I was highly astounded after finding out that this is a debut novel.
Debut Novel you say? Why yes!

The author seems to be a well-established writer with a few published novels out there already. But I digress; let’s get into the review of the actual book and not how surprised I am by the quality of the writing.

One of Us Is Lying has a brilliant plot with enough twists to make the ride a dizzy journey.
The “Bayview Four”, as individuals, were the quintessential, most popular cliques found in any given high school, much like we’ve seen in the Breakfast Club.
We had the jock, the princess, the straight ‘A’ student and the delinquent; and as the author said, One of Us is Lying was initially inspired by The Breakfast Club.
The characters were, in no way, superficial. They all had depth and dark secrets which influenced their actions. I appreciated how they weren’t one-dimensional and how the author put time into creating solid characters.
The peripheral characters were also interesting and had me wondering if they were involved in the death of the victim. I found myself taking notes and trying to solve the mystery before the big reveal, which I kind of did.

The relationship between the characters genuinely grew. It didn’t feel forced even though the characters were, in a sense, forced to gravitate toward each other because of the situation they were in.
I could feel when things started changing and when they began getting closer, not just because they were all murder suspects, but because they realized that they did have something else in common.
Naturally, I felt more of a connection toward Bronwyn, it could be because she was the first character’s POV which showed up, or it could be that I identified with her the most. In turn, I also felt a connection toward Nate, and thus, their relationship and POV held my attention more than the others. I ended up looking forward to reading their stories and seeing their relationship grow.

There was an underlying theme which I won't mention which becomes quite prominent toward the end. The author was brilliant and creative in the way she presented this theme, yet it was heartbreaking in its truth. Social media plays such a great part in our lives these days and can connect us to others who share our interests, all the good, as well as the destructive interests that we may have; and teenagers are so easily influenced by others, especially when they seek acceptance from others. I was angry at a peripheral character in particular, knowing that she could have prevented something from happening if only she had spoken to someone.

I know this was just a fictional book but it presented us with a sad reality that needs to be addressed. Some teenagers/Young adults around the world do not seem to fully understand the severity of situations and thus consequences occur which cannot be reversed (in many cases).
My wish is that if this book is read by a high school student, or a college student who is experiencing something similar to what went on in the book that he/she will do something, speak up, get help.


I really did enjoy this book and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

5 students have an after school detention, only 4 survive. What a great premise. I was really looking forward to reading this title and I was not disappointed. With each suspect narrating their own chapters it was a great insight into what they were feeling and also built up their characters until you could actually empathise with them and feel the isolation and confusion they were experiencing..
If you want to solve the murder you will find clues scattered throughout the book and although I picked up on some of them, I was too engrossed in the story to spend time examining the evidence.
This novel tracks the dark side of social media - the instant naming and shaming and reputation wrecking which traverses our lives today.
Be warned - you will not want to put it down..

This is one of those books you should be wary of picking up late at night if you have somewhere to be in the morning. Entertaining, zippy pace, short chapters, it a 'just one more page' kind of deal, and while it might seem at first to be a little shallow there's a good amount of depth here.

It comes down to the characters. When you first meet them you think, oh ok so you're the stereotypical jock and you're the popular girl and you're Bender, got it, which is clearly how the book wants you to think. And then slowly layers and layers peel away and the merry gang of murder suspects turn into real, multi faceted people.

The plot is never boring, but I was a little disappointed by the finale which wasn't a bang so much as a little pop the characters ultimately didn't have to work too hard to achieve. And while the whole premise of the book hinges around 'who dunnit?' it was always pretty clear who was innocent.

Ok, so, wow. Just a second to quickly gather my thoughts...

While I do love a good mystery thriller, over the past few months I have leaned towards fantasy books more. I decided to mix things up and came across this absolute gem on NetGalley, which I was very kindly approved to read!

The plot is unlike anything I have read before; I was gripped from the first chapter. I really liked the characters, especially the developmental journey that each of them experienced throughout the story. Their development felt real and natural, and not just as though it was used as a plot device.

