The Velvet Knife

Praise for DEATH AT MORNING HOUSE: "Johnson''s latest juxtaposes Marlowe''s clever, funny first-person voice with chapters about a mysterious historical family. Compelling mysteries unfurl in the past and the present. Marlowe serves as an anchor amid the many contemporary characters who seem like they may be deceiving her, keeping readers guessing. An engaging and expansive mystery." -- Kirkus Reviews "Johnson''s signature mix of wit and mystery shines in this compelling sapphic thriller. The secluded island setting--which is described to Marlowe as ''Death Disney World''--ratchets up suspense as narration deftly alternates between Marlowe''s self-deprecating reflections and flashbacks from 1932; the queer romance subplot adds warmth and depth." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A stand-alone sapphic mystery following two equally gripping time lines: the Ralston family deaths and Marlowe''s present-day sleuthing. Marlowe''s excellent memory and love of puzzles serve her well, while her self-deprecating, deadpan humor fills the narrative with quirky charm. Suspenseful, smartly executed, and hilarious." -- Booklist (starred review) "Death at Morning House is another phenomenal mystery from a maestro in the genre. Maureen Johnson just knows how to write the kind of stories that keep you reading until the early hours. They are incredibly well paced, with stellar characterisation and terrifyingly good twists. This is a great standalone mystery from Johnson--pivoting across two timelines to create two compelling and complex cases. Death at Morning House is the YA mystery of the summer, potentially the year. Miss it at your peril." -- The Nerd Daily "With quips both humorous and prescient, Marlowe is the perfect mix of pluck and wit, and she joins the long line of girl detectives looking to right the world''s various wrongs . . . A guaranteed hit with fans of Tess Sharpe''s The Girls I''ve Been or Durst''s The Lake House ." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books "Johnson successfully employs her well-known format of alternating chapters between the past and the present, dropping her detective into a diverse and dynamic friend group, and hinting at some of the dark secrets of America''s past (here including eugenics). Marlowe''s self-deprecating first-person voice provides a compelling contrast to Stevie Bell''s sardonic tone. Might there ever be a Marlowe/Stevie mash-up? This reviewer remains hopeful."" -- Horn Book (starred review) Praise for TRULY DEVIOUS: "Be still, my Agatha-Christie-loving beating heart." -- Bustle "Remember the first time reading Harry Potter and knowing it was something special? There''s that same sense of magic in the introduction of teen Sherlock-in-training Stevie Bell. Parallel mysteries unfold with cleverly written dialogue, page-turning brilliance and a young sleuth just as captivating as Hercule Poirot." -- USA Today (four stars) "Take it from the world''s most impatient reader: If the Truly Devious series is basically one long mystery book, The Vanishing Stair is a middle part so enjoyable you won''t even want to skip to the end." -- Entertainment Weekly "Jumping between past and present, Johnson''s novel is deliciously atmospheric, with a sprawling cast of complex suspects/potential victims, surprising twists, and a dash of romance. As in her Shades of London books, Johnson remains a master at combining jittery tension with sharp, laugh-out-loud observations." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Praise for THE VANISHING STAIR: "In this second . . . installment, Johnson gives and she takes away: a few major mysteries are satisfying solved, but oth...

Autorentext

Maureen Johnson is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen young adult novels, including the Truly Devious series, the Shades of London series, Suite Scarlett, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Her collaborative books include Ghosts of the Shadow Market (with Cassandra Clare), Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village (illustrated by Jay Cooper), as well as Let It Snow (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), which was also a hit feature film on Netflix. Her books have sold more than three million copies worldwide and have been published in more than thirty countries. She has been nominated for two Edgar Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Nebula Award, was a World Book Day author in the UK in 2014, and has been nominated for or won dozens of YALSA, state library, media and readers' choice awards. She lives in New York City.

Klappentext

Return to the world of Truly Devious as Stevie Bell and her friends travel to New York to solve a murder in the next standalone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Stevie might be the greatest teenage detective Ellingham Academy and the world has ever seen, but even she can’t figure out what happened with her boyfriend, David. What she needs is a distraction: a good old-fashioned murder. Stevie is much happier dealing with dead people. They’re a lot less confusing—they don’t send cryptic texts and make out with other girls in British pubs.

But then Stevie gets exactly what she wanted when a dead body turns up in the middle of a Manhattan apartment complex, and this one is . . . complicated. Caught in a web of messy alive-people feelings, Stevie finds herself questioning all human connection. Is magnetism only manipulation? Can you trust anyone? Does anyone realize that they’re joining a cult—before it’s too late? And are things with David really over?

Read all the Stevie Bell Books:

• Truly Devious
• The Vanishing Stair
• The Hand on the Wall
• The Box in the Woods (standalone)
• Nine Liars (standalone)