The Hand on the Wall: Three deaths, a vanished suspect, and a storm closing in―Stevie Bell races to unmask Ellingham Academy's killer. (Truly Devious, 3)

Now that is how you end a series. I mean honestly each book got better and the number of reveals in this last book still has me stunned. I wish this story didn’t have to end, I undeniably love Ellingham Academy and all of the characters. The mystery was spectacular and I had absolutely no idea whatsoever throughout the whole book who the culprit was. If I had to describe The Hand on the Wall I would use riveting, amazing, entertaining, a wild ride, and a masterpiece. At the end of The Vanishing Stair we are left with Stevie somewhat solving the Ellingham murder case. Wrong. The amount of detail and layers this mystery has is amazing, not to mention the 1936 murder and the murders that are happening present day intertwine is mind blowing. I can’t express to you how utterly shocked I am at how much was revealed and the fact that I had no idea about any of it. In the final installment we follow Stevie at Ellingham, but during a huge blizzard that has the school evacuated. Of course, Stevie stays with Nate, David, Vi, Janelle, and some of the school professors. It’s honestly a bit creepy knowing all of this is going on when the power is out, there is literally a blizzard dropping feet of snow, and a murderer could potentially be on the loose. One of the reasons I love this book so much is because of Stevie and her friends. Stevie is weird, but in a good way, quirky, and loves her crimes and mysteries. Even though everyone around her thinks she is a bit delusional for trying to solve this case, she never gives up. She is such a relatable character and I mean I love how peculiar and strange all the other characters are. “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 mean that not only made me laugh, but I completely agree with Stevie and I just love her. The biggest part of this is obviously the mystery, and still I’m sitting here trying to process the ending. It was just such a mind shocker that I’m still processing everything. This series has one of the best who-dun-it aspects. Thank you, Maureen Johnson, for writing such a masterpiece.

I finally had a chance to finish this series. And you know what? It was a pretty fun ride. Sure, it had some iffy moments, but at the end, I don't regret reading this and could even see myself rereading this at some point - if for no other reason than to look for any clues or hints that I may have missed in the previous books. As I sometimes do when reviewing the last book in a series, I'm going to discuss the work as a whole in order to minimize spoilers. However, if you are wanting to read this series without any inkling as to what you might expect, I would recommend not reading any further. Initial thought: this series should have been a duology. I expected the first book to start off slowly so that characters could be established and readers could adjust to the format and pacing. However, I didn't realize just how long it took for the plot to really get interesting until I reread it. The present-day murder doesn't even occur until more than halfway through! 😵 Once this happened, things did improve with questions starting to stack up and everyone looking like a potential suspect. 👀 The second book also started off slow with quite a bit of time being diverted to a secondary storyline - which I absolutely did not care for. Some new discoveries were made and only a few questions answered by the end. Overall, it felt like the first 75% only served as setup for the last 25%. As good as that last quarter may have been, it didn't negate the occasional trudging necessary to get there. In my opinion, this third book was the best installment by far. It should go without saying that it is by no means flawless, but I highly enjoyed seeing how everything came together here at the end. I also noticed that most of the petty teen drama and random side quests had lessened which allowed for more time to be focused on solving the mysteries. While the King storyline was still present, it felt disjointed and had a resolution that I felt came about too easily. From the very start, I was 100% here for the 1930s mystery and it remained my favorite aspect throughout the entire series. I loved piecing together the story through all of the flashback scenes, interview transcripts, newspaper clippings, etc. There were some really well done twists (one even within the first few pages of this last book) that caught me off guard and yet made perfect sense. The modern-day mystery was not as good, but still intriguing enough. I was satisfied with the ending even though I had figured out the big reveal before it was announced. (Although if I figured it out, that probably means it wasn't too hard to do. 😅) My one complaint here was that I found some of the developments to feel forced or implausible. For instance, there was a certain character that showed up out of absolutely nowhere at the end and the reasoning given for their appearance made no sense. Speaking of random characters, I felt like a lot of the first book and some of the second was spent on secondary and even tertiary characters that never ended up mattering to the main plot. Perhaps their only purpose was to make it harder for Stevie/the reader to identify the true culprit? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe, but I got annoyed having to keep up with some of them. I did appreciate the consistent and (from what I can tell) accurate representation that was present throughout the series. While it may have taken me longer than usual to connect with these characters due to how shallow and caricature-ish some of them were at first, I actually found some to be quite likeable - especially Stevie, Janelle, and Nate. If the focus of a particular chapter wasn't directly tied to one of the mysteries, then I wanted it to be about Stevie and her friends. On her own, Stevie did not make great decisions and was a bit frustrating. She was always a stronger character whenever she was involving others in her investigations, collaborating with them, or just hanging out and talking. The one aspect of these books that I never understood was the relationship between Stevie and David. While at least Stevie had some good moments to counteract any irritation I might have felt for her, my feelings for David never changed. He started off as a rude, self-centered jerk and by the end, I really didn't see much of a difference. He constantly toyed with Stevie's emotions and had such a hot/cold persona that I'm still not sure what was real or not. And somehow that's supposed to be attractive? Well, apparently he's "gorgeous" so that makes it all okay, right? 🙄 Even with my criticisms, I maintain that this was a solid, YA mystery which kept me quite entertained. I think anyone who enjoys stories with dual timelines, whodunnit cold cases, quirky characters - and can handle the extra drama thrown in - might appreciate these books as I did.

