Truly Devious

“Look! A riddle! Time for fun!

Should we use a rope or gun?

Knives are sharp and gleam so pretty

Poison’s slow, which is a pity

Fire is festive, drowning’s slow

Hanging’s a ropy way to go

A broken head, a nasty fall

A car colliding with a wall

Bombs make a very jolly noise

Such ways to punish naughty boys!

What shall we use? We can’t decide.

Just like you cannot run or hide.

Ha ha.

Truly, Devious” Truly Devious is the first novel in the Truly Devious series written by Maureen Johnson

Description
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, artists and people with a exceptional talent. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century man, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a note baring a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the deceptive code name “Truly, Devious.” It became soon one of the great unsolved crimes of American history. True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is preparing to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor: Janelle, the novelist: Nate, the actor: Hayes, the artist: Element, and the jokester: David. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has yet again gotten away with murder. Could truly devious be the one behind this round of murders? The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.