Library Director Rachel Davis was TML’s Children’s Librarian for 27 years. Join her at this monthly book group for adults, featuring outstanding literature for children. The same qualities that make an excellent book for adults are also true for books written for children– complex, beautifully written stories that speak to the universality of human experience. The only difference is that children’s literature is firmly grounded in the immediacy of the experience of childhood.  We were all children once–come explore childhood again as Rachel leads a monthly discussion on some of her favorite books. All books can be requested through Minerva, the library’s online catalog.

This month’s book selection is Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. 

About Truly Devious

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

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. 

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.

Reserve your copy of Truly Devious by clicking here. 

Please register by filling out the form below and we’ll send you a link to join the meeting.