Truly Devious (Truly Devious, #1)

by Maureen Johnson

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



The blurb for Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson snagged me at "unsolved disappearance" and really appealed to my love of true crime. The fact that this particular disappearance is a cold case and decades old only added to the appeal.

I really enjoyed Stevie and the friends that she makes at Ellingham Academy. She resonated with me because we both really enjoy true crime. That sentence right there will either tell you if we're similar or not. To people who don't understand they think that true crime "fans", if you will, actually enjoy the crime itself.

People who understand both Stevie and I will actually understand that it isn't the act of the crime itself that draws you in. What was the motive? Who did it? Why did they think they could get away with it? Did they get away with it? Was it a crime of passion? Is the criminal a psychopath, a sociopath, or something else entirely? What led up to the crime? Who was the victim? Why them? Was there even a reason for them becoming a victim? Were there survivors? It's more of a sociology fascination than it is anything to do with the actual act of the crime. Talking about true crime to those who find it morbid is uncomfortable for everybody involved if the participants don't understand that.

As true crime is what got Stevie into Ellingham to begin with, true crime comes up a lot. In this book, Stevie kind of hid her passion because of the social shame that often comes with it. I'm hoping in the next book she lets that shine a little bit more.

I was completely wrapped up in Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. A free boarding school that was the site of a very disturbing disappearance? Yes please! I also really enjoyed the fact that this story was told on a dual timeline; present and during the time of the abductions and disappearances.

The one thing that threw me was the curve ball of an ending. Had it not been for the really odd ending and the fact that there were seemingly no answers just more questions, I would have given this book a 5 star. As it is, I'm am avidly awaiting the second book in the series.