The Hand on the Wall

Starred review from December 1, 2019
The final, riveting chapter of the Truly Devious murder series. The initial incident in the series involved the 1936 abduction of newspaper tycoon Albert Ellingham's wife and daughter; the present volume probes several unsavory events that transpired afterward, including Ellingham's own death in 1938, in a sailing accident on Lake Champlain, and the recent immolation of University of Vermont history professor and Ellingham mystery enthusiast Dr. Irene Fenton. Fenton was introduced to protagonist and contemporary "Ellingham Sherlock" Stevie Bell in The Vanishing Stair (2019). As Stevie gets closer to making good on her resolution to solve the Ellingham case's past and present riddles, Johnson makes the most of the exclusive institution's remote, wooded mountain locale, provocatively setting the climax of Stevie's investigations during the throes of a cataclysmic blizzard. Stevie and her motley crew of misfit high school geniuses are stranded à la Agatha Christie with members of the Ellingham Academy administration, who may have a stake in the revelations of several secrets linking the Ellingham kidnappings with present-day murders. Throughout this intricately woven, fast-paced whodunit, Johnson demonstrates how proximity to wealth and power can mold and bend one's behavior, whether with good or--here largely--devious intent. The brainy secondary characters' quirky talents and interests complement Stevie's sleuthing skills; while mostly white, they include diversity in socio-economic background, mental health challenges, physical disability, and sexual orientation. A richly satisfying, Poirot-like ending for Johnson's inspired and inspiring teen sleuth. (Mystery. 14-18)

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December 13, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Stevie Bell and her friends are snowed in at Ellingham Academy, which was mostly evacuated ahead of a blizzard. Her (possibly ex) boyfriend David shows up with drives containing thousands of files relating to his despised senator's father's presidential campaign, asking for their help to read and interpret them. And while her friends look for connections in spreadsheets and emails, Stevie can get back to work solving crimes. And solve crimes she does, figuring out the answers to mysteries and riddles worthy of the school's founder, Albert Ellingham, himself. This will be essential reading for the many fans of the first two books. VERDICT This trilogy ender is fun, satisfying, and a genuine treat for teens and adult mystery fans.-Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 At the end of The Vanishing Stair (2019), Stevie Bell solved the infamous, impossible mystery of the Ellingham disappearances. But it's an accomplishment that she's kept to herself: people have been dying in strange accidents around Ellingham Academy, and Stevie, always the detective, is starting to wonder if there's more going on than meets the eye. As Stevie puzzles her way through the mysteries of the past and present, a storm barrels toward Ellingham Academy, and if Stevie is right, it could trap her and her friends with a killer and bring with it a reckoning that will redirect the future. In this hotly anticipated trilogy finale (beginning with Truly Devious, 2018), Johnson pulls out all the stops, filling the thrillingly nimble narrative with classic mystery conventions. Stevie's anxiety reaches a fever pitch as the storm hems her in, and her struggles with her disorder remain honest to the core. A striking foray into an examination of what mysteries can ever truly be solved, and a satisfying send-off for a series that will be missed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)