This, strangely, feels like the kind of book I've been waiting to read for a long time. It's strange, as shows such as 'Pretty Little Liars' (which this book is marketed towards fans of) have only mildly caught my attention, and I certainly don't enjoy reading about or watching Teen High School dramas too much. But I do like a good murder mystery, and that paired with my love for Contemporary YA recently meant I really got stuck into this read! In a big way! Every so often I'll stumble across a gem of a debut and this was certainly one of them.

So, things I liked! Well it had everything that a good murder mystery should: focused plot direction with plenty of twists and turns along the way, interesting characters with intriguing secrets, and a familiar setting of a high school that would definitely react to a murder in the same way that this one did. The characters were definitely the best part of the book - especially the four suspects to Simon's murder. Great POVs to read from definitely, and each very different. I liked that everyone had their own story and distinct personality and the way they came together to solve the mystery. The gradual reveals were really cool too, I especially liked Cooper's story, but don't want to spoil things so I won't go into too much detail as to why.

There wasn't a whole lot that I didn't enjoy about this book, hence why it ended up getting such a high rating. The plot maintained my interest throughout, and the ending was very clever, though I was pleased to see it aligned with one of my theories for the most part. I suppose I'd like to have seen a little more of what happened to the characters later on in life, but McManus actually did a good job of rounding the stories off nicely. I'm certainly looking forward to more books from her in the future!

The book Sophie most enjoyed this month was One of Us Is Lying, the debut novel from Karen McManus. Described as “The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars“, this is a book that fits perfectly into the current dark teenage culture of shows like Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why.

The book begins with five teenagers arriving at detention. Bronwyn is a teacher’s pet destined for Yale, Addy is the perfect homecoming princess, Cooper is the school’s all-star baseball pitcher, and Nate is the local criminal who’s already been caught dealing. The fifth student is Simon, creator of About That – an app dedicated to spreading rumors and exposing secrets about the students at their school. But during the few minutes their teacher steps out of the room, Simon suffers an enormous anaphylactic shock and dies. The police discover that someone had put peanut oil into the cups in the room and hidden Simon’s water bottle and epi-pens: this is no tragic accident. Within days, it is revealed that Simon was about to post salacious information about all four of the students in detention with him, information potent enough to ruin their lives for good. However, all four of the others feel that they were planted in the room. Is one of them the murderer, or is someone else behind Simon’s death?

Sophie absolutely loved this story. Although she began to suspect who was behind Simon’s death about two-thirds of the way through, she really enjoyed watching the waves of suspicion roll though the four main characters (the book alternates between the perspectives of all four detention students) bouncing off each one in turn and bringing them together in secret before driving them apart and back again as each new revelation hits. The main characters are more than just their jock, brain, princess, criminal archetypes and have opportunities to develop as the book progresses, although Sophie did figure out the big twist about one of them very, very quickly. This is a great read for anyone who just finished a 13 Reasons Why binge and is wondering how to fill their time until season two rolls around.

I had heard a bit about this one and then when I read the blurb and saw the cover, I had to request it.
Five students are in detention. They themselves even comment on what a cliché "Breakfast Club" group they make; there's the A student, the jock, the homecoming princess, the bad boy delinquent and the misfit. One of them is going to die in detention that day but which one, who did it and why?
This was a great read- fast paced and entertaining, a bit like a combination of the aforementioned Breakfast Club, with a bit of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars thrown in for good measure. Considering I liked all of those, this is an ideal read for me, although granted, that's not everyone's cup of tea! I still love teen drama, even though I'm in my thirties and I'm totally cool with that as it's pure escapism, as all good books/TV should be.
I felt like all of the characters in this were well developed and made me want to root for them, even if I didn't always know the motivations for their actions. I also didn't guess the end, which makes me very happy with a book like this! This is another great Summer read- pop it in your beach bag and you'll find yourself glued to it by the pool with your Pīna Colada.

4.5 Stars

I was very curious to read this book after seeing many good reviews, and it was definitely worth the time spent on it!

