The Vanishing Stair By Maureen Johnson (SPOILERS for Book One Truly Devious)

All Stevie Bell wanted was to find the key to the Ellingham mystery, but instead she found her classmate dead. And while she solved that murder, the crimes of the past are still waiting in the dark. Just as Stevie feels she’s on the cusp of putting it together, her parents pull her out of Ellingham academy.

For her own safety they say. She must move past this obsession with crime. Now that Stevie’s away from the school of topiaries and secret tunnels, and her strange and endearing friends, she begins to feel disconnected from the rest of the world. At least she won’t have to see David anymore. David, who she kissed. David, who lied to her about his identity—son of despised politician Edward King. Then King himself arrives at her house to offer a deal: He will bring Stevie back to Ellingham immediately. In return, she must play nice with David. King is in the midst of a campaign and can’t afford his son stirring up trouble. If Stevie’s at school, David will stay put.

This is the sequel to Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. Truly Devious was published at the beginning of last year and was the stand-out YA mystery story that we’ve all had waited for. It was truly revolutionary and the plot was dramatic, intriguing, and most of all the main protagonist was flawed and relatable.

The Vanishing Stair continued the mystery and suspense from the first book and amped it up to greater stakes for our hero. In this update to the series, Stevie finds herself going deeper into the story (past and present timelines included) and there is no turning back now. All eyes are on her now to solve both mysteries in order to save herself and her fellow friends and classmates.

This book doesn’t suffer from the middle book syndrome as a lot of book twos in a trilogy do. In fact, the action is paced better and the reader is brought along a journey with Stevie that seems to get crazier over time. The beginning reminds the reader of what happened in the first book without dumping too much information. The middle has some great character growth from both Stevie and her classmates. We get to see some new characters who propel Stevie into new and unexplored waters. And finally, the ending is provided beautifully and in such a way that the reader becomes excited for the finale.