One of Us is LyingAuthor: Karen M. McManus
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
Format: eARC
Pages: 370
Source: Publisher
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.
Well, well, this was better than I expected. I’m usually reluctant to read YA mystery, but there was something about One of Us is Lying that told me to go for it. Glad I did.
At first I thought I’d have a difficult time keeping track of which character I was reading, because it switches between four different perspectives in first person, but that wasn’t the case. Each one has a distinct voice. They might seem cliche at first, but there’s more under the surface that shows we don’t always know how people really are.
It’s a nicely done mystery that kept me wondering for most of the book. What really happened was my top scenario from the beginning, but there was always those seeds of doubt that had me working out other possibilities.
There’s some good character growth, especially with one in particular View Spoiler ». I also like how the families and the different dynamics played a part.
Overall, this is a quick and enjoyable read.
Hmm, sounds SO good. I think I’ve heard about the author before. Need to check out her books. Anyway, awesome review, as always. I’ll check out this book. ?❤️
I can see why this one grabbed your attention. I’ve enjoyed a few YA mysteries recently. I’ll have to add this one to the list.
I thought the different POV’s were handled well, too, they each felt unique. And I agree with your spoiler, the character development there was one of my favorite parts of the book.
YAY! I just won this one and now I am even more excited to get to it. Great review!
It sounds good butit is usually difficult for me as well when I have more than 2 POVs
I love it when a book is better than I expected! Great review — this one has been getting such great reviews!
If you liked this then I know I will as well, especially if the mystery wasn’t too easy to figure out, well, I guess it was but it still had you second guessing so that isn’t all bad right?
Yeah I was super wary about this one too, but ended up really enjoying it even though it had multiple POVs, something that I normally hate in books! It was definitely quite clever!
Glad you enjoyed it too!
haha! Funny. My review is coming up soon and the one thing I didn’t like was that all the voices sounded the same to me! I still like the book a lot when I connected with the characters they did start to feel different to me.
I’m loving on YA mysteries these days. I also like it when you kind of figure out what’s going on but then you spend the rest of the book going back and forth if you’re right or wrong b/c they keep throwing red herrings at you. 🙂
I love that this delivered, I am often hesitant like you in this genre. You are the second person I know who usually feels the same and enjoyed this one.
I am glad you liked this one, Christy. I don’t read much in the way of YA mystery, but this does sound good!
I’m hesitant on YA books but this one has been tempting me too. I’m glad it was such a good read! I love the premise on this one and I’m intrigued by the character development.
That sounds really good.
I am glad you loved it. I don’t read many mysteries, though.
I have never ad the pleasure of reading a YA adult mystery. This looks like a good place to start. Thanks for sharing.
I was really surprised by how much I liked this one. I agree that the mystery and characters were both really well done. Great review!
I wasn’t a fan of this. I understood the appeal but I felt like it was a typical YA with idiot adults who couldn’t solve a mystery and made a bunch of kids life hell just because they were there and not because of any type of evidence. I am still pretty frustrated by this book lol it made me a bit angry
The mystery sounds pretty good. I’m getting a little more picky with YA books, but I like think this one sounds like something I would enjoy. 🙂
I’ve never tried a YA mystery. I don’t read a lot of YA (mostly because I’m not a fan of the tropes that seem to follow it). This sounds like it doesn’t have those issues. You’ve peaked my curiosity. Great review.
Glad you enjoyed this. I’m not a big fan of YA but something about this one was calling to me. It’s been on my Overdrive waitlist forever and I’m still waiting 🙂
oh this story does sound so wonderful, and I love those “quick” reads!!
From the blurb, it sounds like amodern day version of The Breakfast club .
I’m glad you ended up enjoying this one! I am really curious to check it out.
It’s good that the mystery was done well and you were able to follow each character!