Book Review: “One Of Us Is Lying” by Karen McManus

Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate. The nerd, the prom-princess, the baseball-champ, and the bad boy, the kind of characters you won’t ever see together anywhere at any time, right? Yes, but they all end up in detention.

Amidst the bizarre set up is Simon Kelleher, the founder of the school-gossip app ‘About That.’ Everyone’s aware that Simon KNOWS everything. Every post in the app got some truth which gets the person who’s at the center of is in trouble.

Simon always had the gift to pinpoint his fellow students down to that one flaw which could break their neck in front of society.
So, it’s not a surprise there are a lot of students who dislike or even hate him.
The story kicks off on Monday 24th of September, 2:55 pm, the moment these five individuals end up in one room to get through their detention but only after a few minutes Simon dies.

The real mystery is not in the question how Simon died but instead in “who killed Simon?”

Every single student at Bayview High School would have at least ONE reason to eliminate him for good. Do they hate him? Yes
Was he a misfit and one of the most annoying people ever? Yes!

But first and foremost, it seems at least one of his fellow students did the unthinkable to protect their image in front of their friends and families, so their secrets stay what they actually should be: A Secret.

We get to know the four main characters, who are the center of attention from beginning to end of the story. We learn what makes them sad, angry, and annoyed and even at times like these, what’s going to make them happy?

Bronwyn

The nerdy girl who wants to study at Yale University and tries to match her parents’ expectations as their 2nd daughter.

Addy

The pretty girl, who’s SO in love with her boyfriend Jake. She wants to be his favorite and she gets to the point of doing everything he asks – demands – her to do. She tries not to be like her mother, who’s : ‘you need to have a boyfriend to be happy’, which isn’t always the case, even Addy IS happy with Jake, right?

Cooper

The baseball- champ! The sports-god who’s ready to jump onto every college team or start a career as a baseball – pro right away. And of course, he’s got this beautiful girlfriend of his, who he really loves.

Nate

The bad boy. The outcast.
His mother’s gone and his father has to deal with alcohol addiction. Is it a surprise he’s a drug dealer who just wants to make some extra money to make a living? No. Not really.

So what is it that makes them all a potential murderer?

With Karen M. McManus debut novel “One Of Us Is Lying”, we are taking part in the quest to answer this question. As different and ‘out of this world’ possible connection between these four characters might be, there is still one thing they all got in common. A secret they tried to hide from everyone, but Simon knew the truth.

Karen’s debut novel is a page turner!
You’ll start and be attached to the setting till the very last page, pondering over questions like ‘who was it?’ and ‘what’s going to happen next?’

It’s a perfect read for everyone who loves a breath taking mix of well-known YA- situations and crime!

Which YA murder-mystery is your favorite?
Is Karen McManus’ book also in your Top 5?
Let us know and tweet us @Fuzzable

Written by Vanessa

I love writing, music, especially concerts and books!
In my spare time you will find me at my favourite bookstore checking on all the new releases, at a coffee shop reading or writing my own little bits and pieces. In that time, I mostly listen to my favourite songs by McFly, 5 Seconds Of Summer, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Green Day, The Rolling Stones or the Beatles.
And I LOVE to wear something with stripes and polka dots!

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