Truly Devious

Last updated

Truly Devious is a young adult mystery novel written by Maureen Johnson. [1] The novel was published on January 16, 2018, and it is the first in a series of three novels: Truly Devious (2018), The Vanishing Stair (2019), The Hand on the Wall (2020), and the following standalone novels: The Box in the Woods (2021), Nine Liars (2022). [2] The books are published by HarperCollins.

Contents

The novel follows teenager Stevie Bell, who attends Ellingham Academy, a private school in Vermont. Ellingham Academy, founded by Albert Ellingham, is infamous for the 1930s kidnapping of the founder's wife and daughter. A mysterious riddle signed “Truly, Devious” was left behind, but the crime remained unsolved. Stevie plans to solve the cold case when she arrives at Ellingham Academy, but Truly Devious seems to return to the school when a new murder takes place.

Plot

The 1936 timeline of the book includes the events that follow the opening of Ellingham Academy. The wealthy Albert Ellingham built his extravagant school, Ellingham Academy, and a home for his family on an isolated Vermont mountain. The school was designed to allow lucky students to pursue their unique interests, and it was built around puzzles and hidden games. In 1936, shortly after the Academy opened, Albert’s wife Iris and their daughter Alice disappeared. A riddle was delivered to Albert that was assembled using letters cut from magazines and signed “Truly, Devious.” The riddle detailed different ways to murder someone that the mysterious figure seemed to threaten the Ellinghams with. Following the disappearance of his wife and daughter, the kidnapper called Albert with the instructions to bring a sum of money to the nearby island. Albert followed the instructions but never found Iris and Alice. The Truly Devious riddle remained the main clue behind the kidnapping. On the same day that Iris and Alice disappeared, Dottie Epstein, a student at Ellingham, ran into a mysterious figure in the Academy's observatory dome. Dottie underlined a sentence in the Sherlock Holmes book she was reading to leave behind a clue. She tried to leave, but was murdered by the figure in the observatory. The bodies of Dottie and Iris were found, but Alice remained missing, and the murderer was never found. Two years later, Albert remained hopeful that Alice would return alive. Albert and his security guard, George Marsh, went sailing and their boat is reported to have exploded, killing the two men.

In the present-day timeline, Stevie Bell begins her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she arrives as an expert on the Ellingham cold case. She is assigned to live in Minerva House on the Ellingham campus with various other first-year students, Janelle Franklin, a cheerful and colorful engineer, and Nate Fisher, a quiet and grumpy writer. Hayes Major, a famous actor known for an online horror series, David Eastman, a mysterious loner, and Ellie Walker, a rebellious artist, are second-year students that also live in Minerva House. The students are warned against entering the abandoned tunnels on the Ellingham campus.

Hayes enlists Stevie to write a script for a movie about the Ellingham mystery that he wants to film in one of the abandoned underground tunnels. In the middle of the night, Stevie sees a foreboding poem similar to the “Truly Devious” riddle briefly projected on her bedroom wall. Stevie, Nate, and Hayes work on Hayes’ movie and Stevie explores the tunnel, which leads to Albert Ellingham’s dome-shaped observatory. Hayes goes missing, as he does not return to Minerva from filming his movie. Stevie finds Hayes’ body in the tunnels with the help of the Ellingham security guard, and she thinks that Hayes was murdered. Stevie is interviewed by police detectives that arrive at Ellingham following Hayes’ death, and she notices that the dry ice Hayes used to create fog in the filming of his movie could have led to his death. Stevie investigates Hayes’ death in addition to digging into the Ellingham mystery of the past. Stevie discovers that the money that Ellie used to buy her saxophone came from Hayes, because he paid Ellie to write his horror series, which he claimed to have created. Stevie confronts Ellie about her possible motive and involvement in Hayes' death, but Ellie disappears from the house, and is not found when the campus is searched by police. Stevie's investigation of the mystery involving Hayes and Ellie, and the Ellingham case from 1936, continues in the book's sequel.

Characters

1936 timeline

Present-day timeline

Structure

Young adult novels are often written from a single point of view, with the goal of it being easy for young readers to relate to the protagonist of a book. [3] Truly Devious alternates between following the protagonist and the past timeline. The novel is written in the third person point of view, and the numbered chapters follow Stevie. Between Stevie’s chapters are sections that recount the original Ellingham mystery, marked by the date in 1936, including excerpts from detective interviews. [1]

The plot of a young adult mystery novel typically focuses on a personal issue of the protagonist alongside the main mystery. [3] In Truly Devious, Stevie’s personal issues consist of her exploring her romantic interest in David and her other friendships at Ellingham Academy, while navigating her anxiety.

Unlike adult mystery novels, in young adult mystery novels the protagonist often lacks the skills or training of a professional detective. [4] In Truly Devious, Stevie’s sleuthing skills are attributed to the fact that true crime is her passion and hobby. [1]

Crime fiction readers generally value the quality of the setting, plot, and characters as much as the puzzle that is solved in the mystery. [5] Truly Devious has a diverse cast of characters who accompany Stevie at Ellingham Academy. The two timelines of the past and present mysteries make a complex plot.

Novel art

The novel's jacket art is by Leo Nickolls, and the jacket design is by Katie Fitch. [1] The cover includes a dark blue, painted background of ivy leaves beneath a large white title that is handwritten in a brush pen. The author’s name and the blurb also appear handwritten in orange text.

Reception

Truly Devious is a New York Times Bestseller and the trilogy of novels has received the following awards: Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018; [6] Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018, 2019; Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 2018, 2019, 2020. [7]

Sequels

The Vanishing Stair (2019) is the sequel to Truly Devious.

The Hand on the Wall (2020) is the third book in the series and the final book in the Truly Devious trilogy.

The Box in the Woods (2021) is the first standalone of the Stevie Bell Mysteries.

Nine Liars (2022) is the most recent standalone mystery in the series. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detective fiction</span> Subgenre of crime and mystery fiction

Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as speculative fiction and other genre fiction in the mid-nineteenth century and has remained extremely popular, particularly in novels. Some of the most famous heroes of detective fiction include C. Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, Kogoro Akechi, and Hercule Poirot. Juvenile stories featuring The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children have also remained in print for several decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locked-room mystery</span> Subgenre of detective fiction

The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime seen in crime and detective fiction. The crime in question, typically murder, is committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible for the perpetrator to enter the crime scene, commit the crime, and leave undetected. The crime in question typically involves a situation whereby an intruder could not have left; for example the original literal "locked room": a murder victim found in a windowless room locked from the inside at the time of discovery. Following other conventions of classic detective fiction, the reader is normally presented with the puzzle and all of the clues, and is encouraged to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed in a dramatic climax.

Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. Stories that focus on the challenges of youth may be further categorized as social or coming-of-age novels.

Jennifer June Rowe,, is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson.

<i>Sparkling Cyanide</i> Novel by Agatha Christie

Sparkling Cyanide is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title of Remembered Death and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the December of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6).

Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American writer of mystery novels, who was born and died in Boston. She graduated from Barnard College in 1930 and married surgeon Grantley Walder Taylor in December 1951.

Sherlock Holmes has long been a popular character for pastiche, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than Arthur Conan Doyle. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories:

Philip MacDonald was a British-born writer of fiction and screenplays, best known for thrillers.

Kathryn Reiss is an American author of award-winning children's and young adult fiction.

<i>Gosick</i> Japanese light novel series

Gosick is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuki Sakuraba, with illustrations by Hinata Takeda. The series includes 13 novels published by Fujimi Shobo between December 2003 and July 2011. Set in a fictional European country in 1924, a Japanese exchange student meets a mysterious, brilliant girl who only leaves the library to sleep. Her brother, a detective, relies on her exceptional mind to solve difficult mysteries. Tokyopop released the first two novels in English in North America. A manga adaptation drawn by Sakuya Amano was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age magazine. A 24-episode anime adaptation by Bones aired between January and July 2011. A collection of side stories titled GosickS was published between 2005 and 2011, while a sequel novel series named Gosick New Continent was released in between 2013 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen Johnson</span> American author of young adult fiction

Maureen Johnson is an American author of young adult fiction. Her published novels include series leading titles such as 13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Name of the Star, Truly Devious, and Suite Scarlett. Among Johnson's works are collaborative efforts such as Let It Snow, a holiday romance novel of interwoven stories co-written with John Green and Lauren Myracle, and a series of novellas found in New York Times bestselling anthologies The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, and Ghosts of the Shadow Market.

<i>Innocent Graves</i> 1996 crime novel by Peter Robinson

Innocent Graves is the eighth novel by Canadian detective fiction writer Peter Robinson in the Inspector Banks series of novels. The novel was first printed in 1996, but has been reprinted a number of times since. The novel was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best mysteries of the year, nominated for the 1996 Hammett Prize, and won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for 'Best Novel'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby Fischer Hellmann</span> American crime fiction writer

Libby Fischer Hellmann is an American crime fiction writer who currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. Most of her novels and stories are set in Chicago; the Chicago Sun-Times notes that she "grew up in Washington, D.C., but she has embraced her adopted home of Chicago with the passion of a convert."

Susan Juby is a Canadian writer. She is currently residing in Nanaimo, British Columbia, where she is a professor of creative writing at Vancouver Island University.

<i>La viuda joven</i> Venezuelan TV series or program

La viuda joven, is a Venezuelan telenovela written by Martín Hahn and produced by Venevisión in 2011.

Jessie Chandler is an American author of mystery and humorous caper fiction, most of which is about lesbian protagonists. Her work includes the Shay O'Hanlon Caper Series, many short stories, and other novels. Chandler has presented talks about the craft of writing, serves as a mentor to many up-and-coming writers, and is a contributing member of The Golden Crown Literary Society, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Mystery Writers of America.

In Agatha Christie's mystery novels, several characters cross over different sagas, creating a fictional universe in which most of her stories are set. This article has one table to summarize the novels with characters who occur in other Christie novels; the table is titled Crossovers by Christie. There is brief mention of characters crossing over in adaptations of the novels. Her publications, both novels and short stories, are then listed by main detective, in order of publication. Some stories or novels authorised by the estate of Agatha Christie, using the characters she created, and written long after Agatha Christie died, are included in the lists.

<i>Closed Casket</i> (novel) 2016 Poirot novel by Sophie Hannah

Closed Casket is a work of detective fiction by British writer Sophie Hannah, featuring Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Hannah is the first author to have been authorised by the Christie estate to write new stories for her characters. Hannah's work closely resembles the Golden Age of Detective Fiction in its structure and tropes. Closed Casket even includes a plan of the house in which the murder takes place; such plans were sometimes used in Golden Age novels to aid the reader in their solving of the mystery puzzle.

<i>The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle</i> Novel by Stuart Turton

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a novel by Stuart Turton which won the Best First Novel prize in the 2018 Costa Book Awards and reached number one on TheSaturday Times Bestseller list and number five on The Sunday Times Bestseller list.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Johnson, Maureen (2018). Truly Devious (First ed.). HarperCollins. ISBN   9780062338051.
  2. ↑ "Truly, Devious (Truly Devious, #1)". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  3. 1 2 Nixon, J.L. (July 1991). "Writing Mysteries Young Adults Want to Read". Kalmbach Publishing Co. 104 (7): 18. ISSN   0043-9517.
  4. ↑ Nixon, Joan Lowery (November 2000). "Creating credible teen sleuths is no mystery". Kalmbach Publishing Co. 113 (11): 10. ISSN   0043-9517.
  5. ↑ Burgess, Dr Jacqueline; Williams, Dr Paul (March 2024). "Rethinking crime fiction readers". Creative Industries Journal. 17 (1): 45–59. doi:10.1080/17510694.2022.2057063 – via EBSCO.
  6. ↑ "Best Books 2018 Publishers Weekly". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  7. 1 2 "The Stevie Bell Mysteries". Maureen Johnson. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.