New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.
We chat to author Maureen Johnson about her latest novel The Hand On The Wall, which is the final instalment in the Truly Devious series!
You can find Maureen on Twitter and Instagram, along with at her website.
Hi Maureen! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m an author. I’ve written something like 14 novels? Something like that. I like dogs.
The Hand on The Wall is the final instalment in the Truly Devious series, which publishes on January 21st. If you could only use five words to describe it, what would they be?
Snowstorm. Explosion. Murder. Questions answered.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect from this “pulse-pounding” conclusion?
Truly Devious is about Stevie Bell, a true-crime aficionado who wants to be a detective. She’s come to Ellingham Academy, which is one of America’s most prestigious and unusual schools, with the hopes of solving the 1936 kidnapping of the founder’s wife and daughter. The kidnappers sent a mocking riddle signed Truly, Devious. This is an extremely famous case, considered the crime of the century, so the idea that a high school student is going to solve it eighty years later seems absurd to many. While Stevie is at her new school, some strange things happen, including an updated version of the Truly Devious letter being projected on to her wall at night. When a fellow student dies in a freak accident, Stevie is convinced it is murder and sets out on her own investigation that combines past and present. As this investigation continues over the books, Stevie will uncover things that have been buried for many decades, and others will die. In The Hand on the Wall, Stevie discovers how past and present are intertwined, and everything will come to an explosive conclusion up on the mountain.
Without any spoilers, did you always know how the series would end?
I had to have a structure for all three because a mystery is all about how it ends. Who did it? Why? From there, I worked backwards, putting down the clues, making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time. I created a framework for all three books then I outlined each one. That isn’t to say I didn’t make changes along the way! I draft, and then I throw out the draft. That’s my way. I’m a draft-trasher. But the fundamentals had to be there, and I always had to go back and check to make sure all the timelines and clues were correct. Mysteries are about planning. So much planning.
Is there a favourite scene or character that you really enjoyed writing in this series?
Possibly Nate, the writer always panicking about writing his sequel. I might relate to that. Maybe.
You published your first novel in 2004. What is the most important thing you have learned since then?
That things change all the time and that’s fine. How I write. How publishing works. Embrace change as a general principle.
What’s next for you?
There may be more in store for Stevie Bell…
sounds fun – I like to read the first book in a series first, so will need to check it out.. Wonder what her other books are about. Something else to check into.