Genre
I chose this book to fit the mystery/suspense category of this project. This book was chosen from the Tayshas list.
Targeted Age Group
This book is targeted to ages 14-17.
Summary
Stevie Bell, teen detective, manages to get permission from her school for her and her friends to go to London, where they’ll meet up with her boyfriend and experience some England scenery. However, shortly after arriving, a cold case (that suddenly isn’t so cold) falls right into her lap, and Stevie can’t help but try to puzzle this out before they have to return home.
Justification
I chose this book because I love mysteries. The cover, with its spiraling staircase and Fall colors reminded me of the iconic mystery movie Knives Out by Johnson (2019). The book summary, about a murder that took place among a small group of isolated people, reminded me of Agatha Christie’s (1940) iconic And Then There Were None. Not long after I started this book, I was comparing Stevie to Nancy Drew, just for an older audience. Essentially, what this book was able to tell me visually and summarily, was that it was comparable to some of my favorite mysteries, and I’m happy to say that it lived up to those expectations!
Evaluation
Characters are plentiful in this book: from the titular nine people to Stevie, her friends, and her boyfriend, there’s a lot of characterization to go around. Mostly, Johnson (2022) does great with managing all of these characters and their roles throughout the book. Stevie, especially, is a fun teen sleuth to follow. In a Nancy Drew-esque way, she is determined, friendly, and smart. It’s fun to watch the gears in her head turn! Next, The Nine are a group of students who were spending a weekend together on the night of the murders back in 1995. These characters are unique in this book as we go back and forth between their college weekend and their life now, as adults settled into their careers. Johnson (2022) maintains a strong sense of mystery around these characters that contributes to the who-done-it vibe throughout the book. Each of them are a suspect, but all kind enough to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes: a characteristic that becomes increasingly dangerous the more that Stevie learns, and the closer she finds herself to this group. It’s Stevie’s friends that seemed to be missing out on characterization in this book. At one critical point, the narrator says that “There was no Stevie without Janelle and Nate and Vi and David… They were an organism. A system” (Johnson, 2022, p. 325). Reader’s don’t get a sense of that oneness in this book, and for that reason, there are some parts that feel out-of-place. However, given that this book comes later in the series, it’s something that might be able to be overlooked, if previous books are able to fill in that characterization.
The plot of this book is engaging, especially in the way Johnson (2022) has set up her telling of this story. By going back and forth between the present day and the events surrounding the initial murder, Johnson (2022) keeps readers on edge with glimpses of the moment in conjunction with what Stevie has to piece together. In addition to figuring out the murder, Stevie is also forced to grapple with the various relationships in her life, including her long distance boyfriend and her friends that she brings with her to London, with all the best intentions of staying focused on school. These aspects of the plot give it additional tensions that make this mystery feel well-rounded, as well as giving readers incentive to engage with other books in the series. Lastly, this book is driven by the question of who is lying. From the title, readers can gauge that most people in this book are lying in one way or another. I think the most intriguing thing that Johnson (2022) does with this question is implicate the main character among the liars. Stevie learns that “Lies…took energy. They weighed a lot” (Johnson, 2022, p. 252). Stevie’s experience with lying gives her character the weight and drive needed to solve a mystery enshrined in lies. She is no longer a complete outsider to the situation: she is among the liars.
The setting of this book lends itself to what I would classify as cozy mystery. While there’s nothing cozy about murder, there is plenty of coziness to be found in an environment. Earlier, I compared this book to the movie Knives Out by Johnson (2019). This movie is set during the rainy Fall season, in a grand mansion full of couches, blankets, coffee, trinkets, and board games. Likewise, this book is set in the Fall, in the rainy streets and cafés of London, and ultimately in a large mansion named Merryweather. Much like the mansion in Knives Out, Merryweather is full of many curiosities and surrounded by beautiful, quiet land. A description of Merryweather from the book reads:
This was not a porch—this was a stone stage, balustraded, punctuated on the corners with lichen-marbled urns. Below it rolled lawns and gardens that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles, taking in the hills around, which were patchworked in dark green hedge lines and trees (Johnson, 2022, 267).
This serene description, along with others that are reminiscent of an I Spy book, come together to form a place that is equal parts secretive and cozy. Thus, while any murder mystery has its gruesome moments, the setting also partly determines the mood of a book, and Johnson (2022) creates a setting that will make readers want to sit down with a blanket and some tea. The blend of comforting surroundings with the ease of friends, wrapped up in a thrilling mystery, makes this book a perfect rainy day read.
References
Christie, A. (1940). And then there were none. William Morrow.
Johnson, M. (2022). Nine liars. Katherine Tegen Books.
Johnson, R. (Director). (2019, November 27). Knives out [Film]. T-Street Productions, MRC, FilmNation Entertainment.
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