I am either hit or miss with Karen M. McManus's books and this one was a miss. The beginning started off strong as we learn about Kat, her mom, and their jewel thief background. As the story progressed, I didn't care for Kat or Liam's chapters since they were carbon copies of each other: they both referred to their parents by the first name, they did not have a relationship with their parents, and they lived off of making hasty decisions. I finished the book just to finish it, but it wasn't a favorite. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

DNF -- Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus

I’m so sorry!! I love you Karen McManus. I’ve read all of your books. I recommend them in my high school library all the time. But…

I made it to 63% in this book. And I gave up. The plot was boring. I found it very repetitive. What I mean by this is that something would happen to Kat, then she would replay it in her head, then she would tell Liam about it. Something along those lines seemed to happen often throughout this book. As far as characters go, Liam was the only somewhat likable character…maybe Augustus. The rest of them were annoying, rude, or arrogant. Then the twists? I didn’t care. There was nothing surprising. I didn’t make it to the final twist, so maybe that would have redeemed the book, but I just lost interest and started skimming for dialogue and even that I didn’t find intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title for review.

Such Charming Liars features Kat and her mother on one last big heist. Kat’s mother Jamie is ready to give up being a jewelry thief and this last heist takes place at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. Jamie’s ex Luke and his son Liam just so happen to be attending this party as well. Things take a turn when they get there and it’s up to Kat to pull this heist off instead.

This is my first book by this author and she created such a nice setting for this story to take place! Kat is a character who is torn between right and wrong, but when it comes to her mother she will do what needs to be done. Liam on the other hand doesn’t like his father being a fraud. So whenever he gets a chance, he tries to sabotage him.

This book has short chapters to read and packed with twists up until the very end! I enjoyed Kat and Liam’s relationship with their sibling love and being able to relate to each other. Though Kat isn’t truthful towards him in the beginning, Liam still has her back no matter what.

Thank you to tbrbeyondtours, netgalley, the author, and publisher for an eARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Another twisty and fun thriller from Karen McManus! Kat’s mom Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she wants to do one last big heist. This last job takes her and her daughter to a billionaire’s compound for a weekend party. They didn’t anticipate running in to Jamie’s ex-husband, a scammer, and his son, and that’s just one wrench in their carefully laid plans. When someone turns up murdered, they know the danger is even more dire than just getting caught.

I love McManus’s thrillers, they’re always so fun and always keep me on the edge of my seat. SUCH CHARMING LIARS was no exception. Fast-paced and full of twists and turns, I raced through this one in a matter of hours. The characters were all quite unsavory, but they each had their reasons for doing what they do. I liked the dynamic of Jamie trying to be a good person but the siren song of maybe, finally, hitting it big was too much for her to resist. Luke and Liam were also interesting in their own right, and Luke also had reasons for his choice in professions. Nobody in this book was truly a great person though, and that’s what made me like them and the overall story so much.

Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

If you’re looking for a YA mystery with a heist, dark lies and secrets worth killing for then this one might be for you!

The first 20% of the story is a bit slow since the author wants to introduce the key players to the readers and how they’re going to be connected to one another.
However, things will get a lot more interesting once the mystery starts with a sound of gun shot in a middle of a party…

This story is told in dual POV from the main characters – Liam and Kat.
At times, Liam appears too innocent to be involved in a heist, while Kat is the complete opposite of him - she’s reckless but also highly intelligent in a life or death situation.
But, that’s what makes them both interesting main characters for this story and despite how different they are and haven’t seen each other in years, they clicked and treat each other like family instantly.

The last few chapters are quite intense as the puzzle pieces started to come together, twist upon twist are thrown which can be quite overwhelming so I have to read it slowly to understand all of it.
But, I have to admit the last twist manage to surprise me real good!

Overall, it’s an enjoyable and entertaining mystery read with a satisfying ending.
This is not the first time I read a book by this author and won’t be the last, I’m looking forward to read more books in the future.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Domestic abuse, gun violence, toxic relationship, emotional abuse, physical abuse, brief mention of abandonment

Karen McManus is an auto-read author for me, and Such Charming Liars did not disappoint! It's easily one of my favorites, and I've read her entire catalog. We alternate between Kat and Liam, whose parents were married in Vegas for a brief 48 hours 12 years prior. Now, Liam tries to sabotage his dad's online dating scams and Kat wants to hep her mom complete one last heist before they go clean. They are reunited at the Sutherland compound, where Liam's dad Luke is wooing the daughter of the rich patriarch and Kat's mom Jamie is planning to steal that daughter's ruby necklace. But it wouldn't be McManus if plans didn't go awry!

We do get the dead body McManus is know for, but we have plenty of subterfuge and intrigue before the murder, and the heist plot is sufficiently twisty. I enjoyed sticking with a dual perspective, instead of more characters; Liam and Kat were well-developed and different from each other. We also get some good humor from both and from Augustus Sutherland, grandson of the billionaire. While I could predict some of what was going on, plenty left me guessing until it was revealed.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advanced copy of this book.

Title: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus
Genre: YA Thriller
Pub Date: July 30, 2024

💎 One Last Heist
🖤 Counterfeit Jewelry
✨️ Epic Betrayal
💎 Twisty YA Thriller
🖤 Abusive Ex Husband
✨️ LGBTQ Representation
💎 Short Chapters
🖤 Dual POV


My Review:

Poor Kat! Everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. She's naive and doesn't really think things through, but she has good intentions! Augustus and Liam were cute! There were so many twists (most of which wereunexpected), and the short chapters made for a quick, unputdownable read! I hoped the end would be a little more "eventful" but overall I enjoyed it!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Tours, for the digital review copy 💗

Such Charming Liars is a tale of grifters, liars, crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses. When Ross Sutherland throws his weekend birthday bash, he expects his guests, along with the haughty Sutherland children, to stay the weekend at his compound (who has a compound?). What he doesn’t expect is that amongst them are two grifters and their teenaged children. Jamie is there for “one last heist” to steal a necklace before going straight, and she’s brought along her daughter, Kat, who doesn’t seem as willing to leave the life behind. Meanwhile, her 48-hour-Vegas-husband Luke has brought along his son Liam to the party. Luke is invited by Annalise Sutherland, whom he’s wooing into marriage and out of her diamonds. When the two grifters meet, they’re automatically suspicious, but their children Kat and Liam are happy to see each other. When plans go awry and one of the Sutherlands winds up dead, there’s whispered conversations in the dark, an impromptu switcheroo, and a delightful interloper. Augustus is the grandson of Ross Sutherland, but he seems to be a much more companionable member of the family. He helps secretive Kat and Liam, who is not cut out for deception at all.

Kat is a piece of work. She’s very untrusting. Except with Liam - there’s more backstory there. Liam is the sweetest, most precious character, and I really feel bad that he’s stuck in the middle of all this. Augustus is a riot, and he’s interested in a blushing Liam (and making Liam blush). I enjoyed that the two main characters were not love interests but past step-siblings. I think it gave a nuance to the story that was unique. When the ending came, I thought it was over. Then came the twist.

Such Charming Liars follows Kat and Liam. Their relationship is a complicated web starting with becoming step siblings when they were kids. Their parents split after a 48 hour marriage and then years later, stumble across each other again, meeting at the Sutherland mansion involved in their parents’ own crooked agendas.

The story alternates between Kat and Liam. We got to understand each of their stories in this format, but at times, I was confused about which narrative I was reading. The plot was just meh. I expected a heist story to be captivating, but it didn’t grip me the way McManus’ other books did. The end had some satisfying plot twists that helped redeem the story a bit for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a gifted copy of the book in exchange for an honest review :)

Kat is a teenager who lives in an interesting situation. She is the daughter of a jewel thief and her closest people in her life, besides her mom, is the owner of the jewel thief business. Kat's mom, Jamie, decides that she is going to do one more heist and then stop stealing and create a better life for her and Kat. Kat decides to tag along with her mom and they end up running into Liam and his dad; whom Jamie was married to in Vegas for 48 hours. Trouble is on the way for Kat, Liam, and Jamie.....will they be able to escape?

I have loved all of Karen McManus's books that I've read, to this point. But for this book, it didn't wow me like I was expecting. It was an interesting story, but not believable to a point. If you have loved her prior books, definitely give this a try. Maybe you will enjoy it more than I did!

Such Charming Liars is another stunning murder mystery by YA thriller queen Karen! I genuinely have no idea how she manages to continually write the same kind of story eight times and still not have them feel repetitive or boring. Each book is a fresh and exciting adventure where I still have no clue as to who the culprit is, and Such Charming Liars is no exception.


One of my favorite things about this book was how instead of going the obvious route of romantically pairing Kat and Liam, Karen really focuses on developing their "stepsibling" bond instead. It was a refreshing take on a classic McManus tale, and their respective love lives were still fun to follow as B-plots (or in Kat's case, the lack thereof – she don't need no man).


Kat's relationship with Jamie was a very well written element as well, and reminded me a lot of Rory and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls, but if Lorelai was even less responsible. The theme of setting boundaries between the friend/friend and parent/child dynamic was really interesting, and I enjoyed reading about it.


If there's one complaint I have, it would be the second hand embarrassment I got from Kat's incredibly idiotic behavior and choices at the beginning. She's a 16-year-old girl that didn't have any good role models growing up, so they're entirely plausible with how her character was set up, but that didn't make me want to bang my head against a wall any less sometimes. They definitely were a bit far-fetched and required some extra suspension of disbelief,


All-around, this was a fast-paced, well-developed story with some excellent twists and a unique cast of characters that had me glued to my Kindle for basically 48 hours straight.


READ IF YOU LIKE: Karen M. McManus's other books, every single character is morally gray, dual POV narration (but they're not in love with each other), shiny things, Holly Jackson, Gilmore Girls, found family, and LOTS of rich family drama.