When I do read mysteries, I try my hardest to pick holes and guess what is going to happen, but I was far too engrossed in the story to bother doing that with this book. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. Told from four perspectives (the surviving students from detention) I didn't feel that I blamed any of them for the death, but then the idea of "unreliable narrators" seeps in and them I didn't trust any of them. I loved their relationships with each other. They didn't become the best of friends out of nowhere, they were almost strangers in the beginning and throughout the story they come together to try and solve the murder mystery. I really liked this idea. The several perspective narrative was also really interesting, and the story was very well paced throughout.

Whilst predominantly a mystery, there was also a romantic aspect to this story which I felt was not over or underdone, it was just right for me. They are teenagers in high school, of course there is going to be romance!

I was kept guessing until the very end with this book; the last few chapters are so incredibly tense! I feel that the ending was very well executed and thought out, and for a change with a mystery thriller story, I was happy with it. I felt that it was wrapped up neatly but not lazily which I really appreciated.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think the fact that I read it in less than 24 hours is testament to that. A solid and well deserved 4/5 stars from me!

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Oh my god I loved this.

Five people enter detention.
Bronwyn, the swot.
Cooper, the jock.
Nate, the criminal.
Addy, the perfect girl.
Simon, the outcast.

But only four leave alive....

But killed Simon.

Told From four perspectives, secrets are revealed & lies uncovered. Cliched I know but I couldn't put this down. Loved the characters, loved the story. This is so good.

One Of Us Is Lying combines High School drama with first love, teen angst, the deep desire to break free from labels and stereotypes and oh, y'know, a bit of light murder. No biggie. This book is pretty much what I would expect the difficult and wayward teenage love child of The Breakfast Club and Gossip Girl to look like.

The book opens with the five main characters rocking up to detention for having their phones out in class. It's a pretty familiar set-up, and one that will be instantaneously recognisable if you've ever seen The Breakfast Club. The author even goes as far as to label each of the characters in the same way as the iconic film, which you might find either satirical or cliche depending on your outlook. Either way, five go in and only four come out, so which one is lying?

This entertaining and skillful debut is told from the point of view of four different characters, namely Addy, Bronwyn, Nate and Cooper. It's a big ask to pull off a complex mystery using four different perspectives, but here it works well; allowing the reader to identify with and emotionally invest in each of the characters as individuals. As the book switches between voices chapter by chapter, we learn a little bit more about each of the protagonists' lives and the secrets they're desperately trying to keep hidden. The characterisation is a little surface-level in some places, but for the most part there is some really interesting and development. I ended up really invested in both Cooper and Addy, who went through some really empowering emotional journeys that ended up changing both of their lives for the better. I must admit, I went into the book feeling pretty indifferent towards the 'jock' and the 'princess' of the bunch, but once I'd turned the last page they were easily my favourite characters.

Despite the focus on the four main suspects, McManus somehow finds the time to develop some of the secondary characters, each of whom had their own stories to tell. I really enjoyed getting to know Addy and Brownwyn's sisters, Ashton and Maeve, and the way that the author portrayed the complexity and strength of emotions between both sets of siblings. I love seeing genuine family relationships and two dimensional parental figures in young adult books, and One of Us Is Lying succeeds in cracking open family life and showing the reader how different upbringings and family backgrounds can have an impact on the decisions you make growing up.

It's been a while since I've read a young adult thriller, and One Of Us Is Lying pressed pretty much all of the right buttons. There's no messing about in this book - the scene is set within the first ten pages and the pacing doesn't let up one little bit as the story twists and turns towards a satisfying conclusion. Although I worked out what had happened just before the big reveal, it didn't impact on my enjoyment. The plot is compelling, with just enough red herrings and diversions to snag your attention and keep you guessing about who, what and why. The clever thing about this book is that while you're trying to solve the main mystery of who killed Simon, there are also lots of mini-mysteries ticking away as the secrets of each of the main characters come to light. I also really rated the way the author used the dominance of social media to bring a sense of reality into the book, and despite the overt parallels between Simon's gossip app and Gossip Girl, I felt like the technology wasn't too advanced or complicated to make the story unbelievable.

