New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester.

But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.

Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018 * Junior Library Guild Selection * 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination * 2019 ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018 * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 2018 * 2018 Nerdy Book Club Young Adult Winner * Seventeen Best YA Book of 2018 * Lincoln Award Nominee * 2020-2021 South Carolina Book Awards Nominee * 2020 Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award Winner

Product Details

Format

Paperback

ISBN

9780062338068

Publisher

Katherine Tegen Books

Date published

October 4th, 2018

Accelerated Reader

AR book level: 4.9; Upper years; 14.0 points

Other details

448 pages

Condition

New

Author/Illustrator

Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson was recently crowned the 2012 Queen of Teen in the UK — but, as it turns out, she is American. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during a massive snowstorm. After a little dalliance with astronomy (she had a glow in the dark star chart) and archaeology (she had a little shovel), Maureen declared her intention to become a writer at the age of eight or nine or so.

She is the New York Times bestselling author of ten YA novels (including Suite Scarlett, Scarlett Fever, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Name of the Star and The Madness Underneath). She has also done many collaborative works, such as Let It Snow (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), and The Bane Chronicles (with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan). She writes frequently on the subject of Young Adult literature for many publications, and is well-known for her online presence on Twitter. Maureen lives in New York, and online on Twitter. She’s not giving that crown back.