And just like that the great mystery is solved and all it needs is a cookie for Elvis. “Hand in the Wall” presents it’s case giving us a satisfying conclusion to a kidnapping and murder plot that has carried Stevie and us readers through the first two books. With the Academy deemed unswfe and a snow storm locking everyone inside a settling not unlike an Agatha Christie novel sets the stage for a final showdown where the past and present collide and the truth about Alice is revealed. I really love these books and all the references to true crime that round out Stevie’s character as she and I are nearly the same person where it comes to all of that and I couldn’t wait to see how she would crack the case. Everything from the subtle misdirects and isolated setting made the tension extra thick for this final book and I couldn’t get through it fast enough. I loved how all the characters came together and some of those who were more in the background were able to prove their skills when tackling the final moments of the mystery with my only complaint being that of David. I have a weird relationship with him and the idea of he and Stevie together as I spent a good portion of the first two hoping they could make it work only to get to this one and praying they never crossed paths for the entirety of the story they are at odds until the last handful of pages where it’s the one loose end that’s tied up too quickly to make sense. These are really great books and like always I’m going to plug My Favorite Murder because it’s obvious Maureen is a fan and most of the murders Stevie discusses in this book are featured in their own episodes of the podcast.

I really enjoyed these book. All three of them. I never expected one mystery to span three trilogies but really it was many mysteries wrapped into one. I couldn’t put the books down and I read all three within the span of two weeks. Maybe five stars is generous but it’s five stars for what it is not five stars in the grand scheme of literary history. This book improved upon what was built before in the first two. We finally see some villainous actions and a satisfying defeat of one villain and we get to experience the end of another surprise one. We get interesting conclusions to all the mysteries and we get to see Stevie do what she does best. My only complaint was some of the romance aspects but I think that I’m biased because I really just did not like David and didn’t get what Stevie saw in him. If I couldn’t buy into that romance of course those parts would bore me, so if you like him it might not be a problem. I think it would be cool to visit Ellingham again as one of the best parts of this series is the setting. I’d also love to see Stevie solve mysteries again. Even if I don’t get that, I’m happy with the time I’ve spent in this magical place and these vibrant characters. Also, Nate is the best. Three cheers for Nate, the only sane one in the group.

4 STARS It’s impossible to miss The Hand on the Wall. After two years real time (and about a single year for Stevie Bell), we’re here: the end of the Truly Devious case. Three people have died, secrets are out in the open, and it’s all come down to this. Since I first picked up Truly Devious and fell in love with Stevie’s determination, I’ve been waiting for this moment. And since The Vanishing Stair made me more curious, I’ve been absolutely dying to know the full truth. It’s been a race against the clock on my end. Could I solve the Ellingham cases before reaching the end of The Hand on the Wall? Could Maureen Johnson successfully pull the wool over my eyes? In a fun twist of events, the answer is yes and no to both questions. Petition for Maureen Johnson to write more mysteries, please and thank you? “Ellingham academy was no longer the kind of place you could make casual jokes about being a skeleton.” While the first two Truly Devious books have a somewhat more playful air despite the amount of death involved, The Hand on the Wall drops into a new atmosphere entirely. Ellingham Academy is no longer the genius wonderland it once presented itself as, and the stakes are piling higher. No one escapes the gloom hanging over the school, and when a snowstorm sets in, it’s enough to make it seem like the end is coming once and for all. And yet there’s still a sense of wonder and enthusiasm present. The kids at Ellingham love what they do, and while the mysteries at hand pose a dire threat, no one wants to leave this place behind. There’s too much to learn, too much to explore, and parting ways would be devastating. I really appreciated how Maureen managed to balance this, especially when you have three deaths weighing on the school and its reputation. It’s perfectly sensible for characters to be wary of Ellingham and the trauma surrounding it, particularly the students’ families. But appreciation and wonder outweigh the fear in a lot of ways, through enthusiastic independent projects, through a casually diverse campus, through the promise of something new around the next corner. It complicates the setting in a wonderful way, without detracting from the plot. It’s the cast that brings Ellingham Academy to life, though. Knowing this is the final chapter of Stevie and Friends’ adventures, I ended up latching on very closely to the characterization. Stevie landed at the forefront, of course, and after all she’s been through, I loved seeing how she handled it all. There are moments where her anxiety spikes in ways that hit home (there’s an episode of self-isolation and intense focus as both an info-processing and avoidance method that felt uncomfortably familiar to me), and other moments where she’s doing what she does best: solving mysteries. Her determination to reach the end of the Truly Devious mystery is such a delight, too. Where no one else in 75 years has gotten close to the truth, she’s managed to separate and rearrange all the pieces. She’s done what no one else could, even with a cloud of doubt rolling over her from the people around her, and I adored that. I’m sure some folks will find it irritating, or too easy, or unlikely given all the other people who must have taken a crack at the case. But Stevie did it. She saw it through, and I love that so much. On the other hand, though, the rest of the cast didn’t get the consistent level of attention afforded to Stevie. To my surprise, we focused a lot on the events in the 1930s surrounding Alice’s kidnapping, seeing it through the eyes of Ellingham students and family friends. While this ensures all the hidden pieces of the puzzle fall into place at last, it also leaves current characters a little in the lurch. I wish so much that Nate, Janelle, and Vi had bigger roles in Stevie’s quest (though I appreciate what they did offer, especially Janelle, saintly voice of reason and engineering that she is). I also wish that David wasn’t so important, but that’s old news. He’s prickly and stand-offish, and I still don’t care for his relationship with Stevie. That said, I love where his character ends up, so it’s not a total wash in the LI department. Where the plot is concerned, gravity is at work. This is where The Hand on the Wall managed to capture me and gently let me down. And I do mean gently, because it could not have earned a positive rating if it had dropped me on my face. On the one hand, I adored the resolution of all the mysteries. In particular, I discovered that I had both solved and failed to solve the original Truly Devious riddle: what’s on a staircase, but never on a stair? In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I won’t share my original guess outright. Instead, you can view it here, if you feel so inclined. We can chat about it in the comments or via Twitter DM if you like! The point is, though, that I accidentally solved the entire series, and still failed to solve the riddle. The answers left me beyond thrilled (downright vindicated, truthfully), and I loved it. And yet, they lacked something. Looking back, I think they were a little too inevitable. After three books, little puzzling remained for me. When the plot fell into place at last, gravity pulled it there, not the characters. The pieces floated down and clicked, rather than pulling together at Stevie’s hand. It really is the solving stage of the story, with exploration and postulation left behind. Assembling the puzzle is more important now than searching for the pieces. At the end of the day, The Hand on the Wall still delivers. Despite my (honestly minor) disappointments with The Hand on the Wall, I’m still delighted with the conclusion. The search for Alice Ellingham has been a twisty road, and every minute has been a joy. I’m beyond amazed that I both did and did not solve the staircase riddle, and I found the story’s conclusions to be brilliantly plotted. Every step seems so clear in hindsight, and it’s worth saying twice: I hope Maureen Johnson writes more mysteries. She’s made boarding school murders fascinating and even a little fun where they perhaps shouldn’t be, and she’s given us a heroine worth rooting for. If you haven’t read the Truly Devious series yet, I can’t encourage you enough to start it today. What more can you ask for than murders, riddles, and teenage girls proving decades of precedent wrong? And if you have read the series, especially if you’ve read The Hand on the Wall, then we should absolutely talk. CW: kidnapping, drug use, addiction, alcoholism, loss of a loved one (including child death), gambling, graphic injury, violence (including gun violence)

