No surprise I loved it!
It was a good page-turner! I really love the characters, the plot, the twists! I really love that we have all the POVs! The theme is really contemporary, we can't stop thinking about it! I recommend it!

Hitchcock's take on The Breakfast Club, for his young adult fans.
Five teens end up in detention together... only four of them leave alive. Simon suffers a severe allergic reaction and dies as his peers look on. Then the police find evidence that all four teens had reasons to want Simon dead, but which one is guilty?
The story is told from the perspective of each of the four murder suspects, over alternating chapters. This makes the reader develop a relationship with each of the characters, whilst still doubting their innocence. I was constantly changing my mind about who was guilty, including the background characters. But I never worked out whodunnit until the reveal. And I ALWAYS work it out!
I could not praise this book enough. Its YA characters still appealed to me as an older reader; the plot was clever and exciting, the ending was awesome and unpredictable. I can't wait to see the movie adaptation (please someone make this happen!) and I can't wait to see what the author writes next. An engaging, surprising, 5 stars story.

Plot: 5 teens head into detention on a Monday afternoon like any other, but only 4 of them make it out. Simon has been killed and the others immediately become suspects in his murder, but no one knows who did it or how. All that’s clear is that it wasn’t an accident as it is revealed that the following day, Simon was planning to release gossip that could change, or even ruin, each of their lives. Was it all of them? Was it just one of them? Or was it somebody else?

My thoughts: I enjoyed how current this book was without seeming like an adult trying to write about the world of kids today. You often find when there’s a storyline that delves so deep into school life like this, that it sounds like the author is trying to be cool and throwing in references to modern culture to seem cool and down with the kids, but luckily this didn’t suffer from that. The characters were fun and not too samey, but they did seem to represent all the stereotypical characters you might find in a modern high school, aside from a couple of quirks here and there.
It’s definitely a stereotypical, tropey, YA, teen-mystery, kind of story and I have to admit, there were points at which I wished the twisting and turning would calm down so that it would get to the end of the story – because I really wanted to know what had actually happened – but it was definitely a fun ride in the meantime. I saw someone likened it to shows like Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale, and being a big fan of both of those, I have to agree – it was a bit like a literary version of teen drama thriller, which was a little odd but fun.

Unfortunately, I didn't get time to read this book before publication.

This book consumed me from the moment I turned the first page. I cannot express enough just how much I enjoyed this book! And I have never in all my years of reading come across a book quite like this in the YA genre and I doubt I will find another that will match it.
The plot line was extremely well thought out and keeps you guessing and asking yourself 'who did it?' I feel like I've suspected every single character at one point or another!
I absolutely loved how the author starts off with these four completely different characters you don't quite trust as they all have something to hide but then gradually she brings out subtle details that make each of them more human and real to the point where you adore all of them. They will definitely be staying with me for a long time after finishing the book.
I look forward to seeing more of this author's work as her masterful writing ensnared me from the moment I started till the moment I finished. I was intrigued throughout the story and felt that I simply could not put it down!
I also enjoyed how she used the four main stereotypes for the main characters (jock, nerd, princess, criminal) but gradually warped and broke them to show us a meaningful message: stereotypes are not to be believed and even seemingly perfect people have flaws and secrets.
I think it's safe to say that this book definitely deserves its 5-star rating.

This was a great YA read - until the end. Full of suspense and intrigue, I raced through it, only to hit the final chapters and wish I hadn't. Not all stories need to be wrapped up with a bow. Sometimes they can end messily and awkwardly, like life. A frustrating end to a great book.

Sometimes when you've just read one book and dive into the next, your brain has to catch up especially with how different the writing style and plot line was from my previous read. But once I got into it there was no stopping me. One of Us is Lying is one of those books you have to know what happens, it was just such a refreshing, engaging and thrilling ride from start to the end of the book. You won't want to put this one down.

When 5 students each get detention for getting caught with a phone in Mr Avery's class, they didn't realise they were being set up from the beginning. A car accident happens, outside the window of the detention, they get distracted, they all get up but then one is lying on the floor. One is having an allergic reaction, and then he's pronounced dead at the hospital. Simon is dead and it's not over yet. Those four students, Bronwyn, Nate, Addy and Cooper each have secrets and Simon had something against them, they are all suspects in Simon's death and it's only going to get worse for them.
What I found interesting was as the book progressed it didn't solely focus on the mystery. Karen very much focused on life of an senior, student identity, how social media can inflict pain and targeting people, that was very much Simon's agenda using his blog 'About That' to relay gossip to one another.

