Maureen Johnson knows how to write a mystery. Opening this book is like visiting with an old friends as you see all the familiar characters and places - a friend with never ending drama. Having solved all the murders and mysteries in this academy, Stevie's attention turns abroad as she visits David in London. I laughed, I gasped, and I loved every page.

After a slow start, this proves to be just as engaging as the previous books in the series. It's not as tightly plotted and Stevie's romantic woes really do detract (and distract) from the mystery plot, but the conclusion is satisfying enough, even if the David/Julian parallel doesn't quite pan out. Read it for the mystery and Nate's unsurprising-but-important confession.

Taking a page straight from Agatha Christie, Nine Liars takes us to a secluded English country home surrounded by murder suspects. Stevie's hyper fixation on David for the first third of the book, while likely accurate, is wearying. After that, we're off to the races. Johnson never fails to create an engaging, high risk, yet playful setting that keeps readers turning pages. I found myself sneaking a page or two between emails at work. For fans of Sherlock Holmes, My Favorite Murder, and E. Lockhart.

Nine Lairs is the newest installment in the Truly Devious series. In this book Stevie and her friends travel to London for a small study abroad get away, but the moment they land Stevie’s boyfriend introduces them to his friend Izzy who throws Stevie into an old murder mystery case that her aunt lived through.

In this book we follow two storylines. One following Stevie and her friends as they explore London, prep for college, and go through the motions of natural friend group hardships. The other storyline follows Izzy’s aunts friend group, called the Nine, back in the 90’s when two of their friends got murdered and the case went cold.

On their trip Izzy introduces Stevie to her aunt hoping that Stevie can help solve the mystery of her friend’s murders. Izzy’s aunt doesn’t take this well as she isn’t willing to talk about that trauma from her life and then seems to ghost Izzy. They soon realize that she isn’t just ghosting them but may be missing and in danger of her own.

I absolutely love this series and I recommend it almost everyday to readers. I think this is a fantastic series and every book packs its own punch. I really enjoyed this book because we are being taken to London along with the group and are in a whole new setting while still having the comfort of Stevie’s amazing friends. I really enjoy the way this series deals with hard topics without being insensitive or too unnecessarily gruesome. Each mystery packs a punch while being written very well. I also love the way the relationships are written. Often times I have found in young adult books that the relationships are toxic or things are left without consent or there is no healthy communication happening in them and it makes readers think those things are normal and okay when they are not. This book dives into those healthy and necessary conversations between the characters and I believe more books need this to show young people that these are needed and useful in real life.

Overall I cannot recommend this series enough and this book did not fail to live up to the standard I have set for this series!

Thanks to NetGalley for a VERY EXCITING ARC of this book. I absolutely loved the other Truly Devious books and was totally looking forward to this one.

I loved the English estate setting and the alternate timeline about the murders in the past. I loved seeing Stevie and her crew again.

I found the actual mystery/thriller piece a bit lacking, but the atmosphere made up for it.

The last line makes me think/hope there will be a 6th book forthcoming….

Nine Liars is another Stevie Bell mystery set in England. Stevie and her friends explore and solve another cold case. A little slow and a little predictable, but I enjoyed the personal turmoil that Stevie experiences.

I will read every Stevie Bell book ever published. Forever.

I reread the previous 4 title in preparation for this. It was my 3rd read of the main trilogy, and my 2nd read of the follow-up. I love them more every time I read them.

In this book, Stevie is dealt another cold case that has stymied investigators, this time in England where she and her pals are for a study abroad program. We have another dual-timeline, where we're introduced the the cold case players and get the scoop on them and their activities alongside what Stevie and the gang are up to.

I liked the core mystery, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so there will definitely be a follow-up book for complete resolution.

As always, I still hate David. And maybe even more in this book, because his entitlement and d-baggery are just next level. I really wish they would just break up and be done with it. Stevie needs to know that she's enough without needing someone like David to give her validation.

I requested this before I realized it was the 5th book in a series I had not read yet. It wasn't a problem though because the author did a great job recapping what happened in earlier books. I wish all authors would do this in series books. Stevie's boyfriend plans a study abroad trip for her and her three friends to visit London where he lives. In between visiting the Tower of London, the London Eye and going on a Jack the Ripper tour, Stevie meets her boyfriend's friend Izzy. Izzy introduces the group to her aunt Angela whose two college friends were murdered in an unsolved case. Izzy hopes Stevie's history of solving cold cases can help her aunt. The book skips back in time when Angela and her friends (The Nine) stayed in a country house playing hide and seek in the dark one night when her two friends were murdered. When Angela goes missing after some odd texts, Stevie and her friends try to find Angela and solve the murders. I liked the London setting and it brought back memories of traveling there 14years ago. I felt the ending was abrupt but I'm still looking forward to reading the first book in the series.

Stevie Bell does is again!

Nine Liars was such a wonderful stand alone in the Stevie Bell Truly Devious universe. Not only do we get an unsolved mystery in London for Stevie to work on, but we also get to see the continuation of her time at Ellingham Academy and her relationships with Nate, Janelle, and David. I really enjoy that Maureen continues to go back and forth between Stevie’s present day point of view and the past of the Nine Liars. This mystery will suck you in! Even by the end of the story, I still wasn’t sure who was the culprit! 5 stars!

3.5 stars. I am definitely a big fan of this series, but this was probably my least favorite book of the series so far. There was a great deal of extraneous historical information that really didn't add to the story for me. I thought this one got bogged down in unnecessary details about London tourist sights and transportation. Our main characters are already very well developed and it helped to be familiar with them as the inclusion of all of the new characters was quite a lot to keep track of. I will continue to read the series, but I am hoping that the next books will be a bit more polished.

I am not sure what to rate this to be honest; 3 stars, maybe?

I LOVE Maureen Johnson. I have devoured all of the Truly Devious books. This one just fell... flat, for me.

*SPOILERS BELOW*
The big twist was an odd reveal and an odd choice. Samantha going down because she fell and mentioned the word police? Didn't seem logical that he would just drown her instead of help her. Unless I missed something in that section? That just made it fall flat for me and the rest of the unraveling was just a oh, ok.

Ugh, but Stevie. That ending for Stevie! Screw you David.

I was really not a fan of the previous installment of this series (the purple one--the name is escaping me at the moment). So, I was a bit wary when starting this one--but I loved the OG trilogy so much I just needed more of Stevie and Co. I ended up loving this! I loved the dual POV, I loved the mystery and setting this time around, and I think the plot proved personality for these characters much better than in the book before this where it felt like the plot and the characters were completely separate from one another. Looking forward to more from Maureen Johnson!

I have loved every book in this series, and this is no exception. I am partial to the original trilogy, but this is right up there. It’s a dual timeline story of a double murder in the 90’s mixed with a trip by Stevie and her friends London for a short study abroad. I definitely recommend it!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 3.5/5 stars.

I love this series with all my heart, and it's honestly the one that got me back into reading mysteries. The original triology is AMAZING. Book 4 was campy and fun. This one? It was painful in the way I loved my mystery and the travel, but all of the characters felt...different. I don't know if it's because they're growing up, or if it's because the series is expanding further than it's meant to. Especially Stevie...she just seemed...more obnoxious? I also wanted more David and Stevie content.

I do like the premise of the murders though and how it felt very Sherlock-y like a game. The added humor of America v. London in things was also great...especially as someone who has been to London.

I wanted this to end happily. It did not. Nothing was wrapped up and it ended quite abruptly to be honest...and that kind of cinched the meh rating from me.

Let's be honest - the "Truly Devious" series was perfection. And when you find a series of books that is just so good, one of your fears as a reader is that the author will do something to ruin it. Luckily, Maureen Johnson is a sorceress and has managed to give us yet another Stevie Bell book that is so crafty, so smart, and so endearing that when you finish it, all you want to do is start it all over again! Can't wait to see what she does next!

I really wanted to like this book. The idea of a girl detective solving cold case murders is appealing to me as I grew up reading Nancy Drew books and Maureen Johnson has created a modern Nancy Drew in Stevie Bell. But like the others, this one just didn't quite work for me. It has almost vague feeling and I finished not knowing how Stevie actually solved the case. The pacing was awkward with the first 41% showing Stevie running around London with her friends. The cold case is told through a couple of flashbacks and police transcripts so I had a lot of stops and starts with this one.

My other issue with this book is the characters. They feel like stock characters. Janelle is the best friend, Vi is Janelle's partner, Nate is there as the other best friend. David is just the boyfriend and Johnson tried to introduce some internal conflict regarding David and Stevie's relationship, but it just felt shoved in to create additional conflict. I don't think that Stevie's friends added much to the story, and I don't think much would have changed if they weren't there with her.

I had trouble getting a handle on the Nine and their story frankly wasn't that interesting. It was hard to keep them straight and the liars part really had me rolling my eyes. It just didn't seem realistic at all.

Overall I just found this book to be disappointing and I don't believe I'll read additional books by Johnson. It's just not what I'm looking for.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I Love the Truly Devious Series and could not wait for this one to come out. It did not disappoint. I love Stevie and her gang of friends. The story flowed well with lots of twists that kept me guessing. It was a great mystery and I loved how Stevie fit into it. The ending though---WHAT was that???
I will be purchasing this for our library. Our students love Stevie Bell and her gang.

I’m so disappointed. I didn’t realize that this was a series when I requested the ARC. The reviews look great and the story seems really interesting. I plan to read soon but need to read the first books in the series first.

Thank you NetGelley for the ARC. I really enjoyed this YA mystery! I am guilty of having not read the prior novels in the series, but luckily it didn’t impact reading this title. For a YA it read more mature, and many times I forgot I was even reading a YA, which I loved!

Keep tracking of the all the characters was a little confusing at times, but overall, it was clear enough. I really enjoyed this author and I look forward to reading the other titles in the series.

Would recommend this title to teens.

What a gorgeous novel full of loveable characters and a storyline that I couldn't put down. This one is a must read!