Five students entered the detention room, they couldn't have been more different: the beautiful one, the athlete, the smart one, the bad boy and the outcast.
Only four came out of the room alive.
Simon, the victim, had a gossip app, that caused many damages and destroyed many lives, many feared him, some hated him, but most just ignored him. Before he died, he was planning to reveal some secrets about the same 4 students that were with him in detention.
What makes it worse is that his death was not an accident.
So, who did it and who had the most to lose by these revelations?

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was not a typical YA, although it revolved around the same kind of 'clichés' students. But there was much more to the story than what meets the eye.
I also liked how the story was told, alternatively, from the point of view of these 4 students, it made it easier to understand them and to connect with them, but not exactly easy to figure which one of them was responsible for Simon's death!
The end was quiet the surprise for me, i imagined many scenarios about how this would turn out to be but never how it actually was.

This was a debut novel of the author, and for me it seemed like a breath of fresh air! I will definitely be waiting for her next book and i recommend it to my friends.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't usually read YA but to be honest I wouldn't have thought it was, apart from it being set in a school.

An unlikely group of students are given detention but not all of them make it out alive.

The story is told via chapters from each character's perspective. I thought this added depth as you got to see how each character felt and what was happening in their own life. Each character has a secret, but would they kill to keep it so?

I did figure out what happened but the story was pacy and twisty enough to make me doubt myself sometimes and it kept my interest. In fact whizzed through in a few days.

I really enjoyed it and would recommend.

First of all, can someone give Nate a hug? He deserves it. Okay, now to the actual review. There were thoughts, lots of them. And so many notes and highlights as I read this book that compiling them now takes a massive effort.

The 'friendship' in this book is THE WORST! But, that is how teenagers work sometimes, so I bought it. Kudos to you McManus. This is one of those thrillers that, if you've got a keen sense of observation, you should be able to figure out whodunit. But, the ride to getting there is simply enjoyable, and if you think it starts off slow and builds you are wrong. Right out of the gate we get right into it and these poor teenagers go through the most stressful moments they will EVER experience. I loved Nate, our resident misfit/outcast/scapegoat, more than any other character that we met. I also really loved the conclusion, there were warm and fuzzies.

An engaging and gripping read, One Of Us Is Lying is full of twists and really captures the teenage experience. I particularly liked the way McManus used current social issues to further complicate the plot. I would have liked to have seen slightly more development between some of the characters and to have seen slightly more progression towards the ending - it seemed a little rushed. Overall though a fun and engaging read!

Really enjoyed this book, read it all in one sitting! Struggled to keep up with the switching POV's at first felt like there were too many but got the hang of it quickly

Breakfast Club meets Mean Girls....The American High School Experience.

This book is destined to make a splash, it's as big a hit as Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (which I've only seen on screen). If this ever became a TV series, I'd definitely tune in and I'd make sure all my friends did too. Yes, this book was that good.

This is definitely a hit. The story was wacky and I saw parts of it coming, but the unravelling of the storyline couldn't have been better. The multiple perspectives was so insightful- it wasn't even difficult to get your head around.

The Breakfast Club kind of similarity was huge- I'm a huge fan of the film, the way the relationships evolve- all the teasing and mockery and then they reach this camaraderie and understanding. This book had that, and plenty more!

All the different perspectives allowed us as the reader to make our own judgments of their characters and also provided context (always important!).

Overall, though, it's worth mentioning that this book would be nothing if it wasn't for the writing. The smooth flowing plot, the way the characters were all in sync- there was no interruption when the perspectives changed. It just moved forward. It was all natural, all seemingly real...

This book revolves around a puzzling question: an unexplained, but seemingly non-accidental, death that has the power to radically alter the lives of all those involved- Forever.

Warning: It's an addictive novel. You'll want to solve the mystery.

I received this book through NetGalley.

I loved this book. It had me gripped from the very beginning. Throughout the whole book it kept me guessing. I never would of guessed it would end like that.

