The Vanishing Stair by Maureen JohnsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maybe 3.4 stars? The plot doesn't flow smoothly as the first book, it stutters along, only to end with a cliffhanger. Stevie is still a detective smartie pants, but she has been blackmailed into helping the person she hates most in the world, the smarmy, rich, conservative senator that her parents worship and work for. She can return to Ellingham Academy, but she must keep an eye on his son, David.
Stevie would like to keep more than her eyes on David, but she feels like she is betraying him. Her social skills aren't up to the same standard as her detective skills, so there are issues.
Of course, this is a standard romance story structure—a communication problem comes between the two who are romantically involved (or want to be). As is the addition of the nephew of a writer who has engaged Stevie as her assistant. He provides a friend for Stevie and a focus for David's jealousy, proving his continued affection for Stevie to the reader.
The first volume of the author's Shades of London series was the best one of those books for me. I'm hoping that this series won't go that same direction. During the earlier series, Johnson chose to take the main character (Rory) away from the school and from her friends. It was that change that really reduced my enjoyment of the series, so I hope that she keeps Stevie at the Academy for the next book. Although Stevie isn't as articulate and snarky as Rory was, her interactions with Nate, Janelle, and Vi are some of the best parts of the story, better even than the riddles that she may have figured out.
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