{"id":37434,"date":"2020-08-05T22:14:29","date_gmt":"2020-08-06T02:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37434"},"modified":"2020-08-05T22:14:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T02:14:50","slug":"review-of-the-hand-on-the-wall-by-maureen-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37434","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Hand on the Wall, by Maureen Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Hand on the Wall<\/em><\/p>\n

by Maureen Johnson<\/p>\n

Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), 2020. 369 pages.
\nReview written March 17, 2020, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

The Hand on the Wall<\/em> is the third and final book in the Truly Devious<\/a><\/em> mystery series, and ties everything up beautifully. Yes, you have to read these books in order. You will be rewarded with an exquisitely crafted series.<\/p>\n

In this trilogy, each book gives you pieces of the mysteries in the past and in the present, and each book gives you parts of the solution. You get information about the past mystery in flashbacks as our hero, Stevie Bell, figures out clues. You also have at least one death in each volume. In this book, Stevie and the reader figure out what happened.<\/p>\n

This book also has the added drama \u2013 perfect for a mystery \u2013 of a bunch of students blizzard-bound at the ever-so-interesting isolated Vermont campus created by the eccentric millionaire Albert Ellingham. A blizzard always makes a good backdrop for murder! Can Stevie figure out the solution before the snow melts and she has to go home?<\/p>\n

I so appreciate all the atmosphere and nods to great detective fiction that Maureen Johnson slipped into this book. Both mysteries \u2013 past and present \u2013 have layers to them so that even stretched over three books, they didn\u2019t lag. And enough happened in each book to feel that it deserved to be a book and not just cram the whole thing together. <\/p>\n

But the final volume, pulling everything together, was indeed the most satisfying. This is a mystery series with teens taking the starring roles, including the brilliant detective and the person getting a little too close to the truth for her own good. Mystery and danger both! And the fantasy of a school where you can study what you\u2019re good at \u2013 even if that talent is finding a murderer.<\/p>\n

maureenjohnsonbooks.com<\/a>
\nepicreads.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/hand_on_the_wall.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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