Get ready for a fun mix of a daring jewelry heist, a complex murder mystery, and a tangled web of secrets within a wealthy family’s compound. Oh, and add a dash of romance! I enjoyed how McManus explores loyalty and deception within these families - the rich and the cons.

Highlights:
✨Fun Characters: Grifters, Con Artists, and the Uber rich
✨Teenager sleuths: Kat, Liam, and Augustus make a great team! They create a “found family” of sorts.
✨Narration: Skylar Gallun narrates Liam’s chapters, and Victoria Villarreal narrates Kat’s. Both narrators played these teenagers perfectly, making them likable and most of the adults unlikable.

The story starts a bit slow, but by the midpoint, the action really heats up, racing towards a twisty and exciting ending. As with most thrillers and mysteries, the less you know go into the story, the better. Overall, it's an entertaining YA mystery that will keep you guessing.

Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Here are the top five reasons to read this book:

1. Intriguing Plot: The story revolves around mother-daughter grifters on their final heist, which turns deadly and personal. The twists and turns will keep you hooked. It is brilliantly written.

2. Complex Characters: The characters, especially Kat and Liam, are well-developed and realistic. Their backgrounds and motivations add depth to the story.

3. Dual-Narrative Structure: The book uses a dual-narrative structure, providing different perspectives and adding layers to the mystery.

4. Fast-Paced and Engaging: With snappy dialogue and a tight plot, the book maintains a quick pace that makes it hard to put down.

5. Themes of Family and Trust: The novel explores themes like family secrets, trust, and betrayal, making it a thought-provoking read.

The title is apt for this book. If you enjoy mystery thrillers with complex characters and engaging plots, this book is definitely worth checking out!

I’ve read all of Karen McManus’ books and I’m a big fan. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t hit for me. Besides Liam, I just didn’t care too much about the characters and I felt like the plot moved along too slowly. This could be a me problem, but I didn’t get pulled into the mystery like I usually do.

I loved how there were so many different layers to this story, I thought the author did a really good job at showing the mother-daughter dynamic of Jamie and Kat especially since Jamie was a young mother. I thought the struggle of childhood trauma and grief was handled nicely, and I liked how Liam really stepped up to the plate when it was time. I really did appreciate the murder mystery element was done really well but the heist could’ve been better.

Such Charming Liars is a high stakes mystery filled with deception and lies.

I love a book where you can never fully trust anything and this is one of those, delivered with aplomb. McManus is known as a Queen of YA Mysteries for a reason and she proves it every time. Her books are slick, suspenseful and full of great characterisation and some killer twists. This takes it up a gear with a focus on cons and crimes, with some excellent heist style shenanigans. For me, it was like Ocean’s Eight meets Knives Out, that high octane thriller meets the Golden Age of Crime with a sprinkle of privilege and wealth beyond imagination.

It more than lives up to its premise, delivering a brilliant mystery. I loved the exploration of class and privilege, in the extreme bubble of the Sutherlands. It is like peeking into another world and you get caught up in the glamour and prestige of it all. However, underneath there are plenty of simmering tensions and long held feuds that corrupt everything. It is very much a flawed and fractured family where the pursuit of power and wealth has shifted the moral landscape. Their upbringings have been tricky with tensions that rise to the surface quickly. You get the sense of a ticking time bomb and that’s before you add in the contrasting schemes at hand. It is a giant game of chess, but who’s ultimately overseeing it?

We focus on Kat and Liam, with Kat being brought up in difficult households with a fraught dynamic and a lifestyle reliant on scamming. On the other hand, Liam had some more love and stability, but lost this when his mum died. Since then he’s been used as a tool in his dad’s cons. As a result they’re used to being chameleons and fitting into whatever role the situation requires. This allows for some interesting adaptation and manipulation of their expected roles throughout the narrative. Their pasts have fundamentally shaped them and their long ago crossover brings out some skeletons in the present. It adds so much tension to the narrative and McManus just keeps raising the stakes higher and higher.

Such Charming Liars exposes the gilted, glamorous and ultimately glib underside of privilege where every move is a power play. It is another excellent thriller from a Queen of YA Mysteries.

Kat’s mother Jamie has been a grifter/thief for much of her life, but she’s ready to walk the straight and narrow after one last job. On the way to the site of the job, a billionaire’s birthday party, they’re shocked to come across Jamie’s scammer ex (a Vegas wedding that only lasted 48 hours) and his good-hearted son Liam (who was luckily raised by his mother most of his life). Although they were step siblings for only a short time, Kat and Liam still thought about each other throughout the years.

The carefully detailed plan to steal a valuable necklace collapses like a house of cards when one roadblock after another comes into play, and Kat is left scrambling to carry out the heist on her own. Even though her mother kept her out of the family business for the most part, Kat’s picked up some things over the years and isn’t without skills. But at sixteen years old her judgement isn’t always sound. The sibling-like relationship between Kat and Liam is one of my favorite parts of the novel – they need each other more than they knew. Augustus, part of the wealthy Sutherland family, is a nice addition to the story with his clever humor and witty takes on his relatives. The three of them make a pretty good team as they try to solve a murder while being chased by a killer.

I suspected several characters and thought I had if figured out a couple times despite the numerous red herrings, but the story has more twists than a Twizzler. If you’re a fan of karma, you’ll appreciate the ending – it’s perfect.

McManus has never disappointed, and I recommend this novel for readers who enjoy twist-filled mysteries, heist stories, and found family.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Karen M. McManus can always be counted on for an excellently-tense summer mystery populated by compelling characters, and I look forward to her new releases every year. "Such Charming Liars" is a bit of a departure from her usual, as the central plot involves a jewelry heist, but all of her usual hallmarks - characters to love, characters to loathe, a plot that expertly unfolds in twists, turns, and loop=the-loops where no one at all seems trustworthy - are present. While parts of the climax felt a little out of left field, it wasn't to the point that it seemed totally implausible, and overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. (Liam, my precious sunflower!!!!)

This was my first book my Karen M McManus and it definitely won’t be my last. This was such a fun read. This book starts off with two grifters, a mother and daughter, Jamie and Kat. While on the heist, Jamie and his dad, Kat’s former stepdad show up. I was immediately hooked, and had to find out what was going to happen and if they can pull of the heist. Would definitely recommend.

I'm always a fan of Karen M. McManus books, and this one was no exception. It was an overall quick read, about a teenager who attempts to join her mom's con/heist, only to find her ex-stepbrother and his father are staying where everything is set to go down. There are a lot of secrets, lies, and of course a good Karen M. McManus story couldn't happen without a little murder. I liked the ex-stepbrother/stepsister dynamic and the two protagonists trying to figure out if and how to trust one another, and how to get out of the madness alive. In some ways the story felt like it was over a bit too fast, but I think overall it had a good ending. Not a super surprising twist but satisfying, and a good quick read if you're in the mood for a mystery/thriller. 4/5 stars.

Karen M. McManus has firmly cemented herself as one of the most well-known young adult mystery/thriller authors. Such Charming Liars is her 8th release, and it delivers on things that you’ve come to expect from a McManus book — family drama, a fun mystery, and some crazy shenanigans. While not my favorite McManus book, I had fun reading this one.

I liked the heist/con artist aspect of the book as that’s not something McManus has done before. I appreciated her trying something new and I think it made the character dynamics more interesting; plus, I like somewhat morally gray characters in a mystery/thriller.

The book’s highlight for me was the relationship between Kat and Liam. I love found family and thought the two of them were so sweet. Liam, while a bit naive, especially with his father being the way he was, was my favorite character. I found him very endearing and appreciated the way that he looked out for the people he cared about. Liam was such a good-hearted character, and it was clear from the beginning that he really cared about Kat, even though it’d been 12 years since they had last seen one another. With the two growing up around liars and con artists, it was really lovely to see them genuinely trust and support one another and I enjoyed watching their bond grow.

The little trio that they developed with Augustus was so fun, and I particularly enjoyed the interactions with Augustus and Kat. Liam and Augustus were cute together and I was rooting for them, but I wasn’t particularly invested in them — they were fine, but I could’ve done without a romance in this one. However, I did appreciate that the main couple wasn’t heterosexual and that McManus didn’t find someone to pair Kat off with.

I had my theories throughout the book and some panned out the way that I expected them to. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think that’s a sign of a poorly executed novel; I always think that means the author did a good job of planting clues and concluding the story in a way that makes sense.

