Tuesday 6 March 2018

Teaser Tuesday: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker.
To play along just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson.

Truly Devious – Katherine Tegen Books

Stevie had no fears of the dead. The living, however, sometimes gave her the creeps.
— Chapter 10

It had the feeling of a strange game, and one that filled Stevie with a low, simmering worry.
Games are not fun if you don’t know you’re playing.
— Chapter 13




Book titles are hard. I don’t say this as an excuse for every bad title ever made but from a sympathetic position. What I love about this title is that it so obviously states its intent. And that it works so well on so many levels for this book. I have disliked the analysis of poems and prose ever since my school days because I think that you kill words once you have to pick them apart, but I could easily write a whole essay on the title of this book. Which I won’t do, no worries, I’m just still quite captivated by all the layers.
I might be a little cross with Maureen for writing this before continuing Shades of London (I really hope there is another book coming) but I understand that if something demands to be written it has to take centre stage (and all the other reasons her writing was delayed – those definitely take precedence). Luckily, this prominent spot is quite deserved. Stevie is a very compelling main character and I immensely enjoyed following her on her investigation. I also liked the dual timelines which don’t exactly interact but intersect and inform each other on a very interesting level, you basically get two stories for the price of one and possibly a third overlay.
The nature of a mystery calls for inconsistencies so I’m not calling on them until I’m certain they aren’t intentional. I am very much looking forward to the continuation and how Stevie deals not with one but two discoveries/developments. And I really hope she solves at least the staircase riddle if not the whole thing, which feels very interconnected.

Are you a mystery and/or crime reader? I’m usually avoiding them unless it’s an author I already know and trust. Share your teasers and preferences in the comments.

5 comments:

Alice Audrey said...

I was just talking about someone I know who is creepy because she likes to talk about death.

Mine: http://www.aliceaudrey.com/?p=15320

Sandra Nachlinger said...

True words: Games are not fun if you don't know you're playing. This sounds like a book I'd enjoy.
My Tuesday post features Good Grief.

Leigh Ann said...

I love that first teaser! And I’m in love with the cover! Here’s mine: https://mamasbookcorner.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/teaser-tuesday-march-6-2018/

What's Beyond Forks? said...

Love these teasers! I'm going to have to check his one out. Thank you for sharing! My teaser is from Something of Substance by Tia Souders

Nise' said...

I love both mystery/crime novels. Hope this is a good read.

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