The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson (Truly Devious 2)

 Note that my reviews contain spoilers :)

4.5 stars rounded up because Vi <33

Note: 

`cursing in my review

`pics aren't mine

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Had she heard them above, heard her friends passing overhead as the air grew stale, as she shivered, as she starved and dehydrated? The fear must have been extreme, beyond anything Stevie would ever know. Did she realize she was dying, down there in the dark? Did she make friends with that dark, with that thing that came for her in it? That insidious fend in the shadows who came to take her pain and fear away?

Jesus fucking Christ. This book made me emotional. Like I could sob right now. There's so many emotions inside right now, so hopefully this alleviates some of them.

Plotline

Stevie Bell is on the case. After discovering what she believes to be evidence in the ongoing Albert Ellingham case, she is determined to solve it. With propositions and threats made from an unlikely source, friends that keep dropping dead, and the undeniable drive within to tear things down until nothing remains hidden, Bell fights for the family that truly matters, the ones you didn't ever expect to fall.

Now let me just say FUCKING HELL.

Read if you like:

>Flashbacks

>News articles

>Mysteries

>Karen McManus

Ending: Cliffhanger

Inclusivity

>disablity: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

>nonbinary rep

>lgbtqia+ romance

trigger warnings

>ow drama (subplot to the 1930s but still)

>kidnapping

>somewhat descriptive scenes of death

>illegitimate heir

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Characters

Stevie Bell

Oh, my darling. I love you. You are a genius. I would go down fighting for the fact that I believe you to be just as wise as Albert Ellingham himself. Stevie is a young girl, obsessed with true crime, admitted into Ellingham to solve the case...sort of. Nobody ever asked for her to solve it, but she's made it her life's mission to unearth everything that the '30s fought so desperately to hide. She's driven, intelligent, witty, and relatable. I read myself in those pages, with the pacing anxiety, the realizations that shook to the core, the love for those that aren't her blood family, but so much more. She's like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. I wish that Ellingham could've been alive to meet her because in the same way he adored Dolores, he would've Stevie. She's conflicting. I hate her parents. This isn't just my inner child talking. They are super controlling and take the word of a ditzy, threatening politician over that of their own daughter. She has a gift, a real knack for solving crimes and seeing things that others couldn't.

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Nate

I adored Nate, possible as much as I did Stevie. He was an amazing side character and friend. He was the level headed one, the one that was like THE FUCK ARE YOU GUYS DOING as David and Stevie went down into a tunnel. He has a very strong sense of loyalty and I just wish I could date him. He wrote a book to get into Ellingham. Now he's suffering the infamous writer's block that I am all too familiar with.

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Janelle

I can't find a single main side character (if that makes sense lol) that I didn't like. She's a mechanical genius. I love women in scientific environments / professions / interests. It's just a turn on lol. She has always had Stevie's back, even when her actions were EXTREMELY questionable. I wish I had a Janelle as my bsf.

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David

Ah you, you poor miserable soul. I am SO conflicted about him. He can be a real jerk. He's horrid to Stevie, but at the time I wouldn't say that the didn't deserve it. The entire premise of his father is a horrible joke, but for Edward King to be the one to tear them apart just pisses me off. I know, I know, all endings can't be happy, but this broke my heart. The fact that Johnson literally put in there something about how she'd follow him in the tunnel, but sometimes she needed to just let him go and not follow him no matter what. Such a strong message. I really hope David comes back in books 3 and 4 because I need answers. Where the fuck did he go when he swam off in the lake? If he dies, I swear to God I will compare you to Shonda Rhimes with your character killing tendencies 🔪🔪🔪

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Call Me Charles

Honestly, I liked this dude. Although Stevie's mentioning that the only reason that Dr. Quinn wasn't the headmaster was because she was female had me wanting to chuck this book across the room. I wish he'd been more of an Albert Ellingham figure as it would've made sense for him to be the headmaster but whatever.

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Larry

Oh me, oh my, LARRY. I love Larry. He's a god. He's perfection, the way that he kind of serves as an uncle figure to Stevie just has me in love.

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Albert Ellingham

I admire you. You suck for blowing yourself and Mackenzie up tho :(

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Mackenzie

You suck. You were a police officer and because you were too proud to ask your rich bestie for some cash so that money-crazy gamblers didn't come for you, 3 people died. You fucking suck.

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Fenton

You just suck for dying. And what BOY IS THERE???

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Hunter

Back off from Stevie. Por favor.

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Vi

I love them. They're a great addition to the murder mystery team and their relationship with Janelle was just so cute. Great addition :)))

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Best Quote without context:

"Why are you fondling the wall?"

Overall, I can't wait to finish this series. It's honestly so good. I think Maureen Johnson belongs up there with Karen McManus...yes you read that correctly (if any of you have read my KMM reviews, you know this is a big deal). The artistry in the mystery is fantastic and I'm impressed that a fellow human could come up with this intricate of a plot, just because of how twisty-turny yet also "fall completely into place" it was? 

Note: I usually hate flashbacks, but in this book it worked. As long as you paid attention to the little dates and learned to separate the characters into almost 2 separate worlds, everything was good!

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Plot: 5/5

Characters 4.5/5

Spice: 1/5

Mystery: 10000/5

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Final starrage (I made up this word :P)

4.5 stars

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jg5k1oBYPSd0wrhlADYIf