Member Reviews
I read One of Us is Lying and became an instant fan of Karen M. McManus. That has not changed with this book.
I think she writes a great mystery and offers a lot of little twists along the way. I was instantly connected to Ellery and Ezra, twins sent to live with their grandmother while their mom is in rehab. The twins are not close to Nana since their mother has not often been back to her hometown since her own twin sister disappeared as a teen.
Add the interesting twist of a murder and horror themed carnival park, and the twins navigating making new friends, love interests, and discovering their past, and this book covers all the bases to keep teen and adult readers interested.
I am already looking forward to the author's next book!
Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for my advance reader copy.
Karen McManus' follow-up to One of Us is Lying certainly did not disappoint. With the same components I loved as her previous novel, characters you learn to love, plot twists, and some quirky events along the way, it was vastly different which made you keep reading. In addition, the setting fit the plot perfectly This is one I will recommend to students and friends alike. Thanks NetGalley for the arc of this one.
I enjoyed this author's first book ONE OF US IS LYING and could not wait to read this book. It was very intriguing and I loved all the twists and turns. I will definitely be purchasing this book for the library and will encourage both teens and adult to read this well written book.
This mystery sets off when two California teenagers Ellery, and Ezra get sent to their Nana's in small town Vermont after their mom goes to rehab. The town is know for the disappearance of one and a murder of another teenage girl. When a sign marks that there will be another murder coming during homecoming the town is on edge. Then another sign appears signaling the murder victim will be a part of the homecoming court. Then a girl disappears. Who was the last person to see her alive? Ellery, Ezra and their friend Malcolm, whose brother was a person of interest in the last murder the town saw. This book will have you turning pages until you figure out who did it.
Ezra and Ellery Corcoran are living a nightmare. Their Hollywood-chasing mother is in rehab again. They are sent from New York City to live with their grandmother in small town Echo Ridge. Their first night in town leads to discovering the dead body of beloved high school teacher. Everything seems to be superficially terrible but darker secrets lie within both the present and past for this town.
The ending of the story had a similar flavor to other thriller novels. However, the path it took to get there had me guessing and gasping along the way. The characters are likeable. The setting is descriptive and realistic. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to any mystery-loving teen or adult!
I was highly anticipating this after enjoying McManus' debut, "One of Us is Lying". The mystery was just as, if not more, thrilling, with twists and subplots to keep you in suspense and suspecting everyone. The characters were interesting and the small town picturesque setting was perfect for a mystery. I had a bit of a hard time keeping all the different characters - and their motivations - straight, but it was a satisfying read that seems open to a sequel.
Karen McManus did not disappoint with Two Can Keep a Secret. It had me guessing at every turn, wanting more with each chapter. And the end? Wow!
Much like McManus's previous book, One of Us Is Lying, there are hidden bits of information throughout the book and the reader is not in on the truth of what has happened. I found Two Can Keep a Secret to move a little slower than her last title, but it was no less mysterious and intriguing.
I was so excited for the chance to read this from netgalley and it didn't disappoint! One of Us is Lying is one of my favorite books and this one is just as good! A mystery with twists and turns and characters you become invested in due to their circumstances and the brilliant, realistic way the author writes them. This was a good story and hard to put down. I kept trying to figure things out, but yet again was unsuccessful. McManus is a great new author and I will be recommending this one to my students!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an eARC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.
A fantastic read for young adults…
Two can keep a secret is a murder mystery that spans three generations. The main characters are Ellery and Ezra- a set of twins that grew up with their whirlwind of a mom. Moving from place to place, they never truly feel at home. Sadie is also a twin, but her other half had gone missing while she was still in high school. Sadie refuses to talk about her twin, Sarah, or her home town. After a stint with drugs, Sadie is sent to rehab and the twins are sent to live with their grandmother back in Sadie’s home town. Once the twins arrive, the secrets start untangling, threats are made and friendships tested.
McManus has a way of drawing you into a story from page one. Every page is excitement, and secrets revealed. My favorite aspect of her writing is the way that she slowly reveals juicy tendrils of information about the story. She hooks you and brings you into the story so that- you feel like you are part of the story. You are invested. The characters are interesting and well developed. The plot twists keep your eyes glued to the page. The last line will leave your chin on the floor.
A quick and entertaining YA murder mystery. I found this story to be less predictable, and the characters more engaging than One of Us Lying. I really enjoyed the main characters, as well as the creepy atmosphere of Fright Farm/Murderland. I did find the sheer number of secondary characters a little confusing, and some of the things that happened were a bit hard to believe, but a fun read overall.
A great book!! One her second putting McGinnis delivers with a mystery that will keep readers turning pages. Great for readers of all ages but the lack of sexual content and foul Language makes it an easy sell for early teens. I’m already anxiously awaiting the authors next book!!!
This book blew me away. Just like her first book, I could not guess that was happening next, or who was responsible. I cannot wait to get this for my students!
High school girls wind up dead in Echo Ridge ... which also happens to be twins Ellery and Ezra’s new home. The twins move across the country to the small Vermont town to live with their grandma, who they hardly know, after their mom is put in court-ordered rehab. Not long after the siblings arrive in town, some sinister things start happening and everyone is convinced it has ties to the murdered girls.
Five years ago, Echo Ridge High’s homecoming queen was found dead at the aptly named Murderland theme park, and to this day, the town still isn’t over it, Even the twins have a close connection to a killing in the area - their mom was also a twin, and her sister was murdered the night of homecoming when the girls were teens ... except no one ever talks about that. Ellery and Ezra know little about their murdered aunt and what happened the night she died. Their family likes to keep their secrets under lock and key, but now that the twins are back in their mom’s hometown, they might just be ready to dig up their family’s past.