As the characters battle against accusations of murder and the very real possibility that one of the group is not only a coldblooded killer but a dangerously skilled liar, they find themselves pitted against the expectations of their parents and friends, the do-or-die social pressures of high school and all of the emotional bumps that come with the territory of being seventeen. The story beautifully sums up the difficulties and diverse pressures of growing up, as well as how facing the worst events and most deeply hidden secrets in our lives can sometimes help us to grow and morph into adults. Tempered with a little bit of humour, a touch of sizzling romance and a plot that you just won't be able to stop thinking about, One of Us Is Lying sets the bar stupidly high for the YA thriller genre in 2017.

The opening premise for this book intrigued me, and the book itself did not disappoint! The plot twists every time you think you have it all figured out, and the big reveal is fantastic. I liked the characters, especially Nate - he resonated with me the most, but all four central characters are compelling in different ways. Their actions and reasoning were believable, and the book became impossible to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and would definitely recommend it!

★☆☆☆☆ 1/5



DNF at 18%



One of Us is Lying sucks you in with the synopsis, five students walk into detention and only four walk out.

There's Bronwyn, 'the brains', a smart girl with Ivy League hopes.

Addy, 'the princess', but not quite homecoming queen.

Nate, 'the criminal', bad boy type with a bad reputation.

Cooper, 'the jock', star baseball pitcher.

Simon, 'the outcast', creator of a gossip app that exposes other students secrets.

When Simon dies suddenly everyone is a suspect. With Simon's earlier promise of a juicy secret to expose on his app, and the other four all with secrets they don't want out giving them all motive, it's a question of who'd go so far as murder to keep their secret getting out.

I went into the book expecting murder, secrets, betrayal, lies, The Breakfast Club with murder, a story that would have me hooked from start to finish, but unfortunately it wasn't that.

The characters were stereotypical, cringey and flat. At one point I wanted to throw my iPad because Addy, the stereotypical girl who's into makeup and prom, got changed because her boyfriend didn't like her outfit. Don't change your outfit, girl, change your man.

What should've been an interesting story was just boring and let down by two dimensional characters. I had high hopes considering the descriptions, but my interest disappeared and all too soon into the book making it a DNF.

Did I like the book? No.

Did I love it? Nope.

Would I recommend it? Nope. It's being marketed as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars and it's like neither.

An interesting whodunnit with a good few twists and turns. Lots of unlikeable characters!

I loved this – clever, often tense, addictive to the ninth degree and with as many twists as a plethora of pretzels – except the twists don’t always come within the mystery but just as often within the characters.

So this is The Breakfast Club if The Breakfast Club was a murder mystery. That is the best way I can describe it (and for those of an age to appreciate the true genius of The Breakfast Club the highest compliment I can give it)

5 students enter detention only 4 come out alive. But what happened to them? Murder? Accident? And who were they? Victim? Undeserved of their fate? And most of all, who hated them enough to want to see them dead? Well all of those questions will eventually get answered but before that we have a genius of a novel, brilliantly insightful storytelling that starts with a group of teenagers who have easy labels applied to them (the Jock, the popular girl etc etc) but over the course of the novel grow layers and flesh and bone and become actual people. The people they are…

One of them may be a killer. All of them are not as shallow or as easily read as would first appear. As they enter the spotlight, not only within school gossip but also under intense scrutiny as the police investigation unfolds, the media looks on and nothing will ever be the same again. We hear from all of them and start to understand what has led to this moment, Karen M.McManus slowly but surely takes us towards the ultimate resolution, peeling back the hidden underneath of their friendships and loyalties, pushing them together and pulling them apart.

It is absolutely riveting – seriously I was hooked, I really engaged with all of them and their plight – so when I say this is utterly character driven I mean that exactly. As relationships are tested, not just within the school hierarchy but within each of their families, all of them have some serious growing up to do and you watch them do just that.

