As any other young, modern woman with terrible climate anxiety, I hate capitalism, and I especially hate how capitalism has shaped the reading industry. I hate how authors will sacrifice craft to put out book after book with no distinguishable features, I hate the cookie-cutter plotlines and character arcs, I had unoriginality and I hate books that are clearly made to get quick cash. But I am also a hypocrite, because as much as Johnson is selling out by continuing this series after it's perfect ending in The Hand on the Wall, I will read every else she puts out relating to Truly Devious and I will love it.
Nine Liars has a lot of flaws---too many new characters are introduced, too many to keep track of which is which, resulting in lackluster character development and an anticlimatic relevation. I don't really care about the death of characters I don't know anything about, and I don't care about the motivation that would drive a character to kill them when I also don't know anything about him/her. But the leadup to the relevation is a good as always, Johnson has stablished herself as someone who can write a good mystery. The setting was also great, and God, I love reading about stupid teenage drama. Can't get enough of it.
As much as I wish the plotwist was better, as I had a lot of great theories that were discarded, I still loved this, and I can't wait for the next volume in this series.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me an advanced copy of Nine Liars in exchange for an honest review.


hello I would like a refund on that ending because it was RUDE! other than that I do adore these books and love Stevie and loved the English countryside setting. I do however demand another book because you can’t just leave that ending and expect me to be okay with it.

Incredible. I love this series so so much and was so curious where the story/mystery would take us and loved where it went.
The cold case was twisty and intense!
And present day with Stevie was wonderful. I adore Stevie, Janelle, Vi, Nate and David and their banter and friendships continue to be the BEST.
When’s the next one????

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for an eARC.

4.25 stars
i was so excited to read the ARC for this!! i love the truly devious series and when an english mystery was hinted in the last book, i was psyched.
i enjoyed this more than the box in the woods definitely. i thought the mystery was better and i thought the developments in stevie and her friend group made sense. i’m a huge david fan (i know i’m in the minority) and the interactions with him here were great….
UNTIL THE END. WHAT???? i don’t mind being left with a cliffhanger but that specific one…….. no. i hated that the book ended there and it knocked off a full quarter-star from my rating.

This was a fun installment of the series. I appreciate the theme of mental health, talking about Stevie’s anxiety and panic attacks. The two POVs and timelines were fun, although it could get a little repetitive at times with information. This is a series I want for my classroom.

Maureen Johnson never fails to create an atmospheric mystery that sucks you in. This title fits perfectly into the Truly Devious series and I am always happy to have more Stevie Bell Mysteries. That being said the pacing of this book felt rushed, though it only takes place over a week, I did feel like the wrap up and solving of the mystery felt very sudden. Additionally, the final ending seemed a bit odd, I would assume another book is coming but if not there were still larger unresolved plot points I would have liked to see tied up.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Katherine Tegen Books for the advanced copy of Nine Liars. I could not believe my luck when I received a copy of Nine Liars - I'm a huge Maureen Johnson fan and the Truly Devious series is one of my all-time favorites. I cannot believe more people don't shout about this series from the rooftop. Nine Liars did not disappoint. Stevie Bell is back but this time in London. In each book, I've loved Johnson's location descriptions and her moody, quick London trip is no exception. I have a bad habit of reading ahead in books, but for some reason, I never feel the need for this series. I stayed up late every night until I finished and was pleased that a delicious cliffhanger means that there will be more.

Really enjoyed the latest addition to the Truly Devious series.. Cannot wait for the next book and mystery by Johnson.

I am consistently delighted by this series!! The stories and mysteries are so cozy and binge-able to me; I feel like they could easily be called formulaic or whatever, but after a certain point I have to imagine all mystery novels are formulaic or predictable in one way or another. This isn't something that bothers me as a reader, so I always have a great time.

I'm so endeared by Stevie Bell, and I love getting to read about her. She's so fun to read and being in her head is such a wild ride. Also, I LOVED how much Nate got to shine in this book! His one-offs and zingers were so FUNNY and his little character arc was brief but it was lovely and powerful. We love Nate!!!!!

Overall, this was a super fun installment and I think I'd be happy to read books in this series endlessly. This must be how Agatha Christie fans felt when the new Poirot mysteries dropped.

This was another great mystery written by Maureen Johnson and solved by Stevie. Stevie is such a real character with relatable flaws as she navigates her senior year, as well as, being s top crime solver. The mystery was thrilling and had me seconding guessing the perpetrator all the way through. I wish her friends had a bigger role, but it made sense for the plot for Stevie to struggle with that divide and growing up. I just hated the cliffhanger ending!

I am a person who lives with a toddler and I stayed up late to finish Nine Liars, which should speak for itself. I enjoyed the mystery and the end had me screaming (not literally, because toddler). I am a huge fan of Maureen Johnson and the Stevie Bell mysteries and I feel like they just keep getting better. My only complaint is that now I have to wait for the next one!