But now a mysterious antagonist is causing terror in Echo Ridge once again, leaving horrific displays around town proclaiming that one of the girls from Echo Ridge’s homecoming court will be the next to die. When one of the girls on the court turns up missing, the town goes crazy with the finger-pointing, but does anyone really know who is the killer among them?
So much more than a murder mystery, Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus is a new, enticing novel that is very easy to lose yourself in. Already having received much acclaim for 2017’s One of Us is Lying, which is in the works as a TV series for E!, McManus has hit another out of the ballpark with her latest suspense novel for young adults.
While Two Can Keep a Secret is definitely murder-centric, McManus explores familial relationships, small town secrets, and the value of friendship in this book. McManus is a master at crafting engaging dialogue and inserting just the right amount of description and backstory into her books, so there’s no getting bored with this novel. With twists on par with adult suspense, even older readers will have fun solving (or not!) the case of the Echo Ridge homecoming murders.
With just the right mix of thrills and chills, teenage sleuthing, and amusement park horror, Two Can Keep a Secret is a fun, effortless read. McManus’s writing will have readers flying through the pages, right down to the last, utterly creepy, line of this compelling story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Such a good mystery! I think it might even be better than her last book "One Of Us Is Lying". I liked all of the characters in this book. I really enjoyed that it kind of had an old R.L. Stine Fear Street vibe to it. I would definitely give this one to teens looking for a creepy suspenseful read.
Echo Ride is a small town known for its secrets. Twins Ezra and Ellery land there to stay with this grandmother due to their mothers required rehab stay. Ellery, a true crime buff, is anxious to learn about Echo Ridge’s past, as well as her faimilys—her mother’s twin sister, Sarah, disappeared over 20 years before.
Upon the twins arrival, the death toll begins to rise and it looks like there is another killer on the loose again in Echo Ridge. With Ellery on the case with a few of her new friends, we are taken on a twisting ride throughout the town and the local amusement park, trying to find answers before more people die.
<i>Two Can Keep A Secret </i> is a great second novel that leaves you guessing until the very end. The characters are nicely developed and you really are drawn into the fold of the town itself.
The story follows Ellery, who, along with her twin brother Ezra, is forced to go live with her estranged grandmother after her mother ends up in rehab. Her grandmother still lives in the small town where her mother grew up, which harbors many mysteries and secrets. Ellery's aunt went missing over 20 years ago at 17, and 5 years ago, another local 17 year old was found murdered. As school starts, history starts to repeat itself as another murder is threatened. Told from dual perspectives of Ellery and Malcolm, the brother of the main murder suspect, it follows the two over the start of school as they end up working together to try and prevent another murder. This was very fast paced book, and was very engaging. The one problem with it is in the beginning, there was a lot of time skipping and a lot of the exposition was told, not shown, probably in a effort to get to the action faster. The characters were very fleshed out. This book was a fast paced mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I even wanted to go back and reread the whole thing when I was finished to pick up on all the clues I missed. I highly recommend it.
Meh. Way too many characters in my opinion! The “bad guy” isn’t really built into anything. He feels a little too traditional - and there were too many fake ones thrown in the readers path. The author is obviously trying to confuse you and send you off the path, but it feels sloppy and boring. I didn’t really care for her other thriller, and this one left me wanting more as well. I’d pass on this, I feel that there are other better thrillers. I gave it three stars for the writing because it is good writing. But the writing isn’t enough to carry the book/plot.
Who doesn't love a small-town mystery? I was hoping this book would compare to Karen McManus's debut, One of Us Is Lying, and she didn't disappoint. The characters were relatable, the twists were unexpected, and I never saw the ending coming. This book was a definite 5-star read, perfect for fans of Kara Thomas, Lauren Oliver's Broken Things, or anyone who enjoys a good whodunit.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After reading her incredible debut One of Us is Lying, I was definitely looking forward to Karen McManus's second book, Two Can Keep a Secret, but was unsure she would be able to construct another mystery packed with as much intrigue. Just a few chapters into the book, however, I found myself invested fully in the characters, their new community, and the mounting tension as secrets, mysteries - and bodies - continued to stack up.
True crime-loving Ellery, and her twin brother Ezra, are sent unexpectedly to live with their unfamiliar grandmother when their L.A. actress mother Sadie is sent to rehab. Their mother's tiny home town of Echo Ridge, Vermont, is worlds apart from Southern California and holds many personal mysteries for them as Ellery realizes they know very little about their mother's upbringing or the mysterious disappearance of their mother's twin sister, Sarah, over twenty years ago.
Echo Ridge has had more than its share of tragedy since Sarah's disappearance; a homecoming queen was found murdered at the town's popular Halloween theme park, Murderland, five years ago. Then, on their way to their grandmother's home from the airport, Ellery and Ezra come across a violent hit-and-run accident that left a favorite high school teacher dead. Within just a few weeks of their arrival, Ellery finds herself an unlikely nominee for homecoming queen just as frightening anonymous messages appear threatening the lives of the homecoming court. Murder mystery-loving Ellery can't help but begin her own investigation into the mysterious events in Echo Ridge and is joined by Malcolm, the younger brother of the prime murder suspect from the case five years before.
Told in alternating chapters from Ellery and Malcolm, Two Can Keep a Secret continues to build up tension as more layers are revealed from each well-developed character's viewpoint. Full of smart surprises and unexpected twists, this book will satisfyingly keep its secrets until the end.