Part of Truly Devious
First published 2018
Stevie Bell steps onto the grounds of Ellingham Academy with one goal in mind. The Vermont boarding school attracts brilliant students, but Stevie cares more about its dark history than its prestigious reputation. Decades ago, the school's founder lost his wife and daughter to a kidnapper who left behind only a cryptic riddle signed "Truly Devious." The case went cold and became legend. Stevie plans to crack it wide open. She settles into dormitory life with her eclectic housemates: an inventor, a novelist, an actor, an artist, and a jokester. Each brings their own talents and complications to her new world. Just as Stevie begins piecing together the old mystery, new threats emerge on campus. The Truly Devious signature appears again, and someone commits murder in the present day. Stevie must navigate both timelines, connecting past crimes to current dangers while managing the pressures of her demanding academic environment. The cold case she came to solve has awakened, and the killer remains free.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, thriller, young-adult, dark-academia
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, intriguing, suspenseful, tension-filled
Tropes: amateur-detective, dual-timeline, found-family, mystery-within-mystery
Setting: Ellingham Academy, Vermont
Period: 21st-century, present-day, decades-ago
420 pages · Paperback · Katherine Tegen Books
Content warnings: death, kidnapping, murder