Title: One of Us Is Lying
Author: Karen M. McManus
Publication: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Delcorte Press
Genre: Teen, YA Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 359
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
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.
REVIEW:
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus had me at the synopsis. The instant I read it I added it to me To Reads list and just knew I had to read it. Lucky for me it was drawn as a book for my book club and I finally got my chance.
While I love young adult, teen novels, sometimes they are a little too soft for me, but I love when they have a good mystery behind them. McManus definitely delivered on the mystery and suspense. From the start, I was convinced Jake was guilty. I had no idea how or why, but he skeeved me out from the beginning. Then it occurred to me that it would be too easy of a guess. He obviously was an antagonist in the book, but a killer? I was stumped and didn’t quite figure out what was coming until the final pieces started falling in to place. McManus did a great job of revealing just enough to make a guess, but not enough to know if I was right.
The story is carried by multiple characters and each one is a totally different type of person. You had a representative from many different walks of life when you think back to your high school days. The nerd. The jock. The boyfriend obsessed girl who really didn’t have a life of her own. And the loner. Each character brought a great angle to the story and a coming of age that stood true to real life. One of Us Is Lying touched on some hard hitting topics that a lot of authors stray away from, and McManus did them beautifully. I think what I loved the most is that one big lesson anyone could take from this novel is that no matter who you think you are or who your friends are, you can find the most unlikely of companionship in people you would never have suspected.
One Of Us Is Lying would appeal to anyone who is a fan of teen or young adult fiction and definitely those who love a good mystery. Make sure you are a fan of the jumping around in stories because this one has four points of view, but they flow well together and it’s not hard to follow. Definitely one for everyone to check out.
STAR RATING: 5/5
Get your copy of One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or a local bookstore near you. Also make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. You can pick up more from author Karen M. McManus HERE!
