Reviews with content warning for Blood - Two Can Keep a Secret

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

18 reviews

bornachoker's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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joan_salder's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

First of all, this was 'the best book' of all Karen books I have read till now (only 2). The ending is mysterious, but the last sentence brings up a lot of thoughts to our mind.

It brought up the thought of Sarah sleeping with Peter, because that is the only way he would think of Ellery to be her daughter. Secondly, Sarah knew something which Sadie didn't and that is her and Peter's relationship, because if it was only homecoming queens getting kidnapped and murdered then there is no chance that Sarah might have suffered, because Sadie was the homecoming queen. I am literally so sorry to the characters I suspected because they were not guilty and I just had crazy thoughts. So, well, that is literally it.

I loved the plot set up and everything. I even liked Ryan Rodriguez and Ezra and Malcolm and Declan. Of course who doesn't. But beware of the choices you make...

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rorireads_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was absolutely thrilling from start to finish. McManus’ storytelling is gripping from start to finish, adding just the right amount of detail while still not being too overbearing. 4.25 ⭐️

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schwabbelliese's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

similar to McManus other young adult novel "one of us is lying", "two can keep a secret" stays thrilling til the end, with the constant uncovering of new evidence keeping the reader captivated to find out that in the end, notthing is as it first seemed.
Overall a definite page-turner of moderate lenght and okay pacing. Probably a good book to get back into reading. Some of the sentences were oddly phrased or seemed choppy/redundant, but that might just be the case for the German trainslation.

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zillezombori's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

i liked it more than i did with one of us is lying. the characters were interesting also i loved the little romance line too! the plot twist was great!

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knifewifestan's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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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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wineandbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

This was a great second novel from McManus. It's definitely darker than One of Us is Lying because there is actual murder and dead bodies mentioned rather than a quick poisoning. I liked the pacing of the novel and the characters involved. I do with that we got to hear more from her brother's perspective, but I enjoyed the flip between her and Malcolm. The ending seems a biiiit unbelievable, so I'm not sure if I picked up on all of the foreshadowing.

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