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david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked how it brought the cast of characters from the two books and had them all fully interact and within the same group as it allowed for characters that wouldn't really have interacted all that much without sharing scenes, and so this allowed for the two sets of characters from each book to have friendships with one another such as Addy and Phoebe as well as if it was brief like Phoebe and Nate. It also allowed for these characters to grow as they were given more screentime and it even allowed characters from the original One of Us is Lying book to come back and have some closure such as Keely and Vanessa, the latter of which, got surprisingly a lot of depth and screentime to develop and reform her character.
The plot was also pretty good as it once again centred around taking revenge against someone who had wronged the perpetrator and while it was obvious that the reintroduction of Jake into the narrative would mean that he would be somewhat involved with the main plot, the way that it was done and how it was revealed was well done. I didn't really guess who could be behind the new 'game' though the explanation and the backstory effort put into who was behind it was satisfying. I liked the flashbacks to before the events of One of Us is Lying as it meant that we could see Jake and Simon's relationship as well as also getting to flesh out Simon's character as we don't actually see a whole lot of him in the first book despite him being the cause for all the events that happen in this series.
I'm interested in reading Karen M McManus' other books as I have all of the ones that have been released and I just haven't gotten around to reading The Cousins as well as You'll Be the Death of Me despite having them for a good while. Either way, I enjoyed reading One of Us is Back and I just found it to be an easy and quite a quick read for me seeing as I've had a bit of a reading slump that has really slowed down my reading progress as well as it being a good and satisfying ending to the series/trilogy.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
margaretwaltemath09's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
dramagirl2003's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
p8: oh never mind, ofc it's jake
p10: *cough* murderer
p18: oh right, never mind. it's been a few months since i read one of us is next, and i clearly forgot the ending. poor owen, I was wrongly remembering him as a villain. also I forgot he was so young
p136: totally fair, I would also wanna punch that guy even at the risk of losing my job
p137: oh now I really would punch that arrogant smirk off his stupid frickin face
p144: IF THAT DEVIL SPAWN HAS DONE ANYTHING I'LL PLOT HIS MURDER WITH NATE
p148: stab the snow 🤣
p205: it really, really better not actually be owen this time. i'm gonna scream if it is
p210: mr alton is 100% the reason mrs riordan was so excited about work six years ago
p282:
p284: no but like i'm confused. does nate work at the construction site as well or just the bar? i mean they might have told us at the start of the book and i could've just forgotten
p288: no come on cause nate told phoebe he was at work until 3, but he's still at the bar at 7, so where's the consistency here??
wait, did he mean 3am?? ughh can we just have a little more clarity here
p292:
p297: I FREAKING KNEW IT!! OH SHOOT
p317:
p323: oh shoot, what now??
p327: dear gosh, he really was a murdering psyopath right from the start wasn't he
p331:
p332: what did I say
p344: aw knox, my hearttt that was so cute
p347: AHHHH i forgot about that!! thank goodness for addy!
p351: stoppp 🥺 i'm actually about to start crying ðŸ˜
p356:
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
itzbrianna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The mystery in this particular novel was woven into the plots from the first and second book. And the new characters added a nice touch of humor and/or angst when needed.
In this third installment we get the POVs from Nate, Phoebe, and Addy while getting backstory pov from Simon and Jake on occasion. I loved Nate’s personal development throughout this book and how it highlighted his friendship with Addy.
This story really completed the trilogy with a nice bow. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Still, the 2nd installment is still my favorite. But I do love the climax of this one. Let me tell you, it’s a doozy! If you enjoyed the first two I think you’ll like this one almost as much.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Confinement and Car accident
libraryghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Infidelity
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This book starts as possibly the slowest and most boring book of the trilogy. The first forty percent of the book contains a lot of set up and very little suspense. The characters also feel like they should all be in their late twenties, even though two of them are in their late teens. They don't feel old in the way most other traumatized characters do either. They seem mostly unphased by the events of the last two books other than when there is an active threat.
There are several potential antagonists being hinted at throughout the novel. This is often a very nice technique however I felt the technique was a bit fumbled upon the reveal.
The world is also unrealistic in how it handles certain events
The ending is a happy one with promises at a good future for all of them. Well for everyone who survives. Hooray for therapy!
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cursing
Minor: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Drug use due to the drugging and kidnap of several characters, past and present. There is also mild discussion of the nonconsensual recording of characters during sex acts.16kneidels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
maca_vr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
ofi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Homophobia, Outing, and Toxic friendship
laheath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood and Alcohol