One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Title: One of Us Is Lying
By: Karen M. McManus
Published: 2017
Call #: YA Fiction McMan.K

This book has been described as “The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars” and I couldn’t agree more. When Simon, the creator of the school’s gossip app, mysteriously dies in detention, the police are suspicious of everyone who was also in detention that day.

Bronwyn – the Ivy league bound valedictorian

Addy – the pretty, homecoming queen

Nate – the outcast with a criminal record

Cooper – the jock who everyone likes

Not only did they have the opportunity to kill Simon, each of them also had a secret Simon was poised to expose on his app. How far would they be willing to go to protect themselves?

If this book was a TV series, you would binge watch it straight through. The central mystery will keep you reading from the start, which is full of twists and turns. McManus does an excellent job of creating suspense. It is the characters that make this read truly enjoyable. You feel like you know each one based on stereotypes from other teen books and movies, but they all grow in interesting ways and eventually defy the common tropes that inspired the author. Recommended for thriller and mystery readers. Also recommended as an audio book.

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