This was such a fun romp with Stevie and friends. I loved the change of scenery with them studying in London for a week and of course, the murder mystery solving. Ellingham Academy, a private school for gifted students is set in the remote mountains of Vermont. The school was founded by wealthy industrialist, Albert Ellingham, at the turn of the 20th-Century. Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists.

basic premise is that a wealthy 1930s tycoon starts a free school for children in the mountains of vermont where he also hosts small but lavish gatherings with the rich and famous. said tycoon's wife and child are kidnapped. present day true crime lover stevie gets into this free school for kids and decides to solve the mystery. We meet some new characters and a few more pieces of the continuing drama are filled in. I really enjoyed the cold case aspect of the story once again. But another fun thing about this book is that we get to see Stevie interact with all the other kids at this private school, and they are all truly possible suspects. Yet, the reader will also be left guessing how this new murder will correlate with the one from the past that was never truly solved. He's also kind of manipulative, in that he twists all of Stevie's actions - many of which were caused by her anxiety - and makes her look like the villain. He doesn't make an effort to understand her. Francis often sneaks out at night to spend time with her boyfriend and fellow Ellingham student, Edward Davenport. The two aim to be the next Bonnie and Clyde. As a starter, they write the “Truly Devious” letter to Albert Ellingham as a joke.

My surprise stand out favourite was .. the romance!? Now I don't usually care much for romance subplots but I am FEELING THIS ONE. The miscommunication was kind of annoying, but overall I am really, really into David/Stevie and like ,, actually felt my cold dead heart move a little every time they talked. i mentioned in my last review that the chapters that took place during the original ellingham murder and kidnapping were boring but i actually enjoyed them a lot more in this book! The only thing I really remember is finding this book slightly disappointing in comparison to the first one. Not by a lot, just a half-star or so. Building the environment , atmosphere, building the timelines , constantly jumping from timelines and and and Besides, he was nothing but rude and dismissive to Stevie and played the victim whenever she called him out.

Again, romance, language and alcohol, isn't really serious as the tweens will be captivated by the amazing mystery/adventure the book has, so they will probably forget about the ''inappropriate'' stuff. I’m giving my four mysterious, exciting, intelligent thriller stars! I cannot wait to read the sixth book! I’m truly devoted fan! I hope we can read more about Nate Fisher in near future! Oh and every time I see Albert Ellingham talking about how much he loves games, I just picture an mischievous smile on his face—maybe even evil.😨 I can assume I had some of the same issues with it I had with the first one: weird pacing due to this being a trilogy about one or two mysteries; an overwhelming onslaught of quirkiness. Also, something I loved about the first one was Boarding School, and this one consisted of way more time spent off-campus, leading to kind of a last-book-in-Harry-Potter-can’t-they-just-stay-at-Hogwarts type feel.I do think had the student been killed around the 25% mark and then we had actually figured some things out, it would have been interesting, but unfortunately that's not what happened so we'll just have to live with the fact that this book that had a really interesting premise turned out to be a really crappy read. Overall, this just wasn’t for me. But please take my review with a grain of salt, because almost everyone I know loves and adores this story. I also think a big reason why this might not have been a hit for me is also because I had just read A Study in Charlotte and completely fallen in love with that contemporary murder mystery. Maybe I was subconsciously comparing the two? I don’t know, but I just didn’t love this one, friends, even though I really wish that I would have! Additionally, in this one, I really enjoyed the past timeline following Aunt Angela and her friends. It was such a dynamic, yet messy, group and I was living for the drama. The story also follows messages of bravery, teamwork and perseverance. Stevie is brave, strong and is willing to work with other students. PS: Some amazing science facts are briefly explained in the book. For kids who have read mystery books they will definitely enjoy this one!