When Simon dies from ingesting peanut oil while in detention, there are only four suspects. All four have reasons to hate Simon, because Simon was about to post their dirty secrets on his gossip blog. There's Bronwyn, the valedictorian he accuses of cheating; Cooper, the star baseball player who might be "enhanced"; Addy, the perfect girlfriend who cheated on her boyfriend, and everyone's favorite scapegoat, Nate, the one with a prison record. As the media frenzy hits and more details emerge, including new blog posts bragging about getting away with murder, the four students find themselves trying to unfurl the mystery. With each entry from their point of view, the reader must also decide: is one of them lying? Or are all of them?

Despite there being no point where I actually thought any of the four accused had killed Simon, this was still a twisting mystery thriller. There were so many other characters who knew Simon in other ways and had been hurt by his blog, and each of the four students was in fact hiding something, even if it wasn't exactly what Simon was about to accuse them of. Fans of [book:The Lying Game|8428069] and [book:Pretty Little Liars|162085] will enjoy this one, but it would have appeal to both girls and boys.

Parental advisory: Some strong language, discussion of drugs and sex.

I really loved this story so much the plot and the Who did it was pretty awesome. My favorite character is most definitely the bad boy, whom is not as bad as he would want you to believe, and that would be Nate. I really am a sucker for a bad boy!!!!!
I really loved that I didn't figure out who did it, until the reveal, even though I thought it could be that person or persons at one time. But I couldn't understand why it would be that person, so I changed my mind.
I even loved the ending, and the main four characters, even though Addy was my least favorite of the four. Coop, I knew his secret from the very beginning. Bronwyn I felt a connection with, more than I did with Addy.
Now let's talk about Simon!!!!!! He was one screwed up individuals, that I read about in a book, in a very long time. He was really cray, cray, that's for sure. And things he did were not nice at all. So as you learn about him, and what his done, then you might begin to understand why someone would want to kill him. Even though I am not saying that killing a bad person is the thing to do, that isn't for me too decide.
I am definitely going to have to do a re-read later this year, and I will even have to say that this will be one of my favorite books that I read this year. So I would definitely recommend this book to my family and friends. Awesome, awesome book.

If the Breakfast Club had more murder and internet access…

The premise is good – five students and a teacher in detention, a student dies, who did it?

The characters could’ve been a little more fleshed out. Everyone is sort of typecast and then stay there with a couple exceptions that can’t be mentioned here to avoid spoilers. There aren’t any major pushbacks against those stereotypes other than who some of them choose to date.

It’s part mystery, part young love, part ‘oh the drama of high school’. The story overall is decent, not crazy suspenseful but we follow the characters through the death, the social fallout that follows, the legal troubles and new bonds. The ending wasn’t a major shock but it was still good.

My biggest issue with the book was that there are multiple points-of-view and there’s not enough of a change in the “voice” of each to make it seem like different characters. There are chapter headings so you know who is supposed to be the narrator but without those, it’s anybody’s guess.

Overall, it’s a quick read that keeps your attention.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free advanced copy for review. One of Us is Lying will be released on May 30, 2017.

This was a good read and hooked you right from the beginning. The final reveal was done well and surprising. I gave this 4 stars on goodreads.

"Everybody's got secrets," he says. "Right?"

This book was a pleasant surprise! It was refreshing and a change from the usual young-adult contemporary.

Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy are suspects for murdering the school's gossiper, Simon. When the 5 of them were in detention, the last thing they expect is for Simon to drop dead... Unless someone of them planned the whole thing.

The story is told from their POVs. The nerd, the bad boy, the jock, and the princess are the most common high school stereotypes. Until you start to see they're more than that. Bronwyn has the highest grades, Nate was (is?) a drug dealer, Cooper is the best baseball player in school, and Addy is used to being popular, true, but they're more than that. Soon, you sympathise with them but at the same time, you can't neglect anything they do/think. Everyone has secrets that they'll do anything to not let them see the light, but to what extent?

Everyone is flawed. We see them transform from 1-dimentional character to teens with more developed personalities as they try to deal with everything.

Even though the mystery wasn't hard to figure out, it was still fun. I'm sure it's because we're seeing the bigger picture, everyone had a piece of the truth. Yet, you can't help but feel skeptical, I shouldn't like this character, he looks innocent but what if?

