Review: One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Publisher:  Delacorte Press
Publication date: May 30th 2017
My rating: 5 Stars
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One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

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.

My Thoughts:

One of Us Is Lying was a page turner! A splendid YA mystery where five teenagers end up in detention together and only four come out alive.  This story is told from four different POVs, the students who lived: Bronwyn “the brain”, Addy “the beauty”, Nate “the criminal”, and Cooper “the athlete”.  This is an unlikely bunch that are bound together after the murder of Simon, the much feared and hated high school gossip blogger, changes their lives forever. 

These four student’s lives were already in flux; each of them holding a secret weighing heavily upon them, maybe about to change their lives.  A secret that gossip-monger-Simon had access to and was about to expose. But was is bad enough that they'd murder him? Each come under more and more suspicion as the story progresses.

I loved how each of these characters grew in a positive way after they each had their darkest secret exposed.  Man, Addy went through a lot, but she came out the other side realizing she could have a meaningful life without always having a boyfriend define and dictate to her.  I really did despise her boyfriend!

I adored Bronwyn and Nate!  A romance that I completely cheered throughout! Bronwyn was the perfectionist, overachieving student driven by family issues deeply personal to her. Nate, a smart, enterprising guy, was struggling just to get by with two parents who checked out for all intents and purposes. They became confidants and comforters to each other as the murder investigation makes their lives a mess. They had a bit of history that made their connection even more special.

I will say I was surprised by the murderer’s identity.  Not so much by some of the side characters involvement, though.  The story and mystery were riveting, a big accomplishment for a debut writer!  I can’t wait to read what Ms. McManus comes up with next!