You'll be the Death of Me
by Karen M. McManus
Pub Date November 30, 2021
Delacorte Press

From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand-new pulse-pounding thriller. It's Ferris Bueller's Day Off with murder when three old friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly--and fatally--wrong.
* Mystery * Thriller * Young Adult
Karen McManus is very popular in our library. This is another solid YA thriller. Love her books!
Thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the ARC. It's great to read the books and be able to recommend the good ones!
5 star

I was really hoping to get into this book since I loved reading a few others of her's, but I was saddened by this one. I tried giving this a fair chance but couldn't get into it and I don't know why.

This was a fast moving and very addictive read. There is a slight homage to the 80’s movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but I wouldn’t exactly say it is a recreation of that movie. The three characters certainly remind me of the movie, but that was about it. Overall this is another outstanding murder mystery that shouldn’t be missed especially if you liked the author’s other books.

The story is told from the points of view of Ivy, Mateo and Cal. They are your typical teen characters, but I still really enjoyed getting to know them all. They are all hiding secrets, and some of them even had to do with the murder mystery, which made the plot that much more intriguing.

Ivy is the smart and overachieving one of the group. She is the one that comes up with plans and discovers many of the clues. Mateo is also pretty smart, and he is the one who actually solves a big piece of the puzzle that helps him to figure the whole thing out. Cal was a great character. Most of the time I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him everything was ok, but he does manage to hold his own with the other two and figure some important stuff out.

The plot is quite twisty and will keep you reading way into the night. There are lots of side characters that will either make you laugh or get super mad at. I loved the way the whole thing is revealed and the real culprit was a bit of a surprise. I also really liked that the story didn’t end with the big reveal, but we got to see what happened to each of the characters a few months down the line. I really appreciated that, as it always bugs me when things end with no follow up for the characters.

Another stunning book by this author. I really hope that this isn’t a standalone. One of the storylines at the end was left open, and I hope that means that there will be a sequel as I really want to see how all of that resolves.

Loved the Ferris Bueller nods and the second chance friendships at the center of this story. Did not love the teacher/student relationships. Will definitely appeal to fans of McManus's other mysteries.

I’ve read Karen’s works in the past. She’s amazing. I’ve enjoyed her mysteries and the thrill she’s given me solving these little mysteries over the years. This was no different. It had me on edge as I read, there were some comical moments as there were intense. I loved everything about it and devoured it in one sitting, something I haven’t been able to do for a while. So of course. 5 out of 5 stars!

I quite enjoy Karen McManus' books and this was no exception! The story kept me guessing until the end and I found the three main characters to be well-developed. Overall I recommend.

I really feel like I can count on Karen M. McManus to craft a solid YA mystery plot. This is the story of Ivy, Mateo, and Cal, who forged a friendship years ago by sneaking off together from a school field trip in Boston and having a Ferris Bueller level adventure. Years later, they are seniors in high school and have long since grown apart, but they all happen to converge in the school parking lot one day when none of them wants to go to school (Ivy just lost a student council election in a landslide, Cal is lovesick, and Mateo is exhausted from working two jobs to help his family cover their bills). Cal convinces them to skip and they all head to Boston together. Randomly, they see their classmate Boney, the one who humiliated Ivy in the student council election, going into a building. Ivy decides to follow him, but she's surprised to find him dead with an empty syringe nearby. She faints and Cal and Mateo decide to flee the scene as the cops arrive, and they spend the rest of the day trying to figure out exactly what happened. Ivy is a suspect because of a police tip that seems to match her description, and all three of them are hiding things from each other that make things even more complicated. A pretty solid plot with a few good red herrings. Content warnings for drug abuse, violence, and an inappropriate student/teacher relationship.

Three friends who have grown apart. A chance to reconnect. A ditch day gone horribly wrong. Thank you to Delacorte Press and Karen McManus for my ARC of this book that comes out on November 30, 2021. In Karen McManus’s You’ll Be The Death of Me, three high school seniors reconnect after years of living their own lives.

Ivy, the smart and driven runner up for class President feels like she will never be as good as her younger brother. He is smart but a slacker, and Ivy feels like she’s always having to prove herself. Mateo is your typical high school heartthrob, with good looks and a charming personality. He is also working two jobs to take care of his sick mom and try to support his family. Then there is Cal, a friendless outsider who wants to go back and relive one of the best days of his life. When he sees his chance, he drives the trio to Boston for a ditch day.

But this isn’t just any ditch day, but a day that begins with witnessing a murder. Is it a case of the wrong place at the wrong time, or do these three have something to hide? What follows is a frantic chase to find out what happened in the abandoned warehouse and to find out who is responsible. But everyone has secrets, and sooner or later, those secrets will come out.

