A review by bzliz
The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The Vanishing Stair poses many new questions in the Truly Devious series while answering a few previous ones. Stevie is taken back to school by David’s father- a stuck up conservative senator who lacks any moral compass- because he thinks she can keep his son contained at the school. It works for a time. Like the first book, pretty much every adult seems kind of shady. 

Character death spoiler:
Stevie and David find Ellie’s body in a tunnel previously unknown. We aren’t given a clear picture of her death but it weighs on Stevie to know that her body has been there the whole time people had been trying to puzzle out her escape.


We meet a few new characters- Dr. Fenton and her nephew Hunter- who are also involved with the Ellingham case. Stevie manages to piece together the identity of Truly Devious as well as pinpoint someone who was absolutely involved in the kidnapping of Iris and Alice Ellingham. 

Something I haven’t decided if I like or not is the way we cut back to the 1930’s for some chapters. On one hand I enjoy getting to see how things actually happened but on the other hand it feels like cheating since there’s no way for Stevie to ever be privy to these details so it feels like we’re waiting for her to catch up to us. I will be continuing the series but I hope it doesn’t drag out terribly. 
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