Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Two Can Keep A Secret

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Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus

23 reviews

familiar_diversions's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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melplays9000's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was so much fun. Yeah it’s not particularly thrilling or mysterious but if you go in expecting that it’s actually a really nice high school contemporary story with an interesting twist. I loved the main character of Ellery. Her family was complex and the fact that she was new to the town and had an interest in true crime meant she had a fresh perspective and was the perfect person to tell the bulk of the story through. My favorite character though was Malcom. He was so sweet and I just want to be his friend he deserves to be happy and a life so much better than he got! Also Ryan was amazing I just loved the whole cast, they really made this book for me.

I am myself a YA and honestly not super perceptive but even to me the twists in this were not done particularly well. Whenever a reveal was about to come it would be so over explained that I knew exactly what it was before it was explicitly said and I found myself just getting frustrated that the characters weren’t saying it.

I also hated that the characters were so incompetent that not only didn’t help solve the crime but also got themselves in trouble with their crime solving and then couldn’t save their own asses. Just seemed like if the police were just gonna save the day, maybe it should have been told from Ryan’s point of view.

Overall a good book, this review is too long. I had a good time 4 stars.

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hemmr3252's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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harleighc's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I can’t say much for the plot, since it took me forever to read this book. If you’re coming from One Of Us Is Lying, just be aware it’s a very different set of characters with the same good writing. I had trouble relating to the characters, so I didn’t enjoy it as much. The ending seemed kind of thrown together, but like I said it took me three or four months so I didn’t get the full effect. Still an okay book, just not my favorite.

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gamora_zen1's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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scarlett_1237's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Found the start quite slow however the last half is quite engaging and interesting but can be hard to get invested

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jillkaarlela's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This book just does not compare to the “one of us is lying” series. I just couldn’t get into it, or care about the characters. The mystery part is okay, it was surprising, but it just wasn’t that good overall.

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beckycarter97's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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spearly's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

“You might want to tell that sister of yours to lie low for a change. Doesn’t seem like a great year to be homecoming queen, does it?”

Someone in Echo Ridge has it out for prom queens. First, a girl named Sarah disappears on Homecoming night 20 years ago. Then, Queen Bee Lacey disappears 5 years ago. When Ellory and Ezra's mother - who also happens to be Sarah's twin - is admitted to rehab, they are shipped off to live with their Grandmother in Echo Ridge. That's when the threats start showing up; I'M BACK. PICK YOUR QUEEN, ECHO RIDGE. HAPPY HOMECOMING

Honestly... I've been spoiled. A Good Girl's Guide to Murderhas set the bar for YA mysteries, and unfortunately, Two Can Keep a Secret just fell short.

Told in dual POV, the story follows Ellory, whose aunt disappeared from town 20 years prior, and Marcus, the brother of the guy everyone thinks killed Lacey 5 years ago. Which is all fine and good, except their voices were so similar, I had trouble remembering whose chapter I was reading.

The side characters felt weak, indistinct, and honestly, kind of pointless. The only one who ended up mattering to the story was Officer Rodriguez. I was disappointed to see that even Ellory's twin Ezra was relegated to c-character status. You'd think he'd play a larger role, given that all that familial trauma (of not knowing their father, of losing their aunt, of their mother having a drug problem and needing to go to rehab) that affects Ellory on a daily basis should alsoaffect Ezra. And yet, we barely see him.

I had a large issue with pace, too. It's more than halfway through the book by the time any real investigating goes on. For a murder mystery, readers never really get that satisfaction of clues falling into place, of solving the crime alone with our MCs, of rushing to put the puzzle together before it's too late. Ellory is a self-declared true-crime aficionado, and yet we're barely following her and Malcom solve the mystery because every theory of theirs is wrong. The only real sleuthing they do is when

they dig through the recycling to find what Brooke was looking for

. I never felt the stakes. Again, I'm spoiled by Holly Jackson's whodunits, and now nothing holds a candle.

That aside, I still feel that One of Us Is Lying is the stronger mystery from McManus. More intrigue. More teen detective work. Better reveal. Better characters.

But credit where it's due. You seldom read a mystery where the antagonist doesn't spell everything out for the MCs in some forced villain speech (even A Good Girl's Guide to Murder does this), but that is not the case here. Our villain reveals very little, and readers don't find out the whole story until after the climax. Which is a nice reprieve from the expected.

Overall, not the best teen mystery I have ever read, but a quick, easy read that kept me turning the page nonetheless.

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never_too_many_books's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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