I think you know what happens because the group ends up there, in London, ready to study their little hearts out. Sure. JOHN GREEN, PAY ATTENTION. This is how you write a cool mystery-y book with quirky teens without making me want to die. The implied dot dot dot was “student dies in a terrible accident or maybe murder and another one goes missing.”

David has secured them a place to stay. It should be easy. They just need to sell the Headmaster on the idea. Also, I know she has to be guilty of something because she ran away and I don't believe that she ran away from fear, but I think it wasn't really fear of being put into jail but maybe something bigger than that. She might be working with powerful people who might do something to her if she talked. Haha Idk. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it or completely off. I do wonder tho........🤔Soon enough, it's David to the rescue, as he has hatched a fairly stellar plan. He invites Stevie, Nate, Janelle and Vi to come to London to do a study-abroad for a week. Each of them devises a schedule and specific course of inquiry for their time there. I heard about her from one of the top librarians at the public library, this girl from Avenue A who read Greek and slipped into one of the rare books rooms three times. They said she was trouble, but good trouble."

Alternating timelines is an aspect I always seem to enjoy. I feel like it keeps me more engaged than a single, linear narrative would. I just don't like the awkward romance thing between David and Stevie. It's so awkward. I preferred the chemistry between Vi and Janelle more no matter how small their parts were. In fact, I like all the characters with all their flaws and perfections. Readers will be eager to know the novel’s conclusion but will never want the book to end. Replete with intrigue, thoughtfulness, and depth, The Hand on the Wall is a mystery of the moment and for the ages.” — San Francisco Book ReviewLet’s focus on the plot line because if I write more about my feelings about the characters, I can blurt out something and I’ll hate myself if I ruin your reading experience. Reading is on of the greatest pleasure of life - maybe the greatest. All the money, all the power—none of it compares to a good book. A book gives you everything. It gives you a window into other souls, other worlds. The world is a door. Books are the key." Bottom line: This was fun and promising! But weird stuff prevented it from being any more than that.

There were a lot of similarities and I found it easy to follow along with the intrigue because of that. I would love to know if the author was at all inspired by that case. My favorite thing about this book was definitely the atmosphere. It was ominous, unsettling, slightly creepy. Something big was always on the verge of happening. Small clues would appear, slight changes in the mood of the room. It's a little too quirky for my tastes (there was a character whose strange attire was described literally every time she entered the room), but I can see how that worked well for the story. As soon as I heard this book was “unsolved murder mystery at boarding school,” I was in. When I heard the elaboration “unsolved rich people murder mystery from History mixed with current boarding school murder mystery plus true crime aficionado,” I was EXCITED. Ellingham Academy, a private school for gifted students is set in the remote mountains of Vermont. The school was founded by wealthy industrialist, Albert Ellingham, at the turn of the 20th-Century. basic premise is that a wealthy 1930s tycoon starts a free school for children in the mountains of vermont where he also hosts small but lavish gatherings with the rich and famous. said tycoon's wife and child are kidnapped. present day true crime lover stevie gets into this free school for kids and decides to solve the mystery.

There are SO MANY suspicious people in this book, that I think I've just decided to not trust them all. Everyone's a suspect now (minus the crew cuz I really don't think they have anything to do with this). David is also being really suspicious but I don't think he has anything to do with the murders, though I could be wrong. I mean, I didn't think Ellie was evil, but look at how that turned out😕.

Maureen Johnson absolutely outdid herself with this one! I enjoyed it even more than book one, which was one of my favourite books of 2018. Again, romance, language and alcohol, isn't really serious as the tweens will be captivated by the amazing mystery/adventure the book has, so they will probably forget about the ''inappropriate'' stuff. Years later, under the influence of pain relievers following a hospital stay, Izzy's Aunt Angela says some things to her that raise Izzy's suspicions. Does her Aunt know what happened to her two murdered friends? This is more fast paced, riveting and entertaining book. I even start to empathize Stevie, her techniques, her obsessions, way of thinking, emotional up and downs. can we talk about how smart stevie is for a second?!? shes literally a genius. i dont understand how she figures out the things she does, but she does, and it blows my mind everytime. i loved following her train of thought, and watching her connect the dots of the mysteries was so fun!! i also thought her anxiety was so well written. her mental illness was subtly incorporated into every decision she made, and it was so fascinating to read about.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder. This is bullshit. I cannot stand by another cliffhanger ending, and an author who thinks it’s okay to manipulate their readership into buying another book to find out what happens. This whole series screams “CASH GRAB!”, and I’m done.