Not all of the reveal moments are unexpected but they are all emotionally resonant, this is not just a Young Adult mystery but an unravelling of substance and what makes us tick as people. Plus to be fair the mystery element is HIGHLY intriguing – there is also a Christiesque touch to things that really adds to the sheer joy of reading it.

That’s it – The Breakfast Club if Agatha Christie had written it. One Of Us Is Lying in a nutshell for me.

Highly Recommended. Beautifully written and a genuine barnstormer of a page turner.

Originally I wasn’t going to read One of Us is Lying until much closer to its publication date (June 1st) but when I read the blurb – think The Breakfast Club with murder thrown in – and a few lines and I was immediately intrigued. I love The Breakfast Club and McManus’ take on it sounded so interesting that I couldn’t resist. I wanted to know (read: had to know) how the story unfolded and I wasn’t willing to wait until later in the year. And let me tell you, it was worth it. This book is fantastic – a masterful mix of young adult, contemporary, murder mystery, and romance, all tied up into a thrilling debut.

The blurb already tells us what happens when five students enter detention but only four leave:

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?


But the mystery surrounding Simon’s death is relentless and consumed my mind when I wasn’t reading the book. For some three hundred pages we are taken on a wild ride, constantly wondering who is telling the truth, who is lying, and how the story will unfold, especially as each of the protagonists had something to hide. I had so many theories about Simon’s death but I didn’t see the truth coming at all, which is probably the highest praise I can give to a murder mystery.

It probably goes without saying but I loved the characters. Although the blurb could make it seem like they were one dimensional stereotypes, they were anything but. McManus has crafted four multi-dimensional and well-rounded characters and I can honestly say that I loved every single one of them by the end of the book (finding out more about Simon was fascinating as well although I can’t say I loved him at any point in the novel). All show great character development and growth, especially Addy and Cooper who, I feel, had the biggest fall out from their secrets being revealed. They are all badass in their own way and I loved that the book was told from each of their perspectives; I really enjoy spilt narratives and it worked exceptionally well here.

Obviously I haven’t said too much in this review, as the gradual reveals and build up to finding out what actually happened to Simon are what makes the novel so interesting, but I highly recommend people to seek this out when it’s published – I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed if you do.

I loved this book. It’s really hard to review without giving anything away so I suggest you just read it.

Really gripping and I loved the relationships between them all. I did guess who did it quite early on but I still couldn’t believe it.

Brilliant book.

This was such a good read - I loved it. I went into it thinking it was going to be a weird Breakfast Club ripoff, but apart from the underlying character archetypes in terms of who ends up in detention, One of Us is Lying starts off with a bang and just keeps going - I couldn't put it down. The four main characters were really well written, which was great, but even better, all the minor characters we come into contact with had depth and nuance. I loved that we had alternating view points from the four leads, as each time we switched characters we learn a little more about them, their secrets and why they may have killed to protect them. I loved the character development for Addy - she was the character I was least invested in to begin with, but by the time I put the book down, she was my favourite. Character development was fantastic across the board though, with each of the leads growing through the course of the novel. The plot was fantastic - it was well thought out and definitely kept me guessing. The climax was complex, and it tied together the entire novel. Overall, it was a great read.

Omg omg omg.

I got this book from Netgalley ahead of release date mostly because I like a murder mystery and I was intrigued. This book was legitimately amazing.

It had interesting characters that developed so much throughout the book and I have to say I loved them all.

The book had a lot of twists and turns, some that I guessed (Cooper) and others I didn't expect at all!

Overall I loved it, this book kept me enraptured the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't put it down!! Definitely a must read.

Thanks to Netgalley, I had the privilege of receiving an advanced copy of this book on my Kindle.

WOW!! Amazing book from start to finish. I finished this book within 24 hours. It was absolutely fantastic.

I loved the breakfast club and this is exactly the same but better! So many plot twists throughout the whole book and I absolutely love how we are questioning everything that happens. I loved how you're getting the thoughts of all the characters on different perspectives.

I got so intrigued with all of the characters and felt like they had become 'friends' (so to speak) and you really don't want them to be the murderers. I would 100% recommend this to all of my friends and will definitely when the book comes out.