A detention, a student death, 4 student suspects.... whodunnit??
Great YA novel. Easy read
Recommended 4.5⭐️

This book grabbed me simply the illusion on the cover to The Breakfast Club. 'A Jock, A Criminal, A Brain, A Princess.' It does, however, ramp things up with a murder. The premise is five students find themselves wrongfully in detention; one of them does not survive it and suspicion rapidly descends on the remaining four. An issue which is not helped by the fact that the boy who died was the school gossip and each characters has something to hide.

Cooper, Nate, Bronwyn and Addy find their lives change in the aftermath of that day. They are questioned by police, hounded by the media and gossipped about by their peers. They also find themselves looking with suspicion at each other and at the same time bound together by their experience.

McManus does a wonderful job of bringing these characters beyond the two dimensional descriptors. I think the use of the narrative perspective shifting from one to the other helps with this, allowing us to see who they perceive themselves and by others. It also reveals to us the secrets that they are keeping. The shift doesn't allow the time frame to stall but moves briskly through the events. It give us a chance to see into the students' lives at home, the pressures they are under and how this forms their identities and choices. There was enough time devoted to their family relationships that the strength of the bonds between, for example, Addy and her sister Ashton, were very clearly portrayed. The latter going out of her way to step up as a strong parental figure even though her own life is changing radically.

I thought the title was an excellent starting point as I started reading with a sense of mistrust in the narratives being presented. The use and presence of social media and technology wasn't over done, although present it didn't feel as though there it was demonised. There are comparisons to be made to Pretty Little Liars and to a lesser extent Gossip Girl but it had a genuine softness when is came to the handling of the characters, which particularly shone through when reading Addy's perspective. The dialogue was natural sounding to my ear and created an immersion with the events. This book was great fun to read, I found that I did correctly surmise the conclusion of the plot before it was revealed but that in no way detracted from my enjoyment.

For fans of - Pretty Little Liars, Dorothy L. Sayers, E. Lockhart.

This turned out to be a far more enjoyable book than I initially expected. The characters were pretty well-realised and the mystery was interesting (and did not turn out as I expected!) A surprise winner for me.

This was a very easy read and an enjoyable piece of escapism.

What caught my eye was the initial hook of it being a bit like the Breakfast Club but with a murder-mystery twist. I enjoyed the cliches of each stereotype of the different types of 'groups' within a high school setting (jock, cheerleader, nerd etc) and I liked the way McManus started to overturn these stereotypes and make the characters into a more rounded human being.

The murder mystery bit was intersting but for me, it kind of dragged on a bit. Personally I found the twist not that much of a twist as I'd figured it out long before it happened, and found it quite exasperating how the no one else saw the obvious with it.

The book is told from multiple POVs, so definitely not one for those who dislike this technique. Personally, I enjoyed this aspect as I found I could get to know each character a little better and see them progress. Despite the book/storyline being set in something like a 6 week time span or something, there is quite a lot of character progression throughout.

Overall, a good read and great for a little 'who-dunnit' element.

The book starts with five students, apparently with nothing in common, meeting in detention - we have the jock, the princess, the genius, the criminal and the basket case. Oh wait, our basket case in this story is actually a boy managing a blog that systematically exposes the deepest secrets of anyone attending his high school, so when he ends up dead before detention is over and it's revealed that he was planing a big expose on the other four students, the police starts looking for the most likely murderer.

The story is interesting and well-paced, and manages well to keep the whodunit tone almost until the end. As you can imagine, none of the four students are as perfect as they seem at the start of the book, and as we learn their secrets we find out more about the real people behind their high school stereotypes, and although I enjoyed the character growth, somehow it felt like they still were stereotypes.

I guessed who the murderer was about two thirds into the book, but that didn't make me enjoy the conclusion any less. I won't say anything about the ending to avoid spoilers, but I'm still not sure that the outcome worked for me, I wish the murderer would have been someone different.

There's also a bit of romance in the book, and it's cute and sweet in a first-love sort of way, but for me the book would have been more solid if the focus had been in the friendship the four suspects develop because of their shared history. They are supposed to develop this unbreakable bond but at times it felt like the murder accusation was everything they had in common, which is great to start with, but if I am to believe that in the end they have a deeper relationship I'm going to need some more development than what the book provided.

There's also the matter of the narrators. The story is told from the POVs of the four suspects, but to be honest I didn't notice any change in their voices. We have two boys and two girls, each of them as different as they can be, but while I was reading I couldn't really tell them apart.

