Another fun novel from Karen M McManus!
This one felt a little different from her other books for some reason, not in a bad way though.
This book revolves around our 2 main characters Kat and Liam. Kat lives with her mom Jamie who works as a kind of jewel thief under the owner Gem. Jamie is all Kat has and all she has ever had. Jamie wants to leave the business and get a legit job to provide for her and Kat. Gem will not let her go without doing one more job. She is to switch a fake necklace of a very wealthy person with the real one at a party. Liam has recently gone to live with is dad after his mom dies. He finds that his dad basically catfishes women online with pictures of him as a child saying he has cancer to get money from them and stuff like that. But Liam's dad has found someone he might not have lied to. He seems to be in love. He and Liam are invited up to her family's compound to celebrate her father's birthday. Kat and Liam's worlds collide when they find themselves in the same place and someone gets murdered.
So many of these characters are very flawed. Obviously Kat and Jamie have gone to the compound to steal a very expensive necklace. But they are both trying to be the best they can. They are trying to be better than they were yesterday. Liam is the least flawed I think. He is still depressed about his mother's death and having to live with his father, but he is trying to make his father's mistakes right. We also have the nephew of Liam's father's girlfriend Augustus in the picture. He is still getting over the accidental death of his grandmother and has an alcoholic father. All these chaotic characters made for an interesting story with lots of twists and turns.
The story itself was a fun read. I felt like it maybe wasn't as fast paced as her other books, but at the same time something was always happening. There was a lot of little things that added up to the big thing and my interest was always piqued. The ending really had me on the edge of my seat and there were some things I guessed, but some I didn't see coming. Everything came together one piece at a time and made sense by the end.
I (selfishly) wish there was a little more to the very end. It kind of is open ended but with a clear direction of where something specific is going to go, I just wish we had gotten it in writing for myself.
Overall, this was a great YA mystery, just like all Karen's other books. I can't wait to see more people reading this one!

Karen McManus's newest novel continues her trend of being the absolute queen of YA mystery and thrillers. Her newest novel begins as a heist - one last job before our characters go straight and leave the criminal life behind. Things go wrong (of course) and our characters become embroiled in a murder mystery where the only way to escape danger may be to solve the murder themselves.

Our setting is the Sutherland family compound, where the Sutherland family celebrates Ross Sutherland's birthday. Kat (one of our protagonists) accompanies her mom Jamie (our thief) to this job, despite her mother's concern and outright refusal to let her come. On their way, they run into Jamie's ex Luke and Kat's one-time step-brother Liam (our other protagonist). Everything almost immediately goes wrong and it falls to Kat, Liam, and Augustus Sutherland to solve the crime and protect their loved ones.

This novel stressed me out (in a good way). The addition of a heist to the murder added a level of complexity that not all murder mysteries have, which was a fun twist. And the twist itself was well constructed and well written, allowing for character growth and surprises. Highly recommend!

Such a fun, quick, well written thriller! This would be a fun one for my book club, and I will be sure to pass this along to teens.

McManus fails to disappoint.
It has that guilty pleasure feel while dragging you into the story, immersed in teenage life and ALL the drama with a nice mystery.
I loved these characters so much - great twists. But the characters are always my favorite. McManus gives such personality. I want them all as friends.
Excellent read!

Kat and her mom have lived a rather untraditional life–escaping from an abusive man, bouncing from place to place, and living a life of crime. When her mom thinks she has the ticket to leaving and getting a real honest job, nothing goes according to plan. Liam, the other main character in this story, has also had some ups and downs in his life, most recently with the death of his beloved mom which has him living with his father who he has been estranged from. With plot twist after plot twist, all of these characters play integral roles in the heist and murder investigation that ensues after a birthday party gone wrong. McManus does it again with another page turner that will have you guessing till the very end.

This is my first Karen McManus book and it won’t be my last! So many twists, but also the characters were developed enough so I didn’t get confused about who was who. Typically I don’t read thrillers/mysteries, glad I read this one! Props to my teen daughter who is a big Karen McManus fan, now I am too! Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy.

I have loved all of the books I’ve read from this author. It is surprising then that I didn’t fall in love with this as much as I had expected. I think it was because I didn’t really root for or relate to the main characters introduced. I felt that both Liam and Kat were pretty complicit to their loved ones’ misdeeds, so it was hard for me to empathize with them. I didn’t start to really understand their perspective until about halfway through the book. It was also at this time that the twists and turns of the book started to accelerate. The twists weren’t expected, which I appreciated. I also loved the last chapter, which was another complete surprise. The last half of this book heavily outweighed the first half, which is why I’m giving this book “3 stars.”

Karen M. McManus truly k its how to write a mystery that traps you straight from the beginning. I loved how McManus strayed from their typical mysteries and focused on a jewel heist.

Liam and Kay are fleshed out characters and the different view points lends itself well to the story. I loved knowing things the other didn’t know yet and could see them out the pieces together. Their chapters were distinct and I found them easy to distinguish from the other.

I look forward to recommending this book! It made me think of “The Girls I’ve Been” by Tess Sharpe and “Heiress Takes All” by Emily Wibberley.

While I love Ms. McManus's trilogy of One of Us is Lying books (Maeve is a favorite character) I think her standalone books are more complex and exciting. Such Charming Liars is a little different than her other books, there are characters that don't seem to have any relationship with each other, but then they all are entwined in the end. There seemed to be more "blood" in this one and the "bad guys" are really bad, but that was balanced with the relationship with Liam and Kat (sort of step-siblings) and Augustus is a great character and the book for the most part leaves it up to these three to get themselves into and out of trouble. In the end, the liars are not so charming (adults) and the truth tellers (the kids) are the charmers.

This book has been preordered and has a spot waiting on my HS library shelf.

First I want to say LIAM. He is treasure and should be protected (agree with Augustus here). But he goes through it. Especially after losing his mom. He tries to do right by everyone. All the time. But it does get him caught in the middle from time to time.

Kat. I feel for her I do. But at some point she’s got to stop. I couldn’t really care about her till the end. She was hard to like.

Augustus. I adored him. Perfect for Liam. Also dealt a rough hand but had a wealthy family so his problems were definitely different.

From the moment they all arrived at the Sutherland’s chaos ensues. While it’s all a bit out there it is entertaining and fast paced. I enjoyed and and didn’t see the ending coming.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the advance Kindle copy of this book, which is out on 7.30.24. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. This is a pretty solid heist thriller. Kat and her mom Jamie are running one last job for their con boss before Jamie gets them out and into a more traditional lifestyle. But they don’t expect to meet up with Jamie’s ex-husband and his son at the same compound; they definitely don’t expect the entire job to go wrong, and a billionaire’s son to wind up dead. And they definitely DEFINITELY don’t expect for an attempt on Jamie’s life. Now Kat and her former stepbrother (for all of 48 hours), Liam, are on a race to figure out what is really going on - and who is behind it. There are twists until the end, and readers who don’t like open endings will not appreciate it. There’s some teen drinking and some language, but I’d say this will appeal to readers in grades 7+.

It has always been Kat and her mom, Jamie. There was a brief time when her mom was married, but that only lasted 48 hours. Jamie is a good jewel thief but wants to leave that life behind … after one last heist. Kat finagles onto the job, and they run into her mom’s ex-husband and his son. They have their own scam planned … then the billionaire dies. Who else is a target? Is there anyone Kat can trust?

Such Charming Liars was a fun if not exciting read. Although this book wasn’t very long, I didn’t find the mystery very attention-catching. The story moved along, and all questions got answered, but I finished the book wondering why I spent the time. It's not as good as McManus’ other books, but not the worst mystery written recently.

While not my favorite McManus book, this will likely be engaging to some young adults. There is a heist element, past secrets, cheating, and family inheritances at play, I found the characters a bit flat, and the interactions between Kat and Liam around being attractive to each other, but not attracted to each other because they were once step-siblings (and Liam says he only likes guys) odd. Nothing overt in the book to flag for cautious guardians, but I would not consider it a must-buy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Such Charming Liars." Initially, I was concerned that it might not meet the high standard set by some of the author's other works, but I was pleasantly surprised. The book proved to be an engaging mystery novel that kept me hooked until the very end.

One aspect that particularly stood out to me was the unexpected twist regarding the identity of the villain. The revelation took me by surprise and added an exciting element to the storyline, making the book even more intriguing.

Additionally, the portrayal of the romance between Liam and Augustus was heartwarming and added a touch of sweetness to the overall narrative. Their relationship added depth to the characters and provided a nice balance to the mystery elements of the plot.

Overall, "Such Charming Liars" is a captivating read that seamlessly blends mystery and romance. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a compelling and well-crafted novel.

Such charming liars
by Karen M. McManus
Pub Date: July 30, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.
I was on a Book Award committee a few years back when I was introduced to this author for YA. I loved her books so much that now I keep an eye on YA books to make sure I'm not missing a good one. You don't have to be a youg adult to enjoy this!
In Such Charming Liars we meet Kat and her mother Jamie - two grifters working for a strong female boss. Kat still remembers when Jamie was briefly married and she has. stepfather and brother named Liam. Coincidentally, also grifters, the pair turns up at Kat and Jamie's next job!

It's a race to complete the grift, avoid one another and just stay out of the limelight. All four characters are absolutely interesting and engaging and the story, while simple, is filled with complex feelings and considerations that keep you as the reader completely engaged.
Great Setting! Great Plot! You won't want to miss this great read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Childrens, and Karen M. McManus for an advance copy of Such Charming Liars in exchange for an honest review. Its been a minute since I picked up a McManus book but shes still producing some great reads! We meet Kat & Jamie who find themselves in a pickle when a heist goes wrong. Throughout the story, we meet so many excellent supporting characters (Im talking about you, Liam & Augustus) who truly add to the plot of the story. This one was a rollercoaster ride full of twists and turns down to the last page. I would recommend picking this up if you love a good mystery that is full of surprises that will make you gasp. There are some potential trigger warnings (DV) to be aware of as well. You can pick up a copy of this gem (pun intended) on July 30th!

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for GR.

While I liked the story, (I love stories about awful rich people getting theirs) I do believe it should've been an adult novel, from the adults perspective. There wasn't THAT kind of adult content, more like the entire story was really about them, their mistakes and their choices. The kids meddled and got involved, but it ultimately wasn't about them. I would've loved a dual perspective with Jamie and Morgan and even Luke.
Otherwise, good mystery novel....even though the one pulling the strings was quite obvious to me by the way this character was introduced and then missing from a massive chunk of the novel. I'm usually surprised by the twists but this one didn't surprise me.
I'm sorry! (I don't like giving negative reviews)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! This book was another great story by Karen McManus. The characters were immediately likable and relatable, the story hooks you instantly, and the slight humor common with McManus’s writing was of course present in this novel. I’d highly recommend this book to why Ya thriller/mystery fans!!!

I LOVE everything Karen McManus writes. This was no exception. I've said before that she can write the same book a dozen times and I'll keep reading them over and over again. Such Charming Liars was, however, quite different than her other titles. It was refreshing to have a different setting than her usual, along with some darker and more complex characters! The exploration of morality and the sins of our parents was really intriguing. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this title!

I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Karen McManus book. This book was pretty good. I enjoyed the friendship between Kat, Liam and Augustus. I actually got a little annoyed whenever we had to spend too much time listening to the adults and what they had going on. The mystery was pretty good. I did not expect the ending or the special extra surprise twist. I would love to read more adventures of this trio. I did find all of their home lives to be quite sad though and while I feel like the ending made it seem like a happy ending, it could also open up to more of their adventures which I’m more intrigued by then a happy ending. The only reason I have rated this book 3 stars and not four or five is because, it was easy to put it down and forget that I was reading it. The story built a lot of history between the characters and gave a lot of filler information. I suppose to potentially distract you from figuring out whodunnit but that made it very slow for me. Some chapters were quick and fun and exciting and others…I would sit the book down and forget about it until the next day.