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danilo_syrtis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
[Fair warning: This review contains some (major) spoilers that I will tag as such.]
Roughly three months after Brandon’s murderer is arrested (One Of Us Is Next), Simon’s co-conspirator Jake (One Of Us Is Lying) files a successful motion for a new trial and gets released from prison until his court dates come up. Coincidentally, a new mystery seems to emerge at the same time: A hacked billboard displays messages regarding a new game to be played. And then Phoebe, already struggling and feeling isolated because of the secret she keeps, disappears after a party …
After re-reading the first two parts of the trilogy, I finally got to read the last part over the weekend for the first time, and once again, I had fun! I also think this story is the weakest of the three, but there were still many aspects I enjoyed.
As always, I have to mention my love for the minimalistic cover and the sprayed edges of the UK paperback. While I do not think that the cover illustration fits the story as well as is the case for the other two books, it has the same mysterious vibe and it is still beautiful.
It is impressive to me that the mystery felt new and different from the other two, although the main characters are the same ones as in the previous parts. There was also more than one twist that I did not see coming (although – obligatory disclaimer – I am very bad at guessing the endings of books), although they were well-prepared in hindsight.For example, I was a bit suspicious of Evie since Phoebe thinks more than once that she is almost too nice, but I never suspected her having changed her name and being responsible for the disappearances of Phoebe, Reggie, and Jake.
There are some interesting appearances of characters from the previous books. While I do not know how enjoyable they would have been had I not read the other two parts, I really loved to see them! Especially since they did not seem to only be some kind of cameos, but they actually showed some realistic growth and sometimes helped to move the plot forward.I actually love Vanessa trying to make amends and seriously regretting her mistakes, since some of the misogynistic and homophobic bullying from the first book gets adressed this way (and readers also get to know another side of the usually calm, friendly Kris). It is nice to see how differently various characters react to her apologies, and in particular how Nate apologizes for his behavior, too.
Something that is really refreshing is that the plot does not revolve around Bayview High School. It worked for the first two books, but for the third, it is interesting to see some new places that are important for one or more characters and thus play an important part for the story.For example, I like the country club that Nate works at, even if it seems a little cliché at some points.
Although I obviously enjoyed reading the book, there are still things that annoyed me.
The structure of the story seems similar to the one of the second book. Sadly, this results in the same unfortunate pacing – while the first part is rather slow-paced, the second one is pretty fast-paced. It is not as bad as in One Of Us Is Next, but still feels weirdly mismatched.
Another problem of the second book which is much worse in this one (but luckily only exists in the first few chapters) is how the events of the previous books are summarized whenever some of the important characters first appear. I understand that it is nice if the book could theoretically be read as a stand-alone, but it is still marketed as part of a series. I think not understanding references to past events is something you sign up for if you read the last part of a trilogy without knowing the first two. Maybe I would feel differently if the synopses were at least elegantly interwoven with the rest of the first few chapters, but they simply feel out of place.
I also feel like the attention to detail(s) is a bit lacking, compared to the other two books. The main characters seem to be a lot more isolated from the rest of the world than before – which, admittedly, might just be a side effect of the group consisting of at least twice as many people as in the other books. But there is just a lot less interaction between the main characters and people not related to the main mystery, and some side characters simply disappear even if that does not really make sense.For example, I do not think there was any need to bring up Jules and Monica, but since they are brought up and Jules tells Phoebe that Monica wants to ask out Knox, it is strange to not see them appear again at least once afterwards. There is also the fact that many of the details and characters that turn out to be important for the resolution of the main mystery are not as subtly set up as in the first two parts. For example, it was very obvious to me that Nate’s father’s missing keys would be of some significance. Or, as I said, I was suspicious of Evie fairly early. Another minor annoyance are some strange and unnecessary inconsistencies. For example, some of the flashback chapters are from Jake’s POV, but his father is still called Mr Riordan instead of dad/his father. Another example is Chelsea talking about how she wanted to frame Owen so he would not go without any consequences, when she left a confession at her apartment that police would have probably found pretty much right away.
