Review Detail

THE VANISHING STAIR continues the TRULY DEVIOUS plot as Stevie returns to the enigmatic private school, Ellingham. Stevie becomes more entrenched into the mystery of the crimes that originally took place in the 1930s as she works with a local professor on her research for a book she is writing about the kidnapping of Ellingham's wife and daughter, a great unsolved mystery.

The book picks up where the last one left off with Stevie's new clues, and more clues are collected throughout. At the same time, she is also wondering about what happened to Ellie, who seemed to disappear into the mountains after Stevie brought forward some new facts about another student's death.

The pacing was again a little slow at the start, but this book makes huge leaps forward for both the past and present crimes here. This is not just a middle book which stagnates- a lot happens in this text. There are also some new characters and old characters who we get to view in new ways. I think I am finding connections that may appear in the final book, but I am excited to keep reading and find out.

This is a series that gets better with the additional books, and I definitely can't wait to continue it. Although the romance is pretty meh, the mystery plots make this a highly engaging and creative series that I cannot wait to continue with. Highly recommend for fans of SHERLOCK HOLMES and murder-mysteries.