Five students end up in detention on a normal Thursday afternoon. Most of them are there because of a mistake – they all got caught with a phone in class. But, it wasn’t their phone, it was planted there. In detention there is:
Bronwyn, the brain.
Addy, the princess.
Nate, the criminal.
Cooper, the athlete.
And finally, Simon, the outcast and creator of the school’s most notorious gossip app responsible for wreaking havoc on the school and tormenting numerous pupils.
However, only four of them get out of detention alive. It was murder. It is later discovered that Simon was about to post a piece of gossip on all four students and they are all prime suspects. Who is the murderer and have they been set up?

One Of Us Is Lying is an enjoyable read which is described as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars. I’d say the ‘mystery’ itself is pretty weak, made even more so due to the first person narrative in each of the four main characters POVs. So, *spoiler*, it was pretty obvious none of them was the killer.

One of my favourite aspects of One of Us is Lying was the characters. I liked how we saw them develop and delved deeper into themselves. We saw that they weren’t just their stereotypes. I loved Addy, I felt like the went through the most growth and self-discovery. She learned how co-dependent she was on her controlling ex-boyfriend. I liked Bronwyn, she was intelligent and ambitious and I really enjoyed her romance with Nate. I liked Cooper but did not like how he was forcefully outed and that it was used as a ‘plot twist’ to shock the reader. I also disliked the suicidal ideation and how Simon’s suicide appeared to be used as a ‘revenge plot’, hence the lower rating.

There were four separate POVs, which I felt sometimes got a little confusing because it wasn’t always a distinct change between voices and narratives.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus deals with a lot of different and difficult themes, such as drugs, alcoholism, poverty, neglect, suicide, sexuality and homophobia, but I felt like McManus didn’t always deal with them in a sensitive or helpful way.

Overall, One of Us is Lying was an entertaining and enjoyable read at times, but I felt the mystery was lacking and the portrayal of aspects, such as suicide, to be problematic.

I was thrilled when I was approved to read this book from NetGalley as it has such an intriguing premise. I loved the movie The Breakfast Club so for it to have comparisons to that gave me high hopes!

The opening chapters of this novel are really intense, they grabbed me immediately and had me wondering what was going to happen next. The novel is then told from each of the perspectives of the four students who survived detention – we gradually get to see what their lives are like and it seems that they all have a potential motive for killing their classmate.

I really enjoyed how the teenagers changed as the novel progressed; it was also nice to see how, even though they all hung around in different groups before Simon’s death, they began to look out for one another in the aftermath. It made it really interesting as a reader too because as you get to know more about their pasts, you grow to like them more and it adds to the suspense that you don’t know for sure who you can trust. I did have my suspicions early on about what had happened in detention, and I was right, but there was more to the story than I had figured out so there were still shocks in store as the novel moves on. I would say that while this book does have the element of suspense there is much more to it than that. It’s more about the people left behind who suspicion falls on and we get to see how they cope with being under such scrutiny.

I have to be honest though and say that I did struggle to follow this novel because the voices of the main characters were not distinct enough from each other. I kept having to flick back because I couldn’t remember whose chapter I was currently reading and it made this novel a slower read for me than it might have been. It’s a small criticism but it would be remiss of me not to mention it because it did affect my enjoyment of the novel to a degree. That said, I would still recommend this novel because aside from this issue everything else is great and very enjoyable.

I’m a lot older than the target audience for this book but I have to say that, in terms of plot, it was one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long while so there are definite positives to this novel and I will be looking out for whatever Karen McManus writes next.

One of Us is Lying is out now!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Within minutes of opening One of Us is Lying I knew I would be hooked and I was.    I make no secret of being into YA fiction and it's only recently I've begun to appreciate the mystery/suspense genre.     I should have realised there were books that combined the two as this one did.    I enjoyed the YA feel, the  characterisation, the unique storyline, basically the way the whole thing came together worked well for me and I was a fan.

The opening line of the blurb reads <spoiler> 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. </spoiler>  Intriguing right?  The story was delivered through the alternating voices of the protagonists, the four students at the centre of all the fuss and collectively known as The Murder Club.     They all sounded like reliable narrators but clearly one of them must be lying.   Must?   Could?   Might be lying?   They were so well developed and though they were teens I found them relatable.  They had real world issues to contend with and the author dealt with these in a respectful and genuine manner.     At times the negative aspects of social media made me glad we missed all that when I was a student.     There was definitely a plot twist and though I congratulated myself for picking it reasonably early there was so much else going on in the story I never lost interest. As I hadn't put all the loose ends together there was still plenty of guess work and intrigue.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and was mightily impressed by the fact this was Karen McManus's debut novel.   I couldn't wait to spend more time in the company of the characters she created and felt compelled to keep reading, rapidly turning pages to test my theories as the story unfolded.   I look forward to seeing what other delights she has in store for us in future.