All in all this book was a lot of fun and I recommend it to fans of the classic whodunit stories and YA with a bit of a twist :)

If Agatha Christie wrote The Breakfast Club I imagine it would turn out like this. One of Us is Lying is an excellent story of teen secrets, Lies and murder

I was gripped from the start on this. The writing is simple, but like a warm bath is simple - it's a universal pleasure to just kind of envelop yourself within it for a few hours. Sometimes the voice changes mid-chapter didn't really register, but by the middle I was so used to who was who it didn't take me out of the story.

I admit, every perspective had me going "IT'S THEM!" only to go "NO WAIT - THEM!" half way through. I think at one point I even suspected a mentioned-only-once character. It sucked me in and refused to let go, whispering for me to forget my real life responsibilities until I actually found out who killed Simon.

One thing for me in books is how authentic dialogue is - if the dialogue is so far removed from anything people would actually say, it drags me out of it. Karen didn't disappoint with hers. There weren't any stupid "explain the last episode in a sentence" type incidents, for which I'm very thankful, because those make me roll my eyes and struggle to keep reading.

The one teeny gripe I had was I could have done with more from each perspective, for instance when we changed to someone else's head, I would have preferred to be engrossed for more than a few pages to get more of a feel of them. But that's just a tiny thing.

I managed to guess two of the plot twists, but that's all you can do - Guess. There are so many different things that are thrown into the mix here you can't guarantee your guesses are right. Not in the "PFFFT well I've seen this before I know what happens". But I was really pleased when my Sherlock skills paid off.

Favourite character - Addy, surprisingly, and Maeve, and Ashton, and the badass ladies who simply gripped me. And Kris! <3

Least favourite - I don't really dislike any of the main characters but I connected with Bronwyn the least. At one point she calls Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Retro" and I swear I gasped and fell back. It's not that old!...... right?

All in all this is a great, gripping, well-written book with rounded characters and I'll probably get it in paperback because I need a physical copy. I can't rely on Kindle batteries with something this gripping!

This story will hook you from the first page with the ensemble mix of characters and the story that will keep you guessing.
The chapters are told from alternating characters points of view to really immerse the reader in the deceitful story. The reader is plunged into the character's worlds and their story as well as been dragged into the detention where it all started.
The book is written in a fresh style, as well as the alternating chapters, the characters are inventive and not just cookie cutter school students. The author creates a world that you can reach out and feel and characters you root for and chastise.
I recommend this book for a quiet weekend where you have nothing planned, because you will not be able to put this book down til you know who is lying.

I'll be the first to admit I almost gave up on this book. The first 20% was tough going. Not because of the story but because of the characters. I didn't take to any of them. The only remotely good character was Nate and at times he was good and other times he was indifferent.
There are comparisons between The Breakfast Club, Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. The main difference being the gossip site author is known by everybody. In this day and age of technology the book teaches us that nothing is sacred, even your smallest blemishes or your tiniest untruths, or even, yes, your intimate secrets are up for the taking. And once that secret is out its everywhere. We get no take backs, no chance to bury it once its seen.
The book developed the characters well, in the end. Addy was no longer the doormat girlfriend who lived her life through her annoying boyfriends. Cooper wasn't just the jock with the good looks. Bronwyn wasn't only the brainiac and Nate wasn't the dropout he and everyone else thought he was.
There's a lot to learn about stereotypes too. The typical school story usually has one girl who sleeps around, and one girl who is the queen bitch with the hangers on. Although a few of those took a part in this story it wasn't overloaded with it. In fact, Nate shut down one of the episodes nicely for the sake of Coopers self-respect and I wish there were more 'Nate's' in school.
The main theme of the book seems to be Acceptance, which is poignant. We all accept who our friends are despite their faults, yet to a certain degree judge others we're not so friendly with using the same faults to keep them at a distance.
During OoUiL you will read from four different POV's and each segment reveals something more about the murder of Simon, the guy who runs the gossip app. Initially I thought this might detract from the main story but it flows around nicely as you learn more and more about the last characters who were with Simon on detention before he died.
This is an intriguing murder mystery on school grounds and brings up a whole trough of dilemmas, prejudices and opens our eyes to the stressful life of a high school senior and how not being accepted can matter.
In the end, I couldn't put it down. My head kept switching between possible culprits like I was in the book trying to solve the mystery myself. A great book debut from a talented author.

4.5 stars.

Brilliant book; like a modern day Breakfast Club but with murder and social media references!