The downside of this for me was that the pacing felt off. It wasn’t until about 70ish percent that I felt like things really picked up. However, I will make a slight caveat to that statement with the fact that this could’ve been a me problem because I wasn’t able to read this one as quickly as I would’ve liked due to personal reasons. Normally, a book this length and type I’d read in a day or two, but it took me 8 days to finish because I didn’t have the time or energy to read. So, while the pacing felt off to me, it might not for others who are able to read it straight through/fairly quickly.

While this wasn’t my favorite of McManus’ novels, I had a fun time with the heist element of the story and found both main characters to be likable and interesting to follow. Such Charming Liars had pretty much everything I’ve come to expect from a McManus mystery, so if you’ve enjoyed her other books you’ll likely enjoy this one as well!

SUCH CHARMING LIARS, the latest young adult mystery from prolific author Karen M. McManus (One of Us is Lying), received starred reviews from both Booklist and School Library Journal. I was extremely disappointed to learn that I had overlooked the NetGalley archive date for this novel. No worries – it is on my TBR list and likely on the list of McManus’ many fans. Enjoy!

I am either hit or miss with Karen M. McManus's books and this one was a miss. The beginning started off strong as we learn about Kat, her mom, and their jewel thief background. As the story progressed, I didn't care for Kat or Liam's chapters since they were carbon copies of each other: they both referred to their parents by the first name, they did not have a relationship with their parents, and they lived off of making hasty decisions. I finished the book just to finish it, but it wasn't a favorite. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

DNF -- Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus

I’m so sorry!! I love you Karen McManus. I’ve read all of your books. I recommend them in my high school library all the time. But…

I made it to 63% in this book. And I gave up. The plot was boring. I found it very repetitive. What I mean by this is that something would happen to Kat, then she would replay it in her head, then she would tell Liam about it. Something along those lines seemed to happen often throughout this book. As far as characters go, Liam was the only somewhat likable character…maybe Augustus. The rest of them were annoying, rude, or arrogant. Then the twists? I didn’t care. There was nothing surprising. I didn’t make it to the final twist, so maybe that would have redeemed the book, but I just lost interest and started skimming for dialogue and even that I didn’t find intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title for review.

Such Charming Liars features Kat and her mother on one last big heist. Kat’s mother Jamie is ready to give up being a jewelry thief and this last heist takes place at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. Jamie’s ex Luke and his son Liam just so happen to be attending this party as well. Things take a turn when they get there and it’s up to Kat to pull this heist off instead.

This is my first book by this author and she created such a nice setting for this story to take place! Kat is a character who is torn between right and wrong, but when it comes to her mother she will do what needs to be done. Liam on the other hand doesn’t like his father being a fraud. So whenever he gets a chance, he tries to sabotage him.

This book has short chapters to read and packed with twists up until the very end! I enjoyed Kat and Liam’s relationship with their sibling love and being able to relate to each other. Though Kat isn’t truthful towards him in the beginning, Liam still has her back no matter what.

Thank you to tbrbeyondtours, netgalley, the author, and publisher for an eARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Another twisty and fun thriller from Karen McManus! Kat’s mom Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she wants to do one last big heist. This last job takes her and her daughter to a billionaire’s compound for a weekend party. They didn’t anticipate running in to Jamie’s ex-husband, a scammer, and his son, and that’s just one wrench in their carefully laid plans. When someone turns up murdered, they know the danger is even more dire than just getting caught.

I love McManus’s thrillers, they’re always so fun and always keep me on the edge of my seat. SUCH CHARMING LIARS was no exception. Fast-paced and full of twists and turns, I raced through this one in a matter of hours. The characters were all quite unsavory, but they each had their reasons for doing what they do. I liked the dynamic of Jamie trying to be a good person but the siren song of maybe, finally, hitting it big was too much for her to resist. Luke and Liam were also interesting in their own right, and Luke also had reasons for his choice in professions. Nobody in this book was truly a great person though, and that’s what made me like them and the overall story so much.

Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

If you’re looking for a YA mystery with a heist, dark lies and secrets worth killing for then this one might be for you!

The first 20% of the story is a bit slow since the author wants to introduce the key players to the readers and how they’re going to be connected to one another.
However, things will get a lot more interesting once the mystery starts with a sound of gun shot in a middle of a party…

This story is told in dual POV from the main characters – Liam and Kat.
At times, Liam appears too innocent to be involved in a heist, while Kat is the complete opposite of him - she’s reckless but also highly intelligent in a life or death situation.
But, that’s what makes them both interesting main characters for this story and despite how different they are and haven’t seen each other in years, they clicked and treat each other like family instantly.

The last few chapters are quite intense as the puzzle pieces started to come together, twist upon twist are thrown which can be quite overwhelming so I have to read it slowly to understand all of it.
But, I have to admit the last twist manage to surprise me real good!

Overall, it’s an enjoyable and entertaining mystery read with a satisfying ending.
This is not the first time I read a book by this author and won’t be the last, I’m looking forward to read more books in the future.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Domestic abuse, gun violence, toxic relationship, emotional abuse, physical abuse, brief mention of abandonment

Karen McManus is an auto-read author for me, and Such Charming Liars did not disappoint! It's easily one of my favorites, and I've read her entire catalog. We alternate between Kat and Liam, whose parents were married in Vegas for a brief 48 hours 12 years prior. Now, Liam tries to sabotage his dad's online dating scams and Kat wants to hep her mom complete one last heist before they go clean. They are reunited at the Sutherland compound, where Liam's dad Luke is wooing the daughter of the rich patriarch and Kat's mom Jamie is planning to steal that daughter's ruby necklace. But it wouldn't be McManus if plans didn't go awry!

We do get the dead body McManus is know for, but we have plenty of subterfuge and intrigue before the murder, and the heist plot is sufficiently twisty. I enjoyed sticking with a dual perspective, instead of more characters; Liam and Kat were well-developed and different from each other. We also get some good humor from both and from Augustus Sutherland, grandson of the billionaire. While I could predict some of what was going on, plenty left me guessing until it was revealed.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advanced copy of this book.

Title: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus
Genre: YA Thriller
Pub Date: July 30, 2024

💎 One Last Heist
🖤 Counterfeit Jewelry
✨️ Epic Betrayal
💎 Twisty YA Thriller
🖤 Abusive Ex Husband
✨️ LGBTQ Representation
💎 Short Chapters
🖤 Dual POV


My Review:

Poor Kat! Everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. She's naive and doesn't really think things through, but she has good intentions! Augustus and Liam were cute! There were so many twists (most of which wereunexpected), and the short chapters made for a quick, unputdownable read! I hoped the end would be a little more "eventful" but overall I enjoyed it!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Tours, for the digital review copy 💗

Such Charming Liars is a tale of grifters, liars, crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses. When Ross Sutherland throws his weekend birthday bash, he expects his guests, along with the haughty Sutherland children, to stay the weekend at his compound (who has a compound?). What he doesn’t expect is that amongst them are two grifters and their teenaged children. Jamie is there for “one last heist” to steal a necklace before going straight, and she’s brought along her daughter, Kat, who doesn’t seem as willing to leave the life behind. Meanwhile, her 48-hour-Vegas-husband Luke has brought along his son Liam to the party. Luke is invited by Annalise Sutherland, whom he’s wooing into marriage and out of her diamonds. When the two grifters meet, they’re automatically suspicious, but their children Kat and Liam are happy to see each other. When plans go awry and one of the Sutherlands winds up dead, there’s whispered conversations in the dark, an impromptu switcheroo, and a delightful interloper. Augustus is the grandson of Ross Sutherland, but he seems to be a much more companionable member of the family. He helps secretive Kat and Liam, who is not cut out for deception at all.

Kat is a piece of work. She’s very untrusting. Except with Liam - there’s more backstory there. Liam is the sweetest, most precious character, and I really feel bad that he’s stuck in the middle of all this. Augustus is a riot, and he’s interested in a blushing Liam (and making Liam blush). I enjoyed that the two main characters were not love interests but past step-siblings. I think it gave a nuance to the story that was unique. When the ending came, I thought it was over. Then came the twist.

Such Charming Liars follows Kat and Liam. Their relationship is a complicated web starting with becoming step siblings when they were kids. Their parents split after a 48 hour marriage and then years later, stumble across each other again, meeting at the Sutherland mansion involved in their parents’ own crooked agendas.

The story alternates between Kat and Liam. We got to understand each of their stories in this format, but at times, I was confused about which narrative I was reading. The plot was just meh. I expected a heist story to be captivating, but it didn’t grip me the way McManus’ other books did. The end had some satisfying plot twists that helped redeem the story a bit for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a gifted copy of the book in exchange for an honest review :)