A review by outsidestar
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was okay. It was a quick, entertaining read, but I was expecting more from it.

The best way to describe this is Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars. Yes, we did have the mystery part going on, but I was way more invested in the relationship between Bronwyn and Nate than I was in finding out who killed Simon. This book would've been completely boring without that romance brewing. They're the equivalents to Blair and Chuck... although he is called Nate. Maybe that was totally intentional?

Anyways, it was crystal clear to me from the beginning that
the killer wasn't among the four of them
and the big reveal didn't come as such a surprise, which I guess was kinda the whole point - for it to be a surprise, I mean.

I did enjoy the characters, though, or at least most of them. I especially liked Addy's character arc. I kept rolling my eyes at her in the beginning and then I ended up wanting to befriend her.

So yeah, this has good things going for it and not so good things. It's an entertaining read, but I'll probably forget everything about it in a couple weeks. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings