I really enjoyed this book! This series is one of my favorites, and I'm very glad she is writing more book with these characters!! This book did start off a bit slow, but getting into it it was good. I love how she writes her twists and turns, and I liked the way she did the flashbacks.

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson was a book I had picked up around its release date to read and could not get into it. I read for a while and tried to get into the book and I just could not do it. So I put it down with hopes of coming back to it. As you can tell based on when this book released, it’s been a while. I wanted to try again and I am so glad that I did. I don’t think I’ve ever come back to a book I couldn’t get into and had it turn into a five star review.

The story follows Stevie and her group of friends as they travel to England to hang out, study, and see Stevie’s boyfriend. But as Stevie gets entangled in solving a murder from 1995, nothing goes as planned. I quite liked the jumping back and forth in this book between current time and 1995. It wasn’t every other chapter and it helped build the backstory just enough without giving away who did the crime. It also gave us a larger insight into the original Nine friends, two of which were murdered in 95. I even quite liked all of Stevie’s friends. There is not a character in the story I really disliked, which says something for Johnson. It’s hard to make me like everyone, honestly; even if I was suspicious of a few of them throughout.

The way Johnson builds tension in this story, not only with Stevie trying to solve the crime, but also with tension building amongst the friend groups and between Stevie and David. There were a few side stories building throughout and I think it gave a bit of depth to this story that allowed it to be very realistic and more relatable to a reader. Life doesn’t just stop because you are trying to solve a crime. Things are still happening in the rest of a person’s world. I loved how Johnson built on that.


This story reminds me a lot of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in a sense. It’s the same type of book and general vibe, although different stories, of course. I love Holly Jackson and now I love Maureen Johnson. Little did I know that this is book five in this series so, of course, I have already downloaded the other 4 books and have started book one. I cannot wait to see what Stevie and her friends got up to before this. A must read for any mystery/thriller fan, especially if you love that teen detective vibe. A page-turner that you will not be able to put down, guaranteed!

Of all the books in this series, this is the most adult and the most complicated. I have loved Maureen Johnson books for a long time, and this series is one of my favorites. There were just a few too many coincidences and easy answers for me, though (and the weird almost intimate scene wasn't my favorite).

In this fifth installment of the Truly Devious series the group goes to England to visit David, who has been studying there on his own.
While there, for a VERY limited time, Stevie manages to get sucked into another mystery- this one occurring several years past at an English manor house.
Overall a fun mystery, but there was a fair bit of personal drama thrown in as well (a little personal cliff hanger at the end so beware!)

I have consistently given every book in this series 4 stars, all for different reason. I hate to say it but this installment was my least favorite. I enjoy these books so much mainly due to the setting of each one and I didn't care much that it was set in England. The settings of the other books intrigued me a lot more. Also I'm starting to find Stevie a little annoying, no rhyme or reason why, but I honestly couldn't wait for this book to end. Which it did end, with a romance-based cliffhanger so now I'll have no choice but to read the next one. Gripes aside, I did enjoy the murder and mystery of this. Was the murderer caught and paying for their crimes? I'm honestly not sure and I really hope that's touched upon in the next book because that's kind of bugging me. Overall this wasn't a bad book by any means, obviously I gave it 4 stars for a reason. I just wish things were a little clearer and that the setting was different. Like I stated above, I will be reading the next book to get my clarity and my answers to my questions.

Thanks to Katherine Tegen Books for the gifted copy for my honest review!

This book was a tad disappointing compared to the previous installments. As opposed to focusing on solving a crime, this one heavily focused on Stevie and David and all their personal shenanigans. While I do love them together, I don't like how it overshadowed what I love more about these books, the ability to let me get lost in the pages of a comfort series. I am glad the awkwardness about lying didn't turn out to be as big as I was thinking it would but that was far from my only issue here. I can only pray the 6th book returns to its roots even though I will definitely be expecting some drama with how this one ended.

I loved the series so far and was really excited for this one! It fell just short of the mark for me though. The characters were had to keep track of and the mystery seemed to be jumping around a lot. I found myself getting distracted often because it seemed there was either too much(characters) or too little (action) going on. Regardless, I do still love this series and will eagerly await the next installment.

The concept of this book was interesting but the mystery element was completely clouded by personal drama and it made the book a little dull. I might look into the earlier books of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

After reading The Box in the Woods, I was a little hesitant to read this 5th book in the series. The original trilogy was fantastic, but that 4th book just didn't reach the bar the others had set. But I am glad to report that with book 5, we are back! It's good again! The whole group is back at Ellingham for their final year when they get an invite to go to London to visit David. Sounds like study abroad! So they go and surprise! there's a cold case ready for Stevie to solve. This one is a bit of a struggle for her while she and the others are also dealing with their own internal conflicts that occur with getting older and venturing out into the adult world. Can she solve it before it's time to go home? I enjoyed it a lot! I just need the next one to come out now, because there's no way we can end the series like that!
Thank you NetGalley and Katherine Tegan Books for the advanced digital copy. All opinions are mine.

A great addition to the series. Upper young adult. Will not have in library due to contenta ms regulations from our school age category, but will recommend to the High School for addition. Will be a good read for high schoolers and young adults. Fans of A Good Girls Guide, which is big at the moment, will
enjoy. Think it’s not as highly as other additions to the series but still great.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved every book in this series and Nine Liars is no exception. That being said, the other books were all 5 star reads for me and this one landed closer to 4 or 4.5 stars.

My favorite aspect of this book was by far the 1995 cold case storyline. I love mystery/thrillers that involve a lot of characters and I really enjoyed getting to know the members of "The Nine" and trying to figure out whodunnit. I also really liked the inclusion of each character's interview transcripts following the murders as a sort of mixed media. It was interesting reading all of their accounts and trying to find inconsistencies in their stories.

The London setting was also really cool. It was fun to see the characters exploring a new city and visiting all of the landmarks.

As for my complaints, they mostly revolve around Stevie and David. A good portion of this story deals with the drama happening in their relationship. To be clear, I thought it was very realistic as they're teenagers and I think the conflicts between them are very common. However, it wasn't necessarily fun to read about and the tension just left me waiting for chapters about the 1995 timeline. I also didn't like how Stevie treated her friends throughout this story. Furthermore, the very end of this book made me really mad--I definitely did not like the direction things went in.

Overall, I enjoyed this new installment in the Truly Devious series. Despite my complaints, I think it's a mostly fun read and definitely worthwhile if you're a fan of the series.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

2.5⭐️

I really enjoyed the first 4 books in this series. While I didn't find them exceptional I had good time following the mysteries and shenanigans of these teens. However, the fun of those first 4 books was completely missing in this one for me.

I held off on reading this due to the strike and then just let it slip off my radar. But Summerween gave me the push to pick it up and unfortunately I think this is where my time with the series ends.

This one follows the same main characters when they return to school after the happenings of The Box in the Woods. They're in their final year and everyone is preparing for college. Except for Stevie.

Instead Stevie does nothing but wade through her life thinking about her boyfriend, David, who is attending Cambridge.

When David sets up a plan for a 1 week study abroad for Stevie and her friends, they all find themselves reunited in London. And Stevie's friends are determined to keep the trip murder free.

But of course, murder finds them anyways.

When David's best friend Izzy reveals that her aunt may have witnessed a murder, Stevie drags her best friends into the chaos despite their reluctance.

And that is where my main issue with this book lies. Stevie was quite honestly, the absolute worst. She lied and manipulated her friends into all these situations that made them highly uncomfortable with little to no regard for their feelings.

And when she was caught, she "apologized" in the way that white women love to do - by attempting to justify her actions.

Look I understand that Stevie is 18. But we're 5 books in and she still treats everyone like they are her side kicks. While simultaneous belittling herself on page and every turn. And frankly it was exhausting.

Not to mention the hot mess that was her romance with David.

I think that the side characters are the one shinning light in this book and they didn't get nearly enough page time.

And the mystery itself, while not bad, felt lackluster and almost like an afterthought to the character work.

Overall this one just didn't work for me. And even though there is at least 1 final books in this series, I don't think I'll be picking it up.

Oh, this book was so much fun. If you like Maureen Johnson's other books in this series, you should definitely enjoy this one. The murder mystery was very well done, as was the premise for Stevie needing to help solve it. I did get a bit annoyed at how irrationally Stevie acted sometimes re: David, but she's a teenager, so it's not completely unrealistic; it just felt a bit more YA than this series usually feels. I am a bit skeptical at how fast they organized everything, and I was NOT happy about the way part of the story ended with a cliffhanger. The actual murder mystery does get wrapped up, however, and that's the most important part when it comes to the story overall.

I'm not sure this would be good as a one-off read (unlike Box in the Woods, which can stand on its own). I do think you need to have at least read the books in the original trilogy to really appreciate this one.

Nine Liars is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. An excellent addition to the Stevie Bell series. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Nine Liars asap.

Stevie Bell is solving crimes again in this fifth follow up to Truly Devious. You will be on the edge of your seat through the whole book trying to figure out who the murderer is and wanting to read the next book immediately after.

Maureen Johnson is the best at those hard to solve, leave you wanting more mysteries. Nine Liars was a bit of a letdown as it did leave us with more questions than answers. I felt this book really gravitated toward her romantic relationship instead of showing her growing as a detective which is what I want for Stevie Bell. While I am more than ready to read the next installment and see where this story leads, I was a little disappointed in how this book played out. That mystery though- Johnson did a fantastic job taking us down a winding road full of turns and unexpected twists.

This series is still going strong. A great entry connecting to English manor mysteries, a perfect balance of an engrossing mystery for Stevie to solve and the continuing drama of Stevie and her friends.

As a fan of the first three books in the series, I was really excited about getting into this one. It kept up the same energy as the other books, and was an awesome addition.

The story continues on and it's truly amazing I can't express how much I love these books! The characters and the story truly makes me so happy! I never know how it's going to end but she always knows how to make my mind think! I love these characters so much and can't wait to see where they go now!

This is the fifth book in the Stevie Bell series, and the one with the best mystery so far. The series blends teen drama with murder mysteries.
For me, the teen drama only gets more annoying the farther into the series I read. However, the murder mysteries? Those just keep getting better.