One Of Us Is Lying | Karen McManus | Review
*Review copy c/o Netgalley, cover image via goodreads.com, book release date: 1st June 2017
"One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide." - Goodreads
When five teens unexpectedly find themselves in detention no one suspects that only four of them will make it out alive. In a Breakfast Club-style set up we meet Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper and finally Simon who is well-known for running his very own gossip app where he reveals the deepest, darkest secrets of everyone in the school. The day before he planned to reveal private details about the other four students things take another surprising turn when Simon doesn’t make it out of detention alive. When it is discovered that his death was not an accident the rest of the group find themselves accused of murder – question is, who is lying?
The story is told from multiple points of view, with chapters alternating between the four main characters accused of Simon’s murder. Although you go into the story unsure of who you can trust, one of the likable things about the main characters is that they are all flawed and have mistakes in their past, making them more realistic. Although they all seem to fit the usual high school stereotypes and don't quite manage to fully escape this, the members of this group do each seem to grow and develop throughout the story as more of their personalities and secrets are revealed.
The intriguing addition of Simon’s gossip app gives the story a touch of Pretty Little Liars/Gossip Girl vibes and adds both a motivation for the crime and another layer to the mystery. This combined with the multiple perspectives makes for a gripping ride and there are quite a few curveballs to keep the reader guessing throughout. Without giving anything away, the ending itself wasn’t my favourite but I enjoyed the mystery element and found the book to be a quick and addictive read.
One Of Us Is Lying is an exciting debut that I’m sure will be popular with the YA audience - we’ll definitely be hearing a lot more about it!
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