I'm a big fan of McManus's writing. Her stories move fast because there is a lot of action and mystery. I liked this story because it was about mothers/daughters. As always, McManus's writing entertained me and I found the plot to be thrilling. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A classic Karen McManus ya thriller! Such Charming Liars has all the twists and turns I’ve come to expect from her novels. Like her other stories, there’s the featured POVs (2 in this case), but all the other characters are still so fleshed out and shine through in those perspectives. I was drawn into the plot right from the start and couldn’t get the movie Heartbreakers (Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt) out of my head. Such a fun and quick read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Delacorte Press, and Random House Children’s for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Kat & her mom, Jamie were “rescued” by and now work for Gem, a jewelry conartist (for lack of a better term). The last heist to get clean and out of the business is a big one! And Jamie takes it to get her and Kat out of the business.

Then Jamie’s 48 hour husband from Vegas and his son show up threatening to blow Jamie’s cover and all she works for. One thing after another happens to make things more and more difficult but they’re determined to make this heist happen.

I loved the twists and turns, especially figuring everything out at the end! I will be buying a copy for my classroom and recommending it to my students!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in return for my honest review

Thank you to Random House Children’s Publishers for the arc of Such Charming Liars!

Quick summary: Sixteen-year-old Kat’s con artist mom takes on one last heist before going straight for good, but the job takes a deadly turn.

I was very excited to get an advanced copy of this July 2024 release. One of Us Is Lying has been a top ten checkout for the last two years in my high school library. I choose books for our school-wide reading initiative and order them at the start of July, so this arc gave me the opportunity to decide if I want to include it in that July order.

I think readers will gravitate more towards this title more so than McManus’ other works outside of OOUIL simply because it has a similar title, and that’s okay! The only McManus title I haven’t read is The Cousins.

Personally, I would have liked a bit more realism to this work, with descriptions a bit more vivid that “ruby necklace” for jewelry thieves. Overall, it’s an easy read with a decently memorable plot.

Wow, another great book from Karen McManus! Kat and her mom, Jamie, are sent to a wealthy family's New England compound to pull off a jewelry heist but the entire trip seems to go awry from the beginning. There were lots of twists and turns, and I thought they were pretty captivating! I read it in about two days.... great book for fans of this genre!

Such Charming Liars has all the hallmarks of a classic McManus novel— alternating points-of-view, a trio of friends that become family, and an unputdownable mystery.

Kat is the daughter of a jewelry thief with the goal of leaving crime behind and Liam is the son of a con-man. They’re also long-lost step siblings who by a seeming twist of fate end up at the same party on a billionaire’s compound. The billionaire’s son is murdered, and with his nephew in tow, the duo works to save themselves and solve the crime in the process.

This may just be my favorite of hers yet. I love the way the drama is the same between the adults and the kids. No separation. Who is good? Who is bad? Is everyone corrupt?

Fans of her work and fans of the genre will like this one, for sure!

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House Children’s, and Delacorte Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve loved every book that I’ve read by this author, and this upcoming release was no exception. I had so much fun with the unique premise and characters, and the pacing really suited what I look for in a bingeable popcorn thriller. I definitely will be recommending this book to my friends when it comes out!

Will I buy this book for my library? Absolutely. Did I love this book? No but I also didn't hate it. I liked the twist at the end but some of it felt a bit predictable. I also found Kat to be an incredibly bad decision maker and that really frustrated me. I would say this is a 3.5 star rating from me.

Karen M. McManus has done it again! This author's YA thrillers are always so fun to dive into, and SUCH CHARMING LIARS was no exception. I really enjoyed the found-family aspect of this story, and I totally didn't see some of those twists coming!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

I really enjoyed Such Charming Liars. Teenager Kat is way too wise for her age. Her mom is trying to go straight but needs to do one last job stealing a necklace for her employer. They run into Luke and his son Liam on the way to the job. Jamie and Luke were married for a weekend 12 years ago but haven't seen each since.

The novel is told in alternating POV from Kat and Liam, who are both great characters. I loved how the reconnected and felt comfortable with each other after all this time. Fast, enjoyable read.

With her unputdownable style and relatable characters McManus delivers another very satisfying thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pengin Random House for the e-ARC.
Kat and her mom, Jamie are grifters and work for a woman named Gem, who is a professional jewel thief. Jamie wants out of the business, but promises Gem she will do one last heist, at billionaire Ross Sutherland's birthday party, which takes place at a remote compound in northern Maine.
On the way, Kat and Jamie have a flat tire, and guess who pulls over to help: Luke who was married for 48 hours to Jamie, and his son Liam, who has tagged along to keep his dad, a scammer, out of trouble.
This puts a wrench in Jamie's plan, and from here things go bad to worse because soon there is a murder and their lives are now in danger too.

The story goes back and forth from Kat's and Liam's perspectives, as they work together to try to figure out the murder and stay alive while do so.

There a tons of twists and turn and red herrings in this fast-paced mystery. I always enjoy a good heist mystery and students will enjoy this one.

A new Karen McManus book? I’m always ready for that. I have mixed feelings about this one, but I still recommend it for McManus fans (3.5, rounded up). First, the good: I loved the characters Kat and Liam, teens who, for 48 hours over a decade prior, were stepsiblings. They’re reunited under very strange circumstances and immediately reconnect. The story is told from their alternating perspectives, and I found myself rooting for them to each have a better life, one in which they have each other to rely on. On the negative side, there were a few instances of plot holes and implausible events. However, the great characters kept me reading, and I hope we’ll see more of Kat and Liam in the future.

Absolutely LOVED this book! Her best yet honestly. Kept me guessing the whole time and the characters were very well developed. I really cared about the main characters and what happened to them throughout the story.

Such Charming Liars is a compelling read full of twists and turns.
I enjoyed the alternating POVs, and it definitely had an ending that I didn't see coming.
Liam and Augustus were my favorite characters. Although Kat made lots of stupid decisions, she was still a pretty likeable character.
A great suspense/thriller YA novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

Rating:
4.25/5 ⭐️

Lately McManus’ books have been hit or miss for me but luckily this one was a hit.

Things I loved about this book: the alternating POVs, crazy twists that I didn’t see coming, behind the scene look at jewel thiefs, and the found family

I honestly would’ve given this book a higher rating, except that there seem to be almost too many twists and turns. At points the book seemed completely off track, but I still really enjoyed it.

One of my top 3 picks from McManus so far.

Such Charming Liars was another win by Karen McManus. She has a way of drawing you in and making what you think is a predictable story so unpredictable. I loved the main characters Kat and Liam. This is a great YA book that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat. I could not put it down.

I've read all of McManus' books and this is my favorite since The Cousins! A compulsive read with twists and turn.

The characters were really great - especially Liam & Augustus. I thought the end of the mystery was a little muddled, but I still enjoyed spending time with the characters.

It took me a few times to get the premise, but once I did I was hooked. This was a super fun, thrilling, and suspenseful adventure that kept me on my toes the entire course of the novel. It was definitely a page turner and I was so excited to see how it all turned out, who was after Kat and Liam and if they made it out alive! Highly recommend. The young YA crowd will eat this up!