Novel: The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson| Goodreads
Release Date: January 22, 2019
Format: Hardcover
Get it here: Amazon
Synopsis
All Stevie Bell wanted was to find the key to the Ellingham mystery, but instead, she found her classmate dead. And while she solved that murder, the crimes of the past are still waiting in the dark. Just as Stevie feels she’s on the cusp of putting it together, her parents pull her out of Ellingham academy.
For her own safety, they say. She must move past this obsession with crime. Now that Stevie’s away from the school of topiaries and secret tunnels, and her strange and endearing friends, she begins to feel disconnected from the rest of the world. At least she won’t have to see David anymore. David, who she kissed. David, who lied to her about his identity—son of despised politician Edward King. Then King himself arrives at her house to offer a deal: He will bring Stevie back to Ellingham immediately. In return, she must play nice with David. King is in the midst of a campaign and can’t afford his son stirring up trouble. If Stevie’s at school, David will stay put.
The tantalizing riddles behind the Ellingham murders are still waiting to be unraveled, and Stevie knows she’s so close. But the path to the truth has more twists and turns than she can imagine—and moving forward involves hurting someone she cares for. In New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson’s second novel of the Truly Devious series, nothing is free, and someone will pay for the truth with their life.
Review of The Vanishing Stair
The Vanishing Stair is the sequel to Truly Devious. For me, middle books in a trilogy tend to be a little bit slower. They tend to set up the third book and do a bit of world-building that the author didn’t have room for in the first book. Unfortunately, if not done right, it can throw off the pace of the story, especially in fast-paced mysteries like this series. Maureen Johnson doesn’t fall into that trap. Instead, she kept the energy up through the entire story. My review of The Vanishing Stair attempts to avoid spoilers and explain why I love this series.
The Vanishing Stair picks up a little while after Truly, Devious. I’ll be honest this was the biggest complaint I had about this story. I could never quite figure out how much time had elapsed between books one and two. It probably didn’t matter all that much and that’s why we never really find out but lord almighty it drove me insane. I definitely spent way too long trying to figure it out. This is definitely a personal pet peeve so please just ignore me and my insanity.
Stevie’s parents have pulled her out of Ellingham Academy in light of the death and missing murder suspect. Stevie arrives home to her parents’ house after school to find Senator Edward King waiting for her. He has convinced her parents to let Stevie re-enroll in Ellingham Academy. The Senator explains to her parents how much safer Ellingham will be. King donated extensive surveillance equipment to the school as well as a security team. On top of letting her re-enroll, the Senator has convinced Stevie’s parents to let him fly Stevie back to school in his private plane.
Stevie agrees because she will do anything to get back to Ellingham, but she has suspicions about the Senator’s offer. If you remember, at the tail end of Truly, Devious, we learn that the Senator is actually David’s dad. Lo and behold, the Senator reveals the catch when they are en route to Ellingham. The Senator wants Stevie to keep an eye on David. He has been acting out since Stevie left. The Senator believes Stevie is the key to keeping him in check and behaving while at Ellingham.
When Stevie gets back, she realizes there are a lot of changes in the dynamics at Ellingham. David is acting out a lot more. He is really worried about Ellie. He doesn’t believe that she is a killer and he doesn’t think she got off the mountain like everyone is claiming. David begs Stevie to help him figure out what happened to Ellie. Stevie agrees but struggles with her guilt over the Senator’s demands.
Stevie gets an internship with a professor at the college in Burlington. She is the foremost expert on the Ellingham case and assigns Stevie some menial tasks to complete. The professor has a drinking problem and a nephew that takes a bit of a liking to Stevie. While helping the professor, Stevie discovers that if an heir to the Ellingham fortune is not found soon, then the entirety reverts to the school. The story ends on a huge cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see where it goes next.