“She's a princess and you're a jock," he says. He thrusts his chin toward Bronwyn, then at Nate. "And you're a brain. And you're a criminal. You're all walking teen-movie stereotypes.”

It will probably become no surprise that my favourite characters are Bronwyn and Nate, Bronywn has this uncanniness and strength of always looking on the bright side along with 'bad boy' Nate. I couldn't not love him, I'm a sucker for bad boys like anyone. They themselves can seen as the power couple of the book, they strike an unlikely romance between each other which given the circumstances becomes so much more than that. But the character I saw the most potential and grew most as a person was Addy. She was the princess at the beginning, the one who had the jock of the boyfriend and did exactly as he said. I loved how she became into herself, she cut her hair, she focused on herself and that everything else like boyfriends became second nature. Her family, her sister and getting her life back on track was more important. Cooper, sweet Cooper, a jock with the fastest hand and has a boyfriend, is the most likeable of the group, kind of adorable as well. Cooper has the trouble of his family and friends dealing with his identity and how batting for the other team, shouldn't stop him from batting on the pitch at all. These 5 students proved to be beyond that. As their personas grew, they supported each other, they became The Murder Club but so much more than that, they became friends.

This is Karen's debut and it's a belter! It's addictive, fast-paced and really does keep you guessing to the end. What I loved was the writing style of the book, every chapter is time-stamped, it kind of reminded me of an episode of Law and Order. Alongside the storyline of each of the suspects, they supported each other in it's own way as well as their own story outside of Bayview. Karen's writing can totally throw you off your game, ring circles around you when you think you might know who it is. I thoroughly enjoyed the unpredictability of the book, this is a cleverly crafted YA mystery thriller.

“Things'll get worse before they get better.”

What a great little book. This is so much more than your average teen story! Five teens find themselves in detention, but only 4 of them make it out alive.....
Kind of a cross between The Breakfast Club and Thirteen Reasons Why with a bit of Agatha Christie thrown in for good measure, this is an intelligent and gripping tale. I could not put it down.

Really enjoyed this crime thriller. Great cast of characters and a gripping and entertaining plot with enough twists and surprises to keep this reader guessing. I Couldn't put it down.

I didn't have much hope for the beginning of this book - a novel that starts off with a cheesy line about a high school rumour app and sex scandal doesn't really interest me, but I kept on and I was pleasantly surprised! The problems were weaved skillfully into the investigation, only revealing tidbits at a time. It was a bit tough to settle into who was speaking, but once I did I easily flew through it. Bronwyn was my favourite, clever but sassy, and I loved the character progression of Addy. I could easily imagine all the characters and how they were different from each other. I did guess the end pretty early on, but there was a twist I didn't see coming. A great book and very smooth to read. 4 stars!

What an incredible read and definitely up there as one of my favourite reads of 2017. I thought the overall plot was very engaging and thoroughly enjoyed how unexpecting the conclusion was for me. This is a book I now recommend for my friends and family to read, it's great.

[Review not yet published on blog or Goodreads]

One of Us is Lying – Karen M McManus

‘One of Us is Lying’ follows the story of what happends when five strangers walk into detention, and only four walk out alive.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five strangers at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect home-coming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

But Simon is the one that didn’t make it out of the classroom alive. Before the end of detention, he’s dead. But his death wasn’t an accident, according to the investigators.
On Monday, he died.
On Tuesday he planned to post juicy reveals about the other four who were in detention, which makes them all suspects of his murder.
Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

So, I got this book thanks to Netgalley, but life caught up, and I totally forgot to download it! And I feel so bad, because it is an amazing book!

We have four very different main characters, and they only know each other by face.
Then, when they’re all together in detention, Simon dies under suspicious circumstances. All four are shocked to say the least, but also a bit relieved. Simon wrote gossip on his app. No one knew how he got all the info, but everyone knew that what Simon wrote was true. And he could ruin your life with just a few words.
But the police investigators have their suspicions and Bronwyn, Addy, Nate and Cooper are all suspects.
But instead of letting the police do all the work, they start their own secret investigation. To prove their innocence. But are they all so innocent as they appear?

I was so hyped for this book, and it lived up to all my expectations! It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. I loved that you as a reader get your own suspects, you kinda feel like an investigator yourself! And I sometimes felt like I want to prove the innocence of those who I thought were innocent (and the other way around). But I also loved the fact that it was never sure who was completely innocent! That way you’re in the dark until the ‘big reveal’.
This book just sucks you in to the story, and it is not really a contemporary as in, the ones you want to read during the summer. It is a perfectly fine read during those cold and snowy winters!
You want to start your own investigation after reading my review? Then what are you waiting for! Go and buy this amazing book, with character who you may or may not trust!

