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 and 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.
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A huge thank you to the FFBC tours and the publisher for the eARC and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour. Click on the tour banner above to view the tour schedule) (
US Giveaway at the end of the post)
(+ favourite quotes)
My greatest find of 2019 was the
dark academia genre and I have completely been sucked into the murderous genre. (
I swear I'm mostly normal)
I read Truly Devious and The Vanishing Stair in one go only to realize book two end in one
CRAZY cliffhanger and then I basically died and went to underworld because
THAT CLIFFHANGER! Extremely thankful to FFBC tours for giving me an opportunity to read the eARC of The Hand on the Wall and thereby bring myself back from the dead.
Does the finale deliver?
YES IT DOES EARTHLINGS! (
and any aliens who may be reading this)
~4 REASONS THIS BOOK IS A SWASHBUCKLING FINALE~
~Twists at every turn (warning - you may crick your neck)~
If you have read the first two books, you must be perfectly aware of the
ginormous talent Ms.Johnson has for slapping us with twists and revelations throughout the book. The Hand on the Wall is no different. Right from page one we are right beside Stevie on the race against time, trying to solve both present murders and past ones. Everytime I made a guess, the plot would smack me on the head and pull me in a different direction and needless to say,
IT WAS AMAZE.
“She’s like the owl, hunted in the dark and the shadows, looking for something new that would get her more clicks.”
~adorkable cinnamon roll characters~
STEVIE - Murder? I can handle the good sir but PEOPLE? let me go bury myself.
NOAH - *
has already locked himself in the dungeon and will answer no questions regarding his book*
“Are you trying to get me to have an emotion?” Nate said, his eyes reddening a bit. “Because I’ve spent my whole life learning how to repress and deflect and you’re kind of ruining my thing.”
These two were my absolute favourite characters and I shall protecc them like proud mama hen. The author does a wonderful job with anxiety representation. This quote in particular was so on point.
Anxiety does not ask your permission. Anxiety does not come when expected. It’s very rude. It barges in at the strangest moments, stopping all activity, focusing everything on itself. It sucks the air out of your lungs and scrambles the world.
David did annoy me A
LOT though and I legit wanted to hold him upside down and shake him like a ragdoll for being annoying hmmph.
I did like that unlike the first two books, the number of characters reduce here making it a close circle filled with all the tension.
ME LIKES THE ANGST (
again I'd like to take a moment and assure you that I'm mostly normal)
~Atmospheric setting~
I mean stormy Vermont, lonely academy with weird statues and classy buildings, all the snow and like
IT ATMOSPHERIC and 200% perfect for deaths to happen and cases to be solved. Do they get solved? You gotta read and find out. I personally adored the descriptions of places and the weather. It really added to the tension in the story.
“This is like being on one of those trips to Mount Everest. You know, the ones with the ten percent death rate and half the landmarks are frozen bodies.”
~The two plot lines - past and present entwine together so wonderfully~
I generally worry when a book alternates between timelines but Maureen Johnson totally kills it with this trilogy. I enjoyed seeing what happened in the past and also seeing how Stevie tries to get to the answers. There was not a dull moment in either of the timelines and for all of you going crazy after book two,
I can assure you, you'll get some answers.
If you wanted to solve a crime, you needed to detach.
~The Hand on the Wall is an atmospheric finale with Poirot mystery vibes and totally kills it with it's twists and a wonderful cast of characters~
(Actual Rating - 4.5)
~MY SPOTIFY PLAYLIST~
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