YA Book Review: The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

The Hand on the Wall
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious (Book 3)
Publication: Katherine Tegen Books (January 21, 2020)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.

Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie’s greatest triumph . . .

She knows who Truly Devious is. She’s solved it. The greatest case of the century.

At least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it’s hard to concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure that somehow—somehow—all these things connect. The three deaths in the present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers.

Then another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it’s time for Stevie to do something stupid. It’s time to stay on the mountain and face the storm—and a murderer.

In the tantalizing finale to the Truly Devious trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson expertly tangles her dual narrative threads and ignites an explosive end for all who’ve walked through Ellingham Academy.

My Thoughts: The mystery, or mysteries, are solved but not before Stevie and her friends deal with a lot of danger.

There have been three deaths that could have been murder or could have been accidents. You, know which way Stevie is leaning! Looking into them is distracting her from the seventy-five year old mystery of the kidnapping of three-year-old Alice Ellingham which has never been solved. Failing to solve the crime could have big financial implications for the Ellingham Academy and for the person who solves the case.

Stevie is pretty sure that she has solved the case. She knows who Truly, Devious is and who was the mastermind behind the kidnapping but the voluntary disappearance of David Eastman is very distracting to her.

Events come together when parents and administrators decide to evacuate all the students and staff in the face of an on-coming maga blizzard. Stevie decides that would be a perfect time to stay behind and work on the case. Some of her friends stay too including David who has come back with political dirt on his father that he wants his friends to help him read for evidence.

With a storm raging outside, all of the various plot threads come together to let Stevie solve the mystery that has been her obsession since even before she set foot on the grounds of Ellingham Academy.

I liked the way the events of the past and present were woven together in the story. I enjoyed Stevie's obsessive personality and the acceptance she found among the other unique individuals at Ellingham Academy.

Favorite Quote:

Stevie would rather eat bees than share her tender inner being with anyone else - she didn't even want to share it with herself.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.