(Print: 1/21/2020; Katherine Tegen Books; 384 pages. eBook (Kindle) 31/21/2020; Katherine Tegen Books; 375 pages.) Audio: 1/21/2020; Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins Audio; 8hrs 39 mins.

SERIES
Truly Devious book 3.

SUMMARY / EVALUATION:
I selected this book haphazardly. It was in a list, here on Goodreads, of nominations for books published in 2020. This one was in the Young Adult Fiction category. It was the first audiobook in that category that was available from the OCPL version of Overdrive. So, I didn’t even think to take into account that it was the third book in a series.
From what I could tell, this “episode” was catching me up fairly well on what I missed, and seemed to come to a sound conclusion. If there is a 'book four', I can’t imagine what would be left to solve in this particular mystery. But, the main character is a good sleuth and the environment is an old mansion type home turned academy—so there could me multiple stories to tell. It could happen.
I liked the interweaving of the 1936 timeline with the young sleuth’s present day. I felt it was quite well done.
Also, a quick look at the digital version reminds me that you miss out on the art when you listen to the audio of a book. There's some art in this story, which, to me, is like sprinkling in a tasty bit of cinnamon to an already tasty treat.

AUTHOR:
Maureen Johnson (February 16, 1973). Maureen sounds like a very interesting person, and this book isn’t her first. It looks like she’s been writing for awhile now.
Wikipedia has this to say about her early life:
“Johnson was born in Philadelphia and attended an all-girl Catholic preparatory high school. She graduated from the University of Delaware in 1995 with a degree in English. Johnson later worked variously as literary manager of a Philadelphia theater company, a waitress in a theme restaurant, a secretary, a bartender in Piccadilly, and an occasional performer in New York City. She studied both writing and theatrical dramaturgy at Columbia University, where she received her MFA in Writing.”

NARRATOR:
Kate Rudd. According to KateRuddReads.com, “Kate Rudd, winner of 2013 Audie and Odyssey Awards for narration of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, has been performing audiobooks for nearly a decade. A ten time Audiofile Magazine Earphones Award recipient, Kate’s performances have garnered inclusion in Audiofile’s Best Audiobooks of the Year 2012/2017/2018 and Best Voices of the Year 2012. She has narrated more than 450 titles across a variety of genres.”
I keep a record of all the books I have listened to, and amazingly, it seems “The Fault in Our Stars” is my only other encounter with Kate. She’s good. I always knew which character was speaking and none of her voices sounded overdone just to be a different voice. I may have to start following her.

GENRE:
Mystery, YA fiction, YA Literature

LOCATIONS:
Vermont

SUBJECTS:
1936 missing child, historical fiction, politicians, academy

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1:
"She was trying not to look directly at the person behind the desk, the one in the Iron Man T-shirt and fitted sports coat, the one with the stylish glasses and flop of blond-gray hair. So she focused instead on the picture between the windows, the framed print on the wall. She knew it well. It was the illustrated map of Ellingham Academy. It was printed in all the admission materials. You could buy a poster of it. It was one of those things that was always around and you never thought about. It wasn't super accurate--it was more of an artistic rendering. The buildings were massive, for a start, and highly embellished. She had heard that it had been done by a former student, someone who went on to illustrate children's books. This was the illusion of Ellingham Academy--the gentle picture painted for the world.
'I'm really glad you came up to talk to me,' Charles said.
Stevie believed this. After all, everything about Charles suggested that he wanted to be fun and relatable, from the signs on his office door that read, QUESTION EVERYTHING; I REJECT YOUR REALITY AND SUBSTITUTE MY OWN, and the big, homemade one in the middle that read, CHALLENGE ME. There were also the Funko Pop! figurines that cluttered Iris Ellingham's windowsills, next to the pictures of what Stevie assumed were Charles's rowing teams at Cambridge and Harvard. Because no matter how bouncy and earnest Charles was, he was highly qualified. Every faculty member at Ellingham was. They came, dripping degrees and accolades and experience, to teach on the mountain.”

RATING:
I liked the way the story built, pulling in details from the past books in the series, and interweaving two time periods. I gave this 4 stars. ( )

Not gonna say this was perfect but I sure read it fast (in bed in one sitting late into the night). Was wrong about the killer at the end of the last book, but IMO it didn't quite play fair---I'm still pretty sure it could have been the person I expected up until Stevie revealed it wasn't. Not a great fan of "the accused offed themself, justice is done" as a conclusion.

I'm also wondering about some of the other details --- how did Stevie know about the existence of the trunk at all? It's not obvious from the premises. Was it explained somewhere else why the person who opened the trunk was the only person to do so? Knocking 315 doors in a day is like... 12 hours of work. Some typos in the ebook. But hey, it still carries you along. ( )

3.5 stars. This was the best one in the series, mainly because we finally get all the answers we've been waiting for since book 1. I always thought this mystery didn't work well as a series & I still think that, but I'm glad we finally got the answers and a somewhat satisfying ending. "Satisfying" in the fact that we finally have all the answers and everything is wrapped up, but the actual reveal left much to be desired. There were parts in the middle that were a little slow, and I was more invested in the past timeline than I was in the present, but overall not bad. ( )

A solid end to a binge-worthy trilogy. Normally I don’t like stories to be so drawn out and not standalone stories but I loved this. I think this is the strongest book of the three as they just get better as the go one (but to be honest I might favor this one because we get the most answers in it) ( )

OMG ( )