One of the things I liked is how this book rely on social medias, something many books set in our days ignore. It's not logical, social media is a part of everybody's life. I liked how Karen used it to create a good story. How our lives, privacy, secrets are violated. How it's so easy to uncover anything.

This was a quick read, even if I have to admit that it stretched a bit too much eventually, it was fun and a page turner. I highly recommended if you're looking for something new in the YA contemporary genre. It has a bit of everything, even a little romance.

This book would make a great movie! Karen M. McManus did a great job for a debut book, I'm already looking forward to her future books.

So, we’ve got four suspects. The golden boy baseball player. The pretty popular girl who ceases to exist when her boyfriend isn’t around. The uppity overachiever. And the drug dealer on probation with a rough home life.

So four stereotypes. Well, at first.

The murdered kid was not very popular - he kept a rumor mill app that exposed peoples deepest darkest secrets (dun dun DUNNN)(on a related note, I am so glad I got out of high school before smartphones were a thing. Social media was a thing but it wasn’t everywhere. I could go home and just ignore it, it was awesome). Plenty of people have reason to hate this kid, especially the four who just conveniently get put in detention with him. App-kid has a fatal allergic reaction. Someone put peanut oil in his cup. WHO DID IT? Someone’s lying. WHO IS IT?! Uppity? Baseball? Girly-girl? Drug Dealer?

I am not sure how I can discuss this book without spoiling the whole thing, so I’ll do my best to be vague, but I will warn for spoilers. SPOILERS!! It seems to me like some writers are wary to have bad things happen to their characters - or have their characters do bad, unspeakable things. The name of the book is “One Of Us Is Lying” - I was really expecting one of them to be, well, lying. We’re promised a whodunit with four unreliable narrators except…well, our narrators turn out to be pretty reliable. It was a bit disappointing. END SPOILERS!!!

Anyway! So far as YA murder-mysteries go, this one was a fun, entertaining read. The characters are all well-developed and believable as teenagers.

Recommended for:

YA murder mystery fans, YA fans, someone looking for a less-intense cozy-type mystery.

Not recommended for:

Hardcore mystery genre fans.

This was a quick and fun read, however, the character development was way more fun than the actual mystery, which I half figured out before the end. A fun read nonetheless.

This is such a good book! I love that this book is both a contemporary and a thriller. There are parts that are just cute and about friendship and others that put your heart speeding up to know what’s going to happen!

The book follows Bronwyn, Addy, Nate and Cooper. They were put in detention after being found with phones in class, that turned out, weren’t theirs. Someone clearly set them up and they have to discover why because in that same room in detention was Simon – the school gossiper – and he had an allergic attack to peanut oil after drinking just a cup of water and died. Now, the four of them have been made suspects and a lot of secrets are going to come up!

Our characters couldn’t be more different from each other! But I love that as the book goes on, their friendship develops, and without what happened, they would have never been friends.

I absolutely loved how the secrets were unraveled and how realistic the whole situation felt. The writing was really good and made the book incredibly gripping and the different pov’s, which usually I’m not a fan of, were really nicely done and easy to follow.

I can’t stop thinking about this book! It was just so good and although I was kind of expecting already what happened at the end, it still managed to surprise me in many ways!

I would love if this book was ever turned into a movie – preferably a really good adaptation. It would be such a good – slightly cute – thriller! And they should also keep that cover because it’s gorgeous!

I loved this book and I would most definitely recommend it!

I couldn't put it down. I was a little worried that it would be too similar to This Is Our Story, which I read early this year but it's way different.

I did guess, to an extent, who did it, but that in no way took away from the book. I needed to know the WHY.
The way that the story was woven through all 4 of the remaining detention victims was amazing. McManus did a great job of making me feel for each character and also doubting their innocence.

There's a little romance in the One of Us Is Lying, which was just the right amount for me. Enough to have me swoon a bit, but not enough that I felt like I was reading a romance instead of a thriller.
I seriously loved all of the characters, faults and all. Of which there were many, but that just made them all that much more real.

One of Us Is Lying also addressed quite a few issues, not only for the characters but also how unfortunately some things play out in a high school setting (high school kids aren't always the nicest). It was also a good showing on true friendship and the impact you have on other peoples lives.

My only complaint is a few of the things that happened at the high school. A few of the things are a big fat NO on the high school front, but I enjoyed the story so much that in the end it didn't matter. A spoiler because it's not in the blurb, but not really a spoiler because it's mentioned very early on: They end up in detention because their teacher caught them with cell phones. He searched students bags for them. That is a HUGE NO. You can't just search students bags. There were other things, but this one was big for me.

