Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this arc! I was so excited to read the latest installment in Stevie’s ongoing detective adventures.

First off, I absolutely loved the setting of this book. The mystery aspect of the story was set at an English manor in the country, and Stevie’s sleuthing takes place there and in London. I could perfectly envision every place they went to and the manor seems like something out of a period film or tv series. I loved it.

Secondly, are we done with David yet? I find his character absolutely useless. I understand that he gets Stevie and the way her mind works out a mystery/is consumed by murders and true crime- but honestly, this series doesn’t need him. It doesn’t need romance at all- the main draw of the books is always Stevie and the mystery she’s unraveling. David’s story really needs to pick up in the next book or I’m writing him off completely.

The murder mystery in Nine Liars was so good! I had a few guesses throughout the story (one of which did prove to be right) but I seriously wasn’t convinced of anyone’s guilt the entire time. The author keeps you guessing about what really happened until the very end! I love the way Maureen writes mystery.

Overall, another solid addition to this series and I look forward to reading the next! Recommend to anyone who loves Agatha Christie/Sherlock detective stories.

If you are a fan of the Truly Devious series, as I am, this book is a must read. It is senior year of high school at Ellingham Academy and Stevie Bell is restless. She doesn't have a murder to work on, she misses her boyfriend David who is in London, and she doesn't want to think about college or her future. So when David comes up with a scheme to get Stevie and her friends to London on an "educational" trip, Stevie is all in. Once there, David introduces Stevie to his friend Izzy who has a cold case for Stevie to solve, Izzy's aunt and her friends went to one of the friend's country house and during their visit two of the friends were killed with an axe. The murderer was never found. Stevie never could resist a murder and she is determined to find the killer, no matter what the cost. Maureen Johnson has delivered another intricately plotted mystery that is hard to put down.

Stevie and friends are now seniors at Ellingham Academy, but Stevie is not having a good time. David started University in London, Janelle and Vi are constantly talking about college applications, and Stevie feels lost. Before long, David invites Stevie, Janelle, Vi, and Nate to visit in London for a week. Once they get there, David introduces Stevie to his new friend, Izzy. Izzy's aunt was one of nine friends who visited a countryside home in 1995 and played hide-and-seek while drunk during a storm. The next day, two of the friends have been found, murdered by an ax. Was it a burglary, or something else?

The Truly Devious series is one of my favorite current YA series. I'm glad that Maureen Johnson is writing one-off titles after Stevie solved the Ellingham murders. However... I have to say that Nine Liars is my least favorite of the five so far. Some of the information about the night of the murders felt repetitive and the story itself went a lot slower than previous installments. I still enjoyed it, but it wasn't as gripping as the others. I also felt like the final reveal was a little underwhelming. The ending was a little abrupt, but I honestly loved that.

If you're already a fan of the Truly Devious series, it's absolutely worth prioritizing, especially since similar mysteries are becoming popular again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Maureen Johnson, and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first book of 2023, and we are already starting off on a strong note with the latest installment of a series I loved from last year! I thought I enjoyed The Box in the Woods, but this book proved that continuing the "Truly Devious" series beyond the Truly Devious mystery was a great idea. This mystery was chilling but right up my alley, and dare I say fun, as it was set in England. I thought this mystery came together even better than the last, and as I said in my review of the previous book, it was such a quick read, since it all wrapped up nicely in the book. My biggest complaint with this installment is I found Stevie almost unbearable. I felt annoyed by her when I read the very first book, but she has definitely grown on me with the help of her friends. However, her actions in this were too self-centered for my liking, and I felt all the romance plot did was distract. I do commend the accurate portrayal of nerves over sex and anxiety about who you are in general, as I thought those themes were spot on and well-handled. The scene between Nate and Stevie definitely helped to remind me why I do like Stevie, and I am interested in reading future installments, especially after that cliffhanger ending!

Hooray, Stevie and the gang are going to London and Cambridge for their next adventure!

All the points for setting in this one (yay, Cambridge AND a manor house!). Johnson did a lovely job getting the troops across the pond to solve a closed circle mystery in the UK.

There were a lot of elements of this that I loved (the setting, obviously, and the well-executed dual timeline story). The humor was on point as it always is in Johnson’s work, and the characters are mostly lovable.

While I love Stevie’s smarts and humor, she’s still much too fragile for my taste to be a great heroine, and I find that it grates on me more and more as the series progresses. The endless drama between she and David is also pretty irritating, and feels tremendously juvenile for the age of the characters. I found myself longing for the other timeline just to get away from them.

