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Truly, Devious
Maureen Johnson
2018 · 416 pages · Mystery
How it reads
Truly, Devious is mystery (young-adult boarding-school mystery, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a small town setting, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are secrets, friendship and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It opens a series. It ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next book ready. At 416 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something eerie
- you're drawn to stories about secrets
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or heartwarming
- you hate waiting for a sequel
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- mystery
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- prolific veteran
- Setting: place
- small town
- Setting: time
- contemporary
- Mood / feeling
- eerie
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- well known
- Series vs standalone
- first in a series
- Themes
- secrets, friendship, identity
- Ending style
- cliffhanger
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- Rare BirdsL.B. HazelthornShares: mystery, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Girl from Widow HillsMegan MirandaShares: mystery, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- The Stranger DiariesElly GriffithsShares: mystery, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Ice HouseMinette WaltersShares: mystery, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
Watcher in the WoodsKelley ArmstrongShares: mystery, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Ghost OrchidCarol GoodmanShares: mystery, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
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