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A review by graceburts
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
4.0
4.5 stars
As soon as I saw the title of this book I knew I would love it. Then I read the synopsis and I was even more convinced. Lying and murder are two of my favourite topics to read about so this was a recipe for success from the moment I found out about it. It was love at first page.
One of Us Is Lying is about a group of 5 teenagers that go into detention together but only 4 come out. The remaining 4 become suspects in the murder of the 5th and the rest of the book alternates in between the perspective of the 4 of them, revolving around the investigation of the murder. This novel is intriguing and fast paced and with the changing points of view, there is never a lull in the action.
The characters start off exactly like the typical high school cliches they're expected to be. Using these stereotypes the author takes your expectations and completely flips them. It is a perfect representation of perception vs. reality and every time the character's strayed from the trope they represented I was filled with satisfaction.
Also, speaking of the characters, I grew soooooo attached to them. I couldn't possibly imagine any of them actually being the murderer, which made me all the more invested in who it actually ended up being. I really really really do love all these characters, even Bronwyn(admittedly the most annoying) grew on me, but my favourite was Addy. At the beginning of the book, I expected to hate her just based on what I knew of the stereotype of her characters but let me tell you how wrong I was--- her character's development was beautiful.
I would've rated this book 5 stars. I wish I could've because this book was honestly amazing, entertaining, clearly and concisely written and for the most part well done. There were two major things that kept me from giving this book a perfect rating though :
1. Sexuality used as a plot twist
2.
Though Simon being the "murderer" was super cheap, I don't believe McManus was villainizing depression (if I thought that were the case this would be 2 stars) as many have said. I don't think she was saying all depressed/mentally ill people are terrorists but that all terrorists are mentally ill, which is true.
Despite these two things I still do love this book. There is no perfect book in the world and I don't ever expect the books I read to be perfect. We can enjoy books with flaws, we simply just have to be aware of them. All in all, this is a highly entertaining take on a tropey murder mystery with wonderful characterization and development. I definitely recommend if it seems like something you would be interested in.
Trigger warning for suicide and one of the characters being outed.
Side note: The audiobook for this features a full cast and the acting is astounding. In my opinion, audio is the best way to consume this book. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
As soon as I saw the title of this book I knew I would love it. Then I read the synopsis and I was even more convinced. Lying and murder are two of my favourite topics to read about so this was a recipe for success from the moment I found out about it. It was love at first page.
One of Us Is Lying is about a group of 5 teenagers that go into detention together but only 4 come out. The remaining 4 become suspects in the murder of the 5th and the rest of the book alternates in between the perspective of the 4 of them, revolving around the investigation of the murder. This novel is intriguing and fast paced and with the changing points of view, there is never a lull in the action.
The characters start off exactly like the typical high school cliches they're expected to be. Using these stereotypes the author takes your expectations and completely flips them. It is a perfect representation of perception vs. reality and every time the character's strayed from the trope they represented I was filled with satisfaction.
Also, speaking of the characters, I grew soooooo attached to them. I couldn't possibly imagine any of them actually being the murderer, which made me all the more invested in who it actually ended up being. I really really really do love all these characters, even Bronwyn(admittedly the most annoying) grew on me, but my favourite was Addy. At the beginning of the book, I expected to hate her just based on what I knew of the stereotype of her characters but let me tell you how wrong I was--- her character's development was beautiful.
I would've rated this book 5 stars. I wish I could've because this book was honestly amazing, entertaining, clearly and concisely written and for the most part well done. There were two major things that kept me from giving this book a perfect rating though :
1. Sexuality used as a plot twist
2.
Spoiler
Simon's suicide - like how trivializing can you getThough Simon being the "murderer" was super cheap, I don't believe McManus was villainizing depression (if I thought that were the case this would be 2 stars) as many have said. I don't think she was saying all depressed/mentally ill people are terrorists but that all terrorists are mentally ill, which is true.
Despite these two things I still do love this book. There is no perfect book in the world and I don't ever expect the books I read to be perfect. We can enjoy books with flaws, we simply just have to be aware of them. All in all, this is a highly entertaining take on a tropey murder mystery with wonderful characterization and development. I definitely recommend if it seems like something you would be interested in.
Trigger warning for suicide and one of the characters being outed.
Side note: The audiobook for this features a full cast and the acting is astounding. In my opinion, audio is the best way to consume this book. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.