As far as premise goes, this is one of my favorites among the mysteries in this series, though the execution was a bit rough at times and there are some definite holes in the plot that don’t add up in the end.

Stevie does it again! Her character has a way of drawing me in. It doesn’t hurt that the mysteries are so fun and keep me guessing. I loved the setting in London and learned about some of the history there. The Truly Devious series is a must read for me. I’m already needing book 6 after the cliffhanger this one left for me!! Hurry, Maureen!!

this book was enjoyable as was most of maureen johnson’s other books. however, this one felt more scattered than the other ones.

the mystery took a backseat to all of the drama that happened between stevie and her friends. i came into this book excited to see stevie solve more mysteries, but i was disappointed to say that less than 40% of the book was actually about the mystery. a lot of it revolved around friendship/relationship issues between the group. it was still enjoyable, but it wasn’t what i expected.

the reveal felt flat. i think the reason why i enjoyed <i>the box in the woods</i> so much was because of the in-depth and long mystery of it. every chapter had a clue that pointed to the answer and it was fun to see things come together in the end. this book, while things did come together, spent too much time on stevie’s drama that i wasn’t invested in the mystery. i didn’t find myself looking for the answer as i had in the other books, so when the reveal happened, it felt so lackluster and unimportant despite it being a literal mystery book.

we need to decide on what we think of david. truly, the way maureen portrayed david is so convoluted. i cannot tell whether or not we should like him because of the constant flips. i feel like every other book is a debate between whether or not stevie and him are good together. plus, that ending?? it came so out of left field. i don’t know if she is coming out with another book—honestly, whether or not i enjoy the books she releases, i will continue to read this series because i am too far into it—but she should because that ending needs to be further explored and explained.

one small thing that bugged me—most people probably didn’t pick up on it—was the use of the term asexual. while i am not going to debate whether or not nate is asexual because he very well could be, it annoys me that the term asexual was used to describe aromanticism. when nate describes what he feels, he uses the word “romance” and examples of couples to say that he doesn’t want that. that is aromantic. not asexual. it bothers me that people put them in the same category despite being very different identities. it only further pushes the idea that all aromantic people are asexual or vice versa when that isn’t always the case. it’s a small detail, but it’s something that i wish was different.

Nine Liars is the fifth book in the Truly Devious series and follows Stevie and her friends as they travel to London for a sort of "study abroad" situation. This location change allows Johnson to keep the characters together, while giving the reader another look into their lives. As all of the students are Seniors in high school, college applications and the future looms over all of them.

Stevie, of course, is a little lost in what she wants to do with her future and falls back into detective mode very quickly when the opportunity presents itself. I found her actions and thought process in this story, less of a genius caliber and more of a whiny teenager who truly doesn't want to admit she is uncertain of the next step. This unfortunately grated on me, and made the plot harder to care about.

It seems this novel is a place holder for the next one, as the mystery was middle of the road at best and Johnson left Stevie's ending on such a cliffhanger that I was honestly mad it ended where it did.

Thank you to Katherine Tegan Books, Harper Collins and NetGalley for a chance to read this novel.

Maureen Johnson has done it again! I have been obsessed with the Truly Devious series for years and am always so impressed with the way Johnson manages to write a complex, engaging mystery while also delivering the answers to that mystery with Stevie Bell’s dry wit. I absolutely love the banter between Stevie and Nate and love how these mysteries come together.

The Truly Devious series always keeps me guessing and laughing at the same time and I never want the books to end!

The fifth book in the truly devious series follows Stevie and her friends back in action this time in England. The English country mansion setting with a dark and stormy night of murders was a wonderful plot idea. The clues were placed through the book so that you could figure it out before hand (I pin pointed the killer from quite early on). The end reveal was a little disappointing in its ambiguousness. Unfortunately, the ridiculous relationship drama between Stevie and David really ruined this book for me. I was definitely team David until this book and now she really needs to see the toxic traits in this relationship. Stevie's relationship does not need to be an example to teens if David continues to basically gaslight her. Overall I still look forward to the next book and hope that the series will move on with more of the fantastic mystery elements and less of the unhealthy relationship drama. Nate was adorable in this book and totally needs more focus put on to his character.
Thanks to netgalley for providing me with an electronic copy of this book. I purchased my own paper copy as well and all opinions expressed here are my own.

Sooooooo
I didn't realize it was part of a series, but it seems like this could also be a standalone.

I have never read any of the other books but I did enjoy this one.

I have been absolutely in love with the Truly Devious series since the first book, so I was eagerly anticipating the release of Nine Liars.

I love that after the original trilogy, we are now getting standalone mysteries. This one showcases Stevie’s detective skills in a completely new environment, London. This can technically be read without reading the Truly Devious trilogy, as it is a separate murder mystery – however I would recommend reading those first as this one assumes you already know all the characters and it does contain spoilers for how that trilogy ends.

This book finds the gang in their senior year at Ellingham Academy. Stevie’s boyfriend, David, is studying in London and her friends are obsessed with college applications, leaving her aimless and adrift. Relief comes when David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and played a drunken game of hide-and-seek. Two were found in the woodshed the next day, murdered with an ax.

The case was assumed to be a burglary gone wrong, but one of the remaining seven saw something she can’t explain. This was no break-in. Someone’s lying about what happened in the woodshed. At first, I was really concerned that I was going to struggle to differentiate between the nine new characters (I am literally the worst with names). However, they all had such distinct personalities and separate motivations that I didn’t find it difficult at all!

I loved seeing this group of friends in a completely different setting. All the characters have such great personalities and are all so relatable. I loved reading all of their interactions again! However, there is still the charm of a cold, seemingly unsolvable, murder case haunting Stevie. Maureen Johnson definitely knows how to successfully plot out a mystery and interweave a past and present storyline in a very cohesive way. As with the rest of the series, the majority of the book is from Stevie’s point of view, with some excerpts from the case in the ‘90s, and same as the previous books, I loved this format.

To me, it felt like this book included a lot more interpersonal issues for Stevie than past books, but I liked seeing more of that side of her life. It still definitely had Truly Devious vibes and was a wonderful addition to the series. I can’t wait to see where Stevie goes next!

PS: THE CLIFFHANGER. I NEED MORE.

EXCUSE ME?! What the HECK, Maureen???

Sorry, had to get that out after that ending. Anyway, this book was perfect. Thanks to Maureen Johnson and NetGalley for the e-ARC. I’m so glad we’re back to Truly Devious Stevie and that Box in the Woods Stevie was just a one-off that we won’t repeat.

I loved the murder mystery in this book! It felt so real and so much more tangible than Box in the Woods, and it was so interesting to see it all play out in Stevie’s head.

This book is following Stevie through her senior year, battling senioritis and the fact that her boyfriend David is in London studying abroad and not at Ellingham with the rest of the crew. To settle that, we’re all headed to London.

At the same time, we’re also following the Nine through the harrowing night of June 23, 1995 at the Merryweather estate. We are aware something bad happens to these friends, aware that Stevie has a habit of ending up involved in murders and cold cases, and aware that this time in London will be no different.

I’m loving Maureen’s writing as always. All of the characters are so well laid out, even when there’s a million of them. She adds these one-liners all the time that are just perfection and I love being able to laugh right when the story is getting a little serious.

“You know how I feel about you, right?” she said. “Like, if you needed a kidney or something, you should definitely come to me after you’ve asked everyone else you can think of.”

Also, pretty sure we’re getting even more books in this series? I really hope so considering that ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy!

Stevie Bell is back and this time, she’s in England! While her friends are busy thinking about college applications and futures, Stevie is preoccupied with two things: her relationship with David, and (of course) murder. David’s new friend Izzy introduces Stevie to a new case, and when Izzy’s aunt goes missing, it becomes clear that Stevie needs to solve it. She may even need to lie to do it.

This has so much of the wit and charm of the others in the series, and I appreciate the references to other mysteries (I kept shouting about Orient Express while I was reading this one…particularly since this is called nine liars!). I did feel like there was a little bit of odd pacing between the murder mystery and Stevie’s romance with David—and I honestly was a bit over David by the end!! I like that this has been left open for another installment!!

4.5 ⭐️

Wow! This one sneaks up on me! I did not realize this was part of a series, but now I have a new one to start in 2023! Stevie's boyfriend is studying abroad, and like most young adults, she misses him terribly. This leads up to her boyfriend suggesting she study abroad with her friends.
This suggestion does not strike me as abnormal because many dreams of visiting other countries. However, her school teacher is not at all convinced that this is something Stevie should be doing because it seems she finds trouble wherever she goes. However, she and her group of friends are allowed to go with conditions, and they agree!
While in London, one of her boyfriend David's friends asks her for aid in a case involving her aunt. Nine people went to the countryside, and only some returned. In comparison, there are many different possibilities that this could have been a burglary gone wrong, or it could have been maybe the survivors know more than they are saying. I loved the characters! The characters are all well thought out, and the background stories of each of the characters are amazing! I loved Stevie and her curiosity! I enjoyed all the twists and turns of the story! While I have not read the other books in the series, and I soon will, this story was easy to follow without knowing the characters' backgrounds! If you love an excellent cold-case mystery and the fun quirkiness of a good mystery, then this should be your next read! I loved that the story was a mystery and had some fun aspects! Thank you, Harper Collins Children's Books and Netgalley, for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one!

I did not vanish although it probably seemed that way. I have been bingeing the Truly Devious mystery series by Maureen Johnson in order to read and review the ARC of Nine Liars by December 27. The bingeing has probably taken me most of December but it was well worth it.

The heroine of the Truly Devious series is Stevie (Stephanie) Bell, the daughter of middle class conservative parents who look askance at their daughter because she has this obsession with murders. Stevie wants to be a detective and even at 16, she’s very good at it. Her parents would rather she behaved more normally with a respectable boyfriend, marriage, and kids. And, as we enter the world of Nine Liars, the fifth installment of the series, Stevie does have a boyfriend in David, the son of a politician whom Stevie’s parents adored. David, however, is studying in England while Stevie is continuing her studies at quirky Ellingham Academy. When an opportunity arises for Stevie to visit David, she convinces her friends as well as the school’s president that a week’s trip to London would be a good thing. Of course, a missing woman and a decades old murder come into play in Nine Liars.

The thing about having binged all of the previous books in the series in rapid succession was that I noticed that the writing in Nine Liars was clunkier than usual. Far too often Maureen Johnson led us through England using Stevie’s anglo-ignorance to introduce places and items using “called” or “named” in phrases. Using this phrasing once or twice would have gone unnoticed but multiple times drew attention.

I found the flashback in this book occurring in 1998 to be far more interesting than the ones in the previous novels. The British characters, members of a university comedy sketch group, felt a little like the characters in the 1992 Kenneth Brannagh film, Peter’s Friends, except that murder is involved. Johnson drew these characters a bit more roundly and I cared about them more and, frankly, would have loved to have spent more time with them.

Stevie has always been a self-involved character, drawn into self, and sometimes oblivious, but she reaches her peak of being self-serving when she creates a lie that involves her friends. I found this to be particularly problematic as Stevie’s friends forgive completely despite the fact that she compromised their once-in-a-lifetime trip as well as their education and perhaps more remotely their lives. While Stevie does solve the case, the idea that she faces no repercussions for lying and basically abusing her friendship left a bad taste. Her friends are the best and probably deserve a little better (or a lot) from her.

Lastly. Stevie Bell in my mind is a slim blonde, hoodie-wearing 16-year-old Columbo. She is observant cataloger of information. In the way that Columbo solved cases by storing seemingly irrelevant facts is the same way that Stevie does and makes the ending of each novel a fun fest. While Nine Liars felt uneven, it’s still a fun treat for any reader who enjoys a quirky teenage sleuth.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I definitely enjoyed the Box in the Woods more, but this book still had some good moments.

This is another great installment in the Truly Devious/Stevie Bell mysteries, though I will agree with other readers that this one is not as strong as The Box in The Woods.

Nine Liars is an homage to the classic English Whodunit - and it does that really well. Honestly, I would read a whole spin off series on The Nine.

There is a lot of teenage drama in this book which I've seen bother some readers, but I think it was realistic, especially with Stevie's anxiety.

Initially, I found this book hard to get into, but it could have equally been my headspace at the time. I re-read Truly Devious to re-familiarize myself with Maureen Johnson's work and style, then dove straight into this book. The hardest part for me was keeping all the characters separate. It's no easy feat to suddenly introduce 9 characters and have to remember their quirks, names, and traits. I made myself a flow chart to keep up with who was who, but felt a little lost all the same. I enjoyed the setting of the book, although it felt more like "Maureen Johnson describes her weeklong vacation to England" rather than "Stevie Bell solves a mystery", so for that reason I'm going to give this one 3.5, rounding up t0 4.

One of my favorites in the series. It was fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. Love all the previous characters and the new ones.