Reviews

This has a great ending. The reason I have not given this a higher (4 star) rating is because more than half of the novel is quite simply put, boring.

It took 70% of the novel for me to start caring. There are a lot of characters, a lot of back story and development. However, the way it's presented felt very much like 'okay, here is some back story' and then 'okay, here is some character development' then 'okay, here is some more back story' and then a bunch of stuff happening that then gives 'some more back story'. Is all of that needed for the pay off at the end? Arguably, yes. I just don't like the way it's done. A lot of it doesn't feel organic. Even the misdirects you know are misdirects.

It could be that I just didn't connect with any of the characters. All of their problems and issues, I just didn't care. There are no major stakes through most of the novel. You're supposed to care that three girls lives are being threatened and at no point was I worried for anyone.

Overall, great ending that made sense and was rewarding but just a veeeeeeerry slow build up to it, in my opinion.

ellajpg's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

yuidf's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

perusinghannah's review against another edition

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3.0

(6.9/10) - ⭐⭐⭐

This is my third book by McManus, and just like the others, Two Can Keep a Secret is quick, fun enough, but ultimately nothing groundbreaking.

We follow two teenagers: Ellery, new to town and the niece of a girl that went missing some 25 years prior, and Malcolm, who's brother was the main suspect in the murder of another girl 5 years prior. This small town clearly has a history, and now threats are being made against three new girls, one of them being Ellery.

I've both read books and watched movies with a similar premise countless times before, and while I think Two Can Keep a Secret was solid enough, it ultimately didn't bring anything new to the table. Because of this, I found certain aspects of the story very predictable, though this tends to be a problem for me with many mysteries.

The characters were fine, but like in McManus' other books, they aren't very distinct. Her characters tend to be very middle-of-the-road and interchangeable, and because of that I just don't get attached to them.

And yet, I did manage to read this book over the course of one day. Mediocre as they may be, McManus' books are very readable, which is why they usually land in solid 3-star territory for me.

All in all, a good palate cleanser, but people who regularly consume the genre will probably have read this story before.