The writing is great, the characters start out boring and / or stereotypical but then as the story progresses the characters develop and you start to like and understand all of them - even the murderer.

Only dropped a half star because of a few minor gripes (Maeve's hacking capabilities - really?!, and the whole Cooper thing was a bit too easy to guess, as was the murderer......!?!?)

All in all a great book, different from what is out there, likeable characters, no gore, sex, swearing, or shock 'em tactics.

Highly recommended. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for the ARC.

5 students have an after school detention, only 4 survive. What a great premise. I was really looking forward to reading this title and I was not disappointed. With each suspect narrating their own chapters it was a great insight into what they were feeling and also built up their characters until you could actually empathise with them and feel the isolation and confusion they were experiencing..
If you want to solve the murder you will find clues scattered throughout the book and although I picked up on some of them, I was too engrossed in the story to spend time examining the evidence.
This novel tracks the dark side of social media - the instant naming and shaming and reputation wrecking which traverses our lives today.
Be warned - you will not want to put it down..

Ok, so, wow. Just a second to quickly gather my thoughts...

While I do love a good mystery thriller, over the past few months I have leaned towards fantasy books more. I decided to mix things up and came across this absolute gem on NetGalley, which I was very kindly approved to read!

The plot is unlike anything I have read before; I was gripped from the first chapter. I really liked the characters, especially the developmental journey that each of them experienced throughout the story. Their development felt real and natural, and not just as though it was used as a plot device.

When I do read mysteries, I try my hardest to pick holes and guess what is going to happen, but I was far too engrossed in the story to bother doing that with this book. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. Told from four perspectives (the surviving students from detention) I didn't feel that I blamed any of them for the death, but then the idea of "unreliable narrators" seeps in and them I didn't trust any of them. I loved their relationships with each other. They didn't become the best of friends out of nowhere, they were almost strangers in the beginning and throughout the story they come together to try and solve the murder mystery. I really liked this idea. The several perspective narrative was also really interesting, and the story was very well paced throughout.

Whilst predominantly a mystery, there was also a romantic aspect to this story which I felt was not over or underdone, it was just right for me. They are teenagers in high school, of course there is going to be romance!

I was kept guessing until the very end with this book; the last few chapters are so incredibly tense! I feel that the ending was very well executed and thought out, and for a change with a mystery thriller story, I was happy with it. I felt that it was wrapped up neatly but not lazily which I really appreciated.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think the fact that I read it in less than 24 hours is testament to that. A solid and well deserved 4/5 stars from me!

★☆☆☆☆ 1/5



DNF at 18%



One of Us is Lying sucks you in with the synopsis, five students walk into detention and only four walk out.

There's Bronwyn, 'the brains', a smart girl with Ivy League hopes.

Addy, 'the princess', but not quite homecoming queen.

Nate, 'the criminal', bad boy type with a bad reputation.

Cooper, 'the jock', star baseball pitcher.

Simon, 'the outcast', creator of a gossip app that exposes other students secrets.

When Simon dies suddenly everyone is a suspect. With Simon's earlier promise of a juicy secret to expose on his app, and the other four all with secrets they don't want out giving them all motive, it's a question of who'd go so far as murder to keep their secret getting out.

I went into the book expecting murder, secrets, betrayal, lies, The Breakfast Club with murder, a story that would have me hooked from start to finish, but unfortunately it wasn't that.

The characters were stereotypical, cringey and flat. At one point I wanted to throw my iPad because Addy, the stereotypical girl who's into makeup and prom, got changed because her boyfriend didn't like her outfit. Don't change your outfit, girl, change your man.

What should've been an interesting story was just boring and let down by two dimensional characters. I had high hopes considering the descriptions, but my interest disappeared and all too soon into the book making it a DNF.

Did I like the book? No.

Did I love it? Nope.

Would I recommend it? Nope. It's being marketed as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars and it's like neither.

An interesting whodunnit with a good few twists and turns. Lots of unlikeable characters!

I loved this – clever, often tense, addictive to the ninth degree and with as many twists as a plethora of pretzels – except the twists don’t always come within the mystery but just as often within the characters.

So this is The Breakfast Club if The Breakfast Club was a murder mystery. That is the best way I can describe it (and for those of an age to appreciate the true genius of The Breakfast Club the highest compliment I can give it)

5 students enter detention only 4 come out alive. But what happened to them? Murder? Accident? And who were they? Victim? Undeserved of their fate? And most of all, who hated them enough to want to see them dead? Well all of those questions will eventually get answered but before that we have a genius of a novel, brilliantly insightful storytelling that starts with a group of teenagers who have easy labels applied to them (the Jock, the popular girl etc etc) but over the course of the novel grow layers and flesh and bone and become actual people. The people they are…

One of them may be a killer. All of them are not as shallow or as easily read as would first appear. As they enter the spotlight, not only within school gossip but also under intense scrutiny as the police investigation unfolds, the media looks on and nothing will ever be the same again. We hear from all of them and start to understand what has led to this moment, Karen M.McManus slowly but surely takes us towards the ultimate resolution, peeling back the hidden underneath of their friendships and loyalties, pushing them together and pulling them apart.

It is absolutely riveting – seriously I was hooked, I really engaged with all of them and their plight – so when I say this is utterly character driven I mean that exactly. As relationships are tested, not just within the school hierarchy but within each of their families, all of them have some serious growing up to do and you watch them do just that.

Not all of the reveal moments are unexpected but they are all emotionally resonant, this is not just a Young Adult mystery but an unravelling of substance and what makes us tick as people. Plus to be fair the mystery element is HIGHLY intriguing – there is also a Christiesque touch to things that really adds to the sheer joy of reading it.

That’s it – The Breakfast Club if Agatha Christie had written it. One Of Us Is Lying in a nutshell for me.

Highly Recommended. Beautifully written and a genuine barnstormer of a page turner.

Originally I wasn’t going to read One of Us is Lying until much closer to its publication date (June 1st) but when I read the blurb – think The Breakfast Club with murder thrown in – and a few lines and I was immediately intrigued. I love The Breakfast Club and McManus’ take on it sounded so interesting that I couldn’t resist. I wanted to know (read: had to know) how the story unfolded and I wasn’t willing to wait until later in the year. And let me tell you, it was worth it. This book is fantastic – a masterful mix of young adult, contemporary, murder mystery, and romance, all tied up into a thrilling debut.

The blurb already tells us what happens when five students enter detention but only four leave:

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 the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?


But the mystery surrounding Simon’s death is relentless and consumed my mind when I wasn’t reading the book. For some three hundred pages we are taken on a wild ride, constantly wondering who is telling the truth, who is lying, and how the story will unfold, especially as each of the protagonists had something to hide. I had so many theories about Simon’s death but I didn’t see the truth coming at all, which is probably the highest praise I can give to a murder mystery.

It probably goes without saying but I loved the characters. Although the blurb could make it seem like they were one dimensional stereotypes, they were anything but. McManus has crafted four multi-dimensional and well-rounded characters and I can honestly say that I loved every single one of them by the end of the book (finding out more about Simon was fascinating as well although I can’t say I loved him at any point in the novel). All show great character development and growth, especially Addy and Cooper who, I feel, had the biggest fall out from their secrets being revealed. They are all badass in their own way and I loved that the book was told from each of their perspectives; I really enjoy spilt narratives and it worked exceptionally well here.

Obviously I haven’t said too much in this review, as the gradual reveals and build up to finding out what actually happened to Simon are what makes the novel so interesting, but I highly recommend people to seek this out when it’s published – I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed if you do.

I loved this book. It’s really hard to review without giving anything away so I suggest you just read it.

Really gripping and I loved the relationships between them all. I did guess who did it quite early on but I still couldn’t believe it.

Brilliant book.

This was such a good read - I loved it. I went into it thinking it was going to be a weird Breakfast Club ripoff, but apart from the underlying character archetypes in terms of who ends up in detention, One of Us is Lying starts off with a bang and just keeps going - I couldn't put it down. The four main characters were really well written, which was great, but even better, all the minor characters we come into contact with had depth and nuance. I loved that we had alternating view points from the four leads, as each time we switched characters we learn a little more about them, their secrets and why they may have killed to protect them. I loved the character development for Addy - she was the character I was least invested in to begin with, but by the time I put the book down, she was my favourite. Character development was fantastic across the board though, with each of the leads growing through the course of the novel. The plot was fantastic - it was well thought out and definitely kept me guessing. The climax was complex, and it tied together the entire novel. Overall, it was a great read.

Omg omg omg.

I got this book from Netgalley ahead of release date mostly because I like a murder mystery and I was intrigued. This book was legitimately amazing.

It had interesting characters that developed so much throughout the book and I have to say I loved them all.

The book had a lot of twists and turns, some that I guessed (Cooper) and others I didn't expect at all!

Overall I loved it, this book kept me enraptured the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't put it down!! Definitely a must read.