Review Detail

NINE LIARS by Maureen Johnson is the fifth book in the Truly Devious series that sends us back into Stevie’s hijinks as she tries to figure out what’s next. Sensing she may have some time, David, who’s across the pond, arranges for Stevie and her friends to come over for a study abroad week, and while there, Stevie gets introduced to an unsolved murder. All of a sudden, she finds herself in the midst of a complicated riddle: the double-murder took place in the 90s at a country estate where nine friends went to celebrate their college graduation. Two people never made it out of there. In an unexpected turn of events, the deeper Stevie gets into the case, the more she may have to compromise her relationships if she wants to find the answer.

The structure of the book starts off flipping between Stevie’s group of friends in the present, and the Nine at the time of the murder. In that way, the stories run parallel to one another, allowing readers to find eerie similarities, and more importantly, differences. On one side, I really love this setup as the Nine are fun and seemingly ideal friends. I did miss them when their chapters disappeared. That being said, incorporating their storyline the way the author does from the beginning makes it a slower start, especially in the first couple of chapters as it’s a lot of information very fast.

Once Stevie gets to London, everything changes. The pace picks up, and I became very invested in her storyline, and the rest of the characters from present time, particularly Izzy and Angela. I would love to read more in this setting, and it seems like I may get that wish as so much is left unfinished by the end. While I do wish there was a bit more conclusiveness to wrap this particular book up, I am very much looking forward to what’s next. I have so many questions!

Overall, readers who want a contemporary Agatha Christie vibe, sprinkled with some long-distance relationship drama will really like NINE LIARS.