As usual Maureen Johnson nails it with Stevie and the gang. I cannot wait for the next in the series. There better be a next in the series!

Stevie Bell is at an awkward, transitional time in her life and the overall tone of this book really reflects that. Unlike previous novels the mystery isn't really the focal point, though it does share some parallels with what's going on with Stevie and her friends. I also found her involvement in the mystery much less plausible than in other stories, because I highly doubt that an MP in the UK government would allow an unknown American teenager into the investigation of their friend's murder. Like the other Stevie Bell stories it was a quick, fun read, but don't expect the mystery in this one to be as interesting or complex as previous books.

I always have such a great time reading Maureen Johnson’s Stevie Bell books. YA mysteries can sometimes be a hard sell for me since they can seem too outside the realm of possibility. So while it is kinda wild that this teenager is solving mysteries that have stumped adults for decades, the characters and storytelling ground these books and keep them from feeling too ridiculous.

This time the mystery revolves around a group of nine Cambridge University graduates back in 1995 where 2 of them ended up murdered after a party at a country house. Nobody was ever caught. In present day Stevie and her friends are visiting London where they meet the niece of one of The Nine who asks Stevie to try and figure out what really happened.

I enjoyed seeing the flashbacks of The Nine in the 90s and seeing the police interviews with them after the fact. Initially it did take me a bit to figure out who all the different characters were and keep them straight in my mind. But after that I was super invested in this group of friends and their antics. In the present day seeing Stevie solve the mystery alongside her friends was a lot of fun. There are also some interesting relationship developments as well as talk about the future and what they’re all going to do for college.

Overall I had a great time reading this book. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Box in the Woods, which is still my favorite in the series. But this was a lot of fun!

I didn't realize this was part of a series and having read the previous books would have helped. The mystery is self-contained so it is possible to read it without having read the other books but the relationships between the main characters would be richer to the reader if they'd read the others. So, the mystery is a country house mystery that takes place in 1995. Some fun callbacks to that time. The mystery itself had some fun twists and turns. Lots of London love in the book. And the story made me want to read the previous installments. I didn't love the MC's angst about her boyfriend nor the boyfriend's actions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll talk about the whole book in a second, but I would like to start this off by just saying… WHAT WAS THAT ENDING THOUGH? And where is the next book?!

Ok, now that that’s out of my system…. This was a very fun addition to the Stevie Bell/Truly Devious series, especially as I am someone who is a huge fan of British murder mysteries. I honestly wish there had been a bit more Nate (and Janelle and Vi), but Izzy was a nice new addition.

I pride myself on being able to solve mysteries, but this one had me stumped until about 75% of the way in, when I started getting inklings, which was nice. While I love figuring things out, I also love working for it, and this book did that for me.

Also, can I just say it? I don’t care for David much. Never really have? I think Stevie could do much better. The boy needs to learn to communicate or something here. Yeeeesh.

I did not have a clue what I was getting into. I picked up these books but I’m so excited that I had an advanced readers copy of this one. It was such a fun create afraid. I didn’t want it to end. They author was an incredible writer.

Maureen Johnson has a long history of appreciating British comedy and mysteries in her novels, and nowhere does it shine like in Nine Liars. Reading this felt both comforting and familiar, while still being suspenseful and fun. Readers of other Stevie Bell novels will be excited to continue the ongoing saga, while newer readers will be able to dive right in. It's lovely to see another YA mystery series that is inviting to avid and casual readers alike.

I loved this one!! Stevie and the gang are back but this time they're in England!! Stevie is missing David and she has the chance to spend a week in London after convincing. Dr. Quinn that it's a serious study abroad trip, thanks to Janelle's spreadsheet and planning skills. Murder and missing people somehow always follow the gang.

Maureen nailed the stereotypical London experiences and the atmosphere. It really brought the sense of a cosy mystery. This book immediately hooked me from the get go. I loved seeing the flashbacks again and it really tied into the structure of the first trilogy so well. Merryweather was the perfect isolated setting and I enjoyed having a remote location where all the tension builds.

Izzy was a standout character - her personality fit so well in with the gang and she brought out such a sense of adventure. The six were each well enough depicted where you could keep track of who was who and how they played into the story but you had no idea who was going to be the one at the end of the big reveal. THAT ENDING?! PLEASE give us the next one soon Maureen because we NEED to know what happens next. I am so ready to go on an adventure with everyone again.

I never thought that I wold DNF a Stevie Bell mystery, but I couldn't get into this one. I couldn't keep the characters straight in the flashbacks, and I couldn't get invested in the murder. I also found myself tired of Stevie and her weed-smoking, tortured-genius friends. Sure to delight fans of the series, but inferior to earlier titles.

First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC. I'm a simple woman, I see another installment to the Truly Devious series, and I must read it. This was, of course, no exception. Maureen Johnson has done it again. I'll admit that at first it was confusing trying to keep track of the nine characters involved in the flashbacks plus the main cast of Truly Devious, but once I got it figured out, I couldn't put this one down. My only disappointment about this book is that it ends in a cliffhanger.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC

Nothing makes me happier than a new installment of the Truly Devious series. Out favorite teen sleuth Stevie Bell is back with her Scooby squad and this time they’re in the murder mansion capital of the world England! Solving a good old fashioned house party murder.

One of my favorite things about Maureen Johnson is that she herself is a fan and that comes through in her books. She’s having fun with the fact that we’re solving a Masterpiece Mystery style crime. We’re allowed to geek out over the British mystery tropes. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I demand my teen Netflix show of Truly Devious immediately. Although I was personally emotionally damaged by the ending ;)

This continues to be one of my favorite series and Stevie is my ultimate comfort character. I was incredibly excited to back at my beloved Ellingham Academy and wish we could have spent more time there, but it was also fun to see the characters be tourists in England. As always, the mystery was intricately plotted and the English manor house setting was everything you want it to be. However, I could have done without the police interview transcripts from the Nine Liars in the first half of the book--ultimately I realize why they were there, but I they caused the reading experience to drag slightly. These beautifully three-dimensional characters never fail to make me smile and I love seeing their relationships evolve as they take on her challenges.

I need there to be 500 Stevie Bell mysteries. Thank you so much to Net Galley and the Publisher and Maureen Johnson for the opportunity to read this book early (and continuing to print them!).

MAUREEN THE ENDING. Regardless, I would like Stevie Bell to rival Nancy Drew in number of mysteries she solves. This cast of characters is delightful and infuriating and real. I love them, and I love Maureen’s writing, and I want to read installments of their lives forever.

Maureen Johnson is always amazing! This new installation of Truly Devious and the Ellingham crew does not disappoint. It took me a little while to get into, but the ending was great as always.

As always Stevie and her gang are incredibly charming. I have read all of the truly devious trilogy and The Box in the Woods spin off and this new addition did not disappoint. If I were to complain about anything at all it would be that having nine new characters was far too many to keep track of along with the normal 5 characters and then side characters.

5th book in the Truly Devious series, 5 friends, 5 star rating.

Maureen Johnson takes the Ellingham Academy crew to London to visit David in the midst of applying to college. Whilst there, Stevie gets caught up in a 1995 English Manor House Murder (and now my life is complete) and how to take her relationship with David to the next level.

Full of loyalty, lies, queer rep, subterfuge, and Major Life Decisions, this one is a keeper.

5 great big stars
Absolute must-purchase for school libraries

I loved the original Truly Devious trilogy and even Box in the Woods was a fun surprise. I thought the mysteries were original and the characters were (for the most part) really likable. This book takes place mostly abroad in England, and Stevie and Co. try to solve another cold case about murders that had taken place at a manor country house decades before present day. The murder mystery itself was fine, like I was kept guessing (it helped that there were so many suspects), but the group dynamics of Stevie and her friends felt weird in this book.

Also I think it’s time to recognize that Stevie and David do not have chemistry and they never had chemistry and they are so boring to read about. David is still annoying in this book just like he was in all of the other books. The ending of this book felt like a really cheap way to set up a new book. I want to read about Stevie and her friends solving crimes, not Stevie and David.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader’s copy!

Nine friends. Seven suspects. Two murders. And one chance to get it right. Stevie Bell, now semi-famous for solving the Truly Devious and Camp Wonder Falls mysteries, is on a study tour with her friends in London--which, not-so-coincidentally is where her boyfriend David is studying. Stevie has been missing David terribly, and with decisions about her future looming (college, studies, love, and growing up), all she wants to do is to feel safe and loved with him. But no sooner have they reunited than he introduces them to his friend Izzy (a cute classmate of David's) who invites Stevie and the group to help solve a cold case from 1995 that involves the death of two of her aunt's friends.

The cold case from 1995 forms the second of the dual timelines. Nine best friends who have formed a theatrical group together, live together, date each other, and support each other are spending one last week together at a country house after graduation from Cambridge. But during one of their traditional games of hide-and-seek, two of their number are gruesomely murdered. The authorities write it off to burglars, but suspicions remain and don't resurface until the present day when Stevie and her friends arrive on the scene.

The mystery was crafted so well, in typical Maureen Johnson fashion. Such a twisty, dark, and tragic cold case. A country manor mystery in the tradition of great closed-door mysteries. And I love how the characters in both timelines are about to uncertainly embark on the next phase of life without their ride-or-die friends. The difference for me between this book and the previous four in the series was that with the previous books I really struggled to put them down (and that's saying something, since I'm a full-time working mom and treasure my sleep above all else!). But I found this one easier to put down, mainly because of Stevie's self-destructive toxicity and the significant portions of the book that were unnecessarily dedicated to London tourist stops. Nine Liars was definitely an ode to London. Flawed characters are important, and Johnson's magic is still there, but I really don't like Stevie and David very much after this. The way the book ended another book or two must be coming to give us resolution, so maybe they will be redeemed soon. I hope so, because I really love this series!

Overall this was a good addition to the Truly Devious series. This book has Stevie and her friends back together on another adventure, to London this time, that just so happens to involve a murder. The mystery of who killed two members of the Nine is what keeps this particular story going. While the friendships between Stevie, Nick, Janelle and Vi are the backbone of the series, it was still frustrating to watch Stevie continually make bad decisions that she knew would affect her friends. Hopefully in future books, she doesn't treat them as side characters in her life. Still, the murder mystery from the past and it's eventual reveal were intriguing and keeps the reader engaged.

Much like Box in the Woods, this book was underwhelming. I finished it more out of obligation than enjoyment. While Nate is still the best character, all the other characters seem to be missing the spark they had in the original Truly Devious books. I wish Vi had a bigger part and Janelle was relegated to a side character who is only there to be the voice of reason. David is bland and Stevie is missing something that made her an entertaining and enjoyable narrator in the original 3 books. I’m not invested in Stevie anymore as a narrator. The Nine plot was…something. It didn’t make sense, it didn’t carry as a story, and there were way too many people to keep track of and understand. When the final reveal takes place, it’s anti climactic because it was hard to keep track of who was who and what their motivation could be. The two spin off Truly Devious books are missing the connection the original 3 had.