Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Katherine Tegen Books (2019), 376 pages
Description
Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: 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.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member readbybrit
This isn't really a review just a collection of my thoughts. But in reality, what else is a review if not a collection of thoughts?
I really really really enjoyed this book. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I am so happy my library ordered this for me. When I got a phone
Oddly enough, both during and thinking back on this book, I felt like nothing happened in the first big chunk of this book. I wasn't taking notes or anything so I really don't know what chunk exactly but I remember thinking multiple times and saying out-loud to people around me "Nothing is happening in this book but it's still good." Weird experience.
I didn't feel the sense of urgency until about half through the book and I think the fact that the book is split in two timelines, which led to some things, and that took a bit of the mystery away from me. That being said, I really enjoyed the storyline and the further the book went on, the more I was drawn into the story. The last 100 pages or so were SO GOOD. I flew threw them and because I had not checked my actual page count versus the Goodreads page count, I assumed I had roughly 20 more pages than I actually did and was SHOCKED when I turned the page and was at the acknowledgments.
I cannot believe that ending. WHAT. WHAT?! I am way more intrigued than I was with the end of Truly Devious and I need book three immediately.
I really really really enjoyed this book. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I am so happy my library ordered this for me. When I got a phone
Show More
call from my library saying that a book I had put on hold was available for pickup, I assumed it was a different book and only found out it was The Vanishing Stair when I picked it up and I was ECSTATIC. Oddly enough, both during and thinking back on this book, I felt like nothing happened in the first big chunk of this book. I wasn't taking notes or anything so I really don't know what chunk exactly but I remember thinking multiple times and saying out-loud to people around me "Nothing is happening in this book but it's still good." Weird experience.
I didn't feel the sense of urgency until about half through the book and I think the fact that the book is split in two timelines, which led to some things, and that took a bit of the mystery away from me. That being said, I really enjoyed the storyline and the further the book went on, the more I was drawn into the story. The last 100 pages or so were SO GOOD. I flew threw them and because I had not checked my actual page count versus the Goodreads page count, I assumed I had roughly 20 more pages than I actually did and was SHOCKED when I turned the page and was at the acknowledgments.
I cannot believe that ending. WHAT. WHAT?! I am way more intrigued than I was with the end of Truly Devious and I need book three immediately.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Stevie is back although she has had to make a deal with the devil to return. Immediately she is up to her eyeballs in more death. Things I like about this series so far... Stevie is the best. I love that despite her anxiety she keeps functioning. I love that she has genuine friends in Janel and
Show More
Nate. I love that the process of thinking and figuring out pieces of the mystery is hard work. Slowly the pieces are coming together... Show Less
LibraryThing member ShellyPYA
When Stevie Bell is finally able to return to Ellingham Academy after identifying the culprit in the murder of a classmate, she begins to wonder if the case was really resolved and attempts to uncover the truth about the school's founder.
LibraryThing member sennebec
I slid into this so smoothly and was finished in just a few hours. It builds perfectly on the first book while answering some hanging questions. At the same time, it adds new ones while further muddying the relationship between Stevie and David. In all, a superb middle book that has me counting the
Show More
days until the final one is published. I've already preordered it. Show Less
LibraryThing member PaperDollLady
Intricate plotting, dispite some catching up because it's the second book of a series. Stevie Bell solves some things, yet there are new mysteries presented for the next emtry in the series. I particularly liked the tension and repartee between Stevie and love interest David. Also, how the past
Show More
mystery Stevie wanted to solve was skillfully interwoven with new crimes to solve. Show Less
LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
The second book in the Truly Devious series has Stevie back at Ellingham Academy with an internship with Dr Fenton a noted authority on the Ellingham kidnapping / murder. She made a deal with the devil (Edward King) in order to return, which will affect her relationship with David.
Meanwhile there
While this book was not as much of a cliffhanger as Truly Devious, there are questions that still need to be answered. Keep going. You'll want to find out the truth.
Meanwhile there
Show More
are more murders and other crimes.While this book was not as much of a cliffhanger as Truly Devious, there are questions that still need to be answered. Keep going. You'll want to find out the truth.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kmartin802
This is the middle part of the Truly Devious trilogy. It answers some questions and raises quite a few more.
When the story begins Stevie is back home in Pittsburgh and willing to do anything to get back to Ellingham. She misses her freedom and her friends and, most of all, the chance to solve the
She agrees to keep an eye on David who is an accident ready to happen and to not tell him that her return had anything to do with his father. She comes back to a campus dealing with the loss of one student and the disappearance of another. Both of them were also residents of Minerva along with Stevie, David, Nate who gained fame for writing a book as a teenager and who is struggling with writing a second book, and Janelle who is a mechanical genius.
Things seem to be working in Stevie's favor when she is hired as a research assistant to Dr. Fenton who is working on a new book about the Ellingham kidnapping case. But Fenton, as she prefers to be called, is a confusing character - alcoholic and paranoid - who claims to have new information that will help solve the case.
The story also has flashbacks to 1936 when the kidnapping happened which introduce us to Francis Josephine Crane and Edward Pierce Davenport. Frankie and Eddie want to be like Bonnie and Clyde. Frankie has a fascination with explosives and crime and Eddie is a bad poet. We learn their role in the kidnapping.
We also see in flashbacks more about Mr. Ellingham and a codicil to his will that was hidden by his secretary after his death. Fenton seems to have found about about the codicil and that information aids Stevie's investigation.
This was a wonderfully plotted and twisty story with a mystery in the past and mysteries in the present too. I loved Stevie who deals with anxiety and has a dogged determination to solve the Ellingham case. I can't wait for the next book. I have so many questions!
When the story begins Stevie is back home in Pittsburgh and willing to do anything to get back to Ellingham. She misses her freedom and her friends and, most of all, the chance to solve the
Show More
Truly Devious case. But being willing to do anything means that she will have to take a favor from Senator Edward King, a man she despises and a man who is her new friend David's father.She agrees to keep an eye on David who is an accident ready to happen and to not tell him that her return had anything to do with his father. She comes back to a campus dealing with the loss of one student and the disappearance of another. Both of them were also residents of Minerva along with Stevie, David, Nate who gained fame for writing a book as a teenager and who is struggling with writing a second book, and Janelle who is a mechanical genius.
Things seem to be working in Stevie's favor when she is hired as a research assistant to Dr. Fenton who is working on a new book about the Ellingham kidnapping case. But Fenton, as she prefers to be called, is a confusing character - alcoholic and paranoid - who claims to have new information that will help solve the case.
The story also has flashbacks to 1936 when the kidnapping happened which introduce us to Francis Josephine Crane and Edward Pierce Davenport. Frankie and Eddie want to be like Bonnie and Clyde. Frankie has a fascination with explosives and crime and Eddie is a bad poet. We learn their role in the kidnapping.
We also see in flashbacks more about Mr. Ellingham and a codicil to his will that was hidden by his secretary after his death. Fenton seems to have found about about the codicil and that information aids Stevie's investigation.
This was a wonderfully plotted and twisty story with a mystery in the past and mysteries in the present too. I loved Stevie who deals with anxiety and has a dogged determination to solve the Ellingham case. I can't wait for the next book. I have so many questions!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sarah220
This is the second book in the Truly Devious series and continues to have excellent writing. I finished the last third in one sitting and while parts of each mystery (there's always been two main mysteries happening) were solved, there is still more to learn. I have pre-ordered the third book and
Show More
am very much looking forward to January 21st. The characters continue to interesting and likable and I just really want to know what happened in each mystery!!! Show Less
LibraryThing member ftbooklover
Stevie has made a deal with the devil in the form of Senator Edward King, David's father and is back at Ellingham Academy. Once again, she is investigating the 1936 kidnapping/murder case, but this time, she is also trying to figure out what happened to Ellie, who was suspected of having something
The Vanishing Stair begins to bring together clues that connect the past to the present, all the while showing us, through Stevie, the damage that can be done when an investigation reveals evidence that hurts people. There is some humor in the story, such as David releasing dozens of squirrels in the library in order to get Stevie's attention, but it is often cleverly used to show much deeper emotions of the characters. Overall, this is a very well-written young adult mystery and an excellent second book in the Truly Devious series.
Show More
to do with the death of Hayes Major. When Stevie confronted her, she ran and mysteriously disappeared. Stevie also isn't putting much effort into catching up on the school work that she missed while she was home because she now has more important things to do. Dr. Irene Fenton who wrote the first book on the kidnapping/murder case from 1936 is about to publish an updated version and has hired Stevie to do research using materials in the attic of the Great Hall at Ellingham Academy to which she does not have access. With her new assignment, she has promised Larry, the intuitive security chief that she won't investigate any more of the tunnels, but it isn't long before she breaks her promise and finds something she doesn't expect.The Vanishing Stair begins to bring together clues that connect the past to the present, all the while showing us, through Stevie, the damage that can be done when an investigation reveals evidence that hurts people. There is some humor in the story, such as David releasing dozens of squirrels in the library in order to get Stevie's attention, but it is often cleverly used to show much deeper emotions of the characters. Overall, this is a very well-written young adult mystery and an excellent second book in the Truly Devious series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sleahey
Stevie is determined to solve two mysteries, a kidnapping in the 30's as well as a present-day murder. Both took place at her beloved private school, set in the Vermont woods. As a would-be detective, she sees parallels with Agatha Christie mysteries, and uses her brain power to ferret out clues
Show More
and deduce motivations. Friendships and other relationships among students and faculty make for interesting character development and move the plot along at a rapid pace. Warning: all is not solved by the end of this second in a trilogy. Show Less
LibraryThing member fionaanne
If you are going to use "them" as a singular pronoun, the character should never be referred to as "themselves". The singular is "themself". Arrrgh!
LibraryThing member avanders
First book was good.. second was great. Yes, I’m starting book 3 tomorrow…
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Mysteries within mysteries, but I like that some of the threads are tied up as you go along, much like in the first book -- the ending is a surprise, though, and I'm interested for Book 3. It's only really partly historical fiction, as parts of the books are set in the 30s. The audio book is pretty
Show More
good, and Johnson does a good job reminding us of what happened in the first book without belaboring it -- a net trick, given how complicated the plots are. Show Less
LibraryThing member Danielle.Desrochers
I liked this a lot, though a lot of it dragged.
LibraryThing member Maydacat
After being yanked out of Ellingham by her parents, Ellie is surprised to discover Edward King wants her back there, to keep his son David out of trouble. Ellie is thrilled to be back, but really, no one can stop David on what seems to be his path to destruction. Ellie is still determined to find
Show More
out if there is a link to the cold kidnapping and murder case and the problems that plague the school now. This well written novel, the second in the series, will keep readers flipping those pages. The characters are real, the plot engrossing, and the mysteries themselves are intriguing. It might be billed as a YA series, but plenty of older adults are captivated by it! Show Less
LibraryThing member foggidawn
Despite recent tragic events, Stevie still dreams of solving the Ellingham mystery... which may prove difficult, as her parents have removed her from Ellingham. When an opportunity to return comes from an unexpected source, Stevie makes a bargain she may come to regret.
I’m not sure what I think
I’m not sure what I think
Show More
about this book, or what I can say that won’t constitute a spoiler. The mystery is not solved (for the reader, at least) at the end of the book, but it felt to me like it was very close. I was wishing for another 30 pages, but instead we get to wait for another book. This book shares the strengths of its predecessor, particularly in characterization and setting. I’d probably recommend reading the entire trilogy once the final book comes out, as I was wishing I had done a reread of the first before diving into this one. A good read, but with a rather frustrating ending. Show Less
LibraryThing member caedocyon
Liked this better than #1; the pacing was more even. Still not very interested in love-interest!boy, but at least he does more interesting things in this one. It made me think about what we consider "acting crazy" to look like, and why that doesn't ever seem look like real mental illness. I'm sure
J. should be my favorite character but she's given more Quirky And/Or Narratively Useful Traits than feelings or conflicts. Nate and other!love-interest!boy get a lot more.
The mystery does play fair in this, more than in the previous I think.I had gotten as far as guessing Ellie was still on the grounds somewhere, but I figured she was being hidden by someone, not dead. It only took me a bit at the end to realize Larry is responsible for Ellie's death (cover up for Hayes) and also set the fire (more cover up, this time related to receiving Alice's trust); I'm not yet sure why he targeted Hayes in the first place.
Show More
Johnson is going to go there, because realistic portrayal of anxiety is a running theme.J. should be my favorite character but she's given more Quirky And/Or Narratively Useful Traits than feelings or conflicts. Nate and other!love-interest!boy get a lot more.
The mystery does play fair in this, more than in the previous I think.
Show Less
Awards
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2019)
Language
Original publication date
2019-01-22
ISBN
9780062338105
Local notes
Just as Stevie feels she’s on the cusp of putting the case together, her parents pull her out of Ellingham academy. The only way to get back is to make a deal with despised politician Edward King.