One of Us IS Lying is the story of four teenagers. It is told by all four points of view.
First up is Bronwyn, straight A student, smart, determined and resourceful. She’s the perfect Ravenclaw.
Next is Cooper, the star pitcher. He would be the perfect jock except he is sooooo nice and just all around decent, basically the perfect Hufflepuff.
Then, we have Abby. Abby is popular but lacks confidence. She’s been dating the star running back of the football team for about three years.
And last but not least, there’s Nate, the criminal, my child. He’s been arrested for drug dealing and is now on probation. His dad is a drunk and he has to take care of the bills and shit. (To me, he’s a Slytherin but I might not be impartial because I am a Slytherin and it’s the best house ever.)
Why do I insist on sorting them, you will never know. (I don’t even know...)
These four characters are everything. I connected to them in so many ways. The ones I didn’t love at first sight, grew on me like you wouldn’t believe. They were just so complex and flawed, I couldn’t help but love them.
The side characters were also really interesting and I loved many of them. (I'd protect Maeve with my life.)

On to the plot. I don’t actually want to say a lot because just jumping in without knowing much might actually be best for this book.
The book starts with our four babies in detention with Simon. Simon is the gossip king of the school. He even has an app dedicated to it with weekly updates. What he writes on it always turns out to be true. Problem is, Simon has an anaphylactic shock during detention and dies. Our four protagonists are the main suspects.
The intrigue was so well told, I couldn’t figure what had truly happen. Even when I suspected, I dismissed it almost instantly. It kept me on my toes the entire time.

What I also liked in this book was the growth of the characters, as well as the relationships (whether they were romantic or not) between them. I found them really captivating and couldn’t help but root for them. I could feel what the characters felt, there was an actual growth and I could feel our their feelings evolved. I seriously loved this side of the book too.

The author also showed the double standards we have in our society and how it can affects everyday life.

I read this book in one sitting and simply couldn’t put it down.
All in all, an amazing debut novel. I will be impatiently waiting for more from this author.

Obviously the blurb describes the story pretty well. This book really held my attention and I really wanted to read it straight through. I wasn't able to (life, work, responsibilities), but I did stay up late the second night to finish it.

It's definitely a mystery and everyone who is a person of interest is hiding something. I had a couple of theories and kind of talked myself out of them. I turned out to be right, but it really could have gone several other ways. What I liked most about the ending was that it wasn't convoluted. The author drew the conclusion from within the story and didn't just throw some random situation in there (that ruins a book for me).

For a debut book, it was well-written and never had that "debut book vibe".. I would read this author again, and will probably buy the hardcover for this book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: May 30th 2017

I was instantly drawn to One of Us Is Lying at first because it gave me Breakfast Club vibes when I read the description; I love that movie. It doesn’t always happen when I read books, but I was sucked in from the first page. There was no way I was putting it down until I finished it and that’s exactly what happened. I read One of Us Is Lying in one day and it was so good! I loved it.

I’m not the biggest fan of books with multiple point of views, but for this book it worked perfectly. I enjoyed reading all of the character’s parts in the book and I was invested in them all. I had no idea what was happening and when I put it together in my head it always ended up being something totally different, so it kept me guessing about who murdered Simon.

Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper were all dealing with big things happening in their life and then they were thrown into this police investigation on top of it. As much as I really liked them all, I honestly didn’t know who to believe at times. Red flags everywhere and everything and everyone seemed suspicious in my eyes. Everyone had secrets. That’s what made this book so fun though.

Overall, I am really glad that I requested this book. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing. It was a really fun read and I enjoyed it so much. I couldn’t put it down. It was happy, it was sad, it had me laughing out loud, and it had me yelling “whaaat?!” a million times. It was more than just solving a murder case. There’s so much more to the story and it tackles some of the important issues happening today. It was a really great book. I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Pretty good mystery, of the whodunnit variety. I think the character's are what really make the book. They each have a story of their own that unfolds throughout. My favorites parts are how two characters develop an unlikely friendship and how Addy grows so much as a person. The ending was acceptable although I think I would have liked a little more information on motive.

I have been dying to read this book ever since I heard about it. I was not disappointed. It's influenced by The Breakfast club but the only difference is murder is involved. When I heard that I had knew I had to read it.

