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.
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.
Read: February 20, 2026 – February 22, 2026
This was my first book by Maureen Johnson and it truly didn’t disappoint as I have made a decision to read all the books in the series! I liked her style of writing – it kept me reeled in and wanting to turn the page. I also really enjoyed how the present day story with Stevie was interspersed with the 1936 kidnapping/murder and correspondence.
The one main gripe I had is that I truly did not like or care for any of the characters (except Stevie, Nate, and Janelle) until the last third of the book. I am not sure if that was an intentional writing decision, but any of them could have been murdered and I wouldn’t have cared. As it happened, I wasn’t really touched by the murder BUT it was a surprise and I did like how the reveal with the suspect came down in the end.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!