So yeah, I highly recommend this book if you’re in for drama, thrillers, and things that aren’t what they seem!
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

What a read! A group of kids, different in every way, anyone of them could have committed murder, who do you trust? A riveting read, well worth it.

I enjoyed the book. The exploration of the high school stereotype characters was what I was expecting and the book delivered that. Everyone had something more to them that kept me interested and reading, and the author tackled some difficult subjects well. However I think having the suspects each narrate something took away from the mystery of whether one of them did it.

*This book was received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

What a roller coaster ride! This book was an enjoyable and intriguing read with plot twists at every turn. The mystery behind who killed Simon was well written, with secret being revealed one at a time, building the suspense and leaving the reader guessing. The plot was well developed and the characters were multi dimensional; I especially enjoyed learning more about Cooper and Nate. I also really enjoyed the multiple points of view from all of the main characters which effectively helped to add more depth to the writing rather than confusing the reader, as so often happens.

Overall, this was an amazing read that was extremely enjoyable and leaves the reader guessing until the last second.

I found this quite tedious and annoying. Didn't like the writing style and all and it felt hollow and unconvincing for me. huge disappointment

The Brain. The Beauty. The Criminal. The Athlete. The Outcast. A Murder.

Six students enter detention, all claiming that they are innocent of what lead them there. What appears to be a seemingly normal day ends in murder, suspicion and a bond that can never be broken.

Now, before I start, does that line remind you of anything, anything in particular? If you’re a fan of anything eighties related, like me, it will. Yes, part of the draw for me was that this was reminiscent of The Breakfast Club, one of my favourites. I was lucky enough to be approved by the publishers to get this as an early release and I’m glad I did.

The novel is very much aware of the fact it has all the ingredients for a YA cliché and gets that out of the way pretty early. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of the group, alternating and showing varying perspectives. I did feel, towards the end, that the story focused more on two particular characters and evolved more into their story, which wasn’t a bad thing but I wanted more info on all of them rather than just two.

In terms of the actual mystery itself, I actually found it really clever when it was all pieced together and didn’t see it coming. Obviously, I’m not going to spoil it for you, what kind of reviewer would I be?! I’m not going to lie there were some elements that I worked out before they happened but they were done in such a way that I enjoyed reading them.

Overall, I gave this four stars. I actually read it within a mere few hours, it has a perfect pace and interesting plot. I was genuinely invested in the characters and just wanted to know who the murder was, who was lying? There were some points were I felt it was a little close to The Breakfast Club, however, I’d definitely recommend this novel.

This was one of my favourite reads for 2017! The characters were outstanding in their own way and loved the emotional bond between two of the main characters, Bronwyn and Nate and where their journey took them. The true reveal of what happened to the victim confirmed what I already guessed but it was good to know that I was right! I thoroughly enjoyed the build up, tension and suspicion between each of the suspects and liked the way that each of them had a reasonable motive for what had happened. I would definitely recommend this book to YA readers who like a bit of mystery, thriller and intrigue.

I really enjoyed reading One of Us Is Lying - it was suspenseful, fun, and overall a fantastic example of a YA thriller. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy crime and YA novels.

So I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, and it's taken me awhile to get round to reading it but here we are.

This book was a major let down for me. I had heard so many good things about it, and I was really excited to finally sit down and read it, but it just didn't float my boat. Firstly, I just didn't enjoy the writing style, so I knew the book was always going to be a tough read; first person is just not my jam, especially when it's a book with multiple perspectives.

It felt more like a teen drama with a murder mystery shoved in; the book doesn't really deal with the murder until the latter half, and it was obvious that none of the four protagonists did it. One of Us Is Lying just didn't bring that nail biting tension you'd expect from a thriller; I was never on the edge of my seat desperate to get to the next twist, and when the twists came some of them were rather predictable.

The character development was the one redeeming factor for me in this novel. The characters grow from generic high school archetypes, into fully fledged human beings with more to them than a label. Addy was one of the characters I ended up loving the most by the end of the novel, despite starting out as my least favourite. Bronwyn and Nate's relationship is another redeeming factor of the book; I loved their interactions and the way the relationship developed, it was honestly one of the biggest reasons that this book didn't end up as a DNF.

I think this book just wasn't for me. I can see why others loved it, but for me it felt a little boring when I compare it to some of the fantastic YA I've read this year. It's riddled with cliches, and I was expecting a more intense thriller and less teenage angst.

Recommend: Nah. The murder mystery is lacking, and it felt more like a novel about the characters teen angst than about clearing their names.

Stars ★★