Thoughts: In a similar format to her other books, You’ll Be The Death of Me switches between three perspectives to tell the story. In her signature fun YA plot build, McManus slowly shares details through each of the three narrators. I enjoyed that she wrote each character in a distinctive way and made them each individually relatable. The reader is never sure who to trust, who has hidden motives, and what is really going on in the bigger picture.

With a hint of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, this story is a fun twist on being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seemed like no one was interested in the murder as much as in drama and teen romance. I found the book to be very slow in the middle and the ending wasn’t necessarily the most enjoyable. I get that McManus was trying to throw in a twist, but it was not satisfying to read. In the end, I thought this was a fun but typical YA book, full of teen drama and an overdone plot. 3.5 stars.

In You'll Be the Death of Me three estranged friends, Cal, Ivy and Mateo, skipped out on a middle school field trip in Boston, having the "best day ever," which sealed their friendship until high school, when they went their separate ways. They reconnect when they come together after a particularly tough day when Ivy loses the student council election to class clown Brian "Boney" Mahoney, Cal gets stood up by his would-be girlfriend, and Mateo is exhausted from working two jobs and dealing with his mother's illness. Deciding to drive into Boston to recreate the day they met, things immediately begin to go wrong. They discover Boney's dead body in Cal's girlfriend's art studio and become involved in a complex murder plot. Ivy is a suspect and insists they investigate to clear her name. The deeper they get into the investigation, the more secrets are revealed until the exciting climax. This clever homage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off is told from the three protagonists' perspectives. While the mystery of Boney's murder is the focal point, the relationship between the three friends adds depth to this thrilling whodunit. This book comes out November 30th.

Only McManus can take a beloved 80's movie and common high school headlines and come up with a hit thriller.
You'll Be the Death of Me is a literal page turner, that has me up all night reading and thinking about the book while I slept!

Cousins is my favourite McManus novel to date, but You'll Be the Death of Me is her best yet.

Thank you so much Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this awesome digital ARC!

You'll Be the Death of Me follows three friends: Ivy, Cal, and Mateo. They used to be super close but drifted apart. One day the three of them run into each other in the school parking lot, and not really keen on being in school that day, they decide to skip. After that they stumble upon the dead body of their classmate and spend the rest of the day trying to find out who killed him.

This is not the first Karen M. McManus book I read, but I kind of wish it was. I ended up liking this one a lot more than One of Us Is Lying. Cal is kind of a dummy, and Ivy ends up showing she's a really horrible person, but I really liked Mateo a lot. The do-anything-for-family guy he is really resonated with me. Also, if I ever get a chance, I want to ask McManus if she hates teachers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

thank you so much delacorte press for this ARC!

4/5 stars


ooop! this was an extremely quick read, and a nice surprise! now i was expecting a lot from miss karen because she wrote one of us is lying, and it was one of my favorite books when it dropped. And I’m just gonna say that she did not disappoint. This book is easy to follow, and the twists and turns it takes are truly captivating. I really loved the climax and how we found out who it was. All the point of use were pretty easy to follow, it was it and jumpy or skippy. I really liked the cute romance we got it’s adorable, this is one of my favorite genres of books mystery and romance and this book gave what needed to be given, and I’m really really happy I got the chance to read it!

McManus definitely has a formula and it works for her. A handful a teens, who either used to or barely know each other but are connected, multiple POVs, and one mysterious death to the them together. Each mystery/book is unique, but there are other small factors. Two of them hooking up, usually from different social classes, with the guy being lower. Somebody is dealing drugs.
This one was okay. I think I would like it more if I didn't already know those criteria would be followed.
The over achiever with a secret here is Ivy. She is pretty bland except for her big screw up with Matteo, or rather his family. She should have just come clean when it happened. But since that is pretty much the only thing that made her interesting, maybe not.
Matteo and Cal are opposites. Even their parents, with Cal's two dads and Matteo only having a mom. Like they were designed to be different.
The mystery itself was only half surprising. It was clear from the discovery of the body that Lara would be a big part of the end. The other person, though, I didn't suspect at all. Mostly because they didn't play that large a role in the book until that big reveal. I was hoping for a bigger twist though.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Three friends walk into a art studio and one finds a dead body, yep sounds like Karen McManus to me. As another well-known YA author once said, always start with a murder, and she does. "You'll Be the Death of Me" is full of the red herrings, twists and turns that readers have come to expect from McManus and she does not disappoint.