I enjoyed the first and, second books in the series, quite a bit, but for me the third book was a really disappointing finale. First of all, I feel like the first book made so much out of the truly devious character and the riddles. But honestly, it ultimately ended up being unimportant to the story and really did not resurface again. I was hoping for more riddles or connection. The second, I am kind of confused by the whole plot with the deaths in the present time. For most of the book it was assumed they were accidents, and then I feel like the secondary story about what happened, got tacked on right at the end, and it wasn’t particularly twisty or interesting . I actually think that the story setback in the past was much more interesting. I did not completely understand going back-and-forth between the narration’s. Sometimes it seemed like it was supposed to give you a clue, but most often it felt like she just used it to illustrate what had happened. Finally, I’m not sure how I feel about the Stevie Val character. Sometimes I kind of like her, and I do appreciate, the frankness about how the character deals with anxiety. But overall it was hard for me to understand if she was really supposed to be a competent detective, or just someone who I got lucky and found clues.. Ultimately I was not that impressed by the ending. I kind of wavered between two and three stars, but I do think that, in spite of being less than what I had hoped for, it was still an entertaining Reid and had some interesting writing.

What a fun book! There’s a terrific mystery, great characters, and the story all holds together so so well! All three of the first books were great!

“The Hand on the Wall” was the perfect conclusion to the Truly Devious Series by Maureen Johnson. What, there’s another book coming? Well, it wrapped up the “Truly Devious” mystery perfectly. Although I had some issues with the second book in the series,“ The Vanishing Stair”, “The Hand on the Wall” made up for that and then some. Stevie is on a mission to solve this case once and for all. I enjoyed this book so much. It was fun, it was mysterious, it had a great cast of characters. It was just overall a good, entertaining series. As usual, I love how it flipped back and forth between the past and the present. We made discoveries about characters we thought we knew. I have mentioned before how much I love the diversity of these books. There is so much representation going on! The pacing was good, although a bit slow in the beginning. I hated to see this book come to an end, so I took my time reading it. So glad to see that this is not the end of Stevie Bell. Come on April 2021.

From the 1930s glamour set to the present era's tech savvy generation of students, Stevie bridges a gap with research & an uncanny understanding of what makes people tick, metaphorically & literally. Well paced, keeps you guessing & most importantly, kept me entertained during the unspooling process, across several enjoyable books. Unputdownable is the highest praise I can give any book, & this is that.

Haven’t read it yet but the quality of the book is really good and it didn’t come with any wrinkles os anything like that.

Me gustaron mucho los dos primeros libros, los personajes son interesantes y se van desarrollando atractivamente durante el primer y segundo libro. Pero este tercero mas bien parece que fue escrito con prisa, con ganas de terminar y cobrar un cheque. No hay historia, no hay misterio y no tiene una buena resoluciòn. Lástima!

C'est le troisième tome de la série Truly Devious. Fin de l'histoire et de l'enquête sur Truly Devious, j'avais beaucoup aimé les 2 1er tomes et voulait donc avoir les réponses et découvrir qui était Truly Devious, qui étaient les coupables des meurtres du passé et ceux du présent. Un troisième tome un peu repetititifs, c'est du Young Adult donc il faut que le mystère soit plus facile à comprendre et à résoudre mais cette histoire aurait pu être racontée en seulement 2 tomes je pense. J'ai laissé une note élevée car le livre est d'occasion mais on aurait dit qu'il était neuf et qu'il n'a pas été lu. Je recommande ce vendeur!

I have enjoyed this series so much and it's been a genuinely fun and surprising journey. Maureen Johnson is a queen!