The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious, #2)

by Maureen Johnson

New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller!

In New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson's second novel in the Truly Devious series, there are more twists and turns than Stevie Bell can imagine. No answer is given freely, and someone will pay for the truth with their life.

The Truly Devious case-an unsolved kidnapping and triple murder that rocked Ellingham Academy in 1936-has consumed Stevie for years. It's the very reason she came to the academy. But then her classmate was murdered, and her parents quickly pull her out of school. For her safety, they say. She must move past this obsession with crime.

Stevie's willing to do anything to get back to Ellingham, be back with her friends, and solve the Truly Devious case. Even if it means making a deal with the despicable Senator Edward King. And when Stevie finally returns, she also returns to David: the guy she kissed, and the guy who lied about his identity-Edward King's son.

But larger issues are at play. Where did the murderer hide? What's the meaning of the riddle Albert Ellingham left behind? And what, exactly, is at stake in the Truly Devious affair? The Ellingham case isn't just a piece of history-it's a live wire into the present.

* Junior Library Guild Selection * Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of 2019 * Hypable's Best Books of 2019 *

Praise for Book One:

"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

• ISBN10: 0062338102
• ISBN13: 9780062338105
• Publish Date: 22 January 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

The Vanishing Stair is an adequate sequel to its predecessor, Truly Devious. But if "adequate" is the best adjective I have, then you know it could've been so much more. I was hoping for this book to resolve some of the issues I had with the first installment – namely the clumsy pacing and the stilted romance – but somehow all it managed to do is aggravate them.

It almost feels like there are two separate stories being told here; one focusing largely on Stevie's strange relationship with her fellow classmate, David, and the other on the unsolved mysteries of Ellingham Academy. I couldn't care less about the former; give me more chilling murders, please and thank you! I honestly find David's character, and Stevie's connection to him, baffling. This part of the story seems so disjointed with the rest of the plot. Removing it would've created a more streamlined narrative, in my opinion.

Additionally, the first two acts spend a significant amount of time laying the groundwork for the finale's big reveal, and while the payoff was thrilling and unputdownable, I wish I didn't have to slog through so much filler to get there.

WTF kind of ending was that? It wasn’t even a cliffhanger - it just ended in the middle of a scene. It was terrible. As for the story? Meh. Probably 2.5 stars. I don’t really care for the characters except Larry. Larry is THE BEST. It’s mainly the mystery that kept me vested (though the riddles answer did not make sense but whatever). I do think this could’ve easily been a duology instead of a trilogy.

[Nessa Luna]

The Vanishing Stair is the sequel to Truly Devious, which I reread this month as well. I loved how through this book we learned a lot more about the mystery that took place when the school first opened. Honestly, I have to admit that the three books kind of blended together in my mind, because I read them back to back, but I have to say that I did not feel like this book suffered from ‘middle book syndrome’.

CAWPILE: 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 (Avg: 7.64)

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Review to come!

[liz089]

Awesome !!! Loved the mystery, not knowing what to expect ! The characters are great 3 The plot is very exciting !! Can't wait for the next part.
Also really enjoying this as an audiobook :)

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 3.75 Stars

RTC

(But THAT, my friends, was one heck of a cliffhanger. Overall much better than the previous installment. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.)

This book wasn't as good as the first one. I still enjoyed it, but I feel like the mystery is just being dragged out at this point. Yes, we know now what happened to Iris and Alice, but the insane stuff with David just made my head hurt. I like the storyline about him being Edward King's son. I liked the storyline about the tin box and the students. I like the storyline of the kidnapping of Iris and Alice. I like the murders happening around campus. But these things together make the story feel unbelievable. Are we adding more plots for the sake of more books, or will it eventually all come together and make sense? Maybe it's the middle book syndrome, but I was not happy with the result of this book.
Very interesting storylines, but they feel too forced. I think this series should have ended in this book with everything wrapped up neatly. But we will see, maybe when I read book three I will be positively surprised and take back everything I said about The Vanishing Stair.

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



I loved The Vanishing Staircase by Maureen Johnson so much! It had a typical Maureen Johnson cliffhanger which I don't love but I'm beginning to question that stance.

Not much time has passed between the two books. Stevie ends up back at Ellingham Academy but she made a deal with the devil to get there. She is assigned to work with Dr. Fenton, a woman who wrote a book abut the Truly Devious kidnapping, as a part of her big project.

Stevie continues to work the Ellingham case on her own time and is so much smarter about it than I would have been. I would have been telling anyone who would listen about my theories and anything I had found to support my theories in my quest of not only being right but the first person to be right!

During her investigation Stevie ends up finding a few things. Some good and some not so good. It's hard to get into without spoiling plot points so I won't. The cliffhanger was enough to make me instantly long for the conclusion of this story. In a few months I'll be able t finish it!

I really do love how Johnson is still telling us the tale from the past as well as the story from Stevie's timeline. Like Stevie I have my own theories but in order to avoid some major spoilers, I'll keep them to myself!

[Sam@WLABB]

I was happy to get back to Ellingham with Stevie. Things were going far from right for her and her friends, and the ending is a cliffy, BUT we did get lots of answer, which I was not expecting. I have to talk about Mung, because that kid won my heart with his love for Disney. Seriously, he shared some fabulous WD tidbits with me. Absolutely looking forward to seeing how Johnson wraps this up.

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[bookperson]

It wasn't as satisfying as I hoped. All the things that I predicted became truth. Still excited for the next installment in the series!