Daniel Pitt
historical mystery
Series · mystery
Truly Devious
The Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson has 6 known books (6 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Truly Devious (2018). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Velvet Knife.
- Books
- 6 known books (6 novels)
- Published
- 6
- First published
- 2018
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Truly Devious (2018) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Truly Devious
Maureen Johnson launched Truly Devious in January 2018, a 432-page series opener that introduced the story continued the following year in The Vanishing Stair.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Truly Devious - Book 2:
The Vanishing Stair
The Vanishing Stair, published in January 2019 at 400 pages, is the second Truly Devious novel, picking up between Truly Devious and The Hand on the Wall.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Vanishing Stair - Book 3:
The Hand on the Wall
The Hand on the Wall arrived in January 2020 as the third entry in Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series, running 384 pages and following The Vanishing Stair. It closes out the trilogy's central mystery -- the unsolved 1936 Ellingham Academy kidnapping and murder Stevie Bell has spent the series investigating -- which Johnson deliberately withheld the solution to until this book, ahead of Stevie's later, self-contained cold cases in The Box in the Woods and Nine Liars.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hand on the Wall - Book 4:
The Box in the Woods
The Box in the Woods followed as the fourth Truly Devious book, published in June 2021, more than a year after The Hand on the Wall and ahead of Nine Liars.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Box in the Woods - Book 5:
Nine Liars
At 464 pages, Nine Liars is the longest Truly Devious novel published to date; it appeared in December 2022 as the fifth entry in Maureen Johnson's series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nine Liars - Book 6:
The Velvet Knife
The Velvet Knife is the sixth Truly Devious book, listed for release on 29 September 2026 at 400 pages, making it the series' next installment after Nine Liars.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Velvet Knife
About the Truly Devious series
Stevie Bell has one obsession: true crime, and specifically the unsolved 1936 kidnapping and murder case that has haunted Ellingham Academy, an eccentric Vermont boarding school for gifted teenagers, since its founding. When Stevie talks her way into an actual place at Ellingham, she gets more than she bargained for -- within her first term, a fellow student turns up dead in circumstances that echo the decades-old case eerily closely, and Stevie realizes the school's original murderer, known only by the taunting acrostic riddle they left behind, may never have actually stopped operating.
Maureen Johnson splits each book's mystery in two timelines, alternating between Stevie's present-day investigation and flashback chapters reconstructing the 1936 case detail by detail, letting readers piece together both puzzles alongside her. Truly Devious made a name for itself as one of the first YA mysteries to run its central case across multiple books rather than resolving cleanly by the end of book one -- Johnson deliberately withheld the 1936 solution until book three, a structural gamble that turned a devoted subset of readers into obsessive, spoiler-hunting theorists. Later entries send Stevie beyond Ellingham's grounds (a summer-camp cold case, a country-house death in England) while keeping her small found-family group of fellow students -- particularly her on-again boyfriend David -- central throughout.
The series combines the atmosphere of a classic boarding-school mystery with real research into forensics, true-crime podcasting culture, and the ethics of amateur investigation, filtered through Stevie's anxious, hyper-analytical narration.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Truly Devious series?
Six, with the sixth -- The Velvet Knife -- due out 29 September 2026. The first five are Truly Devious (2018), The Vanishing Stair (2019), The Hand on the Wall (2020), The Box in the Woods (2021), and Nine Liars (2022).
Is the original Ellingham murder case solved by the end of the first book?
No. Truly Devious ends on a cliffhanger, and the 1936 case isn't fully resolved until the end of the third book, The Hand on the Wall. Books one through three should be read as one continuous story.
Do I need to read Truly Devious in order?
Yes. The first three books tell one ongoing mystery, and later books build on Stevie Bell's relationships and reputation from those earlier entries, so publication order is the only way to read it.
Is there a Truly Devious TV or film adaptation?
A television adaptation has been in development, but as of mid-2026 no series has been released; the books remain the only way to experience the story.
What is Truly Devious book 6 about?
The Velvet Knife (29 September 2026) follows Stevie Bell to New York City over a winter break, where a new murder pulls her into an investigation while she's still working through her breakup with David.
If you like the Truly Devious series
Reading order last verified .