A day of skipping school to have some fun and rekindle their once solid friendship turns into a nightmare for Ivy, Cal, and Mateo when they stumble across the body of a classmate. As they become entangled in the murder secrets are revealed and the three high school seniors have to determine whether they can trust each other. While Karen McManus is a popular YA mystery/suspense author for a reason, You’ll Be the Death of Me falls flat compared to her other novels. The plot revolves around a drug ring and a large cast of minor characters, both of which I felt took away some suspense over the end reveal. Some of the secrets revealed also do not live up to their potential, with many related to the three characters’ dissolved friendship and not the murder itself. However the side story of Mateo and his cousin needing to earn money to support their family adds context to their decisions, allowing the reader to understand and emphasize some of the decisions they make throughout the book.

While not one of her best works, fans of Karen McManus will still be entertained and enjoy the novel.

Karen McManus did it again.. Queen of YA mystery. I really liked this book, the twists and turns and the 80's references made it a classic for me. I love how she took Ferris Bueller's Day off and made a mystery book.

After a rough couple of days and years, three old friends run into each other and decide to recreate "the best day ever" and it turned into a disaster. Someone gets murdered and they are cast as suspects and must find the real killer so they won't get into trouble.

The only part that was cringe-worthy was the teacher/student relationship.

After reading all of her books, this one ties with “One of Us is Lying” as my favorite. The characters are well developed with a plot line that has so many twists and turns. The writing kept the story moving forward while presenting options for a sequel. I didn’t see the ending coming…and I loved it! #thatendingwasthedeathofme

This was an engaging thriller with well-rounded and interesting characters. Told alternately by Ivy, Matteo, and Cal, it is the story of a very bad day. Cal, Ivy, and Matteo used to be good friends in eighth grade. But now they are seniors in high school and they have each gone their separate ways.

Ivy is a Type A personality who is struggling in her own mind to live up to her genius younger brother. She has just lost the election to be senior class president to the class clown Boney Maroney and knows attending her rival's acceptance speech will be nothing short of humiliating.

Matteo's life has spiraled since their eighth grade year. His mother has developed osteoarthritis and needs an expensive medicine which is beyond the family budget since a lawsuit caused their bowling alley to go bankrupt. He's working two jobs and his cousin Autumn is working three to try to keep the family afloat.

Cal has just suffered his most recent breakup and has realized how alone he is. His circle of friends only hang out by default if they can't find anyone else to hang out with. His last girlfriend has accused him of being "not real." Fact is that he's developed a crush on a very unsuitable person and needs to keep it hidden.

The three of them meet one morning when they are all late for school and decide, each for their own reasons, to ditch school and try to recreate the happy memories of the day they ditched a field trip in eighth grade and had a great time in Boston.

Things go wrong almost immediately when they follow their new class president Boney to a location in Boston and find his dead body with a syringe beside it. The location happens to be an art studio when Cal had previously gone to meet his new girlfriend.

Then rumors start about seeing a blond woman fleeing the scene - and Ivy's blond. The three of them don't know what to do besides run and try to figure out what happened to Boney. They are all keeping secrets about various things that could help solve the crime.

This was an excellent story. I especially loved the characters who are all realistic and flawed human beings.

This is the first book I’ve read by Karen M. McManus, and I enjoyed it! A thrilling twist on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

This book definitely met my expectations — it wasn’t anything revolutionary in terms of YA murder mysteries, relying on some plot elements that I see in many other similar thrillers. The plot was engaging, and I didn’t expect many of the twists and turns. Pretty solid, plot-wise.

I liked all three main characters (Ivy, Mateo, and Cal), though I will admit I have a soft spot for Mateo. The three of them were,, pretty much exactly what I expected from this book, as the three of them fit into pretty stereotypical high school boxes, like the One of Us is Lying characters do. The class president, the tall dark and brooding boy, and the artist. I think they were interesting characters to follow, and their differing backstories shaped their individual POVs. I feel like they could have been developed a bit more and shown more growth throughout the book (that was shown and not just directly told). I say this mainly because some of the characters needed to… check their privilege lol.

With the side characters, I thought they were pretty intriguing. There’s this one character who’s by far the most complex and interesting one out of everyone, so I enjoyed reading about where her story went. The actual culprit, though, I felt like could have been fleshed out as a character more. Yes, it was shocking, but it was more-so because I barely knew about the character. This character’s change from run-of-the-mill side character to cold-blooded killer was too jarring, in my opinion. Props for the shock factor, though.

Lowkey a cliffhanger lol someone help

Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a review!

CW: murder, death, violence, drugs, underage drinking, infidelity

Another great book from Karen McManus! The entire story takes place in one day which can be an iffy style for me because it can easily drag. I can honestly say that this wasn’t one of those though. The mystery held my interest the whole time and I only figured out one little part ahead of time. The ending was unexpected for sure and I’m curious if there will be a follow up.
If you’ve liked other books by this author, I think you’ll like this one too.