Summary:
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 first thoughts:
This was sooooooo satisfying.
What I really think:
I really like a twisty book that’s not too full of itself. One that keeps the reader guessing, still has shocking moments, but doesn’t feel so outlandish that you start questioning how well the whole story holds up. One Of Us Is Lying does this really well. The first chapter is the most dramatic but McManus somehow manages to keep tensions rising throughout the rest of the story. Just when I started to relax about a character being innocent, new suspicion would be thrown their way and I’d question myself. The ultimate answer to who killed Simon is earned, not thrown in to wrap everything up at the last minute. If you’re paying attention, the answer is a puzzle put together over the entirety of the book from the first to the last chapter.
I hate puzzles but I love puzzling books.
I was also surprised at how much I came to care about our four suspects. McManus has a wonderful way of bringing these characters to life. I wanted to know their terrible, gossip-worthy secrets/motives for murder but I also really wanted all of them to be everything they wanted in life. It was weird to vacillate between thinking a character might be a calculated murderer and hoping all their dreams come true because they really deserve it after this nightmare that is being a murder suspect in a small town. Seeing each of them deal with the investigation and fallout in their own way, working together (or not) all the while never really sure who did the deed? Let me just say I can’t wait for the sequel and I’m definitely putting McManus’ other book, Two Can Keep a Secret on my TBR!
Content warnings (there are a lot):
Interpersonal violence
Death of a child/teenager (Simon’s death is on page)
Forced outing of a gay person
Child neglect
Child cancer
Suicide (discussion and actions)
Domestic violence
Emotional abuse
If you have more, leave a comment!
Should You Read This?
If you’re into murder mysteries, I’d say give it a shot! Or just wait for the TV show.
Oh and I highly recommend the audiobook. With four narrators, each for one suspect, it really adds so extra tension and depth to the experience.
Final Thoughts
One of Us Is Lying sucks you in with drama and secrets and keeps you dying to read more from the first chapter to the last.
The Course of Events 