Thanks to Karen McManus, Penguin Random House Children's Publisher's and NetGalley for the free digital ARC.   It was my pleasure to read this in exchange for an honest review.

*spoiler free review*

One of Us Is Lying is set in a high school. After a detention goes horribly wrong and results in tragedy the spotlight is now on the surviving four students leaving everyone asking who killed the notorious gossip Simon? How? And why?

*this book contains triggers*

The book being set in a high school has a distinct 13 Reasons Why/Riverdale feel; clearly defined groups of students, sensitive themes and a group mystery that needs solving with the help of each other. Yes the whole YA American high school theme has been over done a lot recently, although the lack of individuality didn’t take any enjoyment away from the read, it just made the setting more familiar and a tad more predictable.

One of Us Is Lying centres around Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper and Nate now that they are worldwide murder suspects. But can they put aside their differences and trust each other enough to solve the mystery of who killed Simon?

Although the storyline itself was *very* predictable (I figured out who the killer was relatively early on although the mystery of ‘why’ definitely kept me intrigued unti;l the very end) I hardly noticed the book was nearly 400 pages and unknowingly managed to finish it in 2 sittings.

Storyline aside the shining star or the read was the characters. I can’t remember the last time I read a book where the leading cast were so fleshed  out and real. McManus really invested the time to develop the characters but without wasting valuable page space. I became so invested in the foursome I actually lost interest in the mystery aspect of the story and read purely for them.

Overall it was a ridiculously enjoyable read. Whilst it wasn’t the most original, surprising storyline its definitely worth reading for the character development.

Overall it was a strong 4 STAR read.

I don't think I've read a book with a Bronwyn in it before, and look - she's the brain! - so book probably had a head start from the beginning haha

The story was told in alternating POV, with chapters swapping between the four mian characters (suspects?). I liked this because it gave bits and pieces of each character's story at a time, and I also had the feeling of being one of them trying to piece everything together - worrying about who to trust and the shock as one secret after another was revealed. I also enjoyed getting to know all the characters, and watching them and their relationships change as they went through this experience together (but also apart).

Whilst I couldn't put this down as I read through, I have to admit I didn't love the ending - or, more precisely, how the responsibility for the death was resolved...

Despite this, I thought it was a good read. It is being pitched as a cross between The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars, and I think it is definitely more like PLL (with a dash of Gossip Girl) than Breakfast Club (I mean, we learn that there is more to people than their stereotypes, but they are really only in detention for a little while at the start)

I gave this 3.5/5 stars (it was looking like 4 for most of the book, but that the but that bothered me with the end knocked half a star off)

Five very different teenagers get detention but only four of them come out alive. Though they all seem to have been tricked into it, their teacher is determined to keep them all in detention, until things turn deadly.
Obviously it's in the title, but when I realised I could be reading from the killer's POV it suddenly got much more interesting. I started to pay much more attention to what the four characters were saying and exactly how they said it, looking for clues in the details. The growing relationships between the four were great to read. It was a bit difficult to keep the characters straight in my head at the start and I had to flick back a couple of times where I missed a character change but I soon got the hang of it. I didn't guess what was happening until almost when it was revealed so the mystery continued pretty much all the way through. I really enjoyed this book, I haven't read anything like this for ages and I don't often read mystery/thriller books but I'm so glad I had the chance to read this one.

