Karen McManus never fails to impress me! In the latest installment of the One of Us is Lying series she continues to weave a twisty and turny plot leaving readers guessing until the final chapters. This is a must for all Teen collections!

Karen Mc Manus does it again!

We return to Bayview where everyone from the two previous books is home for the summer. Everyone is in good spirits, except Phoebe, who is still reeling from the ending of the last book. But then some horrible news hits the crew, and the anonymous threats start up again. With all the characters I loved from before, signature twists and turns that kept me guessing, and an ending I didn’t see coming, I was hooked from the first page and barely put this one down.

The cast of characters was pretty big so I recommended reviewing the first two books before hopping in. And I was a bit bummed not to get a Bronwyn POV since I love her. But I understand why we got the POVs we did. I love Nate, Addy, and hot-mess Phoebe. I think my favorite part was the friendship between Addy and Nate. I’m sad their story is over (is it over???) but I feel like the ending was super satisfying. 5 stars!!!

Karen McManus has done it again! The Bayview crew is back at it and the twists and turns are better than ever. This is my favorite book of the series, by far! I love how the characters are consistent and there is a ton of mystery and secrets in this story. One of the characters thought their 6 year old secret was safe and gone forever with the death of Simon, but little did they know was that Simon was one step ahead of them. This was a 5 star read for me. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This third (and final) book in the series is a bit less engaging than the previous two (which I very much enjoyed). This book cleverly combines the two different ensemble casts from those books so that they are all working together to solve one plot (a plot which also builds upon the combined series of events that happened in the previous two novels). This does not work as well as it should, unfortunately.

The problem is that we now have an extremely large ensemble cast, so many major characters from the past books have almost no presence in this novel. The characters that are featured (mostly Phoebe, Addy, and Nate) all fail to have distinguishable voices. Addy (from the first book) and Phoebe (from the second book) have such similar personalities that it's often hard to differentiate which one of them is talking if you aren't paying attention. A gentler, more mature Nate makes sense now, so that aspect of character development is a nice touch; but unfortunately even Nate almost reads the same as Addy sometimes.

Another problem is that quite a few years have passed since the release of the first two novels, but book tends to assume we remember all the details without a lot of backstory. It took a while to remember who was who and what had happened before, so it was hard to follow along for a while.

The plot itself and the reveal of who the villain is (& the motive) also didn't tie in as much as I'd have preferred, but some readers may disagree. Overall, this was a rather slow read for me, so I wouldn't consider this a "necessary" read for fans of the first two books.
Thank you to Netgalley, and to the publisher, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series! Just like the previous books, McManus kept me guessing all along. This one seemed a little harder to follow than the previous books, but it all wrapped up nicely in the end. The newer characters also felt very well integrated. Part of me hopes there are more books in the series, and part of me thinks Bayview deserves a break!

I have enjoyed every book in this series. I really enjoyed the ending and felt like it wrapped up nicely. I can’t wait to share this book with my students! Such a great story. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced read.

One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus is the third in a trilogy of books about the wayward teens of Bayview. and their unfortunate habit of getting involved with murderous plots. This volume is another thrilling addition to the author's oeuvre, with twists and shocks around every page turn. A fantastic follow-up to One of Us Is Lying and One of Us Is Next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

A satisfying conclusion to the series. I'll miss the characters, but they've been through enough. Only feasible to let them live their lives. Did kind of confuse myself a bit returning to the book version of the series after watching the vastly different TV show. But still, much prefer the books to the show.

One of us is Back
By Karen McManus
Pub Date: July 25, 2023
Delacorte
This book is the best in the series!
It was an amazing experience to spend more time with the characters I loved in book 1 and 2.
I highly recommend the whole series and especially this book.
5 stars

Karen McManus is truly a modern day Agatha Christie and her work speaks for itself. I love the rollercoaster ride that her stories take us readers on!

America's favorite YA suspense author is back with "One of Us is Back" ! I recommend Karen M. McManus to everyone looking for a Breakfast-Club-y crime story.

I have read all of the books by Karen McManus, including the other two in the One of Us... trilogy. I think these are good YA books, but they have definitely become predictable. This novel includes the same characters from the first two books, and I believe McManus did a great job of jogging your memories throughout the novel of incorporating descriptions of the characters and their relationships with each other. Another game is being played, specifically targeting the members of the Bayview "Murder Club."

I liked that there were multiple points-of-view in this book although I wanted more from certain characters. As I mentioned earlier, I was able to predict who was running the game based on overall plot details. This book definitely would not make sense if you had not read the other two. I did like the book, but it just did not have the "LOVE!" factor like the very first book in the trilogy had to me.

If you've been along for the ride since the first Bayview High book, you'll be very excited to continue that journey with this one! Even though all of your favorite characters are thrown back into murderous chaos, it feels good to see what they're up to now.

This didn't disappoint in the twisty turns of "who did it/is doing it?" Selfishly, I wish the book had a bit more variety in which characters each chapter focused on. The addition of Simon and Jake's past was great insight into who they really were as people, while also revealing bits of the story to us that the characters did not have.

I also get that they see the police force as a complete waste, and I understand why, but some of the choices had me really irritated.

Overall excellent addition to the existing books!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me to read in return for an honest review.

The Murder Club is back and trying to figure out who is playing games with them this time. An old boyfriend is out of jail awaiting a new trial, but will someone hand out their own form of justice before that can happen?

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This felt like such a love letter for fans of the Bayview(Not cause there are more than) four and its world in general. Karen has built the suspense for so long and the payoff after three books was definitely worth it in the end. The slight thing I didn't like was some characters were pushed to the side a bit (copper and Knox) but I get it for the sake that there are many characters in this universe.

Spoilers: For fans of the show, there definitely were some moments that I feel Karen took that made it into the books that I loved. Possible Queer!Addy, Vannessa being an iconic queen, Cooper, his endorsements, and of course, Jake getting [redacted].

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for sharing the digital copy of this book. This book is worth the wait. If you were a fan of the first two books in this series, you will not be disappointed. I love how McManus brings back all of the characters from the previous novels through flashbacks. All of your questions from the previous novels will be answered. Each chapter is told from the perspective of the Bayview Crew. Jake is back and swears he's a new person, but is he? It all starts with a mysterious message that seems to be popping up everywhere, even on a local electronic billboard. Each chapter draws you in deeper until you can think of doing nothing else but solving this young adult thriller. Could there be another Bayview High book in the mind of McManus, I hope so. I highly recommend picking up this continuation of this fantastic series.

“One of Us is Back” is an eARC that I was mostttttt excited to get approval to read. It was the perfect ending to this series. It tied in original and new characters, plot points from both previous stories, and one of my favorite aspects: the jump back to middle school Jake and Simon!! Also, I adore Bronwyn and Nate . I love love loved this entire series, especially as I’m not the biggest fan of YA. All three books were unputdownable, binge-worthy, captivating reads. The characters, multiple POV, and twists were all so well done. I cannot recommend this series enough!

Solid four stars for all three books.

Karen McManus doesn't disappoint! The Bayview Crew is back together again trying to solve a mystery. While it's been a while since reading the first and second in the series, I was easily able to fall back in to the world of Bayview and remember the characters and their experiences. I can't wait for this one to come out so I can purchase for my library. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book! I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books I've read by this author and this was no exception! I love listening to the audio version as well so I will be adding this to my list of must have audiobooks!

Why? This book is totally unnecessary. The first two books were perfectly functional on their own, and this just feels like fodder for the TV show - the plot is crazy to the point of unbelievable. It's not different enough from the first two to justify a whole other book, in my opinion.