Nine Liars was missing the magic of the rest of the series. There were some good parts that made it worth reading, but I found a lot frustrating. The buildup is so slow and the emotional pay off of the mystery felt rushed and minimal. The core mystery was interesting and would have liked a few more twists and turns along the way. The "study abroad" stuff was a bit of a snooze for me and so was a lot of the college application stuff.

One thing that I took a whole star off for was the terrible ace rep. I love ace rep but this book missed so bad. Since I won't spoil anything I won't say who, but when they come out they talk about how romance isn't for them and I thought "awesome an aromantic character!" and then they say "I'm asexual". Like what? Asexuality and aromanticism aren't the same thing and assuming they are is just lazy. There are aroace people in the world and they're awesome. However, if a character is aroace it's a disservice to only identify them as ace.

Okay, rant over.

I'm going to be generous and give this 3 stars. The ending did bother me though so a big old warning for cliffhangers

Stevie is back to solve another cold case! This time in London, where she and her friends are confronted with seven old friends, who once we're nine, and all were.... or are... liars. Riveting as the others with a great mystery at it's core.

Keeping this brief because I am still in support of the Harper Collins workers' union. I love Maureen Johnson and the Truly Devious series and this was a really fun addition.

3.5 stars

I've loved the Stevie Bell series since it started with Truly Devious and was happy to see Johnson was continuing with standalone novels. This one had a great mystery at the center, but I think she devolved into Stevie's personal life a little too much, but also not enough? A lot of the focus was on Stevie and her romantic relationship with David. She's worried about them because they are long distance now, but in this book they get a week in England together. Her best friends are there as well, but we don't get much interaction between them other than Janelle getting annoyed and a nice scene when Nate confides in Stevie. Otherwise, they are peripheral. But David seems to take up a lot of the story and the murder mystery felt like a B plot. The balancing of Stevie's life felt a little off kilter in this installment. Still, Johnson excels at setting up unique mysteries and I will continue to read Stevie's adventures.

I have read all of the book in the Truly Devious series and this one was okay but not my favorite. So much of the story was focused on Stevie's relationship with David and less time was spent with her friends who just seemed along for the trip to London. The mystery was interesting but a bit confusing with 9 different characters to keep track of, especially when some were quite similar to others. I felt like I figured the mystery out fairly early in the story and it felt like the characters were missing an obvious clue. The wrap-up flashback chapter happened quickly at the end and felt a bit forced. in light of the evidence she had at that point.
The book had such an abrupt cliffhanger that I had to wonder if my book was missing a chapter. Due to sexual situations and alcohol consumption, this title would be better for high school libraries.

My thriller readers in the high school library will love this one. Maureen Johnson is going to be an automatic buy for my library, but I think my teen readers will love this one.

This is such a tough review. The Truly Devious series has been consistently on my “Best of the Year” lists, but this… was fine? I didn’t hate it at all, but it didn’t quite hit the spot that the others did. Maybe I just didn’t connect with the English country-side scenery, but I suspect more of it had to do with how preoccupied Stevie was with her relationship with David. Some will love it, I am just (eek!) almost 35 and can’t handle that level of teen relationship insecurity. Will I read Book 6? Yes, instantly, maybe it will be more like Box in the Woods with less David.

Maureen Johnson does it again! While my heart will always have a soft spot for the original Truly Devious trilogy, I've loved getting to come along on Stevie Bell's subsequent adventures. As a fan of Agatha Christie and British manor mysteries, I appreciated Johnson's nods to classics of the genre, while also putting a fresh spin on them. I think young adult readers will enjoy both the story and the relationships between charaters.

Maureen Johnson's Nine Liars is everything I wanted it to be and so much more. I cannot, despite how hard I may or may not try, break free of Johnson's writing. I will devour everything she has written, as it seems she can produce nothing but incredible content.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I was so excited to read the newest installment of the Stevie Bell series, and overall it did was a decent book, albeit not my favorite. I think the main issue for me was David- I don’t like his character, and I especially don’t like who Stevie is with him. She shrinks who she is to fit what he wants/needs, and she’s so much better that that (and him).

The mystery itself is interesting, but not as compelling as the others in the series. The book picked up in the last 10% or so, but it wasn’t enough to carry the book. That said, I still would recommend it to Stevie Bell fans, and I will continue reading the series.

When I saw there was a new Truly Devious book coming out, I was excited. When I read the description and realized it was set in England, I was ecstatic! I live in Cheltenham and while the area around the train station is not nearly as charming as it is in the book, I always love having my town mentioned in a book.

