book down for a bit, so it did impact my enjoyment somewhat. 

That all said, I feel I'm complaining about this too much because I did enjoy it and read it in less than 24 hours. It's well-paced and fun, with some great reveals that really tie all the loose threads together. I felt I was given every answer I was longing for, and I liked the ultimate reveal of the motivations behind certain mysteries. The ending was also great, not too vague but not too tight. I thought it had a lot of creep and spook which I liked. Johnson is great at playing with atmosphere and setting, bringing this creepy old school with it's hidden passages and secret tunnels and trick staircases to life. I also liked the blending of the past and present, how the characters from 1936 felt so present and real in this one compared to the other books. 

I feel like this series didn't need to be three books. It could've easily been a duology, or even one big book. But I think Johnson did well to fill out the series and not make every book seem like a needless drag, and I appreciated that! Especially since I was a little worried going into this one given the reveals in the one before. 

Overall this is a really fun series. If you like fun detective/whodunit mysteries that play with the atmosphere you'll like this. It's a good spin on true crime and a genuinely fun mystery to unravel, and I think it's just the perfect thing to pick up in the afternoon and read on into the night. Actually, since I mentioned it - If you like Knives Out and how it played with genre and tropes and had a bit of fun with it, you'd probably like this too. 

My Truly Devious review

The Hand on the Wall

Reviews

Highlights