Finally back at school for their senior year, Stevie and her friends are focused on applying for college and making plans for the future. Except Stevie isn't sure she knows where she's headed. Feeling a little lost, she jumps at the chance to travel with her friends for a tour of London, complete with the perfect visit to her boyfriend David. What they discover there is a decades-old murder and and group of friends determined to let matters stay in the past. Can Stevie use her sleuthing skills to once again solve the case? Or will this one be beyond her reach?

Couldn't wait to get back into Stevie's world and solve the latest murder with her. This is a great addition to the series, as there's plenty going on in Stevie's personal life as well as she struggles to decide what she wants to do after she graduates. There's also quite the cliffhanger in this, so be prepared for a burning desire for book 6 after reading this installment.

Recommended for fans of Holly Jackson and Stephanie Perkins

This is one of my favorite series, and this new addition did not disappoint! Such a fun mystery and was just as funny as the others. This branches out to London and ends on a cliffhanger that makes me SO excited for the next book!!

Maureen Johnson produces true crime perfection — and NINE LIARS is no exception. (Please forgive me for such a cringe rhyme…I’m just obsessed with this book and struggling with how best to communicate my adoration.)

Stevie and the gang are back together again for the latest installment of the Truly Devious series and this murder mystery is easily the best one yet. This time, they’re in London, under the guise of a study abroad trip that sees Stevie reunited with David and introduces the group to a chilling cold case that forever fractured a group of friends years before.

No spoilers, but I genuinely could not figure out who was between the killings — and the big reveal left me absolutely stunned. Very impressed with how Johnson inserts such frequent twists and subtle, meaningful details into the plot, allowing her to keep her readers hooked from beginning to end.

My only complaint is the storyline with David. I am not, and never will be, a fan. Just no. Stevie has always deserved better.

It’s rare I say this, but this series doesn’t really even need romance. The friendships in it are wonderful enough on their own, serving as complementary storytelling that elevates Stevie’s penchant for figuring out long unsolved crimes.

I devoured NINE LIARS. Could not put it down. Now and forever more, I will read anything Johnson writes.

*Thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I love this series and this did not disappoint. Love the English manor mystery vibe and thought it was a well thought out puzzle that kept the pace. I did manage to predict the killer, but it was a fun ride and I’m looking forward to the next installment.

This was another great mystery following main character Stevie Bell. I like that we got off campus and Stevie got to solve a mystery in London. The through line romance with David ended on a cliffhanger.

Maureen Johnson has done it again! I love that she has not given up on Stevie and crew and has reinvented what once was a trilogy into many more books as long as they'll be had (and I'll have them all!) Stevie and crew set off to London to visit Stevie's boyfriend David and of course murder finds Stevie. I love the change of scenery and dynamic of The Nine. The reader's introduction to The Nine lets you believe that they all could be capable of murder but there's no way that any of them would kill a friend. Stevie's insecurities are so raw and real that the reader is blinded by David's insecurities. I want them to be endgame so bad, but are they just toxic? I need more books!

AMAZING but OMG! Talk about a cliffhanger! Great stand alone mystery with the “Scooby Gang” back together, this time in London, trying to solve a murder with out getting caught by the Head Master of Ellingham. They get to visit a lot of famous landmarks while keeping up the ruse, helping Izzy, the niece of on of the infamous Nine, solve a murder. Stevie needs to figure out her life, college, where she stands with David all while doing her detective thing! Now to wait another YEAR to see what happens with Stevie and the gang!

My relationship with this series has been very up and down. I loved the first one, gave the second three stars, and then gave the third book 4 stars with the opinion that it was a good conclusion to the end of what I thought was a trilogy. The fourth book came out last year and pleasantly surprised me, but unfortunately I didn't have the same experience here.

Both the central mystery and the surrounding relationship/friend group storyline both bothered me in certain ways. I won't fully spoil anything but don't read these comments if you want to go in without anything swaying you


Main mystery: Somehow this was both boring AND overly complicated. 9 people in this complicated incestuous friend group was a lot and I never felt like I knew or cared about them. They were caricatures at best and invisible at worst. They felt like a knock off version of so many other British dark academia friend groups that came before. I never guessed the solution but not because it was clever - it was just meh.

Friend group side of things: I know I don't have to agree with everything that a main character does but we are on book 5 and Stevie is pulling the same shit. Garnered a big eye roll here. By the end I was actually semi invested on the relationship part and I feel personally attacked by the cliffhanger. It felt more like a gimmick to get me to pick up the next book than an actually good narrative tool.

An excellent follow-up to last year's THE BOX IN THE WOODS, Stevie Bell is back in NINE LIARS and has traveled to England to help solve a decades-old murder mystery at a large English estate.

I will say that I liked this slightly less than THE BOX IN THE WOODS but I can't quite put my finger on why. I think the EXTREMELY abrupt ending plays some part in that, however it also leaves me anxious for the follow-up in a way that TBITW did not.

Overall, a very enjoyable read that I absolutely FLEW through once I sat down with it. Maureen Johnson continues to excel at having believably snappy dialogue, but also manages to make teens-on-the-cusp-of-adulthood issues and anxieties relatable and understandable (especially impressive as I am now closing in on my fourth decade of life).

A highly recommended stand-alone title.