Karen M. McManus's debut novel One of Us is Lying is compelling, twisty murder mystery supposedly done by teens. Taking some cues from The Breakfast Club, while also adding in a lot of thoughtful voice while leaving lots of room for McManus's own creativity, One of Us is Lying is an engaging read, and one that might surprise you just as much as it surprised me!
Karen M. McManus's debut novel is the New York Times bestseller One of Us is Lying. She earned her BA in English from the College of the Holy Cross and her MA in journalism from Northeastern University. When she isn't working or writing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, McManus loves to travel with her son. To learn more about her, go to her website, karenmcmanus.com, or follow her @writerkmc on Twitter.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, The Brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, The Beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, The Criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, The Athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, The Outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they just the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.
This book really surprised me! It was really popular when I was in high school and I just never got around to reading it until now, and it made me wish I'd read it sooner. One of Us is Lying isn't just a murder mystery, but also a deep critique of the relationship dynamics in high school. There are a lot of heavy topics and themes explored, in a way that doesn't overwhelm or condescend. Rather, this novel gives a voice to how heavy everything is in high school, not just how heavy it feels. The fantastic thing, too, is that even if I couldn't relate to every single thing about one character, I related to something, which meant I related to all, which makes the characters stronger and the murder twistier.
I'm just now starting to get into the mystery storyline, but what I think McManus does wonderfully here is how she is able to deceive readers about what happened. I was suspicious of a specific character, and was trying to figure out who did it—and even though I was paying attention, I was still misled and didn't figure it out until another character put other facts together that had been isolated before. That's not to say that other people maybe didn't guess it before, but rather to say that the way McManus is able to deceive and mislead for so long is impressive, and makes this an engaging and quick read.
McManus explores really complex and complicated relationships in a really thoughtful and compelling way. Each character had intense and relevant struggles. I related the most to Bronwyn's high-achieving identity, but actually sympathized the most with Addy. She felt very much like an underdog character, and that her situation might not be as bad as Nate's, for example. But she has issues with her mother, and her and her sister don't have the best relationship, and Addy kept getting drawn back in by Jake. Addy finally, over the course of the novel, uncovers what kind of person she wants to be, and what sort of power she has. Addy's storyline was heartbreaking and empowering all at once; and I suppose that's true of each of the characters.
The absolute strength of the novel is McManus's ability to write about teenagers with empathy and compassion, but also with strength and conviction, when they're going through an insane time. Every single step of the way, I felt like I understood the scrutiny that the four characters were going through, their desire to understand how they got dragged into this mess, and how their identities were used against them. Watching each of the four characters wrestle control back of their lives and of their identities is the real heart of the story, and what makes this a five-star read for me.
There is a sequel to this novel, as well as a TV series streaming on Peacock, so if you loved this murder mystery and these characters, the story doesn't have to be over! You can learn more at karenmcmamus.com, or follow @writerkmc on Twitter.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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