So the story is about 5 students who have detention and by the end only 4 of them come out. The 4 of them automatically become the main suspects. Not only are they the suspects but they each had motive. So who did it?

Omg wow this book was so good. I have to say I didn't want to put it down. I was dying to know who what actually happened. The author does a good job of keeping you on your toes. At moment I thought it was one character then you find something about the other character and then it's like wait now I think it's them. So I was all over the place guessing who did it. By the end of it I was completely shocked by what actually happened. The author did a really good job tricking me.

I also really enjoyed that this was a book you got the different perspectives. All these characters are so different from each other. It's nice seeing how they each deal with what's going on. As the story goes on you start to figure out the secrets that they've been trying to hide. I felt this made things tricky because I was always switching up who I thought was the killer. I also found myself really caring for these characters because you learn so much about them and the reasoning behind their secrets. Now I'm not saying I agree with some of the things that went down but I did feel a bit of sympathy for them.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story that kept me guessing until the very end. I really loved all the characters that were in this book. The ending was very shocking which is always important to me with a mystery book. I would highly recommend this book.

Five students walk into detention. Four walk out - and one leaves in a body bag.

<i>The Breakfast Club</i> meets <i>Pretty Little Liars</i> in this YA thriller. Everyone in detention that day had a reason to hate Simon, the creator of Bayview High's gossip app. Was it the golden boy star pitcher? The drug-dealer? The popular girl? The brain? (see what I mean about <i>The Breakfast Club</i>?) The case soon gains the attention of the national media and the kids find them selves forming an uneasy friendship as they try to prove their innocence while wondering if one of them is lying. Things get even more uneasy when someone starts sending anonymous emails across the school claiming to have planned the murder and framed the group for it.

This one is definitely more the Agatha Christie puzzle mystery than a dark Swedish thriller. The twists and turns were in some cases predictable, especially when it came to the romance, but it was a fun ride to follow along with. The book drags a bit in the middle while you're waiting for more clues to show up, but the end was a satisfying solution that tied up the loose ends nicely. Fans of the movies and series mentioned above should enjoy it.

HOLY MOLEY, SWEET MOTHER OF MILKSHAKE MAKING MURDERERS! I don’t know where to begin, I love everything!

THE CHARACTERS! The book is in a quartet alternating PoV among Bronwyn, Addy, Nate and Cooper. I’ve warmed up to Bronwyn almost instantly. I love her spunk and how she tries so hard for even the most mundane of things. Nate has this mysterious air about him that made me read more about him just so to discover what’s his deal. And then Addy surprised me with her transformation from an “airhead homecoming princess turned badass ninja investigator”. And even Cooper whom I thought had a personality of a cardboard became interesting and even turned into a kind of a superhero in the end.

THE FRIENDSHIP! Just like I don’t like insta-love, I also hate insta-friendship. “One of Us Is Lying” is gladly nothing like that. The book showed a dynamic and complex forged connection among the four main characters. Bronwyn, Addy, Nate and Cooper are the contradictions of each other’s images. They have no interest whatsoever on becoming friends even the day after the whole Simon incident. How could they, when they are all murder suspects? But then the investigation becomes more and more oppressive that they have no choice but to rely on each other. So they start sitting on the same cafeteria table after their own cliques ditched them. They sneak out on abandoned construction projects and hold “murder club” meetings in order to piece together the puzzle that is Simon’s death. Did they become friends even then? Well, to paraphrase Cooper’s words: they are not exactly friends but not nothing either.

THE ROMANCE! Just like in the iconic John Hughes movies this book is loosely made after, two of the “murder club” members start being attracted to each other. As expected, their romance has a forbidden love element to it and I love how their relationship is so well-developed and made me wish for a happily ever after for them. There are also two romantic sub-plots that are too cute for me not to mention.

THE SISTERLY LOVE! I am a sucker for books with large helpings of sibling love and let me tell you, the sister affection meter went off the charts with this one. Bronwyn has this feisty younger sister Maeve, whom she is so protective of. Addy has this older sister Ashton, whom supported her through and through with the whole Simon thing. Then there’s this one time when Addy casually invited Bronwyn and Maeve over for a “sisters’ night” and I am like beyond ecstatic with the whole idea of these four girls hanging out! OMG, I can’t get enough! Something came up tho and the sisters’ night did not happen in canon. But in my mind, sisters’ night happened after the book’s timeline and became a regular thing among them.

THE DIVERSITY! The diversity of characters is not just there in order to tick off a box in a checklist. The diversity bears an importance with the story. It also helps, in a way, to move the narrative forward. For example, in Bronwyn’s case, being half-Colombian means avoiding association with Nate because her father hates the Colombian drug cartel related stereotype. And Mikhail Powers being a gay investigative journalist, eventually helped our main characters to sway the public opinion to their favor.

THE DETAILS! The author’s attention to details are just astounding. I cannot think of another contemporary YA that takes notice to the littlest of things such as this book. For example, there are these things that were mentioned just in passing that made the characters real and relatable: Addie checking for her period, dealing with a pimple, and the chore of maintaining a pixie hair cut. Cooper’s Southern accent is also a character nuance that is effectively detailed. When the narrative is in his PoV, his dialogues are mostly straight and un-accented but when the narrative’s PoV is on the other three, Cooper’s accent is visibly accented. And the blurb does not joke when it said pay close attention so you can keep up with solving the murder. Just a hint: take note of the characters’ hair and eye color.

THE WHODUNIT ELEMENT! So as not to give away a lot, let’s just say that I am beside myself guessing who the murderer is. Who among the four main characters is lying?! The ending is just brilliant. It’s not much of a shocker but it is extremely satisfying.

“One of Us Is Lying” is “The Breakfast Club” on steroids!!! If you’re a fan of the iconic movie, this book is that and so much more.

I really liked the characters and enjoyed the mystery set up. However, the ending really ruined it for me and makes me hesitant to recommend it. It adds to the idea teens have after reading/watching 13 Reasons Why that suicide is a form of revenge.

What a nice surprise!I haven't read this author before and I find this story so clever!This book completely drew me in and I found it hard to put it down.It really reminded me of Pretty little liars, and I love this series!

I'm in the middle of a bunch of really great modern classics of the fantasy and sci fi persuasion that I'm enjoying very thoroughly, but somehow I can't stop picking up lightweight YA stuff and whipping through it in the background. This week's installment of Sharon Off Track is the upcoming One of Us Is Lying, by Karen M. McManus, and a hat tip to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

It starts out all Breakfast Club, with five very different kids in detention, then takes a twist toward (according to the blurb) Pretty Little Liars, with one of them dead and the other four suspected of his murder. The police are pretty sure they conspired to do it.

But here's the thing: all four are first person POV characters. We spend time in each of their heads--including during the incident--so the only way for one of them to have done it is for them to be actively lying in their narration of the story.

But...there's no framework for their accounts--these aren't diaries or confessions or anything. They're straight narrative which would make that kind of lie really cheap, a cheating form of unreliable narrator. Which leaves us with--who did it?

If I sound intrigued by this book, I completely was, maybe more than it deserved. It is a straight-up high school story whose drama takes place mostly in the halls and classrooms (and teenagers' bedrooms and family rooms, plus the police station). This is usually not my jam. And it's a straight-up whodunit, so if I was expecting anything, it was really trashy pleasure.

But I ended up intrigued by the story. There were a ton of secondary characters, all very easy to keep straight. All four characters had friends and love interests and families at one level of involvement or another. There were secrets--SO many secrets; the victim ran a gossip blog and had a lot of enemies.

But there was something so much more human about this story than the description offers. This book contained not one but TWO sets of fiercely loving sisters who support each other. There was a cathartic breakup, and one that just seemed sad. There were loyal friends and partly loyal friends and crappy friends and crappy friends who are maybe also evil, and there are adults who do not have it together (and, of course, bungling police--I mean, that's just a detective story inevitability, right?). There are loving parents and indifferent parents and absent parents and parents who are trying but going about it all wrong and those who have been wrong but will maybe make it right. Guys, there was so much uplift of the human spirit in this book, right beside the salacious gossip!


When it comes to the end--no spoilers--I'm torn. On one level, it was very satisfying--the information was all there but not pointing right at it. As a mystery ending, it was very good. On the level of humanity, on which the book was so surprisingly successful, it was a little weaker--more soap opera and less human condition. I would love to discuss the ending with someone and its implications, but it's not necessary--it's the ending the story needed.

And that's what this comes down to; you've got a readable book that was so compelling that I was explaining the plot to my husband and he was trying to figure out whodunit with me. That's a success story if I ever heard one.

A very interesting concept by turning The Breakfast Club into a murder mystery!
Definitely a page-turner. I highly recommend it!