The Hand on the wall : Truly Devious #3 / Maureen Johnson.

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Title:

The Hand on the wall : Truly Devious #3 / Maureen Johnson.

Author:

Johnson, Maureen, 1973-

ISBN:

9780062338112

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

369 pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm.

Series:

Truly Devious #3

General Note:

Sequel to: The vanishing stair.

Abstract:

At Ellingham Academy, 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. Stevie Bell knows who Truly Devious is -- or thinks she does. But David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers. When another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont, Ellingham Academy is evacuated. It is time for Stevie to do something stupid -- like stay on the mountain and face the storm -- and a murderer. -- adapted from jacket.

Subject Term:

Murder -- Juvenile fiction.

Boarding schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Boarding school students -- Juvenile fiction.

Schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Missing persons -- Juvenile fiction.

Storms -- Juvenile fiction.

Mystery and detective stories -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

Vermont -- Juvenile fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Teen Fiction Book Hardback	120791002915143	T JOH	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

New York Times and USA Today bestseller!

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.

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

Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

In this satisfying conclusion to the trilogy (Truly Devious, rev. 1/18; The Vanishing Star, rev. 3/19), student sleuth Stevie Bell believes she has solved the eighty-year-old cold case of the Ellingham family kidnapping and murders. But before she can tell anyone, she must connect the dots between the past and the recent deaths of three people connected to Ellingham Academy. Her investigation is disrupted by yet another accident (thankfully not fatal this time), the surprise return of her duplicitous ex-boyfriend David, and a massive snowstorm that immobilizes the remote Vermont boarding school. While trapped on campus with her friends, Stevie finally identifies the person responsible for murdering her classmates Hayes and Ellie and her mentor Professor Fenton. But will she be able to reveal what she knows before the killer closes in on her? The ending is grimly gratifying. As a layered, complex character who solves crime while also battling anxiety, Stevie Bell reads like the redoubtable love child of Jessica Fletcher and Adrian Monk. This entire seriesinclusive, inventive, and vastly entertaininghas been a boon to young adult literature, a category thirsty for mystery and detective tropes. Jennifer Hubert Swan March/April 2020 p.83(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The final, riveting chapter of the Truly Devious murder series.The initial incident in the series involved the 1936 abduction of newspaper tycoon Albert Ellingham's wife and daughter; the present volume probes several unsavory events that transpired afterward, including Ellingham's own death in 1938, in a sailing accident on Lake Champlain, and the recent immolation of University of Vermont history professor and Ellingham mystery enthusiast Dr. Irene Fenton. Fenton was introduced to protagonist and contemporary "Ellingham Sherlock" Stevie Bell in The Vanishing Stair (2019). As Stevie gets closer to making good on her resolution to solve the Ellingham case's past and present riddles, Johnson makes the most of the exclusive institution's remote, wooded mountain locale, provocatively setting the climax of Stevie's investigations during the throes of a cataclysmic blizzard. Stevie and her motley crew of misfit high school geniuses are stranded la Agatha Christie with members of the Ellingham Academy administration, who may have a stake in the revelations of several secrets linking the Ellingham kidnappings with present-day murders. Throughout this intricately woven, fast-paced whodunit, Johnson demonstrates how proximity to wealth and power can mold and bend one's behavior, whether with good orhere largelydevious intent. The brainy secondary characters' quirky talents and interests complement Stevie's sleuthing skills; while mostly white, they include diversity in socio-economic background, mental health challenges, physical disability, and sexual orientation.A richly satisfying, Poirot-like ending for Johnson's inspired and inspiring teen sleuth. (Mystery. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.