Kat has only ever had her mother, Jamie, to depend on. Jamie works for Gem, who specializes in creating counterfeit versions of expensive jewelry. These fake pieces are then used to steal the originals by swapping them out. When Jamie decides to leave the business, Gem tells her she needs to work one more job. This last heist will occur at billionaire Ross Sutherland's birthday party, where Jamie will pose as a member of the wait staff to get inside the secure estate.

Shortly after arriving, Jamie unexpectedly falls ill. Kat decides to take her mom's place and try to pull off the heist by swapping the jewelry pieces herself. But Kat isn't as experienced as her mom, and things quickly go wrong. Everything gets even more complicated when one of the Sutherland kids is found murdered in the woods, leaving Kat scared and worried that she might be the next target. Will she be able to make it out of the weekend alive?

This book was full of unexpected twists and was such an entertaining read! Right from the start, I was drawn in and couldn't put it down. I liked that it was written from a dual POV, switching between Kat's and Liam's perspectives. The author did an excellent job of tying their stories together. While there were some slightly predictable parts, the big reveal at the end was a completely brilliant surprise! This book will definitely be a big hit with fans of YA mysteries and thrillers. Overall, I gave it five stars on Goodreads and highly recommend checking it out!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book tells the story of Kat who's mom is a jewelry thief. She tags along for one last heist but gets the surprise of her life when old acquaintances show up and one of the family members they're stealing from ends up dead.

This was such a good YA story that keeps you captivated. It delves into the importance of family and having people by your side that you can trust. It was the perfect who-dunnit and why story and did a great job of answering all your pressing questions. Great read!

My library kiddos love McManus, with good reason! Her books are clever, thoroughly YA-centric mysteries that make their brains work at full speed. SUCH CHARMING LIARS is just as good as her other books and I know I will have to buy at least a few copies of the book for my library to keep up with the demand my students will have for it! It has excellent twists and turns, and I am a sucker for a heist story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC.

When Kat was little, she and her mom went to Vegas, where her mom Jamie married Luke, a man with a son Kat's age named Liam. Kat and Liam got lost in Vegas due to Luke's negligence, and Jamie left him. Over a decade later, Jamie is now a jewelry thief about to embark on her final heist, and Kat decides to sneak along. On the way, they run into Luke, a con man running his own game, and Kat gets to reunite with Liam. That isn't the only complication Kat will run into during this weekend, however, and someone ends up dead. Can Kat and Liam figure out what went wrong and how to avoid ending up dead themselves?

I really love the characters in this book. Kat is delightful chaos and Liam is so wholesome, as Augustus declares fairly early in the story. His ability to call things as they are is also charming. I enjoyed their closeness as sort-of stepsiblings, and the way they each have their own strengths. The mystery itself felt very messy to me for rather a long time, and it wasn't really helped by Kat's crazy theorizing (though that was fun to listen to!). It comes together in a satisfying way at the end, while also not being too perfect.

Another great mystery from a YA go-to author, Karen McManus! "Such Charming Liars" was a fun thriller that teens and adults will love. This book follows Kat and Liam who are linked through a traumatic 48 hours when their parents married in Vegas. Over 10 years later, the two are thrown together again to try to protect/thwart their parents nefarious behavior while spending the weekend at a billionaire's New England compound. Honestly, the summary may be overwhelming and I will admit the beginning of this book was a little slow, but it really picked up and ended in true Karen McManus twisty fashion.

I will definitely be recommending this books to the teens in my library who love a mystery! Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Such Charming Liars is definitely one to watch as another McManus favorite! it started off a little slow for me but i slowly began to immerse myself into the characters and story, can’t wait for everyone to read it!

This was a rollercoaster ride filled with unexpected twists. McManus expertly weaves a complex web of deceit and suspicion, keeping readers guessing until the final page. The characters are well-developed and the plot is fast-paced, making it impossible to put down. A must-read for fans of the genre!

The queen of YA is back with another exciting, twisty thriller! I absolutely love her books, and she nailed it once again. I was hooked from the start and could not put this one down. There were so many twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very last page. I loved getting both Kat’s and Liam’s perspectives. They were such an entertaining and unexpected duo, and the ending made it seem like we might get a sequel, which I would be all for. I had so much fun reading this book!

Kat wants to heist. Kat's mom Jamie is tired of heisting. Jamie's mentor Gem doesn't want Jamie to leave heisting.

I think I've realized that teen heist books just don't work for me. Wash this a good book? Sure. But I think I'm past the point of believing that teens make good heisters. Granted, there are lots of mistakes made by the teens in this book, but I just wasn't feeling it for most of it. I also don't think this one was up to par with McManus' previous books (well, it might be on par with that one with the cousins. That one was also...fine.)

This was a fine book. It has all the elements you expect from Karen M McManus--rich teens, rich people problems, one or more poor kids that somehow has fallen in with the rich ones (though there is no school aspect to this one) and hijinks of the murderous kind ensue. Except now we add jewel thievery to the mix. And that just was kind of...meh for me.

If you liked McManus' other books, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well--I did enjoy it, but it was like I was watching Cheryl Hole on Drag Race UK laughing about another day of being mediocre. And mediocre is what this book was compared to McManus' other books.