Two chapters into book one in Maureen Johnson's "Truly Devious" YA mystery trilogy, I knew I was going to need books two and three ready go — and I was right. "The Vanishing Stair" and "The Hand on the Wall" are the fast-paced continuation and conclusion of teen sleuth Stevie Bell's Truly Devious adventures. (A fourth, standalone mystery is coming in 2021.)

Stevie is an excellent addition to the teen sleuth roster: a relatable, well-developed character, a smart kid who sometimes makes dicey decisions. She and her new friends, a diverse cast of housemates at the elite Ellingham Academy in the mountains of Vermont, are figuring out the quirks of their skills, their challenges, their anxieties, and the meaning of life and stuff. Between that and classes, Stevie works the cold-case crime of the century, the kidnapping of the Ellingham heir (a story told in an effective dual timeline that incorporates articles and interviews from the 1930s), and tracks dangers that are much, much closer and appear to be closing in on her and her friends.

Series content notes: underage smoking and drinking, self-destructive behavior, lying, emotional manipulation, toxic relationships, kidnapping, murder, enclosed spaces, anxiety and panic attacks