• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Challenges
  • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Books of Amber

Latest Posts

Book Review: Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida

Book Review: The Survivors by Jane Harper

Book Review: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

27/01/2020      1 Comment

Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson, the final book in the Truly Devious trilogy. This was a fun mystery trilogy to read, despite some minor gripes!

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen JohnsonThe Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious #3
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: 21st January 2020
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: three-stars

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. This is too much for the parents and administrators. 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.

The Truly Devious series is one that started out really strong. I was hooked by the mystery in the first book, and by Stevie’s love for true crime, and so I absolutely flew through these books.

That said, Truly Devious is still the strongest book in the series. I strongly believe that the following two books, The Vanishing Stair and The Hand on the Wall, should have been combined into one book. The Vanishing Stair turned into a filler, and The Hand on the Wall lacked the same snappy writing that I loved in Truly Devious.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy The Hand on the Wall, because I did. I enjoyed learning even more about Ellingham Academy, and I enjoyed reading about all the reveals and the characters putting everything together. It was a lot of fun, and I always enjoyed how Johnson flicked between the past and the present day with her storytelling.

Another thing I really enjoyed about The Hand on the Wall was the side characters and their relationships. Not David, of course (more on him later), but Stevie’s other friends are all pretty wonderful, and contributed a lot to the story. I could have read a whole book just about the friendship group, to be honest.

Now, David. I hate him. His relationship with Stevie is the most unhealthy thing, and I’m honestly annoyed and upset and offended that Maureen Johnson keeps trying to push this pairing on readers – especially since the majority of her readers are teens.

My exact problem with David is how he spent two books completely ignoring Stevie. He spoke over her, he refused to speak to her, and he flat out pretended she didn’t exist, no matter how much she tried to address him. He later claimed this was partly for her protection, which is bull. I’m so unhappy with this unhealthy relationship, and I’m really unimpressed that Johnson kept it going.

The Hand on the Wall isn’t a bad book, but it’s certainly not the strongest in the series. It was fun to get some closure and to see the friendship group again, but I couldn’t get over the unhealthy relationship or the fact that the final two books should really have been combined into one.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kal @ Reader Voracious says

    20/02/2020 at 10:36 pm

    I skimmed your review because I still need to read this one (but have been dragging my heels because of how meh I was about The Vanishing Stair), but I feel you 100% on the feeling that this should have been a duology even though I haven’t read the third book yet. I adored Truly Devious, so I was pretty disappointed. Thanks for your review, I will lower my expectations accordingly!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe via Email

Join 4,579 other subscribers

Current Giveaways

None

Currently Reading

Currently Reading

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Blogroll

  • All About Books
  • Artsy Musings of a Bibliophile
  • I Should Read That
  • Lisa is Busy Nerding
  • My Friends Are Fiction
  • Recaptains
  • The Daily Prophecy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Hello!

Hello!

My name is Amber, I'm 27 years old, and I've been a book blogger, reviewer, and Tuber for ten years. When I'm not reading, I love gaming, exercising, cinema trips, hiking, and exploring.

Welcome to my blog!

Subscribe!

Blog Archive

Categories

Follow us on Instagram

(This book was sent to me by the author as a gift) (This book was sent to me by the author as a gift)

Happy release day to The Effort! I'm so excited to read this apocalyptic story about people coming together to prevent a global crisis. Like I said the other day, I'm really into disaster stories lately 😊

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookish #debutauthors #21ders #debutbooks #debutshowcase #dac21 #the21ders #reading #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #book
* ad - book provided by publisher for free in exch * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exchange for an honest review *

I'm smashing through my physical ARCs this week, which means it's almost time for me to read This is Not the Jess Show! I'm excited for this one, if a little cautious about how similar to The Truman Show it's going to be.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #bookish #youngadultbooks #booksofig #igreads #currentlyreading #igbooks #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer
The first week back at work put me in an unfortuna The first week back at work put me in an unfortunate reading slump, but I'm hoping Hold Back the Stars will get me out of it! I'm going to be reading this one today and hopefully forgetting about real life.

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookish #sff #sffbooks #holdbackthestars #bookstoread #currentlyreading #reading #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #bookstagramuk #booksbooksbooks #bookgram
* ad - book provided by publisher for free in exch * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exchange for an honest review*

I absolutely blasted through The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe this week! I was worried I was getting slumpy from too much sff so I switched to a YA thriller and WHEW, it was excellent. 

The Girls I've Been is about a girl called Nora who is the daughter of a con artist (and also bi!). She's living her own life now away from her mother, and then someone tries to rob a bank while she's inside it.

This was so fast paced and I love that it was told in a non linear format. Trigger warnings for lots of things, though. You can find the full list on the author's website but the main one for me was domestic violence.

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #thegirlsivebeen #yathrillers #yathriller #thrillerbooks #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #reading
Because I like to read about other apocalypses dur Because I like to read about other apocalypses during pandemics, apparently.

 I've just started The Lightest Object in the Universe and I'm intrigued! Have you read it?

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookstagramuk #currentlyreading #dystopia #dystopianbooks #apocalypse #sff #sffbooks #bookish #booktube #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks
*AD - book gifted by publisher in exchange for an *AD - book gifted by publisher in exchange for an honest review* 

Siri, Who Am I? was my final read of 2020 and it was a fun one. While I didn't love how the main character treated others, particularly her attitude towards sex workers, I did like how fast paced this one was and the slight mystery element mixed with Rich People Drama kept me reading. Will I reread it? No. But I enjoyed my time with it well enough.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookreview #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #siriwhoami #romcom #reading
I'm supposed to be starting The Bear and the Night I'm supposed to be starting The Bear and the Nightingale on Tuesday for my weekly buddy read, but I want to read it now! I should probably finish some of the books I've already started though.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bookstoread #tbr #tbrpile #toread #readingpile #reading #bookaddict #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #thebearandthenightingale #winternighttrilogy
Yes, I'm still reading this 😂 I'm trying to fin Yes, I'm still reading this 😂 I'm trying to finish it by the end of the year but who knows if that'll happen? I'm enjoying buddy reading it with @ishouldreadthat though, and I'm sure she's appreciating my rants and fangirling.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #wordsofradiance #thewayofkings #Stormlight #stormlightarchive #brandonSanderson #fantasybooks #sff
I am so unbelievably excited to try this YA thrill I am so unbelievably excited to try this YA thriller this month. I am tempted to drop everything and pick it up right now but, ya know, commitments.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #youngadultbooks #thrillerbooks #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #tbr #toberead #tbrpile #agoodgirlsguidetomurder
I just HAD to feature one of my favourite books of I just HAD to feature one of my favourite books of the year, and the start of one of my all time favourite series before the end of 2020. I adore The City of Brass so much, and I recommend it to everyone I come across. I've reread it three times now, and in 2021 I plan to make it four!

What's your favourite fantasy series?

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #daevabad #daevabadtrilogy #thecityofbrass #fantasybooks #fantasyreader #fantasy #reading #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #igreads #favoritebooks #christmasbooks #vlogmas #bookmas

Copyright © 2021 ·