Maureen Johnson’s “The Vanishing Stair” is an intriguing and capable second book in the Ellingham trilogy. Following Stevie Bell in her return to Ellingham Academy, this book furthers both the current and twentieth century mysteries.
Twisting and complex, Maureen Johnson’s “Truly Devious” is an extremely solid start to a new YA mystery series. Centered around the prestigious boarding school Ellingham Academy, the novel follows amateur detective Stevie Bell as she begins her first year at the school. Ellingham is notorious for a double kidnapping and a murder that occurred in the early twentieth century, and Stevie is determined to solve the case while studying there.
Maureen Johnson’s “The Box in the Woods” is an intriguing and entertaining return to her Truly Devious trilogy. Stevie and her housemates Nate and Janelle are offered counselor jobs at a summer camp where four teenagers were brutally murdered in the 1970s. Told from both the point of view of characters in the current day and the past, the mysterious of Camp Sunny Pines begin to unravel towards a shocking conclusion.
Danielle Valentine’s “How to Survive Your Murder” offers a disappointingly flat execution of an interesting concept. Horror-obsessed teenager Alice Lawerence is coping with the murder of her older sister, Claire, a year after the incident. On the morning of the trial for the killer, she passes out in the courtroom bathroom and wakes up on last year’s Halloween night, with her sister beside her. Claire is alive again, and if Alice can solve her murder by midnight, she’ll stay that way.
In the previous books, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Good Girl Bad Blood, the main character Pip Fitz Amobi is revealed. In the previous books, Pip chooses to investigate an old town murder case as her senior capstone project. After the truth comes forth and she begins to confirm the events and decides to create a podcast explaining the reality of the murder case.
Hot and Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien is a murder mystery novel. When Lana Lee and her best friend, Megan Riley, host a speed dating event at their restaurant, Ho-Lee Noodle House, things take a deadly turn. Rina Su, another Asia Village shop owner, matches with an unlikely guy, and goes against her friends advice and warnings. In the middle of the night, they get a call that Rina’s date… is dead. Fortunately for them, Lana’s boyfriend, Adam Trudeau is on the case.
As far as murder mysteries, this book is a stand-out for me. I loved the little plot twist at the end, and how the whole book keeps you on your toes. I think that people who read murder mystery books like to try to guess the murderer and motive throughout the book, and this one does not make that easy.
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie is a mystery novel. The story takes place on, well,
the Nile, obviously. There is a tranquil cruise going along the scenic Nile River, when suddenly
the calm of the journey is interrupted by news that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the
head and her string of pearls are missing. Fortunately, everyone’s favorite Belgian sleuth is on
board the steamer.
In the previous book, A Good Girls Guide to Murder, Pip chooses to look into a murder case for her
senior capstone project and eventually, she learns the truth about the case. After finishing her
senior project investigating the Andie Bell murder case and releasing a true-crime podcast
documenting all her evidence and explanations someone Pip knows goes missing. Jamie
Reynolds, the brother of her close friend Connor goes disappears the night of the town's memorial
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson is the third book in the series. The book starts out with Pip
in a very bad place. She still has trauma from Stanley's death in the second book. We find out
that she’s secretly buying sleeping pills from Luke, the drug dealer from the last two books. Pip
is about to head to college but a person keeps threatening her. The threats keep getting worse
and Pip finds out someone is stalking her. She finds out that her stalker and a local serial killer