Nine Liars is another great addition to the Truly Devious series. It's billed as a standalone, but you really need to have read the rest of the series to understand the nuances of the characters. It's also very apparent from that ending that this story is setting up something major to happen in the next book (can't wait!).

I really liked the mystery aspect of the story. The classic "English manor house" murder theme was a nice change, but I do feel that Stevie's drama with David and her focus on having sex with him overshadowed the rest of the story a bit. Stevie's friends are always, for me, what round out the stories and I didn't feel like I got enough of the others. That being said, if you've enjoyed the rest of the Truly Devious series, then I think you'll like this one as well. It was another great "Stevie solves a murder" book. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Okay, I'm gonna preface this by saying I absolutely adore the TRULY DEVIOUS series and was so excited when I heard there was going to be a book with my favorite characters that felt like friends. I wanted to like this book soooo bad. But I didn't. This book was so slow paced, and many times, just plain disappointing. The characters felt like flatter versions of themselves that lacked the character, energy, and depth they had in the previous books, The chemistry of the friend group and the relationships in it was lacking, Where is the tension?? Where was Stevie's crippling anxiety that so many readers like myself heavily related to?? It seemed like so much of the incredible writing in the TRULY DEVIOUS series failed to carry over to this book. At first, when I was starting the book, I was like oh maybe the beginning is just slow and it gets better. And then in the middle, I was like oh I'm sure the ending will be fantastic and redeem this book. And then I hated the end. Wanted to throw my Kobo across the book and not in a cute little screaming crying they're so cute kinda way.

Stevie, Janelle, Nate, and Vi are in their final year at Ellingham Academy. The first chapter focused on the gang opens with Janelle and Vi stressing and obsessing over college applications while Stevie struggles to focus on a class reading assignment, using any excuse to distract from the assignment and thoughts of her future after Ellingham. Throughout the book, there is distance among the group, but the chapters on Stevie and her friends are offset with chapters of different friend group. The Nine, as they like to call themselves, are a group of nine friends who studied at Cambridge in the 90s. The mystery that Stevie and her friends are tasked with is to figure out who killed two members of the group during a week-long graduation celebration at a member’s home. The closeness of the Cambridge students before and after the tragedy took place shows, as Stevie and her friends interact with them, how much Stevie, Janelle, Nate, Vi, and David are moving in their own direction. The five could remain a close-knit group of friends, just as the remaining members of The Nine, but there is a question that hangs over the group of nine about whether a tragedy kept them close because of grief or guilt.

Stevie took risks in this book that felt more reckless compared to previous books. It'll be interesting to see how Stevie handles the consequences and deals with what happened at the end of the book. Though I did not enjoy the friendship between Stevie, Janelle, Nate, and Vi as much as the previous four books, their friendship seemed to get back on track by the end. I'm hoping for another book to see if everything works out with college and the group's friendship. It would also be nice to have one last mystery at Ellingham Academy before Stevie and the gang graduate. Highly Recommend.

I loved the original series by Maureen Johnson, and this was an extremely enjoyable stand alone mystery. I was intrigued by both the sections on the backstory and the group of friends, and the section on Stevie’s trip where she gets involved in solving the mystery and visits David. Such an involving story and I really enjoyed this one!

I didn't love this installment as much as the previous 4 but it was still super fun! I especially loved the British setting and the slightly more modern crime. I also really enjoyed getting to know Izzy. That being said David was a real jerk in this book and made me so incredibly angry the whole time- especially at the end! Also I didn't love the big reveal of who committed the crimes this time because it didn't fully make sense- how did they kill 2 people with an axe and not get any blood on themselves?

I have adored this series for years, but this latest installment felt like a let down. Instead of exciting mystery and sleuthing, it was mostly personal drama and angst and a will-they-won’t-they romance that expired 2 books ago. The mystery - which is always my favorite part of these books - takes a back seat to Stevie and David’s failure to communicate or act like they are in any kind of romantic relationship at all. David is the worst boyfriend ever, even by 18 year old standards.

The mystery itself could have been excellent if it had taken up more of the story. (The investigation doesn’t even start until more than halfway through the book!) Instead it felt kind of half baked and underwhelming. So little of the book was dedicated to details of the mystery and with such a large cast of characters, I felt like I needed more time to care about them and differentiate their personalities, potential motives, etc. Since it took so long for the mystery plot to get off the ground, the pacing felt slow and clunky instead of unputdownable like the other entries in this series. The end is an unsatisfying avalanche of Stevie very quickly solving the murder without the book-long rumination of the clues we have come to expect.

Overall, this was a disappointing read. Stevie and company are excellent characters and Maureen Johnson is capable of writing truly excellent mysteries, but she did not fully take advantage of her cast here and let the plot wallow in relationship angst instead of sleuthing goodness.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Truly Devious series was such a surprise to me when I first read it. I loved the mysteries and the friendship group. Both of these elements remain the highlights for me. 

In this installment, the mystery jumps decades (the 1990s) and cities (London), adding a sense of newness or freshness that is often lacking in a series. 

Oddly enough, the story gave me "Secret History" vibes. Imagine if The Secret History was a YA murder mystery. 

The Mystery Timeline

With nine potential murder victims and murder suspects, I was constantly changing my mind on who the murderer was—and I was wrong. Which, to me, has the makings of a great mystery. I typically do not enjoy predictable mysteries. I loved the setting and the atmosphere. Although keeping nine characters straight in my head was a bit hard at times. 

The Stevie Timeline

The greatest parts of these books when we are with Stevie are the friendships she has with her group. I love their honesty, and their forgiveness when they are not honest. I love their vulnerability. 

I also love when Stevie is actively trying to solve the murder. 

My issue with this book, and even the last one, is that I am so over the David/Stevie couple subplot. I honestly don't care about them even a little. I must admit that I am not the target audience for this type of subplot. The constant back and forth between them and the overwhelming angst just pulls me out of the story. I understand why it is included, and even though I don't love them together, I will continue to pick up Johnson's books. 

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Children's Books and Katherine Tegen Books for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

All opinions above are my own.

I didn’t realize this book was part of a series! I hadn’t read the previous books, but I read this one and still enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this, but it’s not my favorite Stevie story.

I think there wasn’t enough mystery and felt more like a book focused on personal life.

It’s slower. And reads with more angst, making it kind of odd.

School is back in session and Stevie Bell has finally hit her Senior Year. Unfortunately, with her boyfriend, David, overseas studying in London, Miss Stevie is that mopey, distracted long-distance relationship girl. We all know her. Her friends are noticing the change and although they're mostly supportive, they sort of wish she would just get back to being herself. Solve a murder, or something.

Soon enough, it's David to the rescue, as he has hatched a fairly stellar plan. He invites Stevie, Nate, Janelle and Vi to come to London to do a study-abroad for a week. Each of them devises a schedule and specific course of inquiry for their time there. David has secured them a place to stay. It should be easy. They just need to sell the Headmaster on the idea.

I think you know what happens because the group ends up there, in London, ready to study their little hearts out. Sure.

On their first night, they get introduced to Izzy, one of David's closest London friends. As luck would have it, Izzy has a mystery. Stevie is winning all around, her hot boyfriend and a cold-case mystery all in one place!! Izzy has insight on this mystery because her Aunt Angela was one of the individuals involved.

In 1995, Angela was part of a very tight-knit group of friends, collectively known as The Nine: Sebastian, Rosie, Angela, Sooz, Peter, Noel, Theo, Yash and Julien. They were all actors, artists and their lifestyle was a bit wild. They worked hard and played harder.

After their graduation from Cambridge, as a bit of a celebration, they took a trip to Julien's family's country estate. The morning after a drunken version of hide-and-seek, two members of the group are found dead. It's clear they were murdered. Very clear. Yet due to lack of evidence, no one was ever arrested for the crime.

Years later, under the influence of pain relievers following a hospital stay, Izzy's Aunt Angela says some things to her that raise Izzy's suspicions. Does her Aunt know what happened to her two murdered friends? She asks Stevie to look into it and you know our Stevie, you are not going to dangle something that tempting in front of her and not have her bite. Thus begins the London-installment of Truly Devious!

I love this series so much. This is the 5th-book and I have eagerly read them all. I've never been disappointed and will continue to pick them up for as long as they are released. This was such a fun romp with Stevie and friends. I loved the change of scenery with them studying in London for a week and of course, the murder mystery solving.

Additionally, in this one, I really enjoyed the past timeline following Aunt Angela and her friends. It was such a dynamic, yet messy, group and I was living for the drama.

In the present timeline, there was also drama of course. Stevie and David navigating their relationship, taking it to new levels and all of them being focused on the college application process. I'm always interested in watching characters grow and begin to figure out their own path.

This is a bit of slow burn. It does take a while to really get into the intensity of the mystery and subsequent investigation. However, in my opinion, it was well paced and I think the payoff was worth the wait. Ohhh, also, we're definitely getting another book. There's no way this is the end of Stevie's story. Maureen Johnson wouldn't play us like that.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has been enjoying the Truly Devious series. For those who haven't started it yet, and enjoy YA Mystery, what are you waiting for?! This is not a series to be missed!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Katherine Tegen Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm low-key obsessed with this series and hope for many more future installments!