Imagine if The Breakfast Club didn’t get the chance to spend detention coming to deep and meaningful revelations about themselves, because one of them dropped dead. The brain, the jock, the princess, the criminal – all four of them were about to have some shocking secret revealed by the dead boy, Simon, the outcast and creator of a nasty little gossip app. Which means all four had really good motives for murder…

The book is told from all four points of view, with the switch between characters clearly marked with the name and a timestamp. So, as we see inside all four heads, it means one of the narrators must be lying, as they relate the events after Simon’s death, including the police interviews, sensationalist journalists hounding them, and deepening relationships as the four become the ‘murder club’, shunned by classmates who can’t believe any of them are innocent.

I really liked the idea of this story, but felt that the different voices could have been a little more disparate, and the stories told with a little more tension. There’s something just a little too cosy about the tellings of watching movies and getting haircuts, in the midst of all the drama – yes, it’s normal life going on despite everything, but it did lessen some of the potential impact for me.

The mystery unfolds well enough, but the real ‘message’ of the story is more about the secrets and lies, and the impact these have on all five lives, not to mention those around them. Go in knowing that and not just looking for a straight murder mystery, and there’s a lot to enjoy in this book.

Now I like to think of myself as quite a good detective when it comes to murder mystery books, it's very rare that a book actually surprises me with it's plot but One of Us Is Lying did just that and I loved it! I'm also secretly cross with myself because I'm obviously not as good at deductions as I thought I was but we'll move on...

One of Us Is Lying follows the events unfolding after the death of a boy named Simon in a high school detention. The narrative is split between four different characters each with completely different lives but each who has a secret that they're trying to hide. Initially I was worried that I would find it very difficult to get to grips with a narrative split between so many characters but once I got into the storyline it became much clearer who was who and I honestly think successfully writing a book with this many characters is quite an achievement!

It's very difficult for me to write much about my thoughts on the story without posting major spoilers but it was a thoroughly enjoyable read which ticked almost every single box I have for a good book! I really enjoyed the beautiful development shown by all characters, but especially that of Addy who becomes a super strong woman and I'm just really so proud of her!! I mean, there's also some really cute romance and the epilogue made me feel so warm inside and it was wonderful.

There was only one small thing which bugged me and that was the way in which the characters referred to a girl who'd had a suicide attempt and the phrase that was used more than once to describe it (I shan't quote because I don't want to use such a phrase tbh). However, I think this is more a case of something which I find personally upsetting but also something that's a common description and would very likely be used by teens such as those in this book. So it's not like a negative of the book but more a negative of how insensitive people are to mental health issues in real life? I'm not sure if I've put this point across very successfully or not but oh well!

Anyway, One of Us Is Lying is a super fun book with a really good mystery which will keep you guessing (if you figure it out you're much cleverer than me, good job!). It has fab characters and it's just really enjoyable so you should add it to your TBR if you haven't already!

Thoroughly enjoyed this story. There is a real trend at the moment for books which have a group of teenagers and which tell the story from their multiple perspectives. This isn’t always my favourite way for a story to be told, but in this case it works really well. There are only four protagonists, they are each distinctive and they are all engaging.

5 teenagers get detention, within minutes one of them is dead. Of course, it turns out that all of the remaining four have a motive and all of them could have done it, there is motive, opportunity and intent, but they will tell you themselves that they didn’t do it. This is a really clever whodoneit, nicely complicated and super fast moving. I got terribly caught up in this story and was really surprised at the big reveal. The pace is just right and the tone is perfect. It is as good as any of the crime novels I’ve read this year and a really good read for a YA audience. I’m really excited about talking to my students about this novel. I’ll be buying multiple copies.

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars? Yes please! Sign me up for this one!

The brain, the beauty, the criminal, the athlete ... It's so easy in high school to end up in a predefined box. It's so easy to look around and think you know people because of the labels they've been assigned by everyone else. So what I enjoyed most about this book was getting to know each of the four main characters and discovering that none of them was quite the cliche they originally appeared to be. Even better? Each of these four characters came to realize the same thing. They're forced to work together in secret after they're all accused of killing their classmate—the only other person in detention with them on an ordinary school afternoon—and that means discovering things about each other that none of them would ever have guessed.

I love a good mystery, and while this one wasn't too difficult to solve in the end, I still greatly enjoyed watching it play out and discovering the extra details I hadn't managed to put together. Thanks, NetGalley, for the chance to read it.