Lastly, something that I do not like is how often events are not really described, but simply summarized at a later point. It is a bit confusing to me, especially if a chapter is from the POV of a relevant character and it ends in a place that makes it seem like there would have been a perfect opportunity to really show whatever happens next, but instead, it is being told in a few sentences in one of the next chapters.One notable example is how Phoebe getting kidnapped for the second time is not shown, but the next time a chapter is from her POV, she gives a short summary of how she ended up where she is now. Obviously, not every second of that had to be on the page, but at least some key parts like her struggle with Chelsea could have been described.
So, all in all, I really like the book and will probably read it again at some point, but I do think that the other two parts are a lot better in some ways!
Roughly three months after Brandon’s murderer is arrested (One Of Us Is Next), Simon’s co-conspirator Jake (One Of Us Is Lying) files a successful motion for a new trial and gets released from prison until his court dates come up. Coincidentally, a new mystery seems to emerge at the same time: A hacked billboard displays messages regarding a new game to be played. And then Phoebe, already struggling and feeling isolated because of the secret she keeps, disappears after a party …
After re-reading the first two parts of the trilogy, I finally got to read the last part over the weekend for the first time, and once again, I had fun! I also think this story is the weakest of the three, but there were still many aspects I enjoyed.
As always, I have to mention my love for the minimalistic cover and the sprayed edges of the UK paperback. While I do not think that the cover illustration fits the story as well as is the case for the other two books, it has the same mysterious vibe and it is still beautiful.
It is impressive to me that the mystery felt new and different from the other two, although the main characters are the same ones as in the previous parts. There was also more than one twist that I did not see coming (although – obligatory disclaimer – I am very bad at guessing the endings of books), although they were well-prepared in hindsight.
There are some interesting appearances of characters from the previous books. While I do not know how enjoyable they would have been had I not read the other two parts, I really loved to see them! Especially since they did not seem to only be some kind of cameos, but they actually showed some realistic growth and sometimes helped to move the plot forward.
Something that is really refreshing is that the plot does not revolve around Bayview High School. It worked for the first two books, but for the third, it is interesting to see some new places that are important for one or more characters and thus play an important part for the story.
Although I obviously enjoyed reading the book, there are still things that annoyed me.
The structure of the story seems similar to the one of the second book. Sadly, this results in the same unfortunate pacing – while the first part is rather slow-paced, the second one is pretty fast-paced. It is not as bad as in One Of Us Is Next, but still feels weirdly mismatched.
Another problem of the second book which is much worse in this one (but luckily only exists in the first few chapters) is how the events of the previous books are summarized whenever some of the important characters first appear. I understand that it is nice if the book could theoretically be read as a stand-alone, but it is still marketed as part of a series. I think not understanding references to past events is something you sign up for if you read the last part of a trilogy without knowing the first two. Maybe I would feel differently if the synopses were at least elegantly interwoven with the rest of the first few chapters, but they simply feel out of place.
I also feel like the attention to detail(s) is a bit lacking, compared to the other two books. The main characters seem to be a lot more isolated from the rest of the world than before – which, admittedly, might just be a side effect of the group consisting of at least twice as many people as in the other books. But there is just a lot less interaction between the main characters and people not related to the main mystery, and some side characters simply disappear even if that does not really make sense.
Lastly, something that I do not like is how often events are not really described, but simply summarized at a later point. It is a bit confusing to me, especially if a chapter is from the POV of a relevant character and it ends in a place that makes it seem like there would have been a perfect opportunity to really show whatever happens next, but instead, it is being told in a few sentences in one of the next chapters.
So, all in all, I really like the book and will probably read it again at some point, but I do think that the other two parts are a lot better in some ways!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
alice_in_bookland9's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Blood
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
4.0
I’ve been impressed with this author’s ability to weave a complex mystery while also giving satisfying character development to multiple characters in each book. With this book, I feel like the characters might have gotten unwieldy because the character development felt more uneven. Knox was a POV character in the last book, but not this one, so he wasn’t developed much at all in this one. The fact that he and Phoebe didn’t get together officially until the end didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I found myself wondering stuff like: did Cooper’s dad ever come around to Cooper being gay? What about Addie’s realization about being bi?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Suicide, and Car accident
nenah_elizabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Gun violence
david_slack110507's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
3.75
I've been looking forward to reading this book because I've really enjoyed the previous two books in the trilogy. I attribute them as being part of the reason why I got really interested in reading back in 2022. Even though I don't fully remember each book in the series due to me reading them 2 years ago, I feel like this book did a good job to make it clear what the previous two books' plots were and what you need to remember from them to know for this book's plot.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
amachonis's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol
annamwallace66's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mariamj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Really enjoyed the last installment of the one of us is lying series. The ending was *chef's kiss*!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming and Death
bec_9's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Drug abuse
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Homophobia, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol
kccool12255's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Now, let's be honest.
Did One of Us Is Lying NEED a sequel? No.
Were all of the characters and their archs perfectly summed up, even in the first book? Yes.
But am I going to buy every new book and devour it every single time? Yes.
This is by no means the best book I've ever read, but for what it is, this is absolutely AMAZING. Karen M. McManus KNOWS what she's doing, and she EXCELS at her craft every single time. Though One of Us Is Lying didn't need a follow-up, she smashed it out of the park with One of Us is Next, and you just HAD to have a follow-up to the cliffhanger ending. I love every single one of these characters, and I love reading in their POVs and seeing how they react to situations, as well as make (very understandable) mistakes. It was great getting to read Addy's and Nate's POVs again, since I did miss them from the first book, and even Phoebe's POV was much better than last book. She's had a lot of development, and I love seeing her (and her relationship with Knox) on the page. (Though I still am complaining how we didn't get a kiss scene, but I do understand and respect that they're taking things slow. It would've been GREAT to see, though. I don't think we had ANY kiss scenes in this book.) However, I do question the logic of THESE three characters being chosen for POVs in this book. Since we have like NINE main characters now, I was under the impression that Karen M. McManus was going to do split-POVs with ALL of them, and while that could've been very messy, I still would've liked to see it attempted. Bronwyn and Cooper got shoved into the background a LOT as a result, and it's sad that we don't get to see as much of them as usual. What I also would've liked to see is maybe some POVs from the characters we HAVEN'T seen yet. Namely, Luis, Kris, maybe even Vanessa, this random girl who gains importance this book, and maybe Keely, since she's also kind of important to the story (I get she's on vacation, but maybe if she was a main character, she could've been given more of a role in the mystery-solving aspect.) Luis and Kris are CONTINUALLY shoved into the background of this book, and bringing their POVs in could've made them more central characters. One of Us Is Lying had Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate, and then the second book switched it up by bringing in Maeve, Bronwyn's sister, Knox, and Phoebe, and I would've loved to see new main characters for this book as well. But I don't hate the final product, and I think these POVs gave a lot of insight and a lot more depth to the story overall. I LOVE seeing Nate's development as well as Phoebe's, and as always, I love seeing how much of a girlboss Addy is becoming.
Speaking of Addy, I do have a slight critique. Was her budding romance with Keely REALLY necessary? I mean, I know she's finally gaining independence after ending her relationship with Jake, but I would've really just preferred to see her remain single. I also don't think it's necessary to make her gay, but that's a story for another time. Bottom line is, I don't HATE the pairing, but I would've loved to just see Addy stay single and continue to figure out her place in the world.
What I do LOVE, though, is getting to see Jake and SIMON'S POVs. That was a VERY welcome surprise, and it added a lot to the story. Everything came together in the end, which is always nice to see.
And because I don't know where else to put this, while some character relationships were really well-developed and fleshed out, others felt completely abandoned. Like what the heck happened to Maeve and Knox being best friends? I get they both have romantic interests now, but I don't think we saw them interacting with each other in a scene ONCE this book. It was very disappointing.
But in retrospect, the ending also feels very lackluster. I know Karen M. McManus definitely didn't PLAN for these books initially becoming a series, but I wish the "villains" were more tied together and cohesive. Jake DID come back in this book, but he wasn't the main villain, and it was just honestly a little disappointing, though the plot twists were definitely well-implemented. And talking about books being well-tied together, we didn't even get a really good GAME in this book. In the first book, you had all the gossip thingies, in the second book, we had dangerous truth or dare, but in this book, we don't really get much of ANYTHING other than the "practice makes perfect", which doesn't even turn out to be that important, if I remember correctlly . And the ending is REALLY nice, but I wish it had involved good things for ALL of the characters, not just Addy. Kinda like in the epilogue of the first book, where EVERYBODY comes together for the ending. I just wish that wasn't the ending for the entire series, was just Addy reflecting and looking forward to the future.
But all that being said, I absolutely LOVE this book. While it could've done more, I LOVE reading about these characters and this world, and I wouldn't change that for anything.
It's been a fun journey, One of Us Is Lying. I'm gonna miss you.
Did One of Us Is Lying NEED a sequel? No.
Were all of the characters and their archs perfectly summed up, even in the first book? Yes.
But am I going to buy every new book and devour it every single time? Yes.
This is by no means the best book I've ever read, but for what it is, this is absolutely AMAZING. Karen M. McManus KNOWS what she's doing, and she EXCELS at her craft every single time. Though One of Us Is Lying didn't need a follow-up, she smashed it out of the park with One of Us is Next, and you just HAD to have a follow-up to the cliffhanger ending. I love every single one of these characters, and I love reading in their POVs and seeing how they react to situations, as well as make (very understandable) mistakes. It was great getting to read Addy's and Nate's POVs again, since I did miss them from the first book, and even Phoebe's POV was much better than last book. She's had a lot of development, and I love seeing her (and her relationship with Knox) on the page. (Though I still am complaining how we didn't get a kiss scene, but I do understand and respect that they're taking things slow. It would've been GREAT to see, though. I don't think we had ANY kiss scenes in this book.) However, I do question the logic of THESE three characters being chosen for POVs in this book. Since we have like NINE main characters now, I was under the impression that Karen M. McManus was going to do split-POVs with ALL of them, and while that could've been very messy, I still would've liked to see it attempted. Bronwyn and Cooper got shoved into the background a LOT as a result, and it's sad that we don't get to see as much of them as usual. What I also would've liked to see is maybe some POVs from the characters we HAVEN'T seen yet. Namely, Luis, Kris, maybe even Vanessa, this random girl who gains importance this book, and maybe Keely, since she's also kind of important to the story (I get she's on vacation, but maybe if she was a main character, she could've been given more of a role in the mystery-solving aspect.) Luis and Kris are CONTINUALLY shoved into the background of this book, and bringing their POVs in could've made them more central characters. One of Us Is Lying had Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate, and then the second book switched it up by bringing in Maeve, Bronwyn's sister, Knox, and Phoebe, and I would've loved to see new main characters for this book as well. But I don't hate the final product, and I think these POVs gave a lot of insight and a lot more depth to the story overall. I LOVE seeing Nate's development as well as Phoebe's, and as always, I love seeing how much of a girlboss Addy is becoming.
Speaking of Addy, I do have a slight critique.
What I do LOVE, though, is getting to see Jake and SIMON'S POVs. That was a VERY welcome surprise, and it added a lot to the story. Everything came together in the end, which is always nice to see.
And because I don't know where else to put this, while some character relationships were really well-developed and fleshed out, others felt completely abandoned. Like what the heck happened to Maeve and Knox being best friends? I get they both have romantic interests now, but I don't think we saw them interacting with each other in a scene ONCE this book. It was very disappointing.
But in retrospect, the ending also feels very lackluster. I know Karen M. McManus definitely didn't PLAN for these books initially becoming a series, but I wish the "villains" were more tied together and cohesive. Jake DID come back in this book, but he wasn't the main villain, and it was just honestly a little disappointing, though the plot twists were definitely well-implemented. And talking about books being well-tied together, we didn't even get a really good GAME in this book. In the first book, you had all the gossip thingies, in the second book, we had dangerous truth or dare, but in this book, we don't really get much of ANYTHING
But all that being said, I absolutely LOVE this book. While it could've done more, I LOVE reading about these characters and this world, and I wouldn't change that for anything.
It's been a fun journey, One of Us